AFC North RB power rankings: Nick Chubb's return makes Browns even more dangerous

The Cleveland Browns only had Nick Chubb for two games in 2023 before the four-time Pro Bowl running back suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season. If Browns fans had been told that would happen just two games into the season, they might not have predicted the season to go as well as it had but Cleveland won 11 games and made the playoffs.

Chubb should hopefully return for the 2024 regular season and if he's healthy, the Browns rushing attack should be back in action for an important year. Unfortunately, the Browns aren't the only ones adding a key weapon to their offense. The Baltimore Ravens signed Derrick Henry during the offseason, poaching him from Tennessee and making a terrifying run game even more terrifying.

The Steelers will be entering Year 3 of the Najee Harris experiment after spending a first-round pick on him three years ago. Meanwhile, the Bengals have moved on from Joe Mixon and will be unleashing Zack Moss after signing him in free agency.

With the preseason kicking off this weekend, let's rank the four starting running backs in the AFC North from worst to first.

4. Zack Moss

The Bengals parted ways with Joe Mixon during the offseason and replaced him with Zack Moss, who has played with the Bills and Colts during his career. Moss rushed for just shy of 800 yards and five touchdowns during the 2023 season in Indianapolis but the reason I have him fourth here is that he's yet to hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

Cincinnati's run game will only go as far as their offensive line will take them and we know that's been a weak spot for them over the years. Moss had some moments with both of his former teams but this addition appears to be a step down from Mixon.

3. Najee Harris

It says a lot about the NFL that Najee Harris has rushed for over 1,000 yards all three years that he's been in the league and people still say that the Steelers wasted a first-round pick on him. Harris has been a solid running back since entering the NFL and had a career-high eight rushing touchdowns this past season.

The problem in Pittsburgh is that the rest of their offense has suffered in recent years while the team continues to hit the reset button at the quarterback position. This affects the run game because it's easier for defenses to shut down any running plays when the quarterback is struggling to complete passes.

Harris has put together three nice seasons and his number three ranking here is more reflective of the talent above him.

2. Nick Chubb

If Chubb wasn't coming off of an injury, I'd be more inclined to put him in the number one spot but coming off injury and Derrick Henry joining the division led me to put him at number two. That's nothing to scoff at in this gauntlet of a division.

Before Chubb's injury in 2023, he was coming off a 1,500+ rushing yard campaign in 2022 while finding the end zone 12 times that year. Chubb is special and has been the highlight of the Browns offense since joining the team in 2018. That being said, running backs pushing 30 who are coming off knee injuries might not end up being the same guy they were before the injury so that's why Chubb lands in the two spot on these rankings.

1. Derrick Henry

Browns fans were not happy to see Derrick Henry join the AFC North, but he joined the dark side and teamed up with the Ravens in Baltimore. The Ravens are already a scary rushing team considering who their quarterback is but now they get to add Henry to the fold? Yikes.

Henry spent the first eight years of his career in Tennessee and rushed for over 2,000 yards during the 2020 season. This past season, he carried the ball 280 times for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns. Henry is 30 years old, however, so maybe the drop off is coming soon and the Browns won't have to be as terrified about figuring out how to slow him down.

For now though, with Henry coming off a solid 2023 campaign and Chubb being injured last year, the new Ravens running back earns the top spot on these rankings.