2025 NFL Position Rankings: Top 50 Running Backs

=Previous Ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2024

50.(+) Ty Johnson (Bills)

49.(+) Braelon Allen (Jets)

48.(28) Devin Singletary (Giants)

47.(41) Javonte Williams (Cowboys)

46.(+) Cam Akers (Free Agent)

45.(44) Jaleel McLaughlin (Broncos)

44.(+) Ray Davis (Bills)

43.(+) Tyrone Tracy Jr. (Giants)

42.(4) Nick Chubb (Free Agent)

41.(33) Austin Ekeler (Commanders)

40.(31) Jaylen Warren (Steelers)

39.(47) Antonio Gibson (Patriots)

38.(42) Justice Hill (Ravens)

37.(23) D'Andre Swift (Bears)

36.(16) Travis Etienne (Jaguars)

35.(+) Tank Bigsby (Jaguars)

34.(35) Jerome Ford (Browns)

33.(+) Emmanuel Wilson (Packers)

32.(+) J.K. Dobbins (Free Agent)

31.(18) Najee Harris (Chargers)

30.(49) Zach Charbonnet (Seahawks)

29.(+) Jordan Mason (Vikings)

28.(36) Tyler Allgeier (Falcons)

27.(+) Rico Dowdle (Panthers)

26.(43) Kareem Hunt (Chiefs)

25.(25) Rhamondre Stevenson (Patriots)

24.(17) Breece Hall (Jets)

23.(32) Rachaad White (Buccaneers)

22.(22) Brian Robinson Jr. (Commanders)

21.(15) Isiah Pacheco (Chiefs)

20.(8) Kenneth Walker III (Seahawks)

19.(24) Alvin Kamara (Saints)

18.(+) Chase Brown (Bengals)

17.(12) Tony Pollard (Titans)

16.(+) Bucky Irving (Buccaneers)

15.(20) De'Von Achane (Dolphins)

14.(6) Aaron Jones (Vikings)

13.(19) Joe Mixon (Texans)

12.(30) Chuba Hubbard (Panthers)

11.(11) Jonathan Taylor (Colts)

10.(7) Kyren Williams (Rams)

9.(9) David Montgomery (Lions)

8.(5) James Conner (Cardinals)

7.(14) James Cook (Bills)

6.(21) Jahmyr Gibbs (Lions)

5.(13) Josh Jacobs (Packers)

4.(27) Bijan Robinson (Falcons)

3.(1) Christian McCaffery (49ers)

2.(2) Derrick Henry (Ravens)

1.(3) Saquon Barkley (Eagles)

Movie Review: Fight or Flight

 

C-grade action flicks are a timeless staple of the film industry. In today's landscape, often times what happens is that some producers will enlist a mercenary director (Simon West, Renny Harlin, Jesse V. Johnson) and fading familiar Hollywood face (Aaron Eckhart, Thomas Jane, Stephen Dorff) to make something with a premise that can be explained in one sentence ("Ex-Green Beret must stop terrorist plot". "Hitman gets double crossed by his employers and must fight for survival", etc.) that can make a quick buck or two on the VOD/international sales market before swiftly reinvesting the profits and starting the cycle all over again. Fight or Flight shows that there's a different path forward for this ultraspecific subgenre. 

First time director James Madigan-whose been a VFX supervisor and second unit director for 20+ years-and star Josh Hartnett-who adds another notch to the zany character actor belt he's been carrying around since Guy Ritchie brought him back to Hollywood's big leagues in 2021's Wrath of Man with a hoot of a performance as a disgraced Secret Service Agent who has his extended exile in Thailand interrupted when his former flame (Katee Sackhoff) enlists him to track down an elusive cyber terrorist known only as "Ghost" on board a flight from Bangkok to San Francisco that just so happens to also have dozens of assassins from all over the world on board looking to kill "Ghost" before the plane lands-overcomes the burden of making a dumb, microbudget action flick designed to be half watched on a Roku through sheer gonzo energy. The fights being confined to a plane in mid-flight turns them into frantic, cartoonish mad dashes with choreography that is unrefined yet very creative and easy to follow, Madigan shows a pretty strong understanding of when to deploy an explicit joke and when to just let the ludicrousness of the plot speak for itself and Hartnett is having the time of his life playing around in the role of a perpetual fuckup trying to stay alive for long enough to potentially earn a chance at redemption (or at least not die on a plane doing his ex-girlfriend's dirty work). While the Bullet Train comparisons are inevitable given the "a bunch of trained killers let loose on a mode of transportation" plot, it's honestly more like a slightly less over-the-top version of something like Shoot' Em Up or Crank. Making an action movie with personality, fun fights and a real sense of madness in its DNA is a surefire way to make an impression and best of all, you can do that on any sized budget if the creative team is spirited and malleable enough. My hope is that the right people see Fight or Flight and get inspired to make action movies that use outside-the-box creative flourishes to jazz up well-worn premises. It's high time that VOD actioners stepped their shit up and Fight or Flight provides a blueprint for how that's possible without sacrificing the charm of this crucial ecosystem's shoddy production value and inherent grime.                 

Grade: B

Vince Vaughn Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Vince Vaughn-whose latest project "Nonnas" is now streaming on Netflix. 

Vince Vaughn's Filmography Ranked:

26.Be Cool (F)

25.The Dilemma (D+)

24.The Break-Up (C-)

23.Mr. & Mrs. Smith (C)

22.Queenpins (C)

21.Wake Up, Ron Burgundy (C+)

20.Unfinished Business (C+)

19.The Binge (B-)

18.The Watch (B-)

17.Delivery Man (B-)

16.The Internship (B-)

15.Swingers (B-)

14.Clay Pigeons (B-)

13.The Cell (B-)

12.Fighting with My Family (B)

11.Seberg (B)

10.The Lost World: Jurassic Park (B)

9.Old School (B)

8.Wedding Crashers (B)

7.Brawl in Cell Block 99 (B)

6.Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (B)

5.Starsky & Hutch (B+)

4.Hacksaw Ridge (B+)

3.Freaky (B+)

2.Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (B+)

1.Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (A+)

Top Dog: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

As we approach the 21st anniversary of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, it's hard for me to not continue to be in awe of this film. This is one of those touch the sun comedies that has alluded the cruel aging process that haunts the genre through the sheer force of its brilliant absurdity and the great lengths everyone involved with this project goes to play it up. When we look back on the seemingly dead creative partnership between Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, this will stand alone as the most valuable gem in a vault full of comedic jewels. 

Bottom Feeder: Be Cool (2005)

Quite a few of the members of the huge ensemble cast of Be Cool have starred in some huge pieces of shit over the years-particularly John Travolta and Uma Thurman who have been largely relegated to the VOD circuit in recent years, but I'd argue that none of these efforts are as agonizingly awful as Be Cool. The ill-conceived loose sequel to the 1995 cult hit Get Shorty is the ultrarare comedy full of jokes that are so relentlessly lazy and deeply unfunny that it's hard to not feel kind of bad for everybody who attached their names to such a humiliating disgrace to the medium.        

Most Underrated: Freaky (2020)

This could just as easily go to Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, but I've written enough about that one often enough of late that I felt compelled to switch it up here. Freaky was one of those movies that just got lost in the void of the COVID lockdown (it got released in theaters in November 2020 before bowing on VOD a few weeks later) and has kind of struggled to find an audience since. What's particularly unfortunate about its fate is that it's easily one of the best slasher movies to come out in the past 10-15 years. The whole serial killer/high school girl body swap device that drives the plot works really well due to how seamlessly Vaughn and Kathryn Newton flip between both sides of this tricky character dynamic, nearly all of the kills are creative, gnarly home runs and like all of Christopher Landon's best movies, it bowls you over with its pure heart when you least expect it.     

Most Overrated: Swingers (1996)

While Swingers is a fine enough buddy comedy that's driven by the good chemistry that exists between Vaughn and Jon Favreau, its status as a comedy classic has always mystified me, particularly since it came out around the same time as way funnier, sharper movies that were part of the same subgenre (Friday, Clerks, Romy and Michele's High School Reunion).  

2025 NFL Position Rankings: Top 25 Quarterbacks

A May tradition is officially back as I'm happy to announce the beginning of the 2025 edition of my NFL Position Rankings. It's kind of like the Met Gala without the glamour, celebrities or widespread public interest. For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, I like to kill time during the NFL offseason by going through every single position in the league (outside of long snapper and kick/punt returners) and rank the best players at each spot heading into the upcoming season. It's a fun exercise to engage in every year and a fair number of people have told me that they enjoy reading it over the year, so I'll continue to do for as long as this blog exists. Here are a few notes on the series before we officially get started:

1.Rookies are excluded from inclusion.

2.Players are judged on where they currently stand in my opinion, not the player they once were or could potentially go onto be.

3.Each player is listed as a member of the team they're currently rostered by. If they're not on a roster at the time of the post, they'll be listed as a free agent.

As usual, Quarterback is kicking things off. While the top 4 remained unchanged from last year, there was a lot of shuffling and newcomers throughout the rest of the list. Hope you enjoy and I encourage you check to back over the next 8 weeks or so as I unveil the remainder of the series.    

Note: Saints QB Derek Carr is currently expected to miss the entirety of the 2025 season with a shoulder injury and has been excluded from the rankings as a result. 

()=2024 ranking

+=Unranked or ineligible in 2024

25.(17) Aaron Rodgers (Free Agent)

24.(+) Caleb Williams (Bears)

23.(+) Bryce Young (Panthers)

22.(21) Russell Wilson (Giants)

21.(22) Justin Fields (Jets)

20.(+) Drake Maye (Patriots)

19.(15) Tua Tagovailoa (Dolphins)

18.(16) Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars)

17.(14) Jordan Love (Packers)

16.(19) Kyler Murray (Cardinals)

15.(+) Sam Darnold (Seahawks)

14.(18) Geno Smith (Raiders)

13.(12) Brock Purdy (49ers)

12.(11) C.J. Stroud (Texans)

11.(13) Baker Mayfield (Buccaneers) 

10.(7) Dak Prescott (Cowboys)

9.(10) Jared Goff (Lions)

8.(+) Jayden Daniels (Commanders)

7.(5) Matthew Stafford (Rams)

6.(8) Justin Herbert (Chargers)

5.(6) Jalen Hurts (Eagles)

4.(4) Joe Burrow (Bengals)

3.(3) Josh Allen (Bills)

2.(2) Lamar Jackson (Ravens)

1.(1) Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)

Movie Review: Thunderbolts*

In kind of a cruel twist of fate for a film that's establishing a new set of characters, Thunderbolts* arguably became the most important MCU movie in ages as it was forced to serve as a crucial litmus test of whether or not Marvel Studios was going to change the way they do business after their longstanding practice of rewriting movies on the fly and openly meddling with their director's vision through a variety of channels (reshoots, execs taking control of the edit, VFX changes that go down to the wire) has really started to screw with their bottom line over the last couple of years. This film that brings together a collection of misfits with checkered pasts (Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barnes, David Harbour's Red Guardian, Wyatt Russell's U.S. Agent, Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, Olga Kurylenko's Taskmaster) to do battle with a mysterious new threat (Lewis Pullman's Bob/Sentry/The Void) was notably the first MCU project to go into production after the conclusion of the WGA/SGA strikes in the fall of 2023. Whether it was merely a coincidence or a targeted response to the MCU having just put out their biggest bomb to date in The Marvels and having Brave New World's principal photography thrown into chaos as a result of the WGA strikes beginning mid-shoot is up for debate, but the fact of the matter is that Marvel took the unprecedented step of further delaying the start of production on Thunderbolts* by a few months after the conclusions of the strikes so that another pass on the script could be completed before cameras began to roll. If how Thunderbolts* turned out is any indication, Marvel's major shift in the way they conduct their business could lead to a stabilization in quality that has long alluded superhero juggernaut at a time where they needed it most.

Let me make this clear from the jump, I feel that Marvel's practice of haphazardly assembling their films on the fly extends well beyond the post-Endgame films that have earned most of the vitriol directed towards them of late. This has been their calling card from day 1 (go and look up Jeff Bridges' comments about working on Iron Man) and the prevalence of this practice has led to a catalogue that has been consistently inconsistent. The only difference between now and then is that all of the audience goodwill they earned during The Infinity Saga (aka all of the films they released from May 2008-April 2019) has evaporated. Unless it's an untouchable character like Spider-Man or Wolverine, people are absolutely going to think twice about sitting through prospective future installments of the franchise if the current movie sucks shit. The only antidote to the bitter yet inevitable end of the MCU's consistent cash cow days is them putting more effort into their movies before they see the light of the day and that's exactly what Thunderbolts* delivers.

After the latest round of soulless, messy and/or obnoxiously nostalgic MCU affairs that have followed their most recent triumph (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3) prior to this, it was just nice to watch something made by people who clearly give a shit about the material they're working with. They care about the characters, their struggles with facing the sins of their past and start of their unlikely journey down a redemptive path. They care about building a team dynamic from the ground up and earning the viewer's faith that they can become a crucial part of this machine moving forward. They care about crafting action sequences driven by practical stuntwork and fight choreography that isn't obscured by an array of quick cuts. They care about delivering a crisp, detailed sound mix that immerses the viewer in the world. They care about visual effects (the design of The Void is the most inspired, inherently cool CG creation Marvel has put together in a minute) that actually look like they were created in more than 30 seconds by a team of overworked, underpaid artists. They care about shepherding in a new era of Marvel without making an entire movie that's solely exists to set up the next Avengers movie. All people really want out of these movies is characters and stakes that they can get invested in. It's a simple, timeless formula that execs regularly lose sight of for whatever reason and Thunderbolts* is a reminder of just how far delivering on those things can take you. Please allow your projects to be made by passionate, talented people like director Jake Schreier, writer Joanna Calo (best known as the co-showrunner of The Bear)-who handled the final draft of the script and this entire cast (Pullman going full rising movie star God mode with his powerhouse take on a really emotionally difficult character to portray is enough for him to edge out the pretty great work from his peers) Mr. Feige. The survival of your brand may very well depend on it.

Grade: B+            

Quick Movie Reviews: Sinners, The Accountant 2, Until Dawn

Sinners: I'm actually really glad that my NFL Draft pieces prevented me from writing about Sinners after opening weekend because I saw it again last weekend and it floored me. That's not to say that I didn't really enjoy it the first time around, it's just that a lot of the subtext that I missed the first time crystalized during the second viewing and that significantly elevated my appreciation of the movie. 

Sinners is about a million different things at once including a vampire movie, celebration of blues music and powerful drama about how assimilation and colonization destroy the unique specificity that gives a community its soul. Despite all of the different directions it goes in, the narrative never feels overstuffed or allows its many, many plot threads and themes to get in the way of its entertainment value or the brilliant development of its characters and setting (Clarksdale, Mississippi circa 1932). The ability to stay coherent and captivating is a testament to not only Ryan Coogler's dazzling vision and infectious passion as a filmmaker, but those of his many collaborators who were in complete lockstep with him. The ensemble cast (Michael B. Jordan in a dual lead role as twins, musician Miles Caton in his acting debut, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O'Connell, Delroy Lindo, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li, Yao, Lola Kirke, Peter Dreimanis, David Maldonado, Saul Williams) is Tarantino-esque in how every single performer is perfectly cast and delivers exactly what the story needs from them regardless of how much screentime they have (Lindo's heartfelt yet hilarious turn as grizzled alcoholic blues musician Delta Slim was the top standout for me), Autumn Durald Arkapaw's cinematography-captured entirely on IMAX 65mm film cameras-is breathtakingly beautiful and the electrifying musical elements (both score and original songs) serve as the strong foundation that allows the entire film to thrive. This is the kind of remarkable, singular film that solidifies Coogler as one of the greats and its unbelievable box office success for an original film-driven mostly by its tremendous WOM-makes it even sweeter. While the wait for the next blank check movie he gets to make after he fulfills his longstanding obligations to Disney to deliver a series reboot of The X-Files and a third Black Panther film will likely be pretty long, there's no doubt in my mind that it will be ultimately be worth it.                           

Grade: A

The Accountant 2: Elevating Jon Bernthal to co-lead and allowing him to establish a combative yet loving rapport with on-screen brother Ben Affleck along with some great moments of character-driven humor provides The Accountant 2 with a more lighthearted tone that elevates it above its predecessor. That being said, it's still not lighthearted enough! These movies have a pervasive inherent ridiculousness to them that's begging to be embraced, but for whatever reason director Gavin O'Connor and writer Bill Dubuque-both returning from the original-just refuse to do it. By keeping things relatively serious and the action sequences-which are all solid-fairly sparse, the convoluted plot surrounding Affleck aiding his old friend from the Feds (Cynthia Addai-Robinson, also reprising her role from the original) in figuring out whose responsible for a human trafficking ring is often left taking center stage and that is not good at all for the business of fun that The Accountant 2 wants to be in. To put it more succinctly, these movies just aren't nearly as consistently entertaining as they could/should be and they'll never reach their potential until they solve their own identity crisis.        

Grade: B-

Until Dawn: While it definitely could've benefitted from further exploring the endless possibilities its "every time the character's die, they face a new threat is trying to kill them" time loop conceit presents, Until Dawn successfully occupies the same fun albeit slight horror movie space that stuff like Final Destination, Saw and Resident Evil have in the past. The dynamic of lifelong friends (Ella Rubin, Michael Camino, Odessa A'zion, Ji-young Yoo) trying to look out for each other as they're hunted by a different killer each night while the new boyfriend of one of the character's (Belmont Cameli) demonstrates some selfish behavior feels pretty authentic, the menacingly decrepit production design/prominent use of practical effects (makeup, blood/gore, etc.) gives the terrors these characters are enduring some extra kick and since he'd spent much of the previous 5+ years working on the Shazam! movies, there's a joyous "just got out of jail" feeling to David F. Sandberg's direction that makes the proceedings fly by at a pretty good clip. If this ends up banking enough at the box office for the sequel that's teased in the film's final moments to be greenlit, I'd be down to go back to this universe again.     

Grade: B-

Florence Pugh Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of Florence Pugh-whose latest project "Thunderbolts*" releases today. 

Florence Pugh's Filmography Ranked:

12.Don't Worry Darling (C+)

11.Black Widow (B-)

10.The Wonder (B-)

9.Fighting with My Family (B)

8.The Commuter (B)

7.Oppenheimer (B)

6.Outlaw King (B)

5.We Live in Time (B)

4.Dune: Part Two (B)

3.Little Women (B)

2.Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (B+)

1.Midsommar (B+)

Top Dog: Midsommar (2019)

When we look back on the 2010's/2020's, it would be a shock if Midsommar didn't end up being regarded as one of the most influential horror movies of the period. Ari Aster is firing on all cylinders as he creates this unnerving exploration of cults, grief and the horrors of finally reckoning with a romantic relationship that has long eroded to the point of no return that slowly escalates in intensity until it finally explodes in the powerhouse finale and Pugh turns in an unreal performance by fully surrendering herself to the transformative, visceral nightmare of a journey her character goes on over the course of the film.      

Bottom Feeder: Don't Worry Darling (2022)

Don't Worry Darling isn't an awful movie, but it is a really aggravating one. All of the good shit (beautiful cinematography/production design, excellent performances from Pugh, Chris Pine and Olivia Wilde, a really eerie atmosphere) that keeps it at least somewhat engaging for most of its runtime is undone by a messy script from Katie Silberman that has a really hard time turning the sprawling mindfuck of a plot into something cohesive, an idiotic final act plot twist that bares a stunning resemblance to a similarly shitty one from an early M Night Shyamalan film and worst of all, electing to cast Harry Styles in a pivotal role that required a blend of charisma, desperation and menace that he simply does not possess as an actor at this point in time kills the film's ability to convincingly sell its central themes/relationship. At least we'll always have that hilarious soap opera of a press tour.         

Most Underrated: Outlaw King (2018)

Historical inaccurate aside, Outlaw King is a solid historical epic anchored by a strong lead performance from Chris Pine and some of the better grand-scale battle sequences put to screen in the last decade. It's currently buried in the bowels of the Netflix library if you're looking to seek it out.  

Most Overrated: Oppenheimer (2023)

It's gotten to the point where I've just accepted the fact that I just don't really care all that much about Christopher Nolan's work post-Inception/Dark Knight trilogy. While he's great at delivering spectacle, beautiful images and booming sound that tests the limits of every theater's speaker system, he's frankly not all that great of a storyteller. In the case of Oppenheimer specifically, the cuteness of the time-jumping nonlinear narrative structure lessens the impact of the film's primary purpose to serve as a decades-spanning character study about J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy, excellent as always) being forced to reckon with the fallout of his lethal creation and creates several prolonged stretches-particularly during the congressional hearing sequences-where the film just completely stalls out. On top of that, his writing of Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) leads me to believe that he is fortunate enough to have never been around an alcoholic for a prolonged period of time because I have never seen a more laughable portrayal of the disease in my entire life. Maybe The Odyssey will get me to change my mind, but my confidence level in that happening remains very low.