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Jeremy Fowler
With 2025 NFL training camps on the horizon, the league’s true insiders made their voices heard. ESPN surveyed league executives, coaches and scouts to help us rank the top 10 players at 11 different positions, from quarterback to cornerback and all positions in between. This was the sixth edition of these rankings, and as usual, several players moved up or fell off last year’s lists.
A reminder of the rankings process: Voters gave us their best 10 players at a position, then we compiled the results and ranked candidates based on number of top-10 votes, composite average and dozens of interviews, with research and film study help from ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen. In total, more than 70 voters submitted a ballot on at least one position, and in many cases all positions. Additional voting and follow-up calls with those surveyed helped us break any ties.
Each section includes quotes and nuggets from the voters on every ranked player — even the honorable mentions. The objective was to identify the best players for 2025. This was not a five-year projection or a career achievement award. Who are the best players today?
We will roll out a position per day over 11 days. The schedule: running backs (7/7), defensive tackles (7/8), edge rushers (7/9), safeties (7/10), tight ends (7/11), interior offensive linemen (7/12), offensive tackles (7/13), quarterbacks (7/14), off-ball linebackers (7/15), wide receivers (7/16), cornerbacks (7/17).
The backs are back.
Handing the ball off 30-plus times per Sunday is trendy again. Rushing offenses pumped big numbers into the 2024 season, with seven teams averaging at least 140 rushing yards per game. That’s up from three teams the previous year.
“The best play in football is still the ability to simply hand it off to your best athlete on the field and make everyone else look foolish trying to tackle him,” a veteran NFC scout said. “Elite quarterback play year in and year out is, and always will be, a rarity rather than the norm.”
Rushing success stories were all over the NFL map. The running back in Philly galvanized a Super Bowl run. The running back in Baltimore completely changed the Ravens offense. And young backs in Detroit and Atlanta showed major star power.
This year’s top 10 featured some perennial favorites — and a few surprises.
Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 2
Age: 28 | Last year’s ranking: 4
Barkley got greedy in 2024. He clearly wanted every first-place vote in our 2025 poll. And he got all but one of them.
Barkley’s Super Bowl parade-inspired run in 2024-25 harkens back to then-New York Giants GM Dave Gettleman taking serious heat for selecting a running back with the second overall pick despite plenty of good quarterbacks available in the 2018 draft. Barkley was just that good. And, just maybe, that pick wasn’t so bad and Gettleman looks smart?
Let’s just say scouts around the league who once forecast Barkley as a transcendent player can admire those old scouting reports with a low-key fist pump.
“It was almost like this was expected — he was always expected to be this,” an NFL personnel director said. “You can call it confirmation bias. Everybody thought he was a great player [at Penn State] and he proved what people thought he would be. It just took some peaks and valleys. And he was in a bad offense [in New York].”
When including the regular season and playoffs, Barkley’s 2,504 rush yards and seven scrimmage touchdowns of 60-plus yards are the most in a season in NFL history. His speed was constantly on display, reaching at least 20 mph on nine touchdown runs, per Next Gen Stats. No other player had more than two.
“He can go another few years with high-level play behind that (Eagles) line,” the director said.
Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: 6
Age: 31 | Last year’s ranking: 9
Mr. Laughs-at-First-Contact still refuses to go down.
Henry’s 830 rushing yards after contact in 2024 — his first season with the Ravens — were 191 more than the next-closest player (Josh Jacobs). His 3,634 yards after contact since 2020 is 900-plus yards more than the rest of the field. All of this is nothing new. Tackling Henry is forever an arduous task. But coming off 1,921 yards and 16 touchdowns, Henry appears averse to the running back cliff to which most 30-somethings succumb.
“He’ll slow down at some point, but he’s got elite body composition and elite work ethic,” an AFC executive said. “He’s a monster. No one wants to tackle him, and then when he wears you down, that’s when he breaks off that big run.”
Somehow, Henry is proving more efficient with age. Henry’s 5.9 yards per rush last season represented the highest mark by a player with 250 carries in a season since Adrian Peterson in 2012 (6.0). And his 13 career games with 150 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns ties Jim Brown for the most in NFL history.
Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: 9
Age: 23 | Last year’s ranking: 8
“Sonic” narrowly outdistanced 2023 draft mate Bijan Robinson for the third spot thanks to his 20-touchdown season, which led the NFL.
The last Lion to lead the NFL in scrimmage scores? Barry Sanders with 17 in 1991.
Gibbs’ raw speed at 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds can “flip the game upside down” on one play, per an NFC scout. And his 6.4 yards per touch last season was the highest mark by any player with 250 touches in a season over the past decade.
“He’s a lot like Reggie Bush, just with a little bit more power,” an AFC executive said. “Size will always be a little bit more of an issue with him but his speed and instincts and ability to change the game are a problem and maybe the best in the league.”
Some evaluators agree Gibbs is best utilized in a 1-2 combo, like he is in Detroit with David Montgomery. As the AFC exec put it, Gibbs can serve as a primary back but “might wear down faster” if asked to absorb too many hits between the tackles due to size. But he runs with a toughness, so it’s not like he wouldn’t be up for the challenge. And Gibbs did just fine in three games without Montgomery late last season, totaling 365 rushing yards on 64 carries.
Highest ranking: 1 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 23 | Last year’s ranking: 6
After spotty usage in his rookie year, Robinson earned primary back status in 2024. It’s no surprise that his game subsequently took off with 1,456 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns on 304 carries.
Robinson entered the league with considerable expectations and has largely met them. He’s one of three players in NFL history to produce 2,400 rushing yards and 100 receptions in a player’s first two seasons, joining Pro Football Hall of Famers Edgerrin James and LaDainian Tomlinson.
“Size, speed, acceleration, pass game, value, breaks tackles, can hit home runs,” an NFL coordinator said. “He’s a nightmare to prepare for.”
Robinson was voted among the top three on half the running back ballots cast for these rankings, but fell just short of Gibbs.
His 365 touches last year ranked second behind Barkley (378). Young Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. will need similar reliability in 2025. Given all this, Robinson is totally justifiable as a No. 1 or No. 2 pick in fantasy drafts.
Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 29 | Last year’s ranking: 1
Durability is the one thing holding McCaffrey back. He has missed 10 or more games in three of his past five NFL seasons.
“He’s a great player, but he’s always had durability issues, even in college,” an NFL personnel executive said. “He’s an elite trainer and takes great care of himself. He’s just not a big body and will lose a step eventually.”
A return to 2023 form would put McCaffrey back in the MVP conversation. When he’s healthy, he always produces.
In fact, McCaffrey has four seasons with at least 1,800 scrimmage yards and 10 touchdowns. The only players with more are all Hall of Famers: Tomlinson, Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton (five each).
Since 2006, two players have at least 2,000 scrimmage yards and 25 touchdowns in a season (plus playoffs): McCaffrey in 2023 and Tomlinson in 2006.
“He’s still the prototype — and the best player on the field at times,” an NFC scout said.
Highest ranking: 3 | Lowest ranking: 10
Age: 27 | Last year’s ranking: 7
Many people inside the league perked up when the Packers gave Jacobs a $48 million free agency deal in 2024. The move showed that Green Bay, not known for spending big on tailbacks, was all-in on bolstering Jordan Love and the offense with a top-shelf back.
Jacobs rewarded the faith with 1,329 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, returning to his 2023 form.
“Elite balance, strength, vision, feet and determination with the ball in his hands,” a high-ranking NFC personnel executive said. “He catches it well. True difference-maker. And he plays every week. Availability. I tend to lean toward well-rounded backs that are elite runners and huge threats in the passing game and Jacobs fits that bill.”
Jacobs is the lone NFL player to eclipse 1,000 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns in each year since 2019. He’s one of four players in Packers history to produce 1,500 scrimmage yards and 15 rushing scores in a season, joining Aaron Jones, Ahman Green and Jim Taylor.
Highest ranking: 2 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 26 | Last year’s ranking: 5
Taylor dropping two spots from last season is a curious case. He pumped out 1,432 yards on 11 touchdowns in 2024 despite uneven quarterback play. His speed is still elite. He turned 26 in January. And he’s the first back since Adrian Peterson (2007-11) to produce 6,000 rushing yards and 50 rushing touchdowns through his first five NFL seasons.
While his contract dispute in 2023 stalled momentum, he has never underwhelmed when playing a full season.
“He’s underrated,” an AFC executive said. “Highly productive and can wear you down before breaking off a big run.”
Taylor’s 24 career games of 100 rushing yards since 2020 trail only Henry’s 37.
Highest ranking: 4 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 25 | Last year’s ranking: honorable mention
Cook entered the top 10 fray after a 16-touchdown season in 2024, vaulting from honorable mention to No. 8 and pushing Taylor for the seventh spot. He’s now tied with O.J. Simpson (1975) for the most rushing touchdowns in a single Bills season.
Cook’s 3.1 yards per rush before contact was the fifth-highest mark of any qualifying back.
“Dangerous and explosive,” an NFL personnel executive said.
Added an AFC exec: “He’s perfect for that offense, with a quarterback that spreads things out. He’s good in the passing game, catches the ball really well, good in open space. Not sure he’s elite yet but he’s really, really good.”
He’s averaging 222 carries per season as the starter, and some teams are curious about how he would hold up as a 300-carry No. 1 back at 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. But, either way, he has earned leaguewide respect at a time when he’s seeking a contract extension from Buffalo.
Highest ranking: 5 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 28 | Last year’s ranking: honorable mention
Mixon looked rejuvenated in Houston, which traded with Cincinnati to acquire him in March 2024. He’s not a home run hitter, with a career average of 4.1 yards per carry over eight seasons. But he’s got just about everything else.
“Really good vision, feet, contact balance — a hammer in the run game,” an NFL personnel evaluator said. “Looked worn down at the end of the season but overall that was a really good trade for Houston.”
Mixon is the NFL’s only player with at least 1,300 scrimmage yards and nine touchdowns in each of the past four seasons. His 94.6 scrimmage yards per game last year trails only Arian Foster (2014) and DeAndre Hopkins (2015, 2018) in Texans history.
Highest ranking: 7 | Lowest ranking: unranked
Age: 29 | Last year’s ranking: honorable mention
A premier back in our rankings for years, Kamara fell to honorable mention last year after a few down years. Though some evaluators see slight decline, Kamara fought his way back to the top 10 thanks to 1,503 scrimmage yards last year. Kamara appeared on nearly 60% of the voting ballots but none in the top six.
“Some of the elite traits are still there,” an NFL offensive coach said. “He didn’t have much of an offensive line or supporting cast last year. But he can still take a screen for big yardage and still has great contact balance.”
Kamara has eclipsed 600 rushing yards and 400 receiving yards in all eight seasons of his career. That’s already tied for the most such seasons in NFL history alongside Faulk.
Despite missing the final three games of last season, Kamara still accounted for 26% of New Orleans’ scrimmage yards in 2024, the seventh-highest mark of any player in the NFL.
Honorable mention
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: “Combination of speed, quicks and contact balance. Heck of a runner. Rarely goes down on first contact.” — NFL coordinator
Aaron Jones Sr., Minnesota Vikings: “Classic slasher. Darts through run lanes. Plays big on the goal line. A dual threat. Love everything about him, but durability and age (30) are issues.” — NFL personnel evaluator
De’Von Achane, Miami Dolphins: “Elite speed and explosion. Could wear down because he’s small. Similar to Gibbs. He just gets banged up. Runs very hard for how small he is and should get out on the perimeter more as a pass catcher.” — AFC executive
Breece Hall, New York Jets: “He’s been one of the best in the league at points. I just haven’t felt the same way recently. I know the injuries have been an issue.” — NFL coordinator
“That’s not all his fault. He was in a bad offense. Still has good lower-body balance and home run juice.” — veteran AFC personnel executive
James Conner, Arizona Cardinals: “He’s a load to bring down. Short strider with quick feet to slip tacklers, find slices of daylight. Good second-level burst. Runs behind his pads. Finisher. Underrated player. ” — NFL personnel evaluator
Also receiving votes: Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams), David Montgomery (Detroit Lions), Brian Robinson Jr. (Washington Commanders), Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers), D’Andre Swift (Chicago Bears), Kenneth Walker III (Seattle Seahawks)
