Christian McCaffrey led the league in rushing in 2023 with 1,459 yards.
Lamar Jackson has the best non-running back odds to lead the league in rushing at +4500.
McCaffrey is again favored to win the single-season rushing title at +650.
Leading the NFL in rushing is a massive testament to a single player's success. Leading the league in this category opens the door for plenty of additional rewards, including All-Pro nods, Pro Bowls, becoming an MVP candidate, or becoming AP Offensive Player of the Year.
For example, Christian McCaffrey led the league in rushing in 2023 and won the AP Offensive Player of the Year award. As we get closer to the NFL season, with the schedule release, the draft behind us, and offseason activities underway, we can make an educated guess as to how players will perform.
As of July 2024, McCaffrey is favored to repeat as the league’s rushing leader, with Jonathan Taylor and Breece Hall behind him. McCaffrey won the rushing title by nearly 300 yards, with Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry with 1,167 yards. McCaffrey played in 16 of 17 games in 2023.
Leading up to the start of the 2024 season and during it, we’ll continue updating this page to ensure you have the most up-to-date odds on the rushing title race, so be sure to check back as the season evolves.
Let’s dive in.
Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook. Click on the odds in the table below to place your bets at Fanduel: Bet $5, Get $200 in Bonus Bets. Check out our list of top-rated NFL betting sites for more betting opportunities.
Player | Position | Team | Odds |
---|---|---|---|
Christian McCaffrey | RB | San Francisco 49ers | +650 BET HERE |
Jonathan Taylor | RB | Indianapolis Colts | +750 BET HERE |
Breece Hall | RB | New York Jets | +900 BET HERE |
Derrick Henry | RB | Baltimore Ravens | +1300 BET HERE |
Kyren Williams | RB | Los Angeles Rams | +1400 BET HERE |
Saquon Barkley | RB | Philadelphia Eagles | +1500 BET HERE |
Bijan Robinson | RB | Atlanta Falcons | +1500 BET HERE |
Josh Jacobs | RB | Green Bay Packers | +1800 BET HERE |
Isiah Pacheco | RB | Kansas City Chiefs | +1900 BET HERE |
Kenneth Walker III | RB | Seattle Seahawks | +2300 BET HERE |
Before you place any wager on a player to lead the league in rushing, it’s essential to understand where these players are ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
McCaffrey has been a phenomenal player since coming into the league as the No. 8 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft with the Carolina Panthers. In 2020 and 2021, he had some injury issues, but since then, there’s been minimal time missed.
He was traded to the 49ers during the 2022 season. That year, between the two teams, he rushed for 1,139 yards, seventh in the league. He rebounded in 2023 with 1,459 yards across 16 games.
McCaffrey also posted 14 rushing touchdowns and averaged 5.4 yards per carry.
The 49ers added another wide receiver in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but don’t expect that to impact McCaffrey’s rushing usage much.
Nothing is pointing in the direction of McCaffrey’s production dipping next season.
Bet on Christian McCaffrey (+650) at FanDuel
In ten games in 2023, Taylor rushed 169 times for 741 yards and seven touchdowns. He averaged 4.4 yards per carry and 74.1 yards per game.
Taylor missed the start of the 2023 season due to a contract dispute and missed Weeks 13 to 15 with a torn ligament in his thumb.
In 2024, he’ll look to rebound with a new contract and play the season with second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson.
Richardson is a rushing threat on his own, which should assist with Taylor’s production. However, Richardson had numerous injuries in 2023 and didn’t finish a single game he played.
Taylor has been a massively productive player in the league, rushing for 1,811 yards in 2021. Over the last two seasons, he finished with 861 yards or less on less than 200 carries.
There are certainly a lot of variables here for Taylor, but the offense is set up to help put him in the best situation to succeed.
Bet on Jonathan Taylor (+750) at FanDuel
The 2023 outlook for Hall was at an all-time high with quarterback Aaron Rodgers coming into the fold, but as we all know, Rodgers got hurt almost immediately in their first game and missed the 2023 season. As a result, Zach Wilson became the starting quarterback, and the potential of a competent aerial attack was thwarted, and opposing defenses zeroed in on Hall.
In 2023, he had 22 carries for 993 yards and five touchdowns.
With Rodgers back and hopefully playing the entire season, along with added receivers and offensive linemen, Hall should be in for a fantastic 2024.
He’s also proven to be a valuable receiver, catching 76 passes in 2023, so that’s where the pause from me comes regarding wagering on him to lead the league in rushing.
Hall will have production in 2024, but will the receiving numbers eat into potential rushing production? That’s my worry.
Bet on Breece Hall (+900) at FanDuel
After finishing second in rushing in 2023, Henry moves over from a Titans team that, at the time, had a questionable offensive line, a flailing veteran quarterback, and a rookie signal caller.
In 2024, he heads to Baltimore, a team known for wanting to run the ball. In the backfield with him will be quarterback Lamar Jackson, known for his rushing ability. Jackson also lost some weight this offseason in hopes of becoming more elusive.
Henry still has the talent to be a league-leading rusher, but with Jackson alongside him, I can’t help but wonder what that ceiling for him might be. Either way, he’ll be an excellent resource for this team as they look to advance beyond the AFC Championship.
Bet on Derrick Henry (+1300) at FanDuel
In just 12 games last season, Williams finished third in rushing with 1,144 yards. However, he missed four games with an ankle injury and sat out Week 18 for rest.
While those per-game averages are massive and would’ve put him over 1,600 across 17 games, the Rams seemingly saw those potential durability concerns. They drafted running back Blake Corum with the No. 83 overall selection in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
I fully expect Williams to be the starter and get most of the work, but Corum has a rich college track record, rushing for 3,737 yards on 674 attempts and 58 touchdowns. He’s a talented rusher who won’t simply be pushed to the side.
Look at the running backs ahead of Williams on this list. They don’t have a “Corum-like” player around them, which is certainly something to be aware of when wagering who you think will become the leader in rushing yards in 2024.
Bet on Kyren Williams (+1400) at FanDuel
Like Henry, Barkley left a destitute franchise in the New York Giants for greener pastures with the Eagles.
The Eagles offense is set up to where there are two franchise-defining wide receivers in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, a competent tight end in Dallas Goedert, and a rushing threat at quarterback in Jalen Hurts.
So, when you look around the offense, there will be an emphasis on getting the ball to those star receivers. Hurts also rushed 157 times for 602 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2023.
Barkley certainly warrants touches, too, but this situation feels like “too many mouths to feed” regarding a player leading the league in a particular stat, but Barkley has the talent to overcome that.
Bet on Saquon Barkley (+1400) at FanDuel
As a rookie in 2023, Robinson finished the season with 214 carries for 969 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.
That’s a sizable workload for a rookie. While the yardage total isn’t fantastic, he also played in an offense with extremely poor quarterback play and an additional running back, Tyler Allgeier, who had 186 carries.
The entire offense will be different in 2024, with Kirk Cousins as quarterback and a coaching staff consisting of Raheem Morris as head coach and Zac Robinson as offensive coordinator.
Here’s something encouraging: These coaches are coming over from the Rams, an offense that saw massive production from Williams in 2023.
It remains to be seen if Robinson will draw up the majority of plays for Robinson or if he’ll also keep Allgeier involved.
However, we should know within the first week or two, so be ready to wager.
Bet on Bijan Robinson (+1500) at FanDuel
While we examined the top candidates to lead the league in rushing in 2024, let’s look at the two players at the bottom of the odds list to see how these options look.
Before the 49ers acquired McCaffrey, Mitchell was a surprising asset to the team as a Day 3 NFL Draft pick. However, he’s firmly behind McCaffrey, and the only chance he’d have at winning the title would be a Week 1 injury to McCaffrey and the team totally shifting the offense to him and limiting the utilization of fellow running backs like Jordan Mason, 2024 draft choice Isaac Guerendo, and undrafted free agent Cody Schrader.
Bet on Elijah Mitchell (+38000) at FanDuel
After signing a multi-year deal with the Panthers ahead of the 2023 season, Sanders had just 129 carries for 432 yards and one touchdown in 2023. He had fewer carries than Chuba Hubbard, and the team also drafted the first running back of the 2024 NFL Draft, Jonathon Brooks, in the second round.
There’s essentially no chance of Sanders leading the league in rushing, and he’d likely be a cut candidate if not for the dead money his contract presents ($10.445 million).
Bet on Miles Sanders (+50000) at FanDuel
My “1B” choice here is McCaffrey, but looking at the value, Robinson is a pick I’d recommend wagering on today.
There are some variables to consider, but this coaching staff has a history of propping up talented rushers. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Falcons also plan to expand his role in 2024.
Cousins will be under center, which will help the receiving threats, but we also have to remember that he’s coming off a torn Achilles, which came toward the middle of the year.
Robinson will be relied upon throughout the season, but especially in the earlier parts of it.
At +1500, Robinson is in an excellent spot, as a second-year player, to lead the league in rushing. This could be the second coming of McCaffrey.
Bet on Bijan Robinson (+1500) at FanDuel
McCaffey led the league in rushing in 2023 with 1,459 yards across 16 games and 272 carries. He averaged 5.4 yards per carry and 14 touchdowns. He added 268 yards on 59 carries on in the postseason across three games.
According to Pro Football Reference, the single-season rushing yard leaders have been tracked every year since 1932. However, the modern “Super Bowl” era began in 1967.
Below, we’ll look back at each single-season rushing leader from 1967 and beyond.
Year | Player | Position | Team |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | San Francisco 49ers |
2022 | Josh Jacobs | RB | Las Vegas Raiders |
2021 | Jonathan Taylor | RB | Indianapolis Colts |
2020 | Derrick Henry | RB | Tennessee Titans |
2019 | Derrick Henry | RB | Tennessee Titans |
2018 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
2017 | Kareem Hunt | RB | Kansas City Chiefs |
2016 | Ezekiel Elliott | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
2015 | Adrian Peterson | RB | Minnesota Vikings |
2014 | DeMarco Murray | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
2013 | LeSean McCoy | RB | Philadelphia Eagles |
2012 | Adrian Peterson | RB | Minnesota Vikings |
2011 | Maurice Jones-Drew | RB | Jacksonville Jaguars |
2010 | Arian Foster | RB | Houston Texans |
2009 | Chris Johnson | RB | Tennessee Titans |
2008 | Adrian Peterson | RB | Minnesota Vikings |
2007 | LaDanian Tomlinson | RB | San Diego Chargers |
2006 | LaDanian Tomlinson | RB | San Diego Chargers |
2005 | Shaun Alexander | RB | Seattle Seahawks |
2004 | Curtis Martin | RB | New York Jets |
2003 | Jamal Lewis | RB | Baltimore Ravens |
2002 | Ricky Williams | RB | Miami Dolphins |
2001 | Priest Holmes | RB | Kansas City Chiefs |
2000 | Edgerrin James | RB | Indianapolis Colts |
1999 | Edgerrin James | RB | Indianapolis Colts |
1998 | Terrell Davis | RB | Denver Broncos |
1997 | Barry Sanders | RB | Detroit Lions |
1996 | Barry Sanders | RB | Detroit Lions |
1995 | Emmitt Smith | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
1994 | Barry Sanders | RB | Detroit Lions |
1993 | Emmitt Smith | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
1992 | Emmitt Smith | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
1991 | Emmitt Smith | RB | Dallas Cowboys |
1990 | Barry Sanders | RB | Detroit Lions |
1989 | Christian Okoye | FB | Kansas City Chiefs |
1988 | Eric Dickerson | RB | Indianapolis Colts |
1987 | Charles White | RB | Los Angeles Rams |
1986 | Eric Dickerson | RB | Los Angeles Rams |
1985 | Marcus Allen | RB | Los Angeles Raiders |
1984 | Eric Dickerson | RB | Los Angeles Rams |
1983 | Eric Dickerson | RB | Los Angeles Rams |
1982 | Freeman McNeil | RB | New York Jets |
1981 | George Rogers | RB | New Orleans Saints |
1980 | Earl Campbell | RB | Houston Oilers |
1979 | Earl Campbell | RB | Houston Oilers |
1978 | Earl Campbell | RB | Houston Oilers |
1977 | Walter Payton | RB | Chicago Bears |
1976 | O.J. Simpson | RB | Buffalo Bills |
1975 | O.J. Simpson | RB | Buffalo Bills |
1974 | Otis Armstrong | RB | Denver Broncos |
1973 | O.J. Simpson | RB | Buffalo Bills |
1972 | O.J. Simpson | RB | Buffalo Bills |
1971 | Floyd Little | RB | Denver Broncos |
1970 | Larry Brown | RB | Washington Redskins |
1969 | Gale Sayers | RB | Chicago Bears |
1968 | Leroy Kelly | RB | Cleveland Browns |
1967 | Leroy Kelly | RB | Cleveland Browns |
Before you start wagering on the NFL single-season rushing leader, you must find the best sportsbook. This is something that many bettors often overlook. If your state has multiple online sportsbooks, you should explore these odds to compare and contrast.
Here’s some information on some of the most well-known online sports betting sites.
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Looking at the odds above, you’ll find that every player has a “+” next to their name. During the preseason, there’s a lot of speculation as to who everyone thinks will win, but once the season starts and stats start to accumulate, you’ll begin seeing “-” as players break away from the pact.
Using examples including $100, here’s how to read “+” and “-” odds.
With “+” odds, you’ll win the amount attached on a $100 wager. For example, McCaffrey is +650. If you wager $100 on this and win, you’ll win $650.
With “-” odds, you must wager that amount to win $100. For example, if McCaffrey was -650, you’d need to wager $650 to win $100.
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