The 2026 NFL Draft saw two running backs selected in the first round in Notre Dame stars Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. It was the first time since 2008 that two running backs from the same college got drafted in the first round, and it was the first time in the common draft era that the first two backs selected both came from the same school.
Love and Price figure to step into offensive key roles for their respective new teams, the Arizona Cardinals and the Seattle Seahawks. There are a couple of other running backs from the 2026 class who should factor into their teams’ offensive strategies. But does this year’s class project as well as the highly-touted 2027 NFL Draft class of running backs?
It’s very early in the 2027 pre-draft process, and a lot will change between now and next year’s draft once the 2026 college football season takes place. There might not be a bonafide RB1 in next year’s draft class at this juncture, but there are a few potential first-round picks in the bunch.
Even outside of that group, there are several other RBs in college football who appear to have NFL starting-calibre traits. Which of those players takes the leap and lives up to the hype remains to be seen, but for now, this is how we would rank the top ten running backs between the 2026 and 2027 NFL Draft classes.
10) Emmett Johnson, Nebraska, 2026
The NFL wasn’t as high on Emmett Johnson as I was in my pre-draft evaluations, as he was a fifth-round pick by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2026 as the sixth running back off the board. For reference, he was my RB3 in this year’s class and was roughly a late third-round value in my rankings.
Part of his drop could have been influenced by his 4.56 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, which ranked dead last among the 10 running backs that ran. However, when you watch his tape, he was one of the best receiving backs in the 2026 class, combining his 2.4% career drop percentage with impressive full-field vision and great agility. Those traits help him in the backfield, where he showed the ability to bounce outside the tackles and make big plays along the perimeter at Nebraska.
9) Justice Haynes, Georgia Tech, 2027
Had Justice Haynes not suffered a season-ending injury at Michigan in 2025, there’s a good chance he’d declare early as one of the best running backs in the 2026 NFL Draft class. In just seven games, he finished with a whopping 857 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns, and a Big Ten-leading 7.1 yards per carry. Now, he heads to Georgia Tech to get back to form.
Haynes has great wide-zone vision with the agility to cut inside and hit the hole hard once a lane opens up. He offers very good contact balance, keeps his pads low and maintaining the determination needed to churn through contact for extra yards. He isn’t the biggest back in the world at 207 pounds, but he has the power of a much larger back. If Haynes can put together another strong year after injury, it’s highly possible he’s a top-100 pick in 2027.
8) Raleek Brown, Texas, 2027
Raleek Brown is a former wide receiver who came to USC and contributed primarily as a kick returner. He broke out for Arizona State as a running back in 2025, though, making first-team All-Big 12 and rushing for 1,141 yards with 6.1 yards per carry. He now heads to Texas, where he’s projected to form a two-headed backfield monster with NC State transfer Hollywood Smothers.
At 5’9″ and 195 pounds, Brown is never going to wow anyone with his size or the punishment he dishes out to opposing defenses. That sees him rank slightly lower on this list, but he’s still an early-round prospect because of his athleticism and vision. He has great breakaway speed, ideal first-step acceleration out of the backfield, and overwhelming agility in space. For a newer running back, his patience and tempo variance are strong. Brown’s ceiling as a speed back is high, which could make him a 1A to another power back’s 1B in the NFL someday.
7) Jadarian Price, Notre Dame, 2026
Price ranking this low on the list isn’t a slight on him; it just shows how deep the 2027 NFL Draft class of running backs is. Price was perhaps a surprise first-round selection for the Seahawks, but he was the clearcut RB2 in the draft, and coming off a Super Bowl victory with this strategy, Seattle knows that a running back tandem keeps their offense flowing.
Price is an experienced kick returner with three career touchdowns on special teams, and though he won’t need to return kicks with Rashid Shaheed on the Seahawks, those returning traits show up when he gets the ball in space. He has good ball-carrier vision, both in between the tackles and in the open field. He runs with a low center of gravity and uses that to change direction well and run through arm-tackle attempts with proper pad level. Though his teammate Love is more explosive, Price is a well-rounded back who should carry the load well in the NFL.
6) LJ Martin, BYU, 2027
I wouldn’t have faulted LJ Martin for coming out in 2026, and if my pre-draft rankings are any indication, I would’ve had him slightly higher than Price (somewhere in the mid-Day 2 range). Martin led the Big 12 with 1,305 rushing yards last season, and at 6’2″ and 225 pounds, he’s a tough power back with prototypical running back size.
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Martin’s big frame helps him run through defenders and stay upright through tackle attempts. He’s also one of the top pass-protecting running backs I’ve seen in the 2027 NFL Draft class thus far, as he complements his size and strength with a stout anchor and ideal footwork. He also has soft hands as a receiving back, and he consistently finds the open running lane in between the tackles, whether it’s gap, inside zone, or outside zone. Martin might not have as good of speed or agility as other backs higher on this list, but he has enough athleticism to still warrant Day 2 consideration.
5) Nate Frazier, Georgia, 2027
A personal favorite of mine, Nate Frazier was a high school wide receiver who switched to running back midway through his junior year and hasn’t looked back since. Most recently, he ran for 947 yards and six rushing touchdowns as a true sophomore with 5.5 yards per carry for Georgia in 2025.
Frazier has always been a part of a running back rotation, so I’d prefer to see him take a higher workload to see if he’s capable of doing so in the NFL. That said, I get Travis Etienne vibes when I watch Georgia’s offense from last year. Frazier is a dynamic athlete with the shiftiness to cut outside of the tackles to extend the play, as well as the straight-line speed to outrun defenders in the open field. He isn’t the biggest back in the world, but he’s a tough runner who can still run through tackles.
4) Ahmad Hardy, Missouri, 2027
First and foremost, I wish Ahmad Hardy a speedy recovery after he was shot in the leg at a concert in May. His recovery from such an injury makes him tough to rank, but his last two seasons of college football were phenomenal. Between his 2024 stint at UL-Monroe and his All-American campaign in 2025 for Missouri, he’s run for exactly 3,000 yards with 29 touchdowns and 6.1 yards per carry.
Hardy is a stout back with elite pad level and the best contact balance I’ve seen in the 2027 NFL Draft. His physicality is unreal, and his ball-carrier vision in and out of the tackles is NFL-ready. Even with average long speed, his agility is great to the point where he can make defenders miss with ease. Assuming he makes a full recovery, he has 1,000-yard potential written all over him in the pros.
3) Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss, 2027
Kewan Lacy is an explosive running back with impressive creativity as a downhill runner, outside of the tackles, and out in the open field. His agility and full-field ball-carrier vision make him very tough to stop with the dynamic cuts he’s able to make. He’s also competitive as a pass blocker and tough to bring down with the ball in his hands.
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Coming out of 2025, Lacy dropped 14.7% of his targets in the passing game for Ole Miss. He’ll need to prove himself a little more as a receiving back to solidify him as my bona fide RB1, but he certainly has the potential to be a high-volume contributor and a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. His 1,567 rushing yards with an SEC-best 24 rushing touchdowns should be enough to satisfy teams.
2) Jadan Baugh, Florida, 2027
I absolutely love the 2027 NFL Draft’s running back class, and as of right now, Jadan Baugh has the highest grade of the bunch for me. He’s 6’1″ and 231 pounds, and he uses that large frame well. He’s a tough, powerful runner who churns through contact and can run over smaller defenders with ease.
Baugh is more than just a typical power back, though. His tempo variance and vision out of the backfield is strong, and he’s such an explosive runner with better speed and first-step quickness than most his size. He also has strong hands and can catch passes out of the backfield well, making him a true three-down back.
1) Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame, 2026
The Cardinals picking Love with the No. 3 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft marked the earliest pick on a running back since the New York Giants took Saquon Barkley with the No. 2 pick in 2018. It’s a steep price to pay for a running back, but when you consider how good Love was in college and how big of a need Arizona had at the position, the pick made sense.
Love is a well-rounded star at running back. He meets the short-area burst and long speed elements of being a successful running back. His agility makes him very tough to catch in the open field, he demonstrates proper patience and tempo variance out of the backfield, and he does a good job of keeping his legs churning through contact to pick up extra yards. Throw in Love being a capable receiving back, and you have a true three-down, bellcow-caliber prospect.
Honorable Mentions
- Isaac Brown, Louisville, 2027
- Hollywood Smothers, Texas, 2027
- Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest, 2026
- Tre Wisner, Florida State, 2027
- Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas, 2026
- Jonah Coleman, Washington, 2026
