NFL Rushing Yards Leader Odds, Predictions, Rankings

For the upcoming NFL season, San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (+300) is the favorite to lead the league in rushing yards. 

McCaffrey led the league in rushing yards for the 2023-24 NFL season, his first rushing title during the regular season. 

It also marked the first time since 2018 that a running back led the league in rushing with under 1,500 yards. 

The challengers to dethrone McCaffrey this season include Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (+400), Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (+500) and Jets running back Breece Hall (+600). 

Below is a full list of NFL betting lines for the title, as well as the current rankings. 

NFL Rushing Yards Leader Odds

NFL Rushing Yards Leader Predictions

Saquon Barkley to Lead the League in Rushing Yards (+500)

If Barkley can clear 1,000 rushing yards in three of five near-full seasons with a bad Giants offensive line, imagine what he can do with the Eagles. 

Jason Kelce’s retirement does leave a question mark at center — Kelce led the Eagles in PFF’s run-blocking grade — but the Eagles as a unit have excelled in the last two years. 

Last season, Philadelphia ranked third as a team in PFF’s run-blocking grades. The previous season, they also sat third in the rankings. 

For context, the Giants ranked 30th in PFF’s run-blocking grades a year after sitting 14th in those rankings. 

Across the five seasons Barkley played at least 13 games, he ran behind a New York O-Line that ranked in the top-half of those grades only twice with zero top-10 grades. 

In each of the last two seasons, Philadelphia saw their lead running back finish fifth or better in the final rushing yards leader rankings. 

Given I power rate Barkley ahead of both Miles Sanders and D’Andre Swift, I’ll back him to lead the league in rushing yards. 

Kyren Williams to Lead the League in Rushing Yards (+1200, 0.5 unit)

This is largely a price play on Williams, whose biggest “if” is whether he can stay healthy. 

On the occasions last season when Williams featured, the Rams dominated the ground game. 

In Weeks 1-6, Los Angeles ranked sixth in rush EPA per play. In Weeks 12-17, they were third. 

In that middle chunk of games, they dropped to 22nd in rush EPA per play, according to rbsdm.com. 

Across the latter sample of Williams’s performances, he actually outgained 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey with four 100+ yard games and zero under 80 yards. 

He also cleared 100 yards in half of his 12 appearances last season. That’s only one 100-yard performance shy of McCaffrey’s total across 17 contests. 

Los Angeles bolstered their offensive line by signing Jonah Jackson for a unit that ranked fifth in PFF’s run-blocking grades last season. 

Additionally, it cannot be understated the importance of the Rams re-signing Kevin Dotson, who ranked second amongst all guards in run blocking last season. 

For those reasons, Williams is worth a flier at +1200 to lead the league in yards this season.

NFL Rushing Yards Current Rankings

Check back during the NFL regular season for a set of NFL rushing yards leader rankings.