Fantasy Football: 25 RB Statistics from the 2023 Season
For the EIGHTH(!) year in a row, our 25 Statistics series recaps each position with some of the most meaningful and eye-popping statistics of the year. For context, I started writing this series way back in 2016 when Andy, Mike, & Jason still were working out of a spare bedroom, and JayGriz didn’t have a job yet. I recently cranked out the 25 QB Statistics article and the other positions will soon be following.
My goal is to start by giving the broad scope of RB scoring from a league-wide view, and work through the elite tier of QBs before finding the odd and quirky stats of 2023 that might help reframe and give context to several questionable signal-callers.
We released the Top-10 RB Truth data on Thursday’s podcast if you want a deep dive into their consistency.
Note: All scoring is half-point scoring per the Ballers Consistency Charts found at JointheFoot.com.
1. Before we get into the big name RBs, here are some overarching trends for the RB position. I looked back at RBs league-wide since 2011 and few glaring numbers stood out from 2023:
- Fewest Total RB Receptions since 2014- NFL games averaged just 9 total RB receptions (including both sides)
- Lowest Fantasy Points per Reception for RBs since 2011- With defenses playing zone coverage 70% of the time, it led to fewer big receiving plays for RBs.
2. Over the last three years, we’ve seen a resurgence in overall rushing volume for the RB position.
Despite this uptick, Derrick Henry‘s 280 rushing attempts were the lowest ever for a league-leader. Heck, Henry’s own teammate Tyjae Spears finished with 100 rushing attempts and actually averaged the same exact snap rate (53%).
3. Despite the attempts, RBs overall were less efficient:
- Lowest Fantasy Points per Rush Attempt for RBs since 2012
- FEWEST Rushing TDs in the last six years- You can partially thank the Tush Push (& One Cheek Sneak) for that.
4, Warning! You are about to receive a download of Christian McCaffrey stats hopefully to contextualize the insane season he had. Some in the industry call them “Legendary Seasons” which I love. I’ll take it a step further and call them Bonkers Fantasy Seasons. According to our TRUTH metrics, here are the RBs to have 50+ % Great Games, 90+% Good Games, and a Zero % Bust Rate:
- 2018 Todd Gurley
- 2019 Christian McCaffrey
- 2023 Christian McCaffrey
That’s it.
For reference, here are all the 50+/90+/0 fantasy seasons since we started with the TRUTH data in 2017.
5. In his age-27 season, McCaffrey set career-highs in rushing yards (1,459), yards per carry (5.4), 10+ yard runs (44), and total TDs (21). His 12 finishes inside the top-10 were four more than the next closest RBs, Breece Hall and Kyren Williams.
6. Let’s put a cherry on top with these CMC stats. He now owns the most seasons of 24+ PPR points per game in the history of fantasy football. This is the hall of fame for fantasy and he now sits above them all.
| Player |
24+ PPR Seasons
|
| Christian McCaffrey | 4 |
| Priest Holmes | 3 |
| LaDainian Tomlinson | 3 |
| Todd Gurley | 2 |
| Marshall Faulk | 2 |
7. It was a banner year offensively for the Dolphins. The Miami RBs ranked #1 (De’Von Achane– 1.28) and #2 (Raheem Mostert– 1.07) in fantasy points per opportunity. Mostert’s 21 total TDs were two more than his career total coming into this season. He actually lowered his career yards per carry from 5.4 to 5.2 despite the insane year thanks to the 2nd most carries inside the five yard line. Achane was an efficiency monster leading all RBs in yards per touch (7.7) and became one of seven rookie RBs since 2014 with 5+ games with 20+ fantasy points.
8. Let’s put the Miami rushing attack in context. Since 2007, here are the backfields that averaged 30+ fantasy points per game (half-point scoring) over the course of the season.
Miami’s RBs rank 5th in points per game and their 27 total rushing TDs are the 2nd most over the last 15 years.
9. Travis Etienne cleaned up again against bad teams this year averaging 9.5 more fantasy points per game versus bottom-16 defenses (19.4 vs. 9.86). His 340 opportunities were 3rd most among RBs and he led all RBs in forced missed tackles on rush attempts.
10. It’s almost illegal to categorize Breece Hall only as a RB in this article. His 90 targets led all RBs and he posted WR1-type numbers with a 26.8% TPRR and 1.76 YPRR, ahead of teammate Garrett Wilson‘s numbers: 24%, 1.55. A whopping 48.3% of his production came via the air, the highest of any top-5 RB over the last five years.
11. Joe Mixon might’ve been the least sexy top-5 fantasy season we’ve seen in awhile. It was on the back of his league-leading inside the 10 attempts (39) that he turned into eight rushing TDs and the fact he busted in just 6% of his games. Only CMC had a lower rate among RBs this year. Since 2017, Mixon ranks 3rd in total touches, 5th in total yards, and 8th in touchdowns.
12. Oh baby, Kyren Williams was a revelation. He was the 1st RB to go undrafted by fantasy managers and finish with 20+ fantasy points points per game. He joined Priest Holmes as the only RBs to score 15 total TDs in 12 or fewer games over the last 40 years. He saw 37% of the Rams’ team rush attempts and targets with only CMC and Josh Jacobs hitting a higher percentage among RBs this year. From Weeks 13-17, Kyren had 128(!) touches; that was the 7th most for any RB over the last decade over their final five games of the season.
Getty Images / Icon Sportswire
13. Rachaad White was one of the steals of the draft (7.02/RB28) and from Week 7 on, he was the RB2(!) in total fantasy points. He averaged 21.8 opportunities, 100+ total yards, and 15.9 fantasy points per game. He was consistent as a pass-catcher with the most routes run among RBs, the 4th most receptions, and the 3rd most receiving yards.
14. Despite finishing as RB7, Rachaad White was quite inefficient. His 0.70 fantasy points per opportunity were below league average and his 3.64 yards per carry is the lowest for a top-15 RB over the last five years.
15. It’s been such a fun run with Derrick Henry. He’s led the NFL in yards after contact in four out of the last five years and double-digit rushing TDs for six straight years. His splits were quite extreme in Titans wins and losses:
| Games | FPPG | Snap % | Rush Att | Rush Yards | Rush TDs | |
| Titans Wins | 6 | 19 | 62% | 20.5 | 94.3 | 1.2 |
| Titans Losses | 11 | 10.8 | 48% | 14.3 | 54.6 | 0.5 |
16. Bijan Robinson might’ve disappointed based on expectations and hype but he excelled as a receiver. He had the 2nd most routes run among RBs, 4th in receiving yards, and his 86 targets were the 7th most all-time for a rookie RB. He is one of eight rookie RBs with 270+ touches:
17. We had three rookie RBs inside the top-24 continuing a long standing streak of 2+ rookie RBs finishing inside the top-24 since 2012.
| Year | Top-24 Rookie RBs Over the Last Decade | ||||
| 2012 | Doug Martin– RB2 | Alfred Morris– RB6 | Trent Richardson– RB8 | Mikel Leshoure- RB21 | — |
| 2013 | Eddie Lacy– RB7 | Giovani Bernard– RB13 | Le’Veon Bell– RB14 | Zac Stacy– RB20 | — |
| 2014 | Jeremy Hill– RB10 | Andre Williams– RB23 | — | — | — |
| 2015 | Todd Gurley– RB7 | David Johnson– RB9 | — | — | — |
| 2016 | Ezekiel Elliott– RB2 | Jordan Howard– RB10 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | Alvin Kamara– RB3 | Kareem Hunt– RB4 | Leonard Fournette– RB8 | CMC- RB11 | — |
| 2018 | Saquon Barkley– RB2 | Philip Lindsay- RB12 | Nick Chubb– RB16 | — | — |
| 2019 | Miles Sanders– RB15 | Josh Jacobs– RB18 | — | — | — |
| 2020 | Jonathan Taylor– RB6 | James Robinson– RB8 | Antonio Gibson– RB12 | D’Andre Swift– RB18 | CEH- RB22 |
| 2021 | Najee Harris– RB4 | Javonte Williams– RB17 | — | — | — |
| 2022 | Breece Hall– RB7 (in PPG) | Ken Walker- RB16 | Dameon Pierce– RB23 (in PPG) | — | — |
| 2023 | Bijan Robinson– RB9 | Jahmyr Gibbs– RB10 | De’Von Achane– RB24 | ||
18. Jahmyr Gibbs took a minute to get moving but from Week 7-16, he was the RB3 averaging 18.2 opportunities, 6.0 yards per carry, and 104.3 total yards, and 1.1 TDs per game. David Montgomery had an elite role inside the 20 with the 5th most red zone touches among RBs (despite missing three games) and turning 19 rushing attempts inside the five into 9 rushing TDs.
Jahmyr Gibbs & David Montgomery are the first pair of teammates in NFL history each with at least 1,000 scrimmage yards and 10 rushing touchdowns in same season.#NFL | #AllGrit pic.twitter.com/pcxo90xl02
— Pro Football Reference (@pfref) January 23, 2024
19. Let’s give some more love to Gibbs and what he did as a rookie. He is tied for the 3rd highest fantasy points per touch ever for a rookie RB on a list with some impressive names.
For Montgomery, his dominant role as a runner does come with some red flags. He passed blocked on 23% of his pass plays which is quite high for a viable fantasy RB. He also had 90% of his fantasy points come solely on the ground. Here are some other recent top-15 RBs with 88+ % of their fantasy production via rush attempts
20. James Cook totaled 1567 yards from scrimmage ranking 3rd in the NFL behind only CMC and Breece Hall. He finished as the RB11 on the season despite Josh Allen hogging all the rushing TDs (15 to Cook’s 2). He became one of 5 RBs since 2000 to finish as an RB1 with two or fewer rushing TDs.
21. James Conner‘s insane final five games won people fantasy championships. He was the RB5, 11, 5, 3, and 1 in his final five contests averaging 22.6 fantasy points per game, 23.8 opportunities, 103 rushing yards, and 1.4 TDs per game. Looking back over the last decade, he tied for the 6th most rushing 1st downs over a final 5-game stretch of any RB.
22. For a hot minute, it was all aboard the Gus Bus as Gus Edwards was THE RB1 in fantasy from Weeks 7-11. He scored eight rushing TDs in that span but failed to surpass more than 80(!) rushing yards in any of those games. It’s the first time an RB has had a stretch of five games as THE RB1 in fantasy and failed to hit the century mark. We’ve had 80 RBs hit the 13+ rushing TD mark sicne 2000. Edwards’ RB20 finish is the 4th worst among that group outpacing only Jerome Bettis (2004), Corey Dillon (2006), and LenDale White (2008), who all finished at RB22 in their respective years.
23. Tyjae Spears deserves some love as he became one of 15 rookie RBs since 2013 with 50+ receptions. That list included Rachaad White last year and for those RBs who secured a starting role the following year, it became quite fruitful.
24. Were the Broncos a good offense for fantasy? Meh, not really apart from Courtland Sutton‘s obsession with TDs. The Broncos RBs were a quagmire and Javonte Williams was frustrating. However, the one thing Denver backs excelled at was catching the football. THREE of their RBs ranked in top-15 in YPRR and if you combined their production together, they were the RB10 in fantasy and finished with 131(!) receptions. That total is the 4th most of any backfield over the last five years.
Samaje Perine finished 4th among all RBs in fantasy points per opportunity, 1st in YPRR and Jaleel McLaughlin ranked 2nd in yards per carry (5.39) among top-50 fantasy RBs.
25. Ok, most of the statistics presented were positive highlighting the breakout performances of 2023. But I need to bring up Tony Pollard. Yes, he finished with over 1,000 rushing yards; yet,he technically ran for two fewer yards than 2022 despite 59(!) more rushing attempts. For some perspective, among 58 RBs with 300+ touches over the last decade, Pollard ranks 53rd in PPR fantasy points, 51st in yards from scrimmage, and 52nd in yards per touch.