2024 NFL Rushing Yards Odds
Malcolm Darnley
Updated: Aug 25, 2023
With 18,355 rushing yards, Emmitt Smith is the all-time NFL rushing yards leader, ahead of Walter Payton and Frank Gore.
Smith had over 4,400 rushing attempts in his career and finished with an average of 4.2 yards per carry.
Of the top 30 running backs in NFL history, only Jim Brown and Barry Sanders averaged at least 5 yards per carry.
Last season, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor, and Nick Chubb were the betting favorites to lead the NFL in total rushing yards.
However, when the regular season finished, Josh Jacobs was at the top of the rushing yards list, with 1,653.
Henry and Chubb finished second and third, while Taylor battled injuries and could not defend his rushing title crown.
Today’s game has many talented running backs, and sportsbooks now provide us with many opportunities to bet on those players in several different ways.
Let’s explore some RB-specific bets and discuss key players and strategies to set us up for success during the 2023 NFL season.
Most RB Rushing Yards
This futures bet is a long-term investment for a bettor.
It’s a pretty straightforward wager, where the only goal is to predict which running back will rush for the most yards throughout the season.
Remember that we are talking about total yards, not yards per carry.
As mentioned above, Josh Jacobs surprised many by leading the NFL in rushing yards last year.
This year, Jacobs is somewhere around +1800 to defend his rushing crown, which are enticing odds for someone who just rushed for 1,600 yards the season before.
There is no surprise that Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry are at the top of the Rushing Yards Odds list. The disgruntled Jonathan Taylor rounds out the top three.
NFL Scrimmage Yards Leaders – Last 10 Seasons
| Year | Player | Rushing Yards | Team |
| 2022 | Josh Jacobs | 2,053 | Raiders |
| 2021 | Jonathan Taylor | 1,811 | Colts |
| 2020 | Derrick Henry | 2.027 | Titans |
| 2019 | Derrick Henry | 1,540 | Titans |
| 2018 | Ezekiel Elliott | 1,434 | Cowboys |
| 2017 | Kareem Hunt | 1,327 | Chiefs |
| 2016 | Ezekiel Elliott | 1,631 | Cowboys |
| 2015 | Adrian Peterson | 1,485 | Vikings |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray | 1,845 | Cowboys |
| 2013 | LeSean McCoy | 1,607 | Eagles |
Most RB Rushing TDs
When predicting the RB with the most TDs at the end of the season, there is probably a lot more variability and chance involved with this bet compared to total rushing yards.
Touchdowns are great, but they can be out of their control most of the time for a running back.
If a coach calls a pass play while inside the 5-yard line or the quarterback keeps it at the 1-yard line, there isn’t much an RB can do.
Often there is little correlation between RBs who score a lot of TDs and RBs who run for a lot of yards.
In 2021, James Connor, Damien Harris, and Austin Ekeler all finished inside the Top 5 for RB touchdowns, yet none of those running backs reached 1,000 yards on the ground.
This bet requires a lot of homework and maybe just a little luck.
2022 NFL Running Back Touchdown Leaders
| Player | Rushing TDs | Team |
| Jamaal Williams | 17 | DET Lions |
| Derrick Henry | 13 | TEN Titans |
| Austin Ekeler | 13 | LA Chargers |
| Ezekiel Elliott | 12 | DAL Cowboys |
| Nick Chubb | 12 | CLE Browns |
| Josh Jacobs | 12 | LV Raiders |
| Miles Sanders | 11 | PHI Eagles |
| Saquon Barkley | 10 | NY Giants |
| Tony Pollard | 9 | DAL Cowboys |
| Kenneth Walker III | 9 | SEA Seahawks |
RB Totals: Rushing Yards Over/Under
NFL betting odds on NFL player props are available at all legal sportsbooks in your state/province.
If you enjoy the running back position, there are plenty of player props to bet on.
A running back total for rushing yards can be played as a season-long futures bet or weekly prop bet.
Saquon Barkley and Josh Jacobs had very big years in 2022, catching a lot of NFL bettors off guard. Both Barkley and Jacobs went OVER their rushing totals.
Who will be the surprises in 2023 at the RB position? Will Bijan Robinson live up to the hype as a rookie? Currently, his rushing total for 2023 is set at 1100.5 yards.
Does that seem high for a rookie RB coming to a team with a 1,000-yard RB returning? Or is it just me?
BestOdds EDGE Can Help
Most of us realize that DraftKings, FanDuel, etc., have deep pockets and are very good at what they do.
They hire well, they hire smart, and the team of people who work together to create their NFL odds don’t like losing, either.
For a recreational bettor, tracking down the required data and committing the hours necessary to compete with the sportsbooks takes time and effort.
Enter BestOdds EDGE.
BestOdds EDGE is a sports betting data platform built on behalf of the sports bettor and not the sportsbook.
- EDGE was created to provide the necessary data and analytics to make the fight between the sportsbook and the recreational sports bettor a much more fair one.
- EDGE specializes in NFL Player Props, including all the running back props discussed in this article.
- Easy to understand graphs, charts, and tables – BestOdds EDGE has done the hard work for us.
- EDGE understands the required data to handicap each type of NFL player prop bet properly.
- EDGE can then quickly sort, scan and highlight important information from the thousands of data points it ingests for each game.
- EDGE automatically creates graphs, charts and tables from the information ingested.
- EDGE allows bettors to spend their time looking through the most up-to-date data instead of spending all their time trying to collect it.
RB Totals: Rushing TDs Over/Under
Betting the Over / Under for an RB’s total touchdowns is another type of wager that can be done as a season-long future bet or as a week-to-week player prop bet.
This is just like the total rushing yards bet options, except with touchdowns, there can be much more variability and chance in play.
From a strategy standpoint, using some trusted projection sites can once again be a gambler’s friend.
Sportsbooks must account for the general public’s viewpoint and tendencies when setting odds. Projection sites try to remain neutral and objective with their analysis.
RB Totals: Rushing + Receiving Yards Over/Under
Today, an NFL offense is designed to throw the ball more than ever before, and that means running backs must possess the threat to run and catch the ball.
No longer is the NFL a game of handing the ball off on first down and trying for 3-yards and a cloud of dust.
Instead, RBs have become specialized at catching the ball as well.
When evaluating an NFL RB in today’s game, we must factor in their total yards from scrimmage, a combination of their rushing and receiving totals.
2022 NFL Running Back Yards From Scrimmage Leaders
| Player | Rushing | Receiving | Total |
| Josh Jacobs | 1,653 | 400 | 2,053 |
| Derrick Henry | 1,538 | 398 | 1,936 |
| Christian McCaffrey | 1,139 | 741 | 1,880 |
| Nick Chubb | 1,525 | 239 | 1,764 |
| Saquon Barkley | 1,312 | 338 | 1,650 |
| Austin Ekeler | 915 | 722 | 1,637 |
| Aaron Jones | 1,121 | 395 | 1,516 |
| Dalvin Cook | 1,173 | 295 | 1,468 |
| Rhamondre Stevenson | 1,040 | 421 | 1,461 |
| Travis Etienne | 1,125 | 316 | 1,441 |
Who Will Have The Most Rushing Yards In 2022?
The Favorites
Nick Chubb +450 – CLE Browns
In 2022, Nick Chubb finished third overall in NFL rushing yards. In 2021, Chubb finished second, behind only Jonathan Taylor.
Cleveland Browns Head Coach Kevin Stefanski likes to run the ball more than most, and there is no doubt Cleveland will be near the top of the league in rushing yards again this year.
Chubb played all 17 games in 2022 and had 302 carries.
With Kareem Hunt no longer in the Cleveland backfield, Chubb will also get a lot more carries in 2023.
Assuming good health, the 27-year-old Chubb will again be close to or at the top of the rushing yards list this season.
Derrick Henry +650 – TEN Titans
The Tennessee Titans built an offense around Derrick Henry, getting a lot of carries and a lot of tough yards.
Henry was an absolute Beast for Tennessee in 2019 and 2020. Henry broke down in 2021 after two seasons with a combined 678 carries,
More specifically, the powerful RB broke his foot and missed significant time.
Many wondered if that might be the beginning of the end for the Tennessee superstar. But in 2022, Henry showed NFL fans everywhere that he has a lot more tough yards to gain.
Henry had 1,538 rushing yards and played in 16 of the 17 games last year.
Jonathan Taylor +900 – IND Colts (For now)
It’s hard to believe that the odds on JT have not dropped more, considering the preseason turmoil he finds himself in with his current club.
As of this writing, the Colts had announced that Taylor wanted out of Indianapolis, and the Colts were allowing him to seek a team to trade with.
However, trading Taylor won’t be easy – obviously, the Colts will want a lot in return.
Teams are typically pretty set roster-wise at this time of the year.
Indianapolis might have to wait until a team suffers injuries at the RB position and is willing to pay more for Taylor’s services.
Until then, is JT going to play Week 1, and if so – what will his competitive level be for a team he doesn’t want to play for?
NFL Rushing Leaders – Last 15 Seasons
| Year | Player | Team | Rushing Yards |
| 2022 | Josh Jacobs | Raiders | 1,653 |
| 2021 | Jonathan Taylor | Colts | 1,811 |
| 2020 | Derrick Henry | Titans | 2,027 |
| 2019 | Derrick Henry | Titans | 1,540 |
| 2018 | Ezekiel Elliott | Cowboys | 1,434 |
| 2017 | Kareem Hunt | Chiefs | 1,327 |
| 2016 | Ezekiel Elliott | Cowboys | 1,631 |
| 2015 | Adrian Peterson | Vikings | 1,485 |
| 2014 | DeMarco Murray | Cowboys | 1,845 |
| 2013 | LeSean McCoy | Eagles | 1,607 |
| 2012 | Adrian Peterson | Vikings | 2,097 |
| 2011 | Maurice Jones-Drew | Jaguars | 1,606 |
| 2010 | Arian Foster | Texans | 1,616 |
| 2009 | Chris Johnson | Titans | 2,006 |
| 2008 | Adrian Peterson | Vikings | 1,760 |
| 2007 | LaDainian Tomlinson | Chargers | 1,474 |
Always Shop Around
It is always a good idea for a bettor to shop around for their Best Odds.
When it comes to Futures betting and Player Props, it’s an even better idea to shop around because the chance for odds discrepancy amongst sportsbooks is so much higher.
If you like Tony Pollard to lead the NFL in rushing this year, you might find him at +1800 with one operator, but another sportsbook might have him at +2400.
That is a considerable difference in profit and ROI if Pollard can deliver by leading the league in rushing yards this year.
Shopping around for your Best Odds is the greatest edge a bettor has over the sportsbooks.
