The NFL draft is just over two weeks away, and our coverage here at NFL Trade Rumors rolls on. Over the next week, I’ll continue releasing my final position rankings as we get closer and closer to one of the best weekends of the entire year. Stretching all the way back to last summer, I’ve been poring over tape, monitoring pro day and Combine performances, and getting my eyes on the All-Star circuit, all to deliver the most accurate and informative draft coverage I can.

If it weren’t for the quarterbacks, running back would be the weakest position group in this entire class. There’s one elite, top-five pick in here and another priority second-round pick, but after those two, I don’t have a grade higher than the late third-round. There’s some intriguing Day 3 talent here for sure, and lots of guys who can play rotational roles in the league, but the upside of this class is pretty limited outside of the top few guys.

Over the next two weeks, I’ll be finishing out my final position rankings and much more. We have a lot of content planned on the draft side coming up soon, so stay tuned!

• Top 150 Big Board
• 2026 NFL Draft Visit Tracker
• Final Position Rankings: Quarterbacks
• Final Position Rankings: Tight Ends
• Final Position Rankings: Offensive Tackles
• Final Position Rankings: Interior Offensive Linemen
• Final Position Rankings: Linebackers
• Final Position Rankings: Cornerbacks
• Final Position Rankings: Safeties

1: Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

A four-star high school recruit from St. Louis, Love made an immediate impact as a true freshman at Notre Dame in 2023, with 385 rushing yards and a touchdown for the Fighting Irish in a backup role. He exploded onto the scene in 2024, becoming a workhorse in the Notre Dame offense and racking up 1,125 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns while averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Love added 237 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns, garnering significant hype as a Heisman candidate and top draft prospect heading into his junior season. In 2025, Love had 1,372 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns — averaging an identical 6.9 yards per carry — and totaling 280 receiving yards and three more scores.

At 6-0, 212 pounds, Love has solid NFL size. The first thing that jumps off his scouting report is his speed. When he hits a crease, he can turn a three-yard gain into a 20-yarder in an instant, blowing past the second level of the defense to gash them for huge chunks. Love’s ability to house a seemingly innocuous run from anywhere on the field makes him incredibly dangerous, and he’ll immediately be one of the best big-play threats in the league as a rookie.

In traffic, Love keeps his feet moving and has strong contact balance, bouncing off hits and ripping through arm tackles in the hole. When he breaks into the open field, he’s both decisive and creative, making defenders look silly with his moves without spending too much time dancing around and letting backside defenders catch up. Love’s vision is another of his better traits, reading the defense well and patiently allowing his blocks to get set before hitting the right crease for a maximum gain. As a receiver, Love has strong hands and is a weapon after the catch, wasting no time creating extra yards with the ball in his hands.

The holes in Love’s game are mostly of the third-down variety. His pass protection technique needs work and blitzers can go through his chest a little too easily. Perhaps more noteworthy, while he lines up all over the formation and is comfortable splitting out wide or in the slot, Love’s route tree is severely underdeveloped. He mostly catches swing passes, screens, and quick slants, limiting how he could be used in that capacity in the NFL. It’s not that he shows major red flags as a receiver out of the backfield, but teams will want him to work on that part of his game.

There truly isn’t much not to like about Love’s profile. He’s athletic, quick, young, and productive. There’s no reason to think he can’t continue to develop as a receiver and he’s already a complete player. As a prospect, Love has a firm first-round grade from me and most other evaluators, and he’s one of the few blue-chip players in this class. It would be a surprise if he fell out of the top five.

2: Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

A four-star recruit out of Texas, Price tore his Achilles during the summer of 2022, just before his freshman season. He was forced to redshirt and played a moderate backup role in 2023 before stepping up into the 1B role to Love’s 1A in 2024, racking up 746 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Price reprised his change-of-pace duties behind Love in 2025, putting together a 674-yard, 11-touchdown campaign while averaging six yards per carry. With Love getting the bulk of the attention from defenses, Price feasted when given his opportunities.

Well-built at 5-11, 203 pounds, Price plays with an appealing combination of speed and power. He runs like a bowling ball through contact, ripping through tackles and punishing defenders who get in his way. When he finds a little daylight, Price accelerates in a heartbeat, leaving would-be tacklers flat-footed as he races past them for huge chunks of yardage. When there’s an available cutback lane or alternative path to more yards, he’ll take advantage, executing quick jukes and moves to shake defenders and glide to the open areas of the field.

Price has true, game-breaking speed in the open field, consistently turning short runs into house calls when defenses don’t properly account for his speed. He’ll be an absolute weapon with the NFL’s new kickoff rules, as he’s already an incredibly dangerous returner in college with the traditional kickoff — expect to see Price as one of the most electric returners in the league right away. Price plays with patience and vision behind the line of scrimmage, and he’s shown a surprisingly sophisticated route tree in limited opportunities.

The main criticisms of Price’s game come from a lack of opportunity behind Love. With just 15 receptions in his college career, he’s simply not used as a receiving threat, a role that is typically occupied by Love when Notre Dame needs it. Additionally, Price can get too cute in the backfield at times, sacrificing the “boring” four-yard gain trying to dance and find a bigger play, only to take an avoidable loss. That will need to be coached out of him at the next level.

How wild is it that Notre Dame has both of these guys at the same time? Price isn’t quite the same talent as Love, but it’s closer than you’d think, and if he were at another school, he’d be putting up similar numbers. He probably won’t be a first-round pick, but I have a second-round grade on him, and he seems like a lock for the top 50. The gap between my RB2 and RB3 is pretty substantial, and Price can be a featured guy at the next level.

3: Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas

A three-star recruit from Utica, New York, Washington began his career at Buffalo and took a redshirt year in 2021. Over the next two seasons, he had solid rotational production, totaling 987 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. In 2024, he transferred to New Mexico State, putting up 725 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. Washington’s big breakout came in 2025 with the Razorbacks, when he averaged 6.4 yards per attempt and had 1,070 yards and eight touchdowns to go with 28 receptions for 226 yards and a score. That performance earned him second-team All-SEC honors.

Standing at 6-1, 223 pounds, Washington has a ridiculous size/speed combination for a running back. He ran a 4.33-second 40-yard dash and jumped 39 inches in the vertical and 10-feet-eight-inches in the broad. His explosiveness is visible on tape, as he is a downhill runner who can really turn on the jets when he hits that hole. A threat to house a run from anywhere on the field, Washington creates routine chunk plays, racing past defenders to the sideline and exploding through gaps faster than they can react.

Washington plays to his size and punishes defenders who get in his way, running through arm tackles and laying the boom in the hole. He doesn’t go down on first contact, making the defense work to bring him down and consistently gaining extra yards after contact. He plays with good vision and doesn’t hesitate in the backfield, patiently waiting for his blocks to form, then making one cut and getting north/south in a flash.

Fumbles are a concern with Washington, as he puts the ball on the ground too often and coaches will hate that. His short-area quickness is more average than good, and he doesn’t make too many people miss in a phone booth. When used as a receiver, he’s mostly limited to swing passes and checkdowns, as his hands are a bit clunky and he runs a limited route tree. Combined with his poor pass protection skills, it means Washington is more of a two-down back at the moment.

I like Washington in the third round, which is where he’s projected to go. His physical traits are off the charts and he’s a versatile runner who can excel in many schemes. He’s a bit limited in his utility and doesn’t profile as a true NFL workhorse, but he can be the lead back in a rotation. Washington’s combination of size, speed, vision and power gives him a high floor in the league.

4: Jonah Coleman, Washington

A three-star recruit who committed to HC Jedd Fisch at Arizona, Coleman followed Fisch to Washington in 2024 after two seasons with the Wildcats. He put up the best numbers of his career as a junior, rushing for 1,053 yards and 10 touchdowns at 5.5 yards per carry, adding 177 receiving yards and making third-team All-Big Ten. Electing to forgo the draft and return to school for his senior season, Coleman struggled a bit down the stretch of the season while dealing with an ankle injury. But he still put up 758 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns with 354 receiving yards and another pair of touchdowns.

Coleman is built like a tank at 5-8, 220 pounds. He punishes defenders in the hole, routinely driving through multiple tacklers before they manage to get him on the ground. Because he has a compact frame and lower center of gravity, he’s a naturally difficult target for defenders to get hands on. Coleman has incredible contact balance and ball security, always falling forward for extra yards, never going down on first contact, and has only one fumble in his college career. His vision is elite, reading the blocking scheme and defenses to find cutback lanes, rushing angles, and open spaces on the field.

Although he doesn’t possess elite top-end speed, Coleman’s acceleration and short-area burst are very good. He surprises defenders with how quickly he gets to the second level and he can beat linebackers and safeties to the sideline for extra yards. I wouldn’t describe him as the most elusive back, but he can make people miss, sometimes making defenders look silly in a phone booth. As a receiver, Coleman has strong hands and doesn’t waste time turning upfield after making a catch, making him a weapon in both phases of the offense.

Speed isn’t Coleman’s strong suit and he does get caught from behind in the open field, something that will only increase in frequency at the NFL level. He doesn’t dance away from defenders as well as others, preferring to play through contact and run through tackles at times. Coleman doesn’t play with good technique in pass protection despite having the frame to be successful at it, and his usage as a receiver is limited in college. All this could mean he’s limited to early-down work early in his NFL career.

A strong third-round prospect, Coleman is a ton of fun to watch. He should have an immediate role as the early-down workhorse in a running back rotation, but he isn’t limited to that. I like his upside as a three-down back long-term, and even if he never develops that part of his game, he’ll still be immensely valuable. Coleman will get you five or six yards when other backs would get you three or four, and that will play even in today’s NFL. His running style will endear him to fans of his new team right away.

5: Nicholas Singleton, Penn State

A coveted five-star high school recruit who chose to stay in his home state, Singleton broke Saquon Barkley’s squat record at Penn State and has been featured on Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List. He exploded onto the scene as a true freshman, tallying 1,061 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns and earning third-team All-Big Ten recognition. While he had a quieter sophomore campaign, he reminded everyone who he is as a junior, with 1,099 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns to go with 375 receiving yards and another five touchdowns. He surprised many by returning to school for his senior season, and while his numbers weren’t as flashy this year — 549 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns plus 219 receiving yards and a touchdown — he was still one of the most dangerous backfield threats in the country.

At 6-0 and 219 pounds, Singleton boasts great size for a running back. His speed is sensational, stressing defenses from the snap with his ability to hit the hole and get downfield in an instant. Singleton is one of the best one-cut runners in this class, putting his foot in the ground and dusting defenders one-on-one. He can stop on a dime and has nimble feet, picking his way through traffic at the line and finding the creases to maximize his runs. Patient at the line and with great contact balance, Singleton continuously falls forward and rips through arm tackles, picking up extra yards and rarely going down on first contact.

As a receiver, Singleton offers a ton of versatility. He has at least 24 catches each of the last three seasons. Penn State used him as a weapon out of the backfield and split him out wide at times as well. Unlike others in this class, he’s a legitimate route runner from the receiver position, running a sophisticated route tree and beating defensive backs one-on-one, creating separation and playing with strong hands. As a pass protector, Singleton shows advanced understanding of blitz packages and his role in picking them up, with great tape throughout his college career.

Singleton’s main drawback as a player is his limited lateral agility. He’s had a low missed tackles forced rate throughout his college career and it’s easy to see why when you turn on the tape. While he’s a fantastic athlete, his cuts aren’t that quick and he doesn’t possess the wiggle necessary to make multiple guys miss in a small space. It’s a limiting factor that put a clear ceiling on his college production and will likely be an issue in the NFL, as well.

I like Singleton as a solid late-third- or early fourth-round pick. Penn State had a rough year and the offense struggled, limiting most everyone’s production. Still, Singleton put out good tape this year, and he can be a lead back in an NFL timeshare right away. With true three-down ability and the kind of speed that stresses defenses on every play, he has a bright NFL future.

6: Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest

A rare four-year player at the same school in this era, Claiborne was a four-star recruit from Virginia who played a limited backup role as a true freshman. He flashed a lot of potential as a sophomore as both a runner and returner, but truly broke out as a junior in 2024. As part of his third-team All-ACC season, Claiborne had 1,049 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns to go with 254 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Continuing where he left off in 2025, he put together a 907-rushing-yard, 10-touchdown season as a senior.

Claiborne is undersized at 5-10, 188 pounds. But he’s a true jitterbug, dancing around defenders with ridiculous lateral agility and quick feet. Wake Forest’s slow mesh system put extra emphasis on that trait for Claiborne. He can make multiple cuts faster than defenders can react, shooting through the smallest gaps in the defense for chunk plays. In traffic, Claiborne plays with strong contact balance, running through arm tackles and bouncing off hits to keep moving forward. When he wants to get vertical, he plants his foot and motors, with easy acceleration through gaps.

With more patience behind the line than many with his skill set, Claiborne is good at setting up his blocks and picking his spots. He’ll wait for blocks to materialize and find the right angles to attack, keeping his feet moving but rarely overcommitting to the wrong hole. As a receiver, Claiborne has natural hands and turns upfield quickly, with some versatility to split out wide when needed. He’s also an excellent kick returner, with two touchdowns in his career, and could find immediate special teams value as a rookie.

Claiborne’s contact balance isn’t ideal, and if he doesn’t make people miss, he’s going down. As a pass protector, Claiborne is extremely limited, both by his size and technique. When he gets to the second level, defenders bring him down easier than you’d like to see, and he’s definitely a victim of being undersized when facing a linebacker in the hole.

Claiborne is an intriguing mid-round pick with upside. His speed and short-area burst make him difficult to track down, and he’ll have immediate receiving and special teams utility as a rookie. Though he’s not ideally suited to playing a third-down-exclusive role due to his weaknesses in pass protection, Claiborne can be a rotational weapon over the course of a game. Pair him with an early-down, between-the-tackles bruiser and let him explode as a “change-of-pace” back with 15 carries a game.

7: Seth McGowan, Kentucky

McGowan’s story is one of tragedy turned into perseverance. Originally a four-star recruit from Texas, he committed to Oklahoma in 2020 and had a promising start, billed as the next big thing in Norman entering 2021. But he was arrested for his connection to an armed robbery and ultimately pled guilty to felony larceny, leading to his dismissal from the program and three months in prison, as well as a year of probation. McGowan turned his life around after that, working his way back up through the NAIA circuit before New Mexico State took him on in 2024. This past season, he played for the Wildcats, totaling 725 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.

Standing at 6-0, 223 pounds, McGowan’s best trait is his vision. He reads defenses well, processing the action in front of him and finding his rushing lanes. Patience is a virtue that he possesses, waiting for his blocks to develop and taking what’s in front of him. You won’t find McGowan needlessly bouncing runs to the outside or sacrificing the blocked yardage in search of bigger plays that aren’t there — he knows the assignment, finding his spots and powering through.

That said, McGowan has great wiggle in the hole, with plus short-area quickness and agility. He strings together moves in space, making defenders look silly when they try to get hands on him. Not only that, but he knows how to use his powerful frame, lowering his shoulder to knock defenders back and pick up extra yardage in traffic. His contact balance is a plus and he’s a solid pass protector, walling up with a good base and locking onto blitzers as they come.

Despite decent timed top speed and the aforementioned wiggle, McGowan doesn’t create many explosive plays. He’s almost too workmanlike, content to take what’s there and make a defender miss, but he’s not a big-play threat. McGowan has very little experience as a receiver out of the backfield and doesn’t have great hands, limiting his receiving upside.

I’d put McGowan in the mid-round bucket as a rotational running back at the next level. I don’t know that he has the upside to be a lead back in the NFL, but he can thrive as a key piece of a rotation. His power profile and solidness in pass protection make him a high-floor prospect in the middle rounds.

8: Kaytron Allen, Penn State

A former four-star recruit from Virginia, Allen measures at 5-11, 216 pounds. He was part of the same high school class as Singleton and the duo arrived at Penn State together as a heralded tandem. He made an immediate impact as a freshman, rushing for 867 yards and 10 touchdowns, adding 188 yards and a touchdown through the air. After a strong sophomore campaign, Allen finally topped 1,000 yards as a junior, totaling 1,108 yards and eight touchdowns, with 153 receiving yards and a pair of scores. Allen’s best season came as a senior in 2025. Maybe the only member of the Penn State offense to improve his numbers, he had 1,303 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns and was named consensus first-team All-Big Ten.

Allen is the premier short-yardage back in this class. His patience and vision are outstanding, waiting for blocks to set and defenses to overcommit before hitting the hole with purpose. He can read the field quickly and knows where to go to earn the most yards. When running through contact, Allen stays low and presents a difficult target to latch onto, regularly ripping through multiple defenders before he’s gang tackled. You don’t want to see Allen running at you in the hole, as he’s liable to smash through you and make you wish you’d made a different choice.

It’s not just power with Allen, as he plays with good burst and acceleration to hit creases with gusto and get to the second level of the defense. What sets him apart is his ability to make defenders miss in a phone booth. Allen is incredibly nimble on his feet and he has agile hips that let him shake tacklers in space and in traffic, dancing for extra yards and routinely leaving defenders in his dust. Combined with his power, he’s just a difficult player to tackle.

That said, Allen isn’t a fast running back, and he has a tendency to get caught from behind when he breaks off big runs. He won’t be housing many (any?) 80-yard scampers in the NFL. As a receiver, Allen can catch swing passes, but he’s not often utilized in that way and he has no real route tree to his name. Combined with his lackluster pass protection skills, he’ll be relegated to an early-down role as a rookie in the NFL.

Allen is a good mid-round pick to make at running back. He’s perfectly suited to play a rotational role as part of a two-headed backfield, just as he did in college. You’ll want to pair him with a third-down back, but Allen will always get you more yards than are blocked up and you couldn’t ask for a tougher runner. He’s a genuinely great short-yardage runner who will be a cheat code at the goal line right away in the league.

9: Roman Hemby, Indiana

A Maryland native and three-star high school recruit, Hemby spent four years with the Terrapins, redshirting in 2021 before breaking out in 2022 with 989 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, adding 33 receptions for 298 yards and a touchdown. After the 2024 season, he transferred to Indiana, dominating the league with 1,120 rushing yards and seven touchdowns to go with 17 receptions for 165 yards, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors.

At 6-0, 207 pounds, Hemby is an athletic, versatile back. He gets up to top speed quickly and can outrun defenders down the sideline, with breakaway range in the open field. When he hits a hole, he’s screaming through it, often catching defenders flat-footed if they take poor angles to make the tackle. That explosive acceleration allows him to find the smallest crack in the defense and create a chunk play out of it, gashing Big Ten defenses for 10-15 yard gains play after play. He has some wiggle to his game, too, making defenders miss in a phone booth and stringing together multiple cuts in the open field.

Hemby plays with good vision and has the patience to allow his blocks to develop, identifying the hole quickly and monitoring cutback lanes for additional opportunities. He has nice hands and runs a decently diverse route tree, adding value in the passing game as well. Despite spending five years in college, he’s on the younger side, and he had limited touches for most of his career at Maryland. NFL teams will like the lack of wear and tear on his body.

The one thing that will keep Hemby off the field in the NFL is his lack of physicality. Contact balance is not his strong suit and he doesn’t run through tackles often. If he can’t make defenders miss, he’s going down. That also carries over to pass protection, where he struggles to anchor even though he has good timing and awareness. The willingness is there, and he’s often in the right spots, but the strength just isn’t.

A solid late-round pick with upside, Hemby offers explosiveness and a true home-run threat in the backfield. I’d describe him as a change-of-pace back in the NFL, someone who can come in for 10 carries a game and create some big plays. He can run routes in the passing game but his lack of ideal size in pass pro could limit his role on third downs.

10: Kaelon Black, Indiana

A two-star recruit from Virginia Beach who also played baseball and ran track in high school, Black spent four years at James Madison before following his coach, Curt Cignetti, to Indiana in 2024. A redshirt season, an early 2021 injury and catching the last of the COVID-19 exemptions left him with two years of eligibility remaining. Black broke out in a major way for the Hoosiers in his second season in 2025, rushing for 1,040 yards and 10 touchdowns, helping to power Indiana to a national title.

Measuring 5-10, 211 pounds, Black is a power runner. He uses his compact frame to his advantage, staying low in the hole and presenting a small target to tacklers. A bowling ball in the lane, he initiates contact with defenders, delivering a pop on contact that creates additional yardage on every play. He keeps his legs moving, churning through the defense and creating back-breaking first downs when it seemed he had nowhere to go. Black truly embodies a toughness mentality, refusing to go down to the first defender.

With good patience and vision, Black hits the hole with purpose, finding his lanes and making the most out of them. He excelled in zone schemes last season, showcasing his ability to find the gaps in the defense and hit them with some burst. With a nasty jump cut and some surprising short-area quickness, Black can make people miss, and he loves to cut back in outside zone runs to get the defense moving one way before coming back the other. He rarely fumbles and is solid in pass protection, too.

Black’s long speed is lacking and he simply gets caught from behind too often. He didn’t have the breakaway speed to consistently create chunk plays in college, and that will only become more pronounced in the NFL. With only eight total receptions across his two seasons in Bloomington, Black’s receiving production is as low as it gets for an NFL prospect, and he doesn’t project to add anything in that element of the game.

Another decent late-round pick, Black is a two-down runner in the NFL who can earn the tough, unsexy yards when his team needs them most. I don’t see him as someone who can lead a backfield rotation at the next level, but he can be a key piece in a high-level rushing attack. His strength and contact balance will play, as will his scheme versatility and toughness.

The Next Five

11 — J’Mari Taylor, Virginia: A 5-10, 199-pound North Carolina Central transfer, Taylor is a between-the-tackles workhorse. He can play in zone or gap schemes, putting his foot in the ground and running through arm tackles for routine chunk plays.

12 — Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma: A 5-11, 208-pound transfer from California, Ott showed fantastic speed, vision and three-down versatility as a true freshman in 2022, and his 2023 season was outstanding. Injuries ruined his 2024 season and he played a limited role with the Sooners in 2025, raising questions about his NFL ceiling, but he’s looked the part in the All-Star circuit.

13 — Emmett Johnson, Nebraska: A 5-10, 202-pound redshirt junior, Johnson’s poor athleticism will push him down draft boards. But he has elite vision and awareness, consistently dicing up defenses by finding the little gaps and shooting through them, with a devastating jump cut to boot.

14 — Noah Whittington, Oregon: A 5-8, 205-pound Western Kentucky transfer, Whittington is a downhill, gap-scheme runner. He thrives when going north/south, finding his rushing lanes and using his natural leverage to his advantage in the hole.

15 — Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M: A 5-11, 203-pound four-star recruit, Moss is a one-cut runner with some serious burst in his movements. His contact balance and scheme versatility will be appealing to NFL teams despite his extensive injury history.