• Kenneth Walker III broke the most tackles in 2024: His 34 broken tackles made him one of three running backs to surpass 30 this past season.

• Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley shined in open space: They led the league this past season in missed tackles forced — where a tackle attempt must be made but contact isn’t required.

• 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF’s best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025’s top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.

Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes

The terms “broken tackles” and “missed tackles” are often lumped together or used interchangeably in football analysis, but there is a difference.

A broken tackle is when a tackle attempt occurred where the tackler had the ball carrier wrapped up but couldn’t bring him to the ground — effectively requiring contact. On a missed tackle, an attempt must be made but contact isn’t required, which is more common when a running back attempts a juke move.

We’re looking at the top 10 running backs at forcing both broken tackles and missed tackles from the 2024 NFL season. Note that multiple broken/missed tackles can be forced on the same play and that a running back can also both break a tackle and force a missed tackle on the same play. The data we’re using includes the playoffs.

Broken Tackles

In a contract year, Najee Harris posted a career-best PFF overall grade (77.8) and PFF rushing grade (77.5) while narrowly missing out on breaking the most tackles in the league. Harris’ big year culminated in a one-year, $5.25 million contract with the Chargers, which looks like an absolute bargain for Los Angeles.

Derrick Henry was one of just two running backs to rush for at least 200 yards on carries where he broke a tackle (the other being Saquon Barkley), but what’s more impressive is how efficient he was on such runs. Despite averaging just 1.3 yards per attempt before contact on broken-tackle carries, Henry converted 13 of 18 such runs into first downs. The only other back in double figures was J.K. Dobbins (10).

The Lions were the only team in the league last season to feature two running backs on this list — the self-styled Sonic and Knuckles duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. While they each had 13 runs that featured broken tackles, Montgomery missed time late in the season due to injury, meaning a fully healthy campaign could have seen him place higher on this list.

Missed Tackles Forced

One of the steals of the 2024 NFL Draft, Bucky Irving was a revelation in the Buccaneers’ backfield this past season. He was one of the hardest backs to bring down, despite not being selected until the 126th pick. Irving put up elite numbers across the board, including a 90.8 PFF overall grade, a 90.5 PFF receiving grade and a 90.0 PFF rushing grade.

Amid former first-rounder Travis Etienne‘s struggles, Tank Bigsby took on a significant role increase in the Jaguars’ backfield in 2024. His carries, rushing yards and rushing touchdowns all more than tripled in his second season out of Auburn. While Etienne did rush the ball 17 fewer times, he also forced significantly fewer tackles, with just 19 on the season after notching 66 and 65 in his first two NFL seasons. If these trends continue, Bigsby may find himself as the feature back in Jacksonville.

Nine players featured on both lists as the NFL’s most difficult running backs to bring down: Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, James Conner, Kyren Williams, Kenneth Walker III and Najee Harris.