That’s a wrap on the 2025 NFL draft. Now, it’s time to kick fantasy football season into full gear.
There were 25 running backs chosen over the last three days. More will trickle through during undrafted free agency. Let’s look at which tailbacks will be fantasy-relevant in the upcoming season.
First-Round Workhorses
Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
Duh. Considering the teams at the top of the draft, Ashton Jeanty couldn’t have hoped for a better situation to be productive immediately. New Raiders head coach Pete Carroll loves himself a good power back. Geno Smith is in the building to stabilize the offense. Las Vegas has a strong run blocking line. Everything is lined up for instant success.
The running talent speaks for itself. The good news for his fantasy outlook is that Jeanty is an unheralded receiving back. When you run for 2,600 yards, people forget you can catch the ball, too. Jeanty should see his fair share of passing down snaps and backfield targets to keep his value afloat in PPR formats.
Committee Backs
Los Angeles Chargers RB Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)
Leave it to Jim Harbaugh to pick an early running back. This may be one of the more fascinating committee splits through training camp and preseason. New signing Najee Harris was the presumed starter until now, but it’s up in the air at the moment.
Omarion Hampton is the more explosive runner, a better pass protector and a superior receiving back. At six feet tall and built, he’s more than capable of running between the tackles. However, Harris is coming off four straight 1,000-yard seasons. Harbaugh will want him involved regardless of how good Hampton is.
I expect Hampton to be on the committee’s stronger side by the end of the year. Harris may monopolize the goal-line carries for most of the season, but at the end of the day, he’s a back with over 1,000 career carries and a low YPC average on a one-year deal. Hampton will be worth a shot in the middle rounds as a potential late-season riser. Give him a boost in PPR formats as he should be the early passing down back.
Cleveland Browns RB Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)
The Browns came into the draft hunting for a running back. With Nick Chubb’s departure all but sealed, they needed an infusion of new blood. Quinshon Judkins arrives as the favorite for the two-down thumper role in Cleveland.
Those who played CFB 25 know his running style, especially the deadly spin move. He’s got preposterous lower body strength and a patient between-the-tackles style. Judkins also boasts enough speed to break away into the second level when given a seam. All of his issues as a fantasy prospect are situational.
Jerome Ford is an excellent passing-down back and will take many of those touches. That handicaps Judkins’ value in PPR leagues. The state of this Browns team exacerbates that. Currently, Kenny Pickett is the favorite to start in Week 1, followed by rookies Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel. It’s safe to say this team isn’t going to be playing ahead very often. On top of that, Cleveland also took Tennessee RB Dylan Sampson in the fourth round.
Even if Judkins takes the lion’s share of carries and goal-line touches, he has a limited outlook for this year. He’s more of a late-round stab than a mid-round guy.
New England Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State)
The second Buckeye running back off the board, TreVeyon Henderson finds himself in a more advantageous position than his former backfield mate.
After a breakout sophomore campaign, incumbent RB Rhamondre Stevenson has underwhelmed the past two seasons. He’s hovered around four yards per carry and is a lackluster receiving back. Henderson comes in as a more explosive runner who can turn the corners well and break through seams. On top of that, he’s an excellent pass protecting back who can catch well out of the backfield.
Much like Hampton, Henderson seems likely to start on the weak side of the committee with a good chance to end on the strong side by season’s end. Unlike Hampton and his Chargers, Henderson’s Patriots have little chance of being competitive this year. The game script should favor his receiving and pass blocking work, leading to more snaps and trust. He’s also going to be the favorite for hurry-up/two-minute offense snaps, the most valuable running back snaps in fantasy football. He should have early PPR value with a chance to become a strong starter by the end of the season, and more than worthy of a middle round target.
Denver Broncos RB RJ Harvey (UCF)
A good team and a wide open backfield is a potent formula for rookie success. Jaleel McLaughlin and Audric Estime are the only holdovers who saw significant touches this past season. Neither was particularly inspiring. RJ Harvey has a chance to take a stranglehold on touches in this backfield.
What concerns me is that there is a lot of offseason left, and coaches like Sean Payton don’t want to go into the season with a room full of inexperienced backs. And many veteran, one-year-deal-type backs are left on the market. It would shock me if Denver didn’t add another back to compete with Harvey and others for touches.
Considering the second-round capital invested in Harvey, he should be the favorite for touches. But don’t be surprised if some fantasy shine comes off the UCF project between now and training camp.
Pittsburgh Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson (Iowa)
This is one of the better scheme fits in the draft. Kaleb Johnson is a physical and smart runner between the tackles and a great fit for the Pittsburgh zone scheme. His production speaks for itself with over 1,500 yards and 21 scores this past season. With the departure of Najee Harris, someone was needed to thump between the tackles and save Jaylen Warren’s legs for explosive plays.
I’d expect Johnson to get the strong side split of the carries but cede most of the passing down work to Warren. However, Johnson should be the favorite for goal-line work. Much of his value comes down to how Pittsburgh addresses the quarterback position. If it can find a way to get competent QB play, he can eat in standard leagues. If not, he may be a touchdown-dependent flex option with no PPR value.
Possible Committee Backs/Priority Backups
Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten (Virginia Tech), New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo (Arizona State), San Francisco 49ers RB Jordan James (Oregon), Cleveland Browns RB Dylan Sampson (Tennessee)
