Christian McCaffrey picked as the top running back in the AP’s NFL Top 5 rankings
AP Pro Football Writer
On a San Francisco offense filled with playmakers, Christian McCaffrey was the most productive by far last season when he became the 12th player ever to top 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 20 TDs in the same season.
That performance has helped the 49ers star score the honor of being voted the top running back in the league by The Associated Press.
A panel of eight AP Pro Football Writers ranked the top five players at running back, basing selections on current status entering the 2024 season. First-place votes were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points.
McCaffrey got seven first-place votes and one second to be the only player named on all eight ballots.
Derrick Henry got one first-place vote, five second-place votes and one third-place vote and came in second. Saquon Barkley came in third with one second-place vote. Jonathan Taylor and Bijan Robinson tied for fourth place.
Breece Hall of the New York Jets got the remaining second-place vote but finished out of the top five. Nick Chubb, Josh Jacobs, Raheem Mostert, Jahmyr Gibbs, Aaron Jones and Kyren Williams also got votes.
1. CHRISTIAN McCAFFREY, San Francisco 49ers
McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 1,459 yards rushing, 2,023 yards from scrimmage and 21 total touchdowns on the way to winning the AP Offensive Player of the Year.
McCaffrey has transformed the 49ers offense from good to great since being acquired midway through the 2022 season. He has gained 3,233 yards and scored 31 TDs in 27 games with San Francisco as the top dual-threat back in the league.
McCaffrey’s 115.4 yards from scrimmage per game rank third best all-time among players with at least 70 games played, trailing only Hall of Famers Jim Brown (125.5) and Barry Sanders (118.9).
2. DERRICK HENRY, Tennessee Titans
As pure runners go, few have done it better than Henry over the years. He has 9,502 yards rushing and 90 TDs on the ground, joining Hall of Famers Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson as the only players to reach both those marks through eight seasons. Henry ran for 1,167 yards and 12 TDs last year on Tennessee’s struggling offense and should get a big boost this season at age 30 after signing with Baltimore, where he will team with dual-threat QB Lamar Jackson.
3. SAQUON BARKLEY, Philadelphia Eagles
After spending his first six seasons with the New York Giants, Barkley moved down the turnpike this offseason to sign with rival Philadelphia to provide a spark for an offense that got stale for the Eagles. Barkley is a dynamic threat in the run and pass game, averaging 98.8 yards per game from scrimmage in his career. He should thrive behind the Eagles’ stellar offensive line after ranking 36th last season in yards before contact per carry on the Giants.
4. JONATHAN TAYLOR, Indianapolis Colts
Injuries have slowed Taylor the past two seasons as he has missed 13 games over that span and failed to reach even 900 yards rushing in either season. But voters were still impressed by what he can do when healthy as he showed when he rushed for 2,980 yards and 29 TDs over his first two seasons in 2020-21. The Colts are hoping a healthy Taylor can return to that form in an offense that also features a running threat at QB in Anthony Richardson.
5. BIJAN ROBINSON, Atlanta Falcons
The eighth pick in the 2023 draft had a strong rookie season for Atlanta and showed flashes of becoming one of the top backs in the league while playing for an offense that lacked consistent quarterback play. Robinson had many highlight-reel plays on the way to rushing for 976 yards and catching 58 passes for 487 yards. Robinson scored eight total touchdowns and ranked 10th in the league in yards from scrimmage.
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