Early 2026 NFL Draft RB Rankings: Jeremiyah Love of Notre Dame has a handful of challengers for RB1 returning to college football originally appeared on A to Z Sports.
The 2025 college football season is nearly here, which means that 2026 NFL Draft discourse is also set to begin, with top prospects pushing to prove they’re worthy to make it to the pros.
Last year’s running back class was absolutely stacked, sending 12 players on to be selected inside the first 126 picks of the 2025 NFL Draft. Will this year offer anywhere near that depth of talent? Who is the best of the best? And who could rise to compete with Jeremiyah Love for the RB1 spot? That’s what we’ll be diving into now as the season approaches.
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Our A to Z Sports staff covers the NFL Draft year-round, studying prospects a year (or more) in advance to help fans everywhere get to know the top players in all of college football who could find their way to the league. Several of our NFL Draft and college football analysts ranked their top ten running backs, then made their case for player(s) they were higher on than the rest of our staff.
Here’s how the best 2026 NFL Draft eligible college football running backs stack up according to our team of experts as we head into the 2025 season. Enjoy!
1. Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
“Jeremiyah Love impressed from day one with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This former sprinter (who runs a 10.54-second 100-meter dash) and top 100 overall recruit immediately stepped in as a true freshman back in 2023 as the second most productive first year FBS running back (behind another RB on this list) and never looked back. He followed that up by posting nearly 1400 yards from scrimmage, 19 touchdowns, and carrying Notre Dame all the way to the national championship game.
Jeremiyah Love is without a doubt the consensus RB1 for the 2026 NFL Draft right now as we head in to the 2025 college football season and it’s going to be tough for anyone to knock him off that perch. Every single one of our A to Z Sports staff ranked him first at the position. Why? He’s got the athleticism, production, and excellent opportunity to improve his profile even further given the talent around him to be an early first round pick next spring.” – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football Managing Editor
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2. Nicholas Singleton, Penn State
“There’s no running back in college football who has the potential of Nick Singleton if he can put it all together. A freakish athlete (evidenced by being on Bruce Feldman’s freak list twice), Singleton is powerful back at over 6 feet tall and close to 230 pounds who can go from 0 to 60 in the blink of an eye. This is a player where, if you give him an inch, your safety better know angles because he will take a mile. Sure, he’s not the most laterally adept and he tends to need a runway, but much of the run game in modern football is chunk plays. Singleton’s career average of close to six yards per carry and his improvement year over year in the passing game proves he can be a big play monster. Seeing him going early day two or maybe even sneak into round one isn’t out of the question in 2026.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama Crimson Tide
3. Makhi Hughes, Oregon
“The next really good Oregon Ducks transfer comes from Tulane in Makhi Hughes. He thrived for the Green Wave through his first two seasons and will be a key part of the Ducks rushing attack in 2025. What separates him from other backs is his contact balance. Hughes runs right through contact with ease and explodes through the hole with quickness and intent. With the diverse run scheme that Oregon runs, Hughes will make an immediate and explosive impact, likely rising into early-round discussions for the 2026 NFL Draft.” – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Florida Gators
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4. Darius Taylor, Minnesota
“Darius Taylor was the most productive true freshman running back in the country back in 2023–even more so than Jeremiyah Love. He got injured halfway through 2023, but had already racked up nearly 900 yards from scrimmage in just six games. He then followed that up last year by putting up another 1300+ yards from scrimmage and a dozen touchdowns, although he was far less efficient per touch. Taylor has already proven he’s a reliable workhorse who can produce against the best that the Big Ten has to offer. He just needs to finish his college career with a boom in 2025. Taylor might not have the typical elite athleticism of a first round talent, but his vision, contact balance, and elusiveness are phenomenal. Day two capital seems likely.” – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football Managing Editor
5. Kaytron Allen, Penn State
“Penn State’s Kaytron Allen will once again pair with Nicholas Singleton – keeping him fresh and ready for a 2025 charge to the NFL Draft. He ran for 1,108 yards (third most among returning Power 4 running backs) and averaged 6.4 yards per carry. Pro Football Focus puts Allen 2nd behind Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love in terms of value. And at 6’1″, 226 pounds, he’s a load to bring down. Despite not having the preferred home run speed you’d like in a feature back, he runs behind his pads and has tremendous contact balance at the line of scrimmage. If he can expand his portfolio in the pass game and show he’s got the ability to grow as a route runner, he could easily hear his name called on day two of the 2026 NFL Draft. Even though he’s not the No. 1 guy at Penn State, I think it helps him keep some tread on the tires and will ultimately benefit him down the road in his professional career.” – Zach Berry, A to Z Sports Texas Longhorns
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6. Jaydn Ott, Oklahoma
“When you go back two years ago to his sophomore season, Jaydn Ott was one of the best running backs in the country, with a 1,300 rushing yard season and 14 total touchdowns to go with that. Ott also had almost 1,500 scrimmage yards, as he caught some passes in the backfield as well on what was a fairly bad Cal team that went 6-7. Last year, Ott had a pretty bad season, but it wasn’t all his fault. He actually played through an agonizing ankle injury for a large part of the year. Now he’s fully healthy and should be the perfect type of running back that the Sooners need.
They have three guys behind him who are pretty good, but all are bruiser types; none are the home run hitters like Ott. Pairing him with John Mateer and the weapons they have could brew a crazy season for Ott and a team that will certainly run the ball a ton. If he has a good season–maybe a repeat of his 2023 season–he could go early in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.” – Justin Churchill, A to Z Sports Oklahoma Sooners
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7. Jonah Coleman, Washington
“Jonah Coleman is a powerful bowling ball of a running back. His average of 4.34 yards after contact in 2024 ranks fifth among all returning running backs who tallied at least 100 carries last season. Coleman has the power, size, and contact balance of a feature running back and should star once again for Washington in 2025. He’s not the most agile runner, and he needs to prove he’s a much more efficient receiving option this year if he wants to be an early 2026 NFL Draft pick, but he looks like the leader of a committee for pro projection purposes, at worst.” – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football Managing Editor
8. Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M
“Le’Veon Moss forced his way onto the field in limited action early back in 2022 when stud running back De’Von Achane was still the lead for Texas A&M. Then as a sophomore he quickly became the lead running back, putting together an impressive stretch of production against tough SEC competition, but then he got injured, derailing his momentum. The same thing happened again in 2024 as he was on his way to posting a truly special season, with nearly 900 yards from scrimmage through his first eight games. Moss is finally healthy once again as his senior season is set to kick off. If he can stay healthy the upside with Moss has always been there. Day two (or even higher) is possible given his talent.” – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football Managing Editor
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9. Justice Haynes, Michigan
“It seems that Justice Haynes was tired of his talents being wasted at Alabama. Haynes was immediately and obviously the best Crimson Tide running back as a true freshman–even Nick Saban talked him up significantly. That season he averaged a yard and a half more per touch than the two leading backs, but the seniority of Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams kept him off the field for much of 2023. Then in 2024, Jalen Milroe operated as the team’s leading rusher from the quarterback position and Jam Miller saw way more work than Haynes despite being much less explosive or dynamic (far less efficient than Haynes).
Haynes has now transferred to Michigan where he’s likely to be properly featured as the early-round 2026 NFL Draft prospect that he is. If Haynes shows off his five star athleticism on a feature back workload this season alongside rising sophomore Jordan Marshall he might actually rise to challenge Jeremiyah Love and Nicholas Singleton for the RB1 overall spot.” – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football Managing Editor
10. Bryson Washington, Baylor
“I’m a big believer in the skill set of Baylor’s Bryson Washington heading into this season and next year’s draft cycle. Washington averaged over 90 yards per game last year as a redshirt freshman. Washington’s burst and agility really intrigue me when looking ahead to his NFL profile. I will also add that he’s a strong runner at his size and proves that with his tackle-breaking ability against collegiate foes. The two aspects of his game that might be most impressive are his patience and vision. Young runners are often in a hurry to get somewhere once they get the football, but Washington isn’t. He picks his rushing lanes wisely and takes advantage of defenders who make mistakes. He’s going to be a big time riser in the draft community this CFB season.” – Adam Holt, A to Z Sports LSU Tigers
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Hopefully you enjoyed this early look at the best returning college football running backs eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft. We’ll be back with more NFL Draft and College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
This story was originally reported by A to Z Sports on Aug 3, 2025, where it first appeared.