Out of all position groups in the NFC North, the running back position might be the most top-heavy.
The division boasts multiple Pro Bowl players at the position, but surprisingly, only one former All-Pro selection. The NFL is pretty loaded right now at the running back position, and you're going to have plenty of All-Pro snubs when guys like Christian McCaffrey and Bijan Robinson are playing at the top of their game.
The Green Bay Packers have one of the best backs in the league, but how does Josh Jacobs stack up against the others in the division? Who are the top four overall running backs in the NFC North heading into 2026 training camp? We're going to do our best to sort them out with a combination of projections for the upcoming season as well as the overall body of work they've put together.
Read our rankings of the top eight wide receivers in the NFC North here
Every starting RB in the NFC North ranked for the 2026 season
4. Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
Although Aaron Jones only played in 12 games last season, his total yards from scrimmage were sliced in half, and his yards per touch were down to a career-worst 4.7.
Yikes.
Jones wasn't even good enough to be considered the top Vikings running back on this list, a distinction that goes to Jordan Mason, pretty much by default. Mason had a career-high six rushing touchdowns for the Vikings last year and proved to be a solid option for them over the course of the season. He averaged a strong 4.8 yards per carry, but we saw a much more effective per-touch version of Mason when he was in San Francisco.
He had more yards from scrimmage (880) in four fewer games with the 49ers during the 2024 season.
Ultimately, it feels like Mason is still a strong RB2 more than a featured weapon at the position. The Vikings are clearly hoping that Jones can stay healthy and return to form this coming season, but after what we saw last year, you also can't help but wonder if he's past the point of no return for running backs beyond the age of 30.
3. D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
The third spot on this list actually came a lot closer than anticipated during the evaluation process.
Immediately, the name recognition goes to Josh Jacobs. But upon further review, D'Andre Swift's last three seasons have been a lot better than anyone seems to realize.
Since he was dumped by the Detroit Lions, Swift has racked up three straight seasons with at least 1,200 yards from scrimmage, and he's coming off the best year of his career with 1,087 rushing yards, 1,386 yards from scrimmage, and 10 total touchdowns. He averaged a career-high 4.9 yards per carry (minimum of 100 attempts) and was a significant weapon for Ben Johnson last season.
Swift is clearly a tier or two below some of his peers around the league at the position in terms of overall impact, but after finishing 12th in the league in rushing yards last season and 18th in yards from scrimmage, his reputation is growing in a very positive way.
2. Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers
As of the 2025 season, Josh Jacobs can't be considered anything higher than the second-best running back in the NFC North. We'll see if he can change the narrative a bit in the 2026 season.
Jacobs played 15 games this past season through knee and ankle injuries, and it showed in the overall results. He averaged a very disappointing 4.0 yards per carry and was less effective overall as a pass-catching option (9.5 yards per catch in 2024, 7.8 yards per catch in 2025).
Jacobs still finished the year with 14 total touchdowns, the second-highest total of his NFL career (16 in 2024), giving him 30 total touchdowns since he joined the Packers. Maybe the 2024 season with Green Bay set the bar unfairly high for Jacobs, but a player of his pedigree and pay grade should be producing better overall in the ground game.
On the field, we'll give him the benefit of the doubt that injuries cost him a bit of efficiency last season. Off the field, Jacobs is currently under investigation and practiced with the team during mandatory minicamp, so we'll see how that situation unfolds in time.
For now, in terms of the on-field evaluation, Jacobs has to be considered one of the top backs in the league, someone defenses have to game plan for every single week. He had over 1,600 yards from scrimmage in his first year in Green Bay and is capable of completely taking over games with his physical brand of running.
1. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
Although we can't visually make it clear in this type of format, there's quite a large gap between Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and the next-best back in the NFC North, no matter if you believe that to be Jacobs or Swift after last season.
Gibbs is closer to the level of guys like Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey than he is anything else, and it's really only the dominance of those two players that prevented Gibbs from being named an All-Pro this past season.
He finished the 2025 season with 1,223 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground. He added a whopping 77 receptions, the third-most among all running backs in the NFL. He was fifth in the league with 1,839 yards from scrimmage and second behind only Jonathan Taylor (20) with 18 total touchdowns (13 rushing, five receiving).
Simply put, Gibbs is one of the most explosive and dynamic offensive weapons in the game, and he's only getting better. The Lions cleared the path for even more work for Gibbs this upcoming season by trading David Montgomery to the Houston Texans, so we could see him eclipse 2,000 yards from scrimmage easily.
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