When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and others to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. And you can check out which experts are higher or lower than our expert consensus rankings using our Fantasy Football Rankings Comparison Tools. Let’s look at rookie running backs I’m targeting in fantasy football drafts.
- More Fantasy Football Tips & Advice
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Dynasty Rankings
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Rookie Running Backs to Draft
Let’s dive into rookie running backs I’m drafting in fantasy football.
No matter how you slice it, Jeanty is a top-five back out the gate. He has a true three-down skillset and should get all the volume that he can handle. He’s a tackle-breaking maven. A skill that I have no doubt will translate to the NFL. Across his final two collegiate seasons, Jeanty ranked first and third in yards after contact per attempt and first and second in elusive rating (per PFF). Las Vegas will feature the run prominently, and Jeanty’s receiving upside gives him an insane ceiling for 2025. During Chip Kelly’s tenure in the NFL, his offenses have never ranked lower than 11th in rushing attempts. Also, during Kelly’s four years as an NFL offensive coordinator, in three of those seasons, his backfields had a 16.6-17.7% target share, but he also flooded his Philly backfield with targets in 2015 (28.7%). Jeanty could push for near the top end of that range. In 2023, he ranked first in receiving grade and second in yards per route run. Jeanty is primed for a rookie season that could rival Saquon Barkley‘s rookie year.
Harvey is set to explode in his rookie season. The runway is clear for takeoff. Sean Payton just put second-round capital behind a back that enters a room that Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin led. No, I’m not worried about either of those backs when they couldn’t carve out consistent roles last year with only the ghost of Javonte Williams standing in their way. It’s hard not to love a player like Harvey, who has ranked inside the top 20 among FBS running backs in each of the last two seasons in breakaway percentage and elusive rating (per PFF). Add in Payton’s running back usage, and Harvey looks primed to smash. Over the last two years, Payton has ranked fifth and first in running back target share. Harvey is a strong RB2 who could finish as an RB1 this season.
The Patriots drafted TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of the NFL Draft to challenge Rhamondre Stevenson from the jump. Stevenson isn’t going anywhere, but Henderson will play a prominent role in 2025 as, at worst, the 1B in this backfield. As we move through the season, Henderson will eat into Stevenson’s workload, if not quickly supplant him as the backfield leader. Henderson has the talent to do so. In two of his last four seasons in college, Henderson ranked top ten in yards after contact per attempt (seventh, eighth) and top 20 in breakaway percentage (10th, 18th). He will operate behind an improved offensive line that added Garrett Bradbury, Will Campbell, and Morgan Moses in the offseason. Henderson should be the team’s passing down back immediately, which is great news for his floor and ceiling. Across his last two collegiate seasons, Henderson has ranked 21st & 22nd in receiving grade (per PFF). Josh McDaniels will feature him through the air. In McDaniels’ last five full seasons of directing NFL offenses, he has ranked inside the top ten in four of those years, with 20-36.2% of the passing attack flowing through the backfield. Henderson could be New England’s version of Jahmyr Gibbs.
The Steelers jettisoned Najee Harris and drafted his replacement as their lead back in the third round of the NFL Draft. Last year, Harris operated in an offense that was fourth in rushing attempts as Harris soaked up 299 touches (10th-most). Even if we lower those year-one expectations for Johnson, even 250 touches would have ranked 21st in the NFL. Johnson brings a big play ability that has been lacking over the last 2-3 years. Last year, not only did he rank fifth in breakaway percentage, but he was also eighth in yards after contact per attempt and 14th in elusive rating (per PFF). My love for Jaylen Warren hasn’t dissipated, but we have to listen to the Steelers with their move to acquire Johnson’s services. Warren will likely operate in his usual role while Johnson does the heavy lifting for Arthur Smith’s run-centric offense. Johnson is an RB2/3 who could be an RB1 down the stretch in 2025 if he can distance himself further from Warren better than Harris ever could.
The Giants added Cam Skattebo to the backfield via the fourth round of the NFL Draft. He should be considered the early favorite to be the team’s workhorse after Tyrone Tracy‘s inconsistent rookie season and the team shelving any thought of Devin Singletary as their leading back. Skattebo was a volume monster during his final season in college and a true three-down back. He ranked 21st in yards after contact per attempt and 11th in elusive rating while also sitting inside the top ten in receiving grade and yards per route run (per PFF). It could take some time for Skattebo to wrestle 60-65% of the snaps away from the other players in this backfield, but it does feel like the eventual reality. Skattebo is a strong RB3/flex who could easily vault into an every-week top 15 running back.
Tugboat Tuten found a port in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Liam Coen and company hope that Tuten can pull their offense up the scoring ranks in 2025. Ok, that’s enough tugboat references. Tuten will compete from the jump for touches with holdovers Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby. Etienne looked like a shell of his former self last season, so Bigsby might be the most formidable adversary to a Tuten takeover. That doesn’t mean that Tuten and Bigsby couldn’t form a solid committee. Tuten has the juice to make the most of his touches. During his final collegiate season, he ranked tenth in yards after contact per attempt and breakaway percentage and eighth in elusive rating (per PFF). Tuten is an upside flier who could pay off handsomely in 2025, much like Bucky Iriving did last year.
Blue fell to the fifth round of the NFL Draft as he was swimming in a ridiculously deep running back draft class. The former Longhorn displayed some three-down big play ability in his final collegiate season. He ranked 26th in elusive rating, 35th in yards after contact per attempt, and 25th in yards per route run (per PFF). It’s not hard to envision Blue having a role in the backfield immediately in Week 1, considering the lackluster players surrounding him on the Dallas Cowboys’ depth chart. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders‘ best football looks to be behind them. Blue could be the passing down back from Day 1 with an avenue to become the team’s lead back quickly.
Hunter is arbitrage Bhayshul Tuten in fantasy football drafts. Hunter, much like Tuten, is headed to the NFL (Rams) via the fourth round of the NFL draft. Also, like Tuten, Hunter finds himself possibly buried for 2025 behind two veterans, but he also possesses the talent and pathway to surpass one or maybe both of them in the running back pecking order. Kyren Williams is a free agent after this season. The Rams thought so much of Blake Corum‘s rookie season that they addressed running back again this year. Hunter is incredibly talented. Hunter has ranked inside the top 24 in yards after contact per attempt in each of the last three seasons while also sitting in the top 22 in breakaway percentage in two of three years (per PFF). Hunter offers the Rams an explosive element that neither Williams nor Corum has. Last year, among 46 qualifying backs, Williams ranked 44th in explosive run rate, 37th in missed tackles forced per attempt, and 40th in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). Hunter could be one of the best values of the fantasy football draft season.
Smith was another talented victim of this deep running back class. He dropped all the way to the seventh round of the NFL Draft, which was surprising. The Chiefs added him to their already overstocked backfield. The Chiefs are no strangers to allowing a seventh-round running back a legit shot at starting (hi, Isiah Pacheco), so we can’t say that Smith has zero shot. I was enamored with Smith’s receiving ability as a converted wide receiver, his lightning quickness, and his possible upside as a rusher for a player who is still getting acclimated to the position. Last year, Smith ranked 34th in breakaway percentage, second in receiving grade, and 22nd in yards per route run (per PFF). Smith’s skill set is different from every other back in this depth chart. He could easily carve out a stand-alone role as Kansas City’s new Jerick McKinnon.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio
