Running Backs Experts Target & Avoid (2025 Fantasy Football)

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. Let’s dive into a few notable fantasy football players below. And you can check out which experts are higher or lower than our expert consensus rankings using our Fantasy Football Rankings Comparison Tools.

Fantasy Football Draft Advice

Let’s dive into players I like more or less than the expert consensus rankings.

Players to Target

Derek Brown’s Rank	Player	ECR	Diff.
8	Kenneth Walker III SEA – RB	16	8
14	RJ Harvey DEN – RB	24	10
17	Tony Pollard TEN – RB	23	6
22	Kaleb Johnson PIT – RB	30	8
30	Cam Skattebo NYG – RB	41	11

Tony Pollard (TEN)

Pollard had a strong 2024 season as the Titans’ workhorse starter. He ranked ninth in snap share, opportunity, and weighted opportunities. Pollard finished as the RB22 in fantasy points per game while ranking 18th in explosive run rate and sixth in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). The pitiful nature of the Titans’ offense last year outside of Pollard crushed his season. He was only 22nd in red zone touches and was the RB15 in expected fantasy points per game. If Cam Ward can elevate this offensive ecosystem and Pollard can retain this awesome role, he could finish as a high-end RB2 this season.

Players to Avoid

Expert Consensus’s Rank	Player	Derek Brown’s Rank	Diff.
11	Kyren Williams LAR – RB	18	7
13	Breece Hall NYJ – RB	20	7
38	Tyjae Spears TEN – RB	45	7
44	Ray Davis BUF – RB	51	7
45	Austin Ekeler WAS – RB	53	8

Kyren Williams (LAR)

Last year, Williams pulled off his best yesteryear Rachaad White or Leonard Fournette impression. A volume gobbling inefficient back who turned in an RB1 season (RB10). Williams ranked first in snap share, second in opportunity share, and first in red zone touches. Williams had 350 touches and 1,481 total yards. With all that said, Williams was one of the most inefficient per touch backs in the NFL. Among 46 qualifying backs, he ranked 44th in explosive run rate, 37th in missed tackle rate, and 40th in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). Williams could retain his stranglehold on the volume again in a contract year, but it’s also possible that Blake Corum or Jarquez Hunter could eat into his workload. Williams is a top 15-20 running back who could easily be an RB1 again or see his stock come crashing down.