If you are fond of juking, spinning, and using all the fancy moves to run the ball, the running back position is potentially the most enjoyable position in the game.
You can call plays for yourself and try to lead your team to success as the best RB in the league. However, to be the best, you also need to have a good running back build.
We have a total of three of the best RB builds in Madden 23, each centered around the best RBs in the NFL with varying playstyles for you to try out.
All Running Back Abilities
| Tier | Skill 1 | Skill 2 | Skill 3 |
| X-Factor | First One Free | Freight Train | Satellite |
| 2 | Matchup Nightmare | Leap Frog | Reach For It |
| 3 | Juke Box | Arm Bar | Bulldozer |
| 4 | Speed | Strength | Stamina |
| Yard | Coverage | Catching | Pass Accuracy |
| 99 Club | Juke Move | Spin Move | Break Tackle |
- First One Free – High fakeout rate on next juke, spin, or hurdle
- Freight Train – Increased chance to break the next tackle attempt
- Satellite – Wins RAC & possession catches vs. single coverage
- Matchup Nightmare – Better route running and catching vs. LBs
- LeapFrog – Prevents fumble while hurdling
- Reach For It – Frequently gains additional yards while being tackled
- Juke Box – Grants steerable juke animations
- Arm Bar – More powerful stiff-arm animations
- Bulldozer – More powerful truck animations
- Speed – Increase Speed rating by 5 points
- Strength – Increase Strength rating by 5 points
- Stamina – Increase Stamina rating by 5 points
- Coverage – Boost all Coverage ratings to 84
- Catching – Boost all Catch ratings to 84
- Pass Accuracy – Boost all Throw Accuracy ratings to 84
- Juke Move – Increase Juke Move rating by 4 points
- Spin Move – Increase Spin Move rating by 4 points
- Break Tackle – Increase Break Tackle rating by 4 points
Attribute Build – Skills
Here is the breakdown of all the LB skills and what attributes they affect.
| Skills | Attribute 1 | Attribute 2 | Attribute 3 |
| Carrying | Carry | ||
| Elusive Moves | Change of Direction | Spin Move | Juke Move |
| Power Moves | Trucking | Stiff Arm | |
| Break Tackle | Break Tackle | ||
| Receiving | Catch | Short Route Running |
The attribute upgrade priorities will be discussed for each build.
Power Runner Build – Derrick Henry
- Freight Train
- Reach For It
- Arm Bar
- Speed
- Break Tackle
Physique – Balanced
For the physique, we are going for balanced, so you get the added Juke perks and Truck perks. If you’ve already created your build, don’t worry as there is always the option to change your physique in Madden 23.
This Derrick Henry build revolves around overpowering man-to-man coverage while being speedy enough to avoid players who are stronger than you.
You can use jukes and spin moves to beat man coverage, but your best bet is to hit them with stiff arms and slight movements that throw them off.
When running, you’ll need to build up your momentum to fully take advantage of the build, so doing spin moves will only work if you’re being confronted by a deep safety and he’s the last man to beat. Otherwise, you’ll slow down too much and will likely end up being tackled.
The build overall gives you great versatility and plays around pushing for additional yardage needed to make first downs.
Freight Train increases your chance to break the tackle attempt. This is quite possibly the best X-Factor for running backs. It gives insane value, but you need to activate your X-Factor first before you get the bonus.
Reach For It improves on it by gaining additional yardage while being tackled. When you are running and have nowhere to go, you can hit up your man and get a couple of yards even if the defense perfectly reads the play.
Arm Bar and Speed give you a bit more utility when running the ball. It gives you that speedy edge against other balanced players while maintaining power over agile players.
Break Tackle will be the only option as we want to slowly gain yardage on each play run through you.
For the attribute or skill point priorities:
Carrying > Break Tackle >= Power Moves >= Catching > Elusive Moves
For the skill point allocations, we want to spread your attributes as you level up. All of them are important, and you will eventually reach the perfect power runner build when you get a 99 rating.
Receiver Build – Christian McCaffrey
- Satellite
- Matchup Nightmare
- Juke Box
- Speed
- Break Tackle
Physique – Agile
If your play style is more focused on receiving the ball, then you need to try out our Christian McCaffrey build.
This build excels in its ability to both run with the ball and receive the ball. This allows for flexibility when choosing which plays to run with, and it means you can punish the opposing defense in a variety of different ways.
Satellite improves your wins on run after catch (RAC) & possession catch against single coverage. Your goal is to leave the defender in the dust and get a lot of yardages.
The build is definitely attribute-reliant because you need great stats to make the build efficient.
Matchup Nightmare allows you to keep up against players with good LB builds or basically all the great LBs in the league.
Juke Box gives you the tools to get away from the defenders mechanically. You need great reflexes and the ability to read the defense fast enough, so you know where to run.
Break Tackle is highly valuable, but for this build, you can also choose Juke Move if you want to bet on your stick skills to defeat defenders. Break Tackle will be the better choice only for consistency.
For the attribute or skill point priorities:
Carrying > Break Tackle >= Elusive Moves>= Catching > Power Moves
For the attributes, we want to spread it out like the previous build. The only difference is that we are focusing on Elusive Moves more than Power Moves.
All-Rounder Build – Dalvin Cook
- First One Free
- Matchup Nightmare
- Juke Box
- Speed
- Spin Move or Juke Move
Physique – Agile
If you want to be a jack of all trades as a running back, then you should go for our all-rounder build, which plays like a lot of NFL Running Backs, but most like Dalvin Cook for reference.
When using this build, you’ll be effective at running, receiving, trucking, and juking but not outstanding at any of them, which will allow you to fit in with any offensive system.
The only difference in this build is the First One Free X-Factor, which boosts your fakeout rate on the next juke, spin, or hurdle.
Running backs do what they do best. Run the ball. We will be boosting your ability to get through coverage with Matchup Nightmare, Juke Box, and Speed.
Juke Box can be changed with Arm Bar if you prefer using Spin Moves over Juke Moves. You can freely choose how you want to run the ball.
Is it by juking through the man-to-man coverage or using a stiff arm to push away defenders and having the ability to spin through traffic?
For the attribute or skill point priorities:
Carrying > Break Tackle >= Elusive Moves>= Catching >= Power Moves
Focus on increasing Carrying and Break Tackle. You can allocate points to the other attributes depending on your preferred playstyle.
Now that you know the best RB Build, I recommend checking out our guide to the best CB build as well. It’ll be particularly helpful if you’re still trying to decide which position you want to play.
