When handed the assignment to write about fantasy football bounce-back candidates at the running back position for 2025, my initial reaction was: If I remember correctly, 2024 was a pretty darn good year for running backs, with Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry and Joe Mixon bucking the “dismiss players over 30” trend. Who actually disappointed?
A deeper statistical dive revealed several candidates that had room for improvement on a per-touch basis, rather than players who had a poor return due to bad luck or injuries. It is easy to point out the fact that Christian McCaffrey was a bust for managers last year — he barely participated in four games total. Isiah Pacheco fractured his fibula early in the season. Nick Chubb and Javonte Williams were both returning from serious injuries. Top prospect Jonathon Brooks hardly touched the field before re-tearing his ACL (an injury that will sideline him for the entirety of this year). The list goes on. When I consider “bounce-back” players, I take that as a nod towards those options who were on the field plenty, but produced little.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Draft Targets: Bounce-Back Running Backs
Here are a few running backs I think will rebound after a frustrating 2024 campaign.
D’Andre Swift (RB – CHI)
D’Andre Swift finished as the fantasy RB19 last season in PPR formats, but plenty of his underlying statistics were encouraging. Playing for his third team in as many years, Swift started the season slowly through the first three weeks, struggling to find any running lanes behind a decrepit Chicago offensive line that was constantly under duress. Swift was the RB44, RB32 and RB45 during that period, and appeared visibly frustrated with his lack of production.
Something clicked in Week 4 (perhaps he was finally comfortable with the playbook), and he rattled off four straight weeks as an RB1 before his usage eventually deteriorated later in the year. This developed into a theme for Swift — when the Bears committed to the running game and handed him the ball more than 16 times, he scored a rushing touchdown in five out of eight games. Unfortunately, constantly playing from behind against difficult opponents in the back half of the season, coupled with poor quarterback play from Caleb Williams, limited his overall workload.
Knocked for being injury-prone earlier in his career, Swift has rattled off consecutive seasons with 16+ starts and has handled over 560 total touches since 2022. Durability should no longer be a concern when drafting him for fantasy purposes.
Swift’s critics will point to his career-low 3.8 yards per attempt (YPA) last year as an indicator he shouldn’t be provided a large workload. I’d argue that no running back in the NFL could have effectively run behind the Bears’ offensive line last year, and it was a minor miracle his totals approached what they did.
With Chicago making it a point of emphasis to reshape the line entirely (they traded for guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney, signed center Drew Dalman in free agency and then spent a second-round selection on tackle Ozzy Trapilo from Boston College), this group should be dramatically better.
Swift still possesses his trademark speed and ability to make defenders miss in open space. With new head coach Ben Johnson at the helm and no direct competition to challenge him for touches, I’m very bullish on a strong turnaround from him. As of mid-July, Swift’s average draft position (ADP) has him at RB25, with our expert consensus rankings (ECR) ranking him slightly higher at RB22. I’d be willing to wager he beats both of those grades handily.
Kenneth Walker III (RB – SEA)
I’ve long been a fan of Walker’s skillset after watching him play at Michigan State, as he reminded me of a more violent Le’Veon Bell from years past. Possessing a large frame with fantastic hands and deceptive quickness, Walker has developed into the ultimate “what if” player at the position. What if Walker stayed healthy for a full season? What sort of stats would he record?
Missing 10 games over the first three seasons (primarily due to lower body soft-tissue injuries) has been an issue that is difficult to overlook or be dismissive of. Still, I’m eternally hopeful Walker can put things all together entering 2025 and remain on the field more often. Even if this comes at the ultimate detriment of handing over a drive or two to backup Zach Charbonnet to preserve Walker’s health, I’m all for it.
Why include him here? What is the optimism that he puts things together for 2025? The short answer is the Seahawks’ decision to bring in offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak and run game coordinator Rick Dennison, and their historical track record of success.
Seattle made the puzzling decision to become a one-dimensional offensive team in recent seasons, passing the ball at an overwhelming clip. Former quarterback Geno Smith finished fourth in the league with 578 pass attempts last season, yet neither Walker nor Charbonnet eclipsed 154 carries. The Seahawks’ offensive line was capable enough when called upon to run the ball, but the team was over-reliant upon quick passes instead to move the ball downfield.
Kubiak and Dennison have already been public about their desire to use Walker quite a bit with their outside zone scheme, stating in early February, “We look forward to using him in this scheme, and we are going to ask a lot out of him.” (Interview note courtesy of @Coachspeakindex on X). Touches should be prevalent for Walker, and I feel that he is in store for a career season, provided he can stay healthy.
Brian Robinson Jr. (RB – WSH)
Brian Robinson’s inclusion on this list comes with a caveat — I feel he is undoubtedly a bounce-back candidate to have a stronger statistical output than 2024, but he will remain a better player to draft in standard leagues than PPR formats, due to the presence of veteran Austin Ekeler behind him.
Robinson was hampered by a litany of injuries in 2024 that held him to 14 games total. Realistically, he was a shell of himself after Week 8 finished. Knee, ankle and hamstring maladies sapped his explosiveness. Though to his credit, he attempted to play through the pain, it was evident he never played 100% down the stretch. A fixture upon the injury report with managers flipping a coin on Sundays to determine his playing status, it is easy to forget what a blazing start Robinson was off to in 2024.
Through the first seven games of the year, Robinson scored six rushing touchdowns, and that included missing Week 6 against Baltimore. The elusiveness of Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels prohibited defenses from keying in solely on Robinson in the running game and opened up lanes for him to utilize in short-yardage situations. Provided he can stay healthy and remain on the field in 2025, Robinson will continue to benefit from defensive coordinators placing a spy on Daniels to contain his explosiveness.
Robinson’s Achilles’ heel from a fantasy standpoint is his light usage as a receiving threat. His career high in receptions was 36, set in 2023. Backup Austin Ekeler is a superior option in that regard and will continue to be used as the primary checkdown option for Daniels in short-yardage situations. Robinson will continue to lock down the short-yardage and goal-line scenarios, offering him touchdown upside on a highly potent offense that looks to make a deep playoff run yet again.
Look for Washington to lighten Daniels’ carries to preserve him for the long haul, relying instead on Robinson to accrue yardage up and down the field. He is currently ranked as the RB30, per ADP, and RB31 in ECR, but has all the potential to be a solid top-24 play that comes at a discount.
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