- Last season, the running back position averaged its most touches per game since the 2019 season.
- Running backs are still accounting for over half of the league’s touches, but that rate has gone down in each of the past three seasons and has been below 55% now in five straight seasons.
- That is because the position continued to lose work in the receiving department. Targets per game to the position have dropped in seven straight years.
- This has helped more rushing-dependent backs compete for the front end of the position, something that was harder for that archetype to do a decade ago.
As we continue to roll on through the offseason and prepare for the 2025 fantasy season, we are taking a top down look at production for each fantasy position.
| 2025 Fantasy Football Odds & Trends |
|---|
| League Trends |
| Quarterback Trends |
| Running Back Trends |
| Wide Receiver Trends (Coming Soon) |
| Tight End Trends (Coming Soon) |
| NFL Team Per Drive Trends (Coming Soon) |
| NFL Red Zone Trends (Coming Soon) |
| NFL Yardage to Touchdown Trends (Coming Soon) |
| Touchdown Trends (Coming Soon) |
| Red Zone points over expected: Quarterbacks (Coming Soon) |
| Red Zone points over expected: Running Backs (Coming Soon) |
| Red Zone points over expected: Wide Receivers (Coming Soon) |
| Red Zone points over expected: Tight Ends (Coming Soon) |
Now, let’s take a look at the quarterbacks.
League RB Usage Since 2010
| Year | Touch/G | RuAtt/G | RuTD/G | Tgt/G | Rec/G | ReTD/G | FP/G | PPR/G | LG. TCH% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 54.3 | 45.4 | 1.5 | 11.3 | 8.9 | 0.3 | 35.6 | 44.2 | 53.6% |
| 2023 | 52.4 | 43.2 | 1.2 | 11.9 | 9.3 | 0.3 | 33.7 | 43.0 | 54.0% |
| 2022 | 53.2 | 43.7 | 1.3 | 12.3 | 9.4 | 0.4 | 35.7 | 45.2 | 54.6% |
| 2021 | 53.6 | 43.5 | 1.4 | 12.9 | 10.0 | 0.4 | 36.5 | 46.6 | 54.8% |
| 2020 | 53.3 | 43.5 | 1.5 | 13.0 | 9.9 | 0.4 | 37.6 | 47.5 | 53.4% |
| 2019 | 54.3 | 43.8 | 1.4 | 13.8 | 10.6 | 0.4 | 37.1 | 47.7 | 56.3% |
| 2018 | 53.6 | 42.8 | 1.4 | 14.2 | 10.7 | 0.5 | 37.9 | 48.7 | 55.4% |
| 2017 | 56.7 | 45.9 | 1.2 | 14.5 | 10.8 | 0.4 | 36.4 | 47.2 | 58.9% |
| 2016 | 54.6 | 44.8 | 1.4 | 13.3 | 9.9 | 0.4 | 36.8 | 46.7 | 56.3% |
| 2015 | 55.8 | 45.2 | 1.1 | 14.2 | 10.5 | 0.4 | 36.1 | 46.6 | 57.1% |
| 2014 | 55.6 | 45.8 | 1.3 | 13.5 | 9.8 | 0.4 | 36.1 | 46.0 | 57.2% |
| 2013 | 56.7 | 46.6 | 1.3 | 13.7 | 10.1 | 0.3 | 36.4 | 46.5 | 58.1% |
| 2012 | 56.1 | 47.1 | 1.3 | 12.4 | 9.0 | 0.2 | 35.6 | 44.6 | 58.0% |
| 2011 | 56.5 | 47.2 | 1.3 | 13.0 | 9.4 | 0.3 | 36.5 | 45.9 | 59.2% |
| 2010 | 57.1 | 47.5 | 1.3 | 13.1 | 9.6 | 0.3 | 36.5 | 46.1 | 59.9% |
This table is filled with interesting nuggets.
Last season, the running back position averaged its most touches per game since the 2019 season.
We had nine different running backs reach 300 touches last season.
That number was six in 2023, seven in 2022, four in 2021, and four in 2020.
You also must go back to that 2019 season to match that number of backs reaching 300 touches in a season.
Seven different running backs averaged over 20 touches per game last season, the most since the 2021 season.
At the start of this series, we highlighted that offenses have continued to counterpunch by increasing their rate of heavy personnel and, as a proxy of that, running the football.
Running back runs per game were their highest since the 2017 season.
We had six different running backs rush the ball at least 300 times during the regular season.
There were zero in 2023, three in 2022, and just two in 2021, when the NFL expanded to a 17-game regular season.
You have to go back to 2010 to find a season in which we had as many 300-attempt rushers at the position as there were a year ago.
Rushing touchdowns followed suit as running backs combined to score the most rushing touchdowns they have had as a group since the 2008 season.
Here is where things get interesting, however.
Despite touches and rushes going way up last season, the position still accounted for the lowest rate of leaguewide touches over the entire sample.
Running backs are still accounting for over half of the league’s touches, but that rate has gone down in each of the past three seasons and has been below 55% now in five straight seasons.
That is because the position continued to lose work in the receiving department.
Targets per game to the position have dropped in seven straight years.
Running backs combined for their fewest number of targets in a year since 2008, fewest number of receptions in a season since 2012, and fewest receiving touchdowns since 2012.
Scoring at the position did rise compared to 2023, but that output was still noticeably lower than where we were at the start of the sample for the position.
That is because targets still carry more weight for fantasy per opportunity.
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RB Receiving Usage Rates Compared to Leaguewide Usage
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