Another week, another ranking of position groups in the division. Last week, we covered the tight end rooms of the AFC North. That ranking saw the Steelers' group, headlined by Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington, come out on top, and the Bengals finish third with their trio of Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, and Erick All Jr.
This week, let's take a look at the running backs of the division. It's an interesting group of ball carriers, with a healthy mix of a top-tier back, borderline top 10 to 15 players at their position, and a collection of young players with a lot of potential but also a lot of questions.
Where will the Bengals' running back room finish in the division? Will they break into the top two this time? Let's find out and rank the AFC North teams by their respective running back groups.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
4. Cleveland Browns - Quinshon Judkins, Dylan Sampson, Raheim Sanders
Although they rank last, the Browns might have one of the most intriguing groups in the league, let alone the division. Judkins, Sampson, Sanders-- all alumni of the 2025 Draft Class (although Rocket Sanders actually didn't get drafted and first signed with the Chargers as a UDFA).
The Browns needed to find someone to take over in the backfield after the injury-marred Nick Chubb departed from Cleveland following seven years of service, and they swung for the fences, adding three rookies in the 2025 offseason.
Whether or not they actually hit is still up in the air. Quinshon Judkins, the Buckeye taken 36th overall, did reach some impressive heights in his rookie season. The month of October in particular saw two noteworthy performances, including a 3-touchdown day vs. Miami and his first 100+ yard rushing game against Minnesota.
However, as a whole, it was a mixed bag. Judkins finished 2025 with less than 1,000 yards from scrimmage, hardly a factor in the passing game, and only averaging 3.6 yards per rushing attempt.
Now, to be fair, the Browns did have one of the worst offensive lines in football last season, so it'll be interesting to see how Judkins operates with the additions made this offseason. Regardless, he isn't better than any of the starting running backs ahead of him, not at this moment.
The rest of their room, while full of interesting young players, is hard to gauge because they weren't able to show much in their rookie seasons. Sampson, their 4th-round selection out of Tennessee, similarly struggled behind Cleveland's dismal run blocking in 2025, although as a pass catcher out of the backfield he put up solid marks, with better production than Judkins.
Finally, you have the South Carolina alum, Raheim Sanders. He only saw action in 4 games, including both games against Cincinnati. He didn't crack 100 yards rushing, but again, he only played in 4 games and saw 27 carries across those games, so that really doesn't tell us much. With such an inexperienced group, the Browns' running back room finds itself ranked last in the division.
3. Cincinnati Bengals - Chase Brown, Samaje Perine, Tahj Brooks
It hurts to put the Bengals at three again, but it's hard to justify putting them above the groups that Pittsburgh and Baltimore have. In any other division, Cincinnati would have a top-2 group here, but in the AFC North they have to claim the 3 spot.
Nonetheless, this is a solid group that they're carrying over from 2025, unless one of the UDFAs like Kentrel Bullock or Jamal Haynes leaps over Brooks during training camp.
They have the 2nd-best halfback in the division with Chase Brown, who has steadily improved every season so far in his young career. Even after a slow start in 2025, where Brown didn't break 50 yards in a game until their memorable Week 7 Thursday Night Football bout against Pittsburgh, when he ran for 108 yards on just eleven carries.
Brown finished his 3rd year in the league improving from his sophomore season in almost every major statistical category, including rushing yards (1,019), yards per attempt (4.4), scrimmage yards (1,456), and scrimmage touchdowns (11).
He's also separated himself as one of the better receiving backs in the league, finishing the season with 69 receptions for 437 yards and 5 touchdowns, in an offense that already has a few playmaking pass-catchers.
Behind Brown, you have Samaje Perine, who turned out to be an underrated signing amidst Cincy's dreadful 2025 campaign. Overlooked at the time of being picked up in 2025, Perine had a solid year back in stripes, having his most productive rushing season since his rookie year in Washington and continuing to be a reliable pass blocker in the backfield. Perine will be 31 shortly after the season starts, which is typically the age we see players at this position fall off a cliff.
However, he's never had too heavy of a workload, only going over 100 carries in his rookie year, so with the lack of usage, there's a good chance Cincy won't have to worry about him dropping off just yet.
To round out the room, you have the 2025 6th-round pick Tahj Brooks out of Texas Tech. A lot of people (myself included) were high on Brooks and hoped he could be a potential Day 3 steal. While it's too early to say whether or not he will be, his rookie season was disappointingly very limited.
Despite appearing in all 16 games, Brooks saw just 16 carries and one reception the whole season. Hopefully he can earn a more expanded role in 2026 over the next month or so, but for now, there just isn't much to say about him.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers - Jaylen Warren, Rico Dowdle, Kaleb Johnson
After being Najee Harris' running mate for the first three years of his career, Jaylen Warren was finally handed the reins as the starting running back for Pittsburgh and performed well, all things considered.
In his first season as designated RB1, Warren rushed for 958 yards on 4.5 yards per carry and six rushing touchdowns. His best rushing performances came against Detroit and, if you can believe it, Cincinnati. Those were the only two games where he crossed the century mark, though he still went for over 50 in half of his games.
Beyond that, Warren has always been a weapon in the passing game, both as a pass blocker and as a pass rusher. (he finished 2025 with a 72.0 pass blocking grade) and as a receiver, having eclipsed 160 receptions and 1,200 yards in his career after his 2025 campaign. While he is a step below Chase Brown, Warren is not a bad starting running back to have, especially when they have someone good to pair him with.
It slipped under the radar during an active free agency period, but early on, the Steelers added Rico Dowdle to their backfield, signing him to a two-year, $12.25 million deal. Dowdle was coming off his best season as a pro with the Carolina Panthers, and, at times, he was their offense. Specifically, Dowdle's performances against the Cowboys, Dolphins, and Packers were electric, rushing for 519 yards and three touchdowns with incredible efficiency, making up half of his season totals.
Then you have Kaleb Johnson, another member of the 2025 draft class alongside four others mentioned in this article. As is the case with all young players, Johnson has potential, but his rookie season was underwhelming, to say the least. The most memorable play he had all season was a lowlight where he seemingly forgot the kickoff rules and gave up an easy touchdown to Seattle's special teams in the fourth quarter of a three-point game.
Of course, we've seen players (rookies especially) bounce back from worse mistakes, so it's not a reason to completely write him off. Still, he's hardly a factor in this room as it stands right now.
Dowdle and Warren easily make for the best 1-2 punch in the division, but that is not enough to beat out the best running back room in the division.
1. Baltimore Ravens - Derrick Henry, Justice Hill, Rasheen Ali
Will the King ever be dethroned?
Even in what was a "down year" for Henry-- which is to say a year where he didn't lead the league in a major rushing statistic-- he was still easily one of the best in the league, putting up 1,595 yards and sixteen touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry. That's about as much production as the Browns, Bengals, and Steelers had as teams.
In every season since 2019 when he's played more than half the games, Henry has been a walking 1,500+ yard, 12+ touchdown running back.
Now, of course, being 32 with the usage he's had through the NFL, college, and even high school (seriously, look up his high school stats, it's ridiculous), there is always the chance for a fall off, but it's hard to imagine Henry not being a wrecking ball. Even if he was bit by the fumbling bug early on in 2025, with one in each of the first three games, he cleaned it up and only fumbled on time through the rest of the 14 remaining.
Now, behind Henry, the depth is weaker than Cincy's and especially Pittsburgh's, but not atrocious. Justice Hill (older brother of Dax Hill, if you didn't know) did see a major step back in his role last year, but with Keaton Mitchell off to play for the Chargers-- as has become AFC North running backs, for some reason-- Hill will likely be slotted back in the RB2 role. He's never been a great runner in the NFL, but he's been efficient in his limited role (career 4.7 yards per carry) and another good receiving back in a division full of them.
Then, to round out the group, you have Marshall alum Rasheen Ali, who has hardly seen the field on offense in his first two years in the league.
With Henry as the workhorse and Hill as a receiving threat out of the backfield on third downs, it's hard to imagine Ali will see a more expanded role in 2026. Still, having one of the league's best running backs and a solid RB2 is enough to earn Baltimore the top spot.
Next week, we'll look at the receiver rooms, and I can guarantee you Cincinnati won't finish third in that ranking.
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