Training camp has brought the usual flood of position rankings, and Pro Football Focus has jumped into the mix with its list of the NFL’s 32 starting running backs. Christian McCaffrey landed near the top, but not quite where everyone would expect.
PFF slotted McCaffrey at No. 4, which the outlet backed up by pointing to his receiving production and all-around impact. “McCaffrey is the gold standard when it comes to receiving ability at the running back position. He led all backs with 924 receiving yards in 2025, the fourth time he’s paced the league in that statistic across his nine-year career,” PFF wrote.
The praise didn’t stop there. “McCaffrey’s 5,390 career receiving yards are already sixth all time at the position.
He’s no slouch when it comes to running the ball, either. In 2025, McCaffrey was seventh in the NFL with 859 yards after contact while running for over 1,000 yards for the fifth time in his career.”
There’s no real argument that McCaffrey belongs in the top five. The debate starts with the names above him.
Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs taking the top two spots makes sense enough. Derrick Henry at No. 3 is where the ranking starts to lose people.
Henry is a terrific back, but last season pointed toward decline. He wasn’t breaking as many long runs and had issues protecting the football. McCaffrey, by contrast, was a true workhorse for the 49ers and remains one of the league’s best weapons as a receiver out of the backfield.
That’s why the gap between the two feels hard to justify. A back who can punish defenses on the ground and create plays through the air brings a different level of value, and McCaffrey has long fit that mold. Putting Henry one spot ahead of him, especially after 2025, doesn’t add up.
If anything, the bigger surprise is that PFF had Henry above McCaffrey at all. McCaffrey’s place in the top five is deserved. The No. 3 spot, though, feels like it belongs to someone else.
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