2025 NFL Mock Draft: Early-Round Running Back Predictions

As a Fantasy Football GM, do you do the same thing I do with NFL mock draft articles?

I pull them up and immediately begin quick scrolling for skill player names and landing spots. As my fingers move down the board, I wonder what this all could mean for my dynasty and redraft fantasy football teams. Instead of scrolling through 50, 60, or at least 100 player names to find the ones we focus on for fantasy football, I’m going to condense this with a new article series covering ONLY skill players and looking at where they could land in the NFL Draft based on expected draft position (EDP) from Mockdraftdatabase.com.

Before we dive into the fantasy football-friendly names and possible landing spots, check out my updated Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings and Rookie Rankings at FantasyPros.

Ok, let’s get to the fantasy football goodness. Here are running backs who are expected to be drafted in Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

As a Fantasy Football GM, do you do the same thing I do with NFL mock draft articles?

Before we dive into the fantasy football-friendly names and possible landing spots, check out my updated Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings and Rookie Rankings at FantasyPros.

Ok, let’s get to the fantasy football goodness. Here are running backs who are expected to be drafted in Rounds 1 and 2 of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Early-Round Running Back Landing Spot Predictions

Ashton Jeanty (RB – Boise State)

EDP: 7th overall

Scouting report:

Jeanty is an elite rusher of the football. His combination of contact balance and effortless acceleration is incredibly fun to watch. Jeanty doesn’t lose speed when stringing tackle breaking moves together. He has a Batman-level tool belt to deploy against incoming defenders. Jeanty can juke, jump cut, stiff arm, and spin out of wraps.
In his final collegiate season, defenses knew they were going to receive a heaping dose of Jeanty, and they were powerless to slow him down. He had at least 100 rushing yards in every game in 2024 except his season finale (six games with at least 200 rushing yards).
Defenders have to attack Jeanty with superb tackling technique, or he’ll make them pay. Jeanty has a unique combo of speed and power packed into a muscled-up frame. He sheds defenders with ease and routinely makes the first would-be tackler miss. It’s rare to see the first defender he encounters actually bring him down.
Jeanty has a no-nonsense running style. He is quick and decisive, diagnosing how to weave through the offensive line and the second level of a defense. Jeanty has superb vision, as he will also let off the gas at times to allow his blocks to set up in front of him. I have no worries about his speed. His home run gear might not be truly “elite,” but he has plenty of juice to break long runs and snap the spine of a defense in the process.
If there’s one area that Jeanty can improve in the NFL, it’s his skills as a short-yardage back. He has the leg drive and lower-half power to excel in this role, but at times he runs too upright when there are only a few yards to gain or a goal-line situation. Defenders can get up under his pads and push him back or halt his momentum.
Jeanty is a pass-game weapon. His usage in the passing game changed drastically from 2023 to 2024. In his final season, Boise State stripped him of his versatility and poured more touches into the early downs. In 2023, he lined up in the slot or out wide with 18.3% of his snaps. In 2024, that figure dropped to only 2.3%.
Jeanty is fluid in his route running. His smooth hips allow him to turn on a dime. He was utilized mainly on flat routes and as a checkdown option. Jeanty did have an expanded route tree in 2023 with some go routes and outs. He displayed easy separation and superb body control, with these reps securing some back-shoulder targets. Jeanty has the skills as a receiver to see his role expand immensely in this area in the NFL.
Jeanty still needs to hone his pass-pro skills. He was a chip-only option on plenty of passing downs. He will drop his eyes at times and lunge at defenders. He also needs to square up defenders better and get low to lock them down and anchor. Jeanty has the necessary lower-half strength, tenacity, and play strength to improve in this area in the NFL.

Player Comp: LaDainian Tomlinson

Possible landing spots: Raiders, Bears

Landing spot fit: Jeanty would be a wonderful fit with the Raiders. Las Vegas needs a bell-cow runner who can also excel in the passing game and take the pressure off Geno Smith. The Raiders also desperately need to add playmakers around franchise cornerstone Brock Bowers.

Chicago found out the hard way that D’Andre Swift isn’t a player that you can lean on heavily and run your offense through. The addition of Jeanty would give Ben Johnson a true difference-making workhorse back who will allow him to take the load off Caleb Williams as he tries to get his NFL career on track.

Omarion Hampton (RB – North Carolina)

EDP: 30th overall

Scouting report:

Hampton is a north/south, upright, and linear runner. Hampton has quick acceleration as he gets to top gear quickly. He doesn’t have a high-level second gear or elite long speed. He’ll get caught from behind on long runs, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be a chunk play artist in the NFL. He has only one year in college where his breakaway percentage eclipsed 40%.
Hampton isn’t the most fluid runner when changing direction in the open field. He’ll utilize jump cuts at the line to get to a free lane, but in the open field, he is a straight-line runner. His footsteps get choppy, and he loses speed in the second level when attempting to change course. His hips look stiff at times.
Hampton is a volume-gobbling machine. In his final collegiate season, he had 20 or more carries in 67% of his games. His physical running style can wear down a defense throughout a game. Hampton will lower the boom plenty throughout the course of a game. It serves as a tone-setter. This physical running style doesn’t do much in the realm of gaining him extra yards as he doesn’t fall forward many times when lowering his shoulder and instead gets stood up, but the physicality still isn’t something that defenders want to deal with 20-25 times during a game. He can soften up a defense with these repeated body blows.
Hampton’s upright running style can get him into trouble at times. His lower half is strong enough to run through weak wraps and defenders diving at his ankles, but if a defender can wrap him up decently, he can get chopped down.
Hampton is a check-down option only in the passing game. He is reliable in this realm, with only two drops and a 90% catch rate in college, but I don’t see him growing into a pass-game weapon in the NFL. His stiff hips, short-area agility, and raw speed limitations will limit his route-running upside.
He isn’t a skilled pass protector at this juncture. Hampton has a decent punch but doesn’t engage or anchor in pass protection well right now. He can chip and slow defenders down, but his pass-pro technique is lacking. He drops his eyes and lunges at defenders too often.

Player Comp: Zach Charbonnet

Possible landing spots: Broncos, Commanders

Landing spot fit: The Broncos desperately need a back who can be utilized in a workhorse role. Hampton can be that guy. Sean Payton has to add more playmakers to this Denver offense, and drafting Hampton would be a great start.

Washington will remain committed to the running game with Kliff Kingsbury calling the shots. Brian Robinson Jr. couldn’t stay healthy last year and is an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season. Hampton would give Kingsbury a James Conner-type back that he can feed 250-300 touches to for the next 4-5 years.

TreVeyon Henderson (RB – Ohio State)

EDP: 48th overall

Scouting report:

Henderson’s juice jumps out immediately as soon as you turn on the film. He consistently looks shot out of a cannon. Henderson, at times, will take a handoff and slow play the beginning of a rushing play as he casually inches toward the line before dropping the hammer into fourth gear and exploding upfield. The changeup can leave defenses on their heels.
Henderson runs angry like a pissed-off Tasmanian devil. Despite his smaller muscular frame, Henderson runs with underrated power. While he’s not a player who will consistently punish defenses with his physicality, he can run through contact and deal out a mean, stiff arm.
Henderson’s feet are electric. He’s a big play waiting to happen. He’s shifty, utilizing jump cuts and jab steps near the line and in the open field to find space in defenses to exploit.
Henderson also has a wicked spin move that he’ll use when defenders immediately penetrate the backfield, and he has to evade a tackler immediately after receiving a handoff.
His tenacity as a pass protector is evident. He has no issue launching himself at incoming rushers to keep his quarterback clean. He plays with fearlessness as a pass protector. Henderson anchors well for a back his size, and he has numerous reps where he puts defenders on their butts when they attempt to get near his quarterback.
Henderson is a serviceable receiver. He operated out of the backfield with flat routes and swing passes on many plays. He has the short-area agility to grow as a route runner at the next level.
Henderson’s size and lengthy injury history likely slot him in as the thunder component of a running back-by-committee situation, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t handle 12-15 touches weekly and make the most out of his volume.

Player Comp: C.J. Spiller

Possible landing spots: Cowboys, Chargers

Landing spot fit: Dallas has added some bodies to the running back room this offseason (Javonte Williams, Miles Sanders), but no back on that roster currently should be projected as the team’s starter in 2025. If that were to happen, Dallas would be in big trouble. This year, Dallas locks Jerry Jones in a closet after round one of the NFL Draft, so he can’t tip their draft plan hand to the media. Henderson becomes their 1A back who can maximize his 12-15 touches weekly. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dallas adds another big back to the room as well with one of their seven picks in rounds 5-7.

Henderson landing with Los Angeles would break the hearts of Najee Harris stans, but it would make a ton of sense for the Bolts. Harris can be the between-the-tackles hammer that can salt away the clock late while Henderson is their home run, hitting lightning in a bottle. It’s not difficult to envision Greg Roman seeing J.K. Dobbins 2.0 with Henderson.