The Hateful Eight
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler today unveiled the first grouping of his popular yearly position-by-position rankings, seen through the eyes of NFL scouts, executives, and coaches. Now in its seventh edition, the veteran scribe kicked off the 2026 list with running backs, featuring Miami star De’Von Achane. Now, these rankings are, of course, fun and subjective. I always cite comedy in arguments about these sorts of things: what makes me laugh may not make you laugh, and what makes you laugh probably isn’t funny to some of your friends. Discussion and debate are what make the world go round, and life would be boring if we all believed or enjoyed the same things.
That said, ranking Achane as the eighth-best running back in the NFL is so egregious that even FIFA is disturbed by it.
Which is some statement, given the last 48 hours.
Before we get to the numbers, let’s do the science:
Here’s how Fowler’s rankings work, in simplistic terms: voters – of which there are more than 70 – submitted their own top 10 players at each position. ESPN then compiled the results and ranked candidates based on the number of top-10 votes, composite average, and dozens of interviews, with research and film study support from ESPN NFL analyst Matt Bowen, as well as ESPN Research. Additional voting and subsequent follow-up calls with those surveyed also contributed to the final placements.
Now let’s move on to the meat:
This is in no way meant to knock the seven men who sit above him on that list. They are all very fine players, and there is certainly one or two who are better players than him. But here’s the rub: in the lede to Fowler’s piece are these very important words:
“This was not a five-year projection or a career achievement award, but meant to answer a simple question: Who are the best players right now?”
With that in mind, it seems almost impossible to have Achane as low as eighth. Sure, you could absolutely and unequivocally say that, in terms of career achievement, Saquon Barkley should be seen as a better running back than Achane. He is a Super Bowl champion, the NFL Offensive Player of the Year, an All-Pro, and, in 2024, ran for more than 2,000 yards. He also set NFL records for the most rushing yards (2,504) and scrimmage yards (2,857) in a full season, surpassing Terrell Davis, and was ranked the best player in the NFL by his fellow pros on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2025.
But last year, he had 210 fewer rushing yards than Achane while averaging significantly fewer yards per carry: 4.1 compared to 5.7. The former Texas A&M star finished second in the league with 13 explosive plays of 20-plus yards, compared to just four for Barkley, and he finished with 67 catches, 30 more than the Eagles star. He also scored three more touchdowns than Barkley.
Now, I’m very comfortable if you want to argue that Barkley’s career body of work is better, or that he does more on third downs in terms of pass protection. None of that is disputed. But if we’re working to the very parameters set out specifically by Fowler, then you can’t objectively look at those rankings, where Barkley is a full five places ahead of Achane, and say that’s right.
What about Jahmyr Gibbs? You won’t find too many bigger fans of his outside Detroit than me. I loved him at Georgia Tech, loved him at Alabama, and love him in the Motor City. He’s second on Fowler’s list, which is also something I don’t have a problem with. Yet he was 127 rushing yards behind Achane in 2025, despite having five more carries, all behind a significantly better offensive line on a far better offense. His 5.0 yards per carry was lower than Achane’s 5.7, as was his yards-per-game average: 71.9 compared to 84.4. Gibbs did have 10 more catches – 77 to 67 – and 128 more receiving yards. Both men had 56 first downs, while Gibbs had two fumbles to Achane’s one.
One of the quotes used about Gibbs said this. Read it and tell me it’s not describing De’Von Achane:
“Your eyes tell you there’s no one like him with the ball in his hands,” an NFL coordinator said. “He plays with better pace because of his vision, and then the gear is different. You see him blow by guys with angles. And he’s elite in the passing game.”
Achane doesn’t just run routes out of the backfield. He runs routes – and catches passes – from the slot and from both the X and Z positions. He isn’t out there as window dressing.
Now, let’s say we’re jettisoning Fowler’s clear parameters and focus on careers. His final position WOULD be more subjective, But worth noting in a game based around explosive plays, that his career average of 5.62 yards per rush is the highest by any running back in NFL history with a minimum of 500 attempts. And since entering the league, Achane also ranks first in yards after catch per attempt at 3.8.
I will, as aforementioned, not argue with you if you have Gibbs at No. 2, which is where Fowler’s scouts and executives have him. But you can’t tell me he’s six places higher than Achane despite having worse numbers last season. And for Miami’s best player to be a full six spots behind Gibbs, but only one place ahead of Kenneth Walker, is frankly laughable. Even more so when you consider that some of the executives and scouts polled didn’t even have Achane in their top 10 at all!
The Dolphins are a team sorely lacking in star talent, so you can expect to see only Aaron Brewer and Jordyn Brooks ranked in their respective top 10s going forward. Patrick Paul may get an honorable mention, although I suspect he’ll end up in the “also receiving votes” category. And while there’s an obvious sense that we would say this, wouldn’t we… starting off with Achane at No. 8 does tend to make a mockery of the entire process.
