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Below, we will look at the NFL offenses with a 40% or better (the top 12 teams) in rushing success rate on their running back runs to determine the best rushing ecosystems through the first month of the fantasy football season. Success rate in this context is a down-and-distance-based efficiency metric.

Buffalo Bills - 48.9%

James Cook is the No. 1 running back in fantasy football right now. He’s touched the ball 87 times and amassed 401 yards from scrimmage. There’s no question that Cook looks incredible in isolation this year and, in my view, has taken his game to another level. Pretty cool for a player who just signed a mega extension in the offseason.

That being said, this Bills rushing ecosystem overall is a complete machine. They have one of the more layered gap run playbooks in the NFL, and this year, they’re shredding teams for big plays on outside zone in particular. The offensive line boasts years of continuity and is a mauling group. They’ve even gotten blocking tight end Jackson Hawes into the mix to give them less predictability as an offense. He’s played 107 snaps, but run just 14 routes.

As long as Cook stays healthy, he will remain a clear-cut top-five fantasy back in this environment. If he ever misses time, backup Ray Davis would immediately become a fantasy starter as the lead back in one of the premier rushing ecosystems across the league.

Los Angeles Rams - 48.4%

What’s old is new again. The Rams took a hard pivot in the 2023 season, becoming one of the teams that specialized in man-based run concepts, specifically the duo, abandoning the Sean McVay outside zone staples from the beginning of his tenure in LA. So far this season, per Fantasy Points Data, they’re second in yards gained on outside zone runs at 6.5 yards per rush.

Kyren Williams is seventh in the NFL in total yards at 303 but is only the RB17 in fantasy. He just hasn’t scored as many touchdowns this season as usual. The Rams have also finally put talk into action and are mixing in second-year running back Blake Corum on 22.8% of the team's carries. Corum has been good on his carries, too, as he’s taken 26.1% of them for 10-plus yards this season, the most among running backs with 20-plus rush attempts.

Williams is still a fantasy starter in this great rushing environment but Corum should be rostered in every league, even through the bye week gauntlet coming up. The coaching and offensive line is good enough for both to succeed, the wide receivers are excellent blockers in the run game and the passing attack affords them efficient opportunities.

Minnesota Vikings - 47.6%

One of the key premises of the Vikings' offseason was their clear intent to build up what had been somewhat of a stagnant run game. The data shows that this has worked through the first month of the season. The addition of Jordan Mason has been big for this team, as he allows them to get into varied concepts. The Vikings average 4.8 yards per carry on outside zone runs but have the fourth-best success rate on gap runs, per Fantasy Points Data. This was exactly my theory on why they specifically targeted Mason, who has been a hit as a mid-round fantasy selection, and it’s been a success in the first four weeks.

The question now is whether Minnesota can sustain this rushing attack despite the mounting injuries to its offensive line. As much as Mason was a significant addition, the interior O-line's remake was even more critical to this working out. Now, just as star left tackle Christian Darrisaw has gotten fully reintegrated, right tackle Brian O’Neill is set to miss a few weeks with a sprained MCL, center Ryan Kelly just suffered his second concussion in two weeks and rookie left guard Donovan Jackson had wrist surgery last week.

All of that has me worried about Mason’s ability to sustain his rushing efficiency, especially as he heads into a matchup with a Browns defense that has allowed just 2.6 yards per carry to opposing running backs on early downs. That’s the lowest mark in the league.

Washington Commanders - 46.5%

The Commanders' backfield has yet to give us a consistent answer in fantasy football, much to the chagrin of the Bill Croskey-Merritt Hive on Twitter. That being said, the offensive line deserves a ton of credit for playing excellent football and blowing up lanes regardless of which back is on the field. Kliff Kingsbury’s offenses always feature a creative and well-designed run game, and that’s only gotten better in Washington.

The problem is that the backfield has truly been split three ways in the two weeks since Austin Ekeler was placed on IR. In Weeks 3 and 4, Chris Rodriguez led the way with 39% of the snaps, JCM 36.2% and passing-down specialist Jeremy McNichols at 29.5%. As long as it stays like that, you can’t play any of these guys outside of a desperation touchdown-or-bust option.

However, the fact that Washington’s run game overall is this good shows us that if/when chaos hits — remember, chaos and change are the only true constants of this league — and the backfield gets whittled to two members by injury or something else, someone could be a big hit here.

While I do think that the "Bill Bros" on fantasy social media did jump the shark with the hype at times late in the summer and early this season, it’s worth noting he leads all running backs with 20-plus carries in success rate with 62.1%, almost 10 percentage points higher than Jordan Mason in second place. While he’s not a must-start in fantasy, Croskey-Merritt is someone I want to hold just in case the winds of change blow through this team and the rookie rises over the course of the season.

Dallas Cowboys - 46.4%

One of the quietest moves of the offseason — unless you listen to the Yahoo Fantasy Forecast any time Nate Tice is on the show — was the Cowboys plucking Klayton Adams from the Arizona Cardinals to essentially be Dallas’ run game czar as their OC while Brian Schottenheimer calls the plays. Adams’ impact has been immediately felt, not just in the rise of the Cowboys' rushing efficiency but also in the fact that the once-great Cardinals rushing game has sunk to 28th in success rate on their running back runs.

The Cowboys are second in yards before contact per running back run this season. They’ve gotten incredible push up front, and the design of their run game is capably built to get the back rolling downhill. They’ve been able to maintain that despite dealing with injuries on the interior.

Due to all of this, Javonte Williams is going to go down as one of the best value picks in fantasy football. He’s on the field for 72.9% of the snaps and has a 73.1% share of the running back touches on this team. We could even see those figures rise with Miles Sanders currently banged up and rookie Jaydon Blue still fighting for a spot on the gameday active list. Anyone could produce in this environment and with that workload but credit to Williams specifically, who has run with power and decisiveness. His 3.43 yards after contact per rush ranks 18th out of 49 running backs with 20-plus runs. He’s adding to the situation.

Los Angeles Chargers - 46.4%

No one had yapped more than me through the first month of the season about the Chargers' aerial attack and their remade identity as a pass-first team. Los Angeles ranks 28th in total running back runs through the first month of the season, which is unusual for a 3-1 operation.

However, you can still feel Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman’s commitment to the run game in the offense. It’s just not some stubborn adherence to volume for volume’s sake; it’s about building a run game that can be effective when called upon. As we see, that’s exactly what the Chargers have in 2025.

Rookie Omarion Hampton got off to a slightly slow start in Weeks 1 and 2 but he’s been cooking the last two weeks and is currently the RB11 in fantasy football. He’s really taken the opportunity given to him after Najee Harris’ season-ending injury and, quite literally, run with it. A whopping 63% of Hampton’s carries have come on gap runs this season, sixth-most among backs with 20-plus runs, and he boasts a 6.47 yards per carry, per Fantasy Points Data. That’s precisely why the Chargers drafted Hampton: To create explosives in the ground game in their gap-heavy offense. Hampton should continue to return great value as a top 30 selection in August drafts.

Pittsburgh Steelers - 44.2%

The Steelers might be a surprising inclusion here because they don’t have a clear-cut feature back and rookie Kaleb Johnson has been, arguably, the most disappointing mid-round pick in fantasy this year. Certainly, folks who took him in their dynasty rookie drafts are experiencing major regret. However, the other backs have been productive, as Jaylen Warren is the RB16 in points per game (he missed Week 4) and Kenneth Gainwell turned in a monster start last week in his absence.

The Steelers' run game is a little wonky right now from a statistical perspective, as they are one of 10 teams (and the only one on this list) that are south of 3.8 yards per carry. Yet, it’s clear why they rank so highly. They’ve been money in short yardage. Pittsburgh has converted 27.9% of its running back runs into a first down or touchdown, fourth-best in the NFL, and is tied with Detroit for the league lead in goal-line runs with nine.

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The young offensive line of the Steelers has really gelled in Arthur Smith’s zone-heavy rushing attack. They haven’t produced many explosive runs but they’ve kept the chains moving. Warren looks like a strong RB2 with a solid hold on the lead back gig, in addition to his strong work on passing downs. And we got proof of concept last week that Gainwell can competently handle the job, if Warren misses more time.

Indianapolis Colts - 43%

While the world has justifiably been abuzz about the Daniel Jones career revival in Indianapolis, so much of what’s happened for the team's offense starts with an excellent ground game. It’s made Jonathan Taylor, the current RB2 overall, one of the best picks you could make in fantasy football this year —shoutout to Scott Pianowski, who had Jonathan Taylor ranked 10th overall from early August on, higher than anyone I know.

The Colts replaced some veterans with youth they were developing on the interior. That transition has worked well, as the Colts have gotten solid push from their offensive line. Indy ranks 12th in yards before contact per running back rush attempt this year. Meanwhile, Taylor, who is sixth among running backs in share of his team’s running back runs, has been adding a ton of juice on his own. Taylor is one of just four backs with at least 20 runs to average over 4.0 yards after contact per carry.

A good offensive line mixed with RPO concepts that Shane Steichen designs to perfection has proven to be a nice floor booster for Taylor, as the Colts are second in yards per game on RPO runs. However, the truly devastating combination is when this team gets into gap packages. When Taylor gets into the open field, it’s just an unfair moment for opponents.

Atlanta Falcons - 42.1%

The Falcons were the most efficient rushing attack in the NFL last season and they haven’t lost much ground in 2025. I thought there was a chance Atlanta would mix in more from a conceptual standpoint this year, and that’s been somewhat true. Through four weeks, their 63.8% zone rushing rate is lower than their league-high (a significant margin) 71.1% mark from last season, per Fantasy Points Data. However, they still lead the league in zone rushing rate. With 4.98 yards per carry and the seventh-best success rate, there isn’t much need to fix what’s broken.

The key area where they have mixed in some more gap scheme runs is in scoring position. It’s been backup running back Tyler Allgeier who has popped in a pair of red-zone touchdowns on gap runs. He’s the perfect change-of-pace grinder when they want to get away from their outside zone roots down in close to the end zone.

That brings me to one of my main points on the Falcons that I will keep harping on. We all know Bijan Robinson is a sick player. He’s fantastic and would be in contention for the first overall pick if we were to redraft today. However, Allgeier is a darn good back in his own right and should be well above his 33% rostered rate in Yahoo leagues right now. Not only does he present great contingent value if Robinson ever misses time but he has minor “What the heck" flex, standalone value. The Falcons are a great rushing ecosystem and are leaning into it, ranking just 23rd in neutral pass rate. Allgeier is a “close your eyes and pray for a touchdown" start during the bye week gauntlet with huge injury-based upside.

To put a point on it, he has nearly as many fantasy points right now as backs like the aforementioned Jacory Croskey-Merritt, R.J. Harvey and TreVeyon Henderson. You’re holding those guys on your bench for theoretical upside. It’s not the same theory path but this should also cause you to hold Allgeier just in case injury chaos hits. Regardless, he projects about the same right now as those rookies people talk about all the time.

Carolina Panthers - 41.5%

I’ll be honest, I’m surprised the Panthers rank this high. I do think we should credit Dave Canales here, as he’s a dedicated and sound run-game designer. They did have an effective run game last year and boasted one of the better run-blocking lines in the league. However, they’ve dealt with injuries this year up front, particularly to tone-setting guard Robert Hunt in Week 3. Chuba Hubbard is a good back for the offense and doesn’t waste any carries. He sits at a rock-solid RB18 in points per game right now but has gotten it done with a near one-catch-per-game boost to his receiving line and two scores through the air.

The real problem for Carolina is that it has not played in a neutral game environment for much time at all this season. It's been blown out in Weeks 1, 2 and 4 and then won 30-0 over the Falcons in Week 3. To put a point on how strange its season has been, Carolina ranks second-highest in time of possession per drive with three minutes and 19 seconds but ranks 27th per percentage of drives that end in a score. It's on the field a ton but not doing much with that time.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of faith in the Panthers turning their season around. The defense is just a trainwreck, so neutral, run-heavy game scripts might be tough to come by and the offense's struggles may continue without the line operating as the fortified group we saw in 2024. Hubbard’s lingering calf injury only makes matters worse.

Jacksonville Jaguars - 41.5%

While there’s been much hand-wringing in the fantasy community over Brian Thomas Jr.’s struggles, Travis Hunter’s usage and debates about Trevor Lawrence’s culpability in some of those hiccups, it may have gotten lost that Liam Coen has instantly transformed this Jaguars team into one of the better run games in the NFL.

The rushing attack withered on an annual basis under Doug Pederson’s watch. The ideas weren’t fresh and no one on staff seemed to have any idea how to work around middling to poor offensive line talent. The new coaching group under Coen brought in a couple of new starters in free agency but both Robert Hainsey and Patrick Mekari were mid-level veterans at their old spots, at best. Hainsey even lost his job in Tampa Bay last season to rookie Graham Barton. Despite that, this group has been playing excellently in unison in the run game, which we can attribute to coaching.

To put a finer point on it, Jacksonville has the fourth-lowest stuff rate (rate of carries that result in zero or negative yards) this season, but had the highest stuff rate in the NFL from 2022 to 2024. The 2024 Bucs were a gap-heavy ground game under Coen’s watch but the Jaguars have been a much more effective zone-based unit this year; the mark of good coaching is adjusting what you do to fit the personnel.

This has allowed Travis Etienne Jr. to turn what was a stagnated career around; he’s the RB9 in fantasy right now. Etienne has averaged 2.35 yards before contact per rush, the most among starting backs this season. The line has been giving him defined lanes, which allows him to get to the second and third level, where he does his best creation work. Etienne should remain a locked-in fantasy starter but don’t forget about No. 2 back, Bhayshul Tuten. The rookie has a ton of juice, is a great fit for the outside zone runs and the staff is already designing plays for him as a receiver. He has quite a high ceiling if he were to ever find himself as the lead dog in the backfield.

Detroit Lions - 40.6%

I’m not sure you need much analysis from me here. The Lions' run game has been one of the best units in the NFL over the last few seasons. The tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery is among, if not the very best, tandem we have in the league right now. Gibbs is a fantasy superstar, while Montgomery continues to show his value as a credible option with far more big-play juice than credited.

One area that deserves a callout is the interior offensive line. In Week 1, you saw both guards in Christian Mahogany and rookie Tate Ratledge struggle to barrel through defensive lines and execute assignments on zone runs. Since then, this duo has consistently improved in every contest. They play with power and look like ideal culture fits along an offensive line that’s set the tone for this Lions offense under Dan Campbell. My concerns over the turnover Detroit experienced on the interior were quickly wiped away by how these guys have played on film the last few weeks.