5 Rookie Running Backs to Draft (2025 Fantasy Football)

Rookies are one of the last remaining edges to exploit in 2025 fantasy football drafts. Average draft position (ADP) lags. Upside is hard to contextualize for some, and plenty of people will shy away from drafting them because “they haven’t seen them produce yet.” Not me. Give me all the late-season rookie hammers, especially the undervalued ones. These are my favorite fantasy football values and rookies to target in 2025 drafts.

Fantasy Football Draft Values: Rookies to Target

RJ Harvey (RB – DEN) | ECR: RB27

RJ Harvey at an RB3 price tag… Oh my lawd.

This is way too low for the talented rookie. 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 led by Audric Estime and Jaleel McLaughlin. 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 Pro Football Focus (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.

Kaleb Johnson (RB – PIT) | ECR: RB30

Kaleb Johnson is seen as a middling RB3, and I think it’s wrong. 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 in Pittsburgh. 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 who could be an RB1 down the stretch in 2025 if he can distance himself further from Warren better than Harris ever could.

Cam Skattebo (RB – NYG) | ECR: RB42

If you believe, like I do, that it’s not if, but when Cam Skattebo takes over the Giants’ backfield, then this ranking is too low. The Giants added Skattebo to the backfield via the fourth round of the 2025 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 10 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 who could easily vault into an every-week top 15 running back.

Brashard Smith (RB – KC) | ECR: RB90

Yes, we have reached the final round of your draft value section of the article. Brashard Smith was another talented victim of this deep running back class. He dropped to the seventh round of the 2025 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.

Jarquez Hunter (RB – LAR) | ECR: RB92

Jarquez 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 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.