In fantasy football, the running back position tends to get more volatile with each passing year as the number of “workhorse” backs diminishes in favor of committees.
There’s also going to be that stable of guys who consistently perform atop the position, including Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley or Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, but what will change in 2025?
Below, I’ll point to three running backs who I believe could be top-12 (RB1 status) running backs for the 2025 season and explain why.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
The Next Fantasy Football RB1s
Ashton Jeanty (RB – LV)
Ashton Jeanty may be a rookie, but he’s entering the NFL with as much hype as any running back prospect in recent memory. In his final season at Boise State, he ran 374 times for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns. Jeanty added 23 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown. While the receiving numbers weren’t that spectacular, it was mainly because he wasn’t asked to do much in the passing game. In 2023, he caught 43 passes for 569 yards and five touchdowns.
Jeanty lands on a Raiders team that’s desperate to get something going offensively. There’s a new head coach in Pete Carroll, the team traded for quarterback Geno Smith and the wide receiving corps got a bit of help with draft picks Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton. Still, the Raiders, with Carroll at the helm and their No. 6 overall draft pick, I expect Jeanty to get an obscene amount of work.
In 2024, the Raiders averaged just 22.4 rush attempts (30th), 79.8 rushing yards (32nd) and 0.6 rushing touchdowns (28th) per game. They also only ran the ball on just 35.68% of their offensive snaps (30th).
Now, with Jeanty, who’s shown he can catch passes and carry the workload, 300+ touches are totally in play here, and that’s not common in today’s NFL. He’ll be an RB1.
Kenneth Walker III (RB – SEA)
Kenneth Walker will enter 2025 as a 24-year-old. He’ll turn 25 in October, but despite this being his fourth NFL season, he’s still got plenty of youth on his side. Last season, he did miss some time, playing in 11 games. He’s missed time in each season of his career, playing 11 games as a rookie, 15 in 2023, and, as mentioned, 11 last season.
In 11 games, Walker ran 153 times for 573 yards and seven touchdowns. He added 46 catches on 53 targets for 299 yards and a touchdown. Despite missing six games (or five if you don’t count Week 18 for fantasy playoff purposes), he was the RB25. However, on a points per game (PPG) basis, Walker was the RB12 (16.5 points per game).
The Seahawks’ offense has been totally overhauled. They have a new quarterback in Sam Darnold, but they said goodbye to team staples and wide receivers DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. They still have Jaxon Smith-Njigba but replaced Metcalf and Lockett with Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Cooper Kupp.
Seattle only ran the ball on 37.18% of their offensive snaps (28th) last year. Their new offensive coordinator is Klint Kubiak. He was the offensive coordinator for the lowly New Orleans Saints last year, where they ran the ball on 43.02% of their snaps (17th). After having paid Darnold, they’ll want to throw the ball, but some of those targets will go to Walker, and key weapons like Lockett and Metcalf are gone. Look for Walker to get enough opportunities to finish as an RB1 so long as he can stay healthy.
Bucky Irving (RB – TB)
It’s hard to deny Bucky Irving at this point. As a rookie in 2024, Irving ran 207 times for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns. He added 47 catches on 52 targets for 392 yards in the passing game.
While the team did lose offensive coordinator Liam Coen, they now have Josh Grizzard, who was the passing game coordinator last season. Thus, I expect more of the same scheme-wise. Irving was the RB15 in PPR leagues last year, which is just three spots off of our RB12 cutoff for RB1 status. This came despite him only receiving double-digit carries twice until Week 10. Before that, he had 10 in Week 4 and 14 in Week 6.
From Weeks 1-9, Irving had 83 carries for 419 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the season, through Week 17, with 124 carries for 703 yards and five touchdowns. Irving was highly efficient, averaging 15.5 carries per game, finishing the season averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
Yes, Rachaad White is still there, but I expect Irving to be the top back in this offense moving forward. Consider this: Irving finished with 228 PPR points. If, on his 47 catches, he caught three touchdowns for 18 more points, he would’ve finished as — you guessed it — the RB12. As a rookie.
Lock Irving in for success this season.
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