Rushing QB Tier List

Anyone who has played fantasy football—or faced the unrelenting wrath of Madden 2004 Mike Vick—fully understands just how valuable mobile quarterbacks can be.

Of course, even the league’s most athletic signal-callers need some level of ability as a passer in order to keep a starting job (sorry Malik Willis), but generally, dual-threat quarterbacks join receiving-friendly running backs (and whatever Deebo Samuel is) as fantasy football cheat codes thanks to their multiple means of earning production.

Overall, 30 of 43 quarterbacks (70%) with at least 80 carries in a season (5 per game across 16 contests) finished as top-12 QBs in fantasy points per game since 2010.

I like rushing quarterbacks, you like rushing quarterbacks, everyone likes rushing quarterbacks; today’s goal is to tier the position and figure out who is the best of the best.

I assigned 1-10 scores for each of the following four categories in order to accomplish this incredibly important task:

Raw speed: Reported 40-yard dash times. As the late, great Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “America is all about speed—hot, nasty, bad-ass speed.”
Willingness to run: The goal here is to measure the rushing ability past the line of scrimmage, so volume matters. No points were awarded to Patrick Mahomes for doing alien stuff before flipping the ball to someone for a touchdown.
Effectiveness: Yards per carry and—more fun—missed tackles forced per carry will carry the bulk of the weight here.
Production: Fantasy points from purely rushing production.

Side note: Aren’t fantasy points a pretty damn good cumulative statistic despite generally being frowned upon in the “real football” Twitter streets?

One number for yards, touchdowns, and turnovers adjusted by position. Or we can continue to determine each season’s passing, rushing, and receiving leader by raw yardage.

Whatever.

This admittedly somewhat subjective study includes 38 total quarterbacks in nine tiers: 31 starters/free agents plus the 49ers’ duo of signal-callers and the consensus top four incoming rookies. Proven NFL production was weighted heavier relative to what these guys achieved in college.

Tier S: The best

Ravens/free agent QB Lamar Jackson (10 speed, 10 willingness, 10 effectiveness, 10 production)

Who else but the position’s all-time leader for most rushing yards in a single season (1,206 in 2019)? Jackson’s positive impact on the Ravens' offense has been impossible to overstate:

Baltimore ranks 31st in non-QB offensive spending since drafting him in 2018, yet ranks 5th in points per game. Not bad for a “running back.”

Tier 1: Rushing ability is borderline erotic

Bears QB Justin Fields (9 speed, 10 willingness, 10 effectiveness, 10 production)
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (8, 10, 9, 10)
Florida QB Anthony Richardson (10, 9, 9, 9)

Fields’ breakout 2022 campaign featured one ridiculous chunk run after another. Already the NFL’s all-time record holder for most career 50-plus-yard touchdown runs in the Super Bowl era (!), Fields combines elite top-end speed with the sort of tackle-breaking moves that can make Chris Berman go from six to midnight in a hurry.

Hurts has 31 rushing touchdowns in 38 career games, including the playoffs.

For reference, it took Cam Newton 60 games to find the end zone that many times on the ground. Mike Vick had 37 rushing touchdowns in 149 career games.

Literally, nobody has more rushing touchdowns (28) than Hurts over the past two seasons including playoffs.

The possibility of the “tush push” (I hate that name) being outlawed won’t help Hurts’s future scoring upside, but even then, the 24-year-old talent is already one of just four quarterbacks in league history with multiple 750-plus-yard rushing seasons to their name.

The only reason Richardson doesn’t have 10-point scores across the board is because he hasn’t had the chance to replicate his collegiate feats as a professional. Overall, Richardson's rate of forcing 0.36 missed tackles per carry ranks eighth among *320* quarterbacks with at least 100 carries since 2015 (PFF).

He took a flamethrower to the NFL Combine by setting positional records in the vertical jump (40.5") and broad jump (10'09") while also becoming the first quarterback weighing more than 230 pounds to run a sub-4.5 40-yard dash.

It remains to be seen if Richardson can develop as a passer, but goodness, it’s already impossible to deny just how lethal the 21-year-old talent can be on the ground.

Dec 24, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields (1) runs with the ball against the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports

Tier 2: Cal Naughton, Jr.-level rusher, but not quite Ricky Bobby

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray (10 speed, 8 willingness, 8 effectiveness, 9 production)
Bills QB Josh Allen (6, 9, 9, 9)

Murray’s ACL recovery remains one of the more important offseason storylines to monitor. Why won’t God turn off injuries already?

Anyway, the former Heisman winner and first overall pick has sandwiched an absolutely electric 2020 campaign on the ground (133-819-11) with more modest 93-544-4, 88-423-5, and most recently 67-418-3 campaigns.

Injuries have been the primary culprit on every occasion, but keep in mind that studies suggest mobile quarterbacks aren’t any more injury-prone than pocket passers.

Allen's relatively modest 4.75-second 40-yard dash is far outweighed by the fact that he's a 6-foot-5, 237-pound moose with the football. To this day, he has the most impressive, or at least the most entertaining, quarterback sneak conversion that I’ve ever seen.

Already tied with Kordell Stewart for the third-most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback *ever*, Allen has quickly hurdled and trucked his way into the hearts of Bills Mafia and fantasy managers alike during his short five-year career.

Tier 3: I like the way you move

Browns QB Deshaun Watson (7 speed, 7 willingness, 8 effectiveness, 8 production)
Broncos QB Russell Wilson (8, 7, 7, 7)
49ers QB Trey Lance (7, 10, 5, 7)
Giants QB Daniel Jones (4, 7, 9, 8)

Watson's 29.2 rushing yards per game in 2022 were actually slightly more than he had managed in 2019 (27.5) and 2020 (27.8). His 18 career rushing scores in 60 career games don't exactly jump off the page, but “the Michael Jordan of football” does find himself as one of just nine quarterbacks averaging at least 30 rushing yards per game for their career with a minimum of 50 starts in the Super Bowl era:

Lamar Jackson (63.4 rushing yards per game)
Mike Vick (42.7)
Josh Allen (40.1)
Kyler Murray (38.7)
Cam Newton (38)
Colin Kaepernick (33.3)
Daniel Jones (31.6)
Deshaun Watson (30.9)
Randall Cunningham (30.6)

Russ posted an absurd 118-849-6 rushing line back in 2014—eighth-most by a quarterback in a single season ever. His 4.55-second 40-yard dash back in the day stands as this study’s sixth-fastest time.

Father Time has limited Mr. Unlimited in recent years, but Wilson still deserves credit for racking up five different 500-plus-yard rushing seasons during his career.

Lance doesn’t have the gaudiest physical traits and hasn’t overly proved himself as an efficient weapon on the ground. And yet, that hasn’t stopped head coach Kyle Shanahan from feeding him like a high school Derrick Henry during his four career extended appearances under center (187-carry pace in a 17-game season):

Week 4, 2021 (played 51% snaps): 7-41-0 rushing
Week 5, 2021: 16-89-0
Week 17, 2021: 8-31-0
Week 1, 2022: 13-54-0

Everyone laughed at Jones, also known as Danny Dimes and (even better) Vanilla Vick when he was hawked by the turf monster on a ridiculous chunk run against the Eagles back in October of 2020. It was a cute play for the soon-to-be 1-7 Giants and threatened to be Jones’s defining career moment.

Now? Jones is an exceptionally wealthy man after leading the Giants to an underdog wild-card win in Minnesota that featured him putting the team on his back like a prime Greg Jennings for stretches of the game.

As one of six quarterbacks to average at least 4.5 fantasy points per game purely from rushing production in 2022, don’t expect Jones’s fantasy goodness to catch as many by surprise in 2023 and beyond.

Oct 6, 2022; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson (3) runs the ball in the first quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Tier 4: Could run away from the cops if they really needed to

Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (7 speed, 5 willingness, 5 effectiveness, 6 production)
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (5, 4, 7, 7)
Steelers QB Kenny Pickett (6, 6, 4, 6)
Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (5, 4, 6, 5)
Chargers QB Justin Herbert (7, 4, 4, 4)
Jets QB Zach Wilson (6, 2, 7, 5)

Things are tighter than ever at this point in the tiering process; this group earns the nod over the next crew because of their far more proven production at the NFL level.

Columbus, Ohio, is my home, and I still have nightmares about Lawrence’s ridiculous long touchdown run against the Buckeyes.

Early-career Dak used to view defenders standing between him and the first-down marker as personal insults; he’s one of just four signal-callers in NFL history to have at least three seasons with six-plus rushing scores.

Pickett’s infamous fake slide back in college brought about a rule change to college football as a whole. Bush league nature of the move aside, it was indeed pretty cool.

Mahomes could probably be Tier 1 on this list if he really wanted to, but his relatively modest 12 career regular-season rushing touchdowns and 3.7 carries per game reflect the reality that the two-time Super Bowl champ is usually more than fine with picking up yardage through the air.

Herbert was far more productive on the ground in 2020 (55-234-5) and 2021 (63-302-3) than in 2022 (54-147-0), probably because he spent the majority of last season playing with fractured ribs. Makes sense.

Zach Wilson plays football like a blackout-drunk Patrick Mahomes, and it can be oddly entertaining in a cruel kind of way.

Tier 5: You could imagine

Commanders QB Sam Howell (2 speed, 8 willingness, 8 effectiveness, 8 production)
Seahawks QB Geno Smith (8, 6, 6, 5)
Alabama QB Bryce Young (8, 2, 8, 7)
Kentucky QB Will Levis (6, 6, 5, 8)
Falcons QB Desmond Ridder (9, 5, 7, 3)

Howell turned in a 183-828-11 rushing line during his final season at North Carolina after posting mundane 94-35-1 and 92-146-5 campaigns in his first two seasons as a starter; the biggest red flag here is an alleged 5.07-second 40-yard dash.

Meanwhile, Geno ran a 4.59-second 40-yard dash back in the day and has averaged north of 20 rushing yards per game in his only two career seasons as a full-time starter.

Young barely had more rushing yards (162) than carries (139), which is still pretty wild even after understanding that college sacks count as rush attempts. Of course, his alleged 4.52-second 40-yard dash paints a far different picture of what he might be capable of at the next level.

Levis’s incredible physical tools and startling inconsistency have earned him plenty of Josh Allen comps, because what else are people supposed to call talented yet inexplicably bad college quarterbacks?

Ridder’s 4.52-second 40-yard dash is the fifth-fastest time among quarterbacks in this study, although his 6-38-0, 4-8-0, 4-9-0, and 2-9-0 rushing lines in four end-of-season starts didn’t exactly produce much fantasy upside.

Tier 6: Beats you or me in a race, but maybe not scary professional edge rushers

Titans QB Ryan Tannehill (6 speed, 2 willingness, 6 effectiveness, 4 production)
Bengals QB Joe Burrow (4, 4, 5, 5)
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (6, 3, 4, 4)
Panthers/free agent QB Sam Darnold (3, 3, 6, 5)

Tannehill’s Texas A&M mixtape as a wide receiver is always a fun watch, and it’s positively wild that he has more rushing touchdowns (20) than Lamar Jackson does (19) since joining the Titans in 2019.

Still, Tannehill has never cracked 20 rushing yards or four carries per game during his 10-year career.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) runs out of the pocket in the first quarter during an NFL wild-card playoff football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. Baltimore Ravens At Cincinnati Bengals Afc Wild Card Jan 15 0203

Burrow’s rushing usage and corresponding production picked up in 2022 during his second season removed from 2020’s season-ending knee injury. Makes sense—his collegiate average of 27 rushing yards per game just barely trailed Russell Wilson (28) and was ahead of Andrew Luck (25).

A-aron is tied for seventh all-time at the position in rushing touchdowns (35), which is certainly plenty due to his 223 career starts, but it's also a reminder that the 39-year-old veteran was once a regular contender to clear the 300-yard mark on the ground over the course of an entire regular season.

Darnold had a weirdly awesome rushing highlight mixtape with the Jets and has rushed for seven scores in 17 starts with the Panthers.

I don’t get it, either.

Tier 7: Be a lot cooler if they could move even a little bit

Buccaneers QB Kyle Trask (1 speed, 3 willingness, 4 effectiveness, 6 production)
Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa (5, 2, 3, 3)
49ers QB Brock Purdy (4, 5, 2, 1)
Saints QB Derek Carr (7, 1, 1, 1)
Rams QB Matthew Stafford (4, 1, 3, 2)
Saints/free agent QB Andy Dalton (3, 2, 2, 3)
Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud (3, 1, 4, 2)
Patriots QB Mac Jones (3, 2, 3, 1)
Texans QB Davis Mills (3, 1, 4, 1)

Trask boasts the study’s single-slowest 40-yard dash at 5.13 seconds.

Tua has never rushed for 50 yards per game in college or as a professional.

Purdy just barely had more rushing yards (37) than rush attempts (29) last season including the playoffs.

Carr clocked a sub-4.7-second 40-yard dash back in the day and has occasionally looked capable enough as a rusher, yet he’s averaged just six rushing yards per game during his nine-year career.

Respect to Stafford for occasionally dishing out a mean truck stick, but at the end of the day he’s averaged just 6.5 rushing yards per game during his career.

The Red Rifle never cracked 200 rushing yards or scored more than four times in a single season during his 12-year career. (Unrelated: Dalton has $100.5 million in career earnings. Nice!)

Stroud had more rushing yards in his first and last games (82) than the 24 in between (54). My comp: Jared Goff with the theoretical ability to run.

Jones has never rushed for even 35 yards in a game, either at Alabama or in New England.

Mills has averaged just 1.8 rush attempts per game with the Texans and will probably be most remembered for having an outrageously long neck when it’s all said and done.

Tier 8: Sitting ducks

Lions QB Jared Goff (4 speed, 1 willingness, 1 effectiveness, 2 production)
Colts QB Matt Ryan (3, 1, 3, 1)
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins (2, 1, 3, 2)
49ers/free agent QB Jimmy Garoppolo (2, 2, 1, 1)

Goff is one of just 23 quarterbacks averaging fewer than five rushing yards per game among 81 signal-callers with at least 50 starts since 2000. I do give him credit for the cool finger roll during that all-time amazing Rams-Chiefs primetime shootout, though.

Ryan boasts the fifth-slowest 40-yard dash (4.89 seconds) of the study, and it took him 15 years to register a rush for more than 20 yards, but boy was it worth it (not really).

Washington Kirk used to take off a bit and racked up 13 rushing touchdowns in his three full seasons as a starter before joining the Vikings, where he’s averaged just 2.1 rush attempts per game and seldom looks to extend the play.

Jimmy G’s career-long rush is 13 yards. He has as many playoff rushing yards as he does playoff starts (6); he was already the league’s least-mobile quarterback before breaking his foot in 2022.