2025 NFL Draft Class by Position: Running Backs, Part One
Last week, we kicked this series off with a look at the 2025 crop of quarterbacks. From prospect summaries to class comparisons to rookie draft projections, we laid out the landscape for what is arguably the most shallow and least exciting position in this year’s NFL draft. Now we get to the good stuff.
This will be the second article in a six-part series covering the relevant names in the class, with one each on the quarterbacks and tight ends and two each on the running backs and wide receivers. Most specifically, we’ll be painting this year’s prospects in the context of previous classes — granting you a helpful point of reference for each position.
And while the quarterbacks were somewhere between average and uninspiring, the running back group is both star-studded at the top and deep enough to demand multiple articles in this series. We’ll cover the names likely to go in the first round of rookie drafts here and the balance in the ensuing piece.
Previous Class Grades
Before we dive into the names on 2025 draft boards, let’s set the scene with a quick look at recent classes.
| Class | Notable Players | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jonathon Brooks, Tyrone Tracy Jr, Trey Benson, Ray Davis, Isaac Guerendo, Blake Corum | F |
| 2023 | Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs, De’Von Achane, Chase Brown, Tank Bigsby, Tyjae Spears, Zach Charbonnet | A+ |
| 2022 | Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III, Kyren Williams, James Cook, Rachaad White, Brian Robinson, Isiah Pacheco, Dameon Pierce, Tyler Allgeier, Zamir White, Ty Chandler | A |
| 2021 | Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, Rhamondre Stevenson, Chuba Hubbard, Javonte Williams, Kenneth Gainwell, Elijah Mitchell | C+ |
| 2020 | Jonathan Taylor, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, D’Andre Swift, Cam Akers, JK Dobbins, AJ Dillon, Antonio Gibson, Zack Moss | C- |
Coming off a dismal 2024, you may be tempted to avoid running backs in rookie drafts until the end of time. That would be a mistake. The class was predictably weak, with zero backs selected in the first round and just one — with a torn ACL — selected in round one (Jonathon Brooks). Still, it was a historically unproductive group: they combined for just 1,036 PPR fantasy points, fewest by any class in the last 15 years. And to make matters worse, not a single one is likely to have a strong hold on an RB1 role in 2025, with fifth-round pick Tyrone Tracy Jr being the closest (for now).
However, we only need to look back one year prior to remember just how good a rookie RB group can be. The 2023 class gave us Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, both round one locks in startup drafts today, along with De’Von Achane, who’s squarely in the top five at the position as well. Plus, second-year breakout Chase Brown (RB15 in startup ADP) is an unexpected stud, and even Tank Bigsby, Tyjae Spears, and Zach Charbonnet have had valuable stretches. If Robinson, Gibbs, Achane, and Brown remain in their current value ranges for a few years, this could be remembered as one of the better classes of the (young) century.
Think that was a flash in the pan? Slide back one more year to the 2022 class. While none of these guys were selected on day one, Breece Hall, Kenneth Walker III, Kyren Williams, and James Cook are currently all top-12 startup picks at the position. Hall, Williams, and Cook have all already posted at least one top-eight PPR fantasy season — as has Rachaad White — while Walker, Isiah Pacheco, and Brian Robinson Jr. have all logged RB1 stretches of varying lengths. The class may not be quite as top-heavy as 2023, but it’s still an excellent group that’s given us several valuable assets.
Unfortunately, the couple of classes prior to 2023 were more disappointing than they were landscape-changing. We expected more out of Najee Harris, Travis Etienne, and Javonte Williams in 2021, and while Rhamondre Stevenson and Chuba Hubbard have been quite good over short stretches, no one in this class has cemented themselves as a multi-year RB1. As for 2020, Jonathan Taylor has done his best to carry the class, but Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a mega-bust at 32nd overall and none of the other Round 2 picks — D’Andre Swift, Cam Akers, JK Dobbins, and AJ Dillon — have garnered any consistent or lasting value. Both classes have given us enough to avoid the “F” grade that 2024 has earned (so far), but neither has shifted the state of the position in dynasty.
So where does the 2025 class stack up? We’re going to have to dive in to find out.
Meet the Prospects
The clear number one running back in this class is also the consensus 1.01 in rookie drafts, even in superflex formats, so this is the kind of player who changes a class and a positional landscape all on his own.
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
Pick Projection: Round 1 (Raiders, Cowboys, Steelers)
Comps: LaDainian Tomlinson, Alvin Kamara
The superlatives abound with Ashton Jeanty: generational back, best RB prospect since Saquon Barkley, comparisons to GOATs like LaDainian Tomlinson and Barry Sanders. The question, of course, is whether he’ll live up to those expectations … and every angle for finding an answer suggests that he will. His production is absurd: 2,601 rushing yards in 2024, falling just short of Barry Sanders’ single-season record, along with 29 touchdowns on the ground. As a sophomore, he had 1,916 yards and 19 touchdowns from scrimmage, with excellent receiving production that Boise State shifted into the ground game in pursuit of the rushing record last year (i.e. he’s an excellent receiver despite what the 2024 numbers suggest).
On tape, he’s got literally everything: elite contact balance, elite vision, elite burst and excellent long speed, a rare combination of shiftiness in space and power in traffic. At 5-foot-8, 211 pounds, he’s technically “small,” but the kind of small we see in guys like Alvin Kamara or Kenneth Walker III, where their compact frame and lower center of gravity make them an even tougher tackle. How tough, you ask? According to Pro Football Focus, he forced 152 missed tackles on runs in 2024 … nearly 50 more than Cam Skattebo in second place (103) or Bijan Robinson back in 2022 (104). Jeanty posted 1,970 rushing yards after contact — more than fourth overall pick Ezekiel Elliott had in total back in his final season at Ohio State (1,821). He’s smart, fast, impossible to tackle, and clearly capable of handling a bell-cow workload — hence the 1.01 projection.
Were this any decade prior to the 2020s, Jeanty would likely be a top-five pick in the NFL Draft … and it’s still not impossible he sneaks in there or goes to Las Vegas at six. No matter where he lands, he will be an instant RB1 in both redraft and dynasty and at least a second-round pick in startups. This time next year, it would not be shocking to see his name atop the dynasty running back rankings … and even in the conversation with Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson at the top of startup drafts.
After Jeanty, there’s one more name the majority of analysts agree on at RB2 before the rest of the class falls to the chaos of preference and opinion.
Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
Pick Projection: Late Round 1 – Early Round 2
Comps: Ezekiel Elliott, Rashaad Penny
While Jeanty can do everything well, Hampton is very good in a much more singular lane (pun intended): running downhill. Despite weighing in at 221 pounds at the combine, he posted an extremely impressive 4.46 in the 40-yard dash — a rare size-speed combination that can best be compared to prospects like Ezekiel Elliott or Rashaad Penny (hence the comps). He brings a violent north-south running style with great contact balance, making him a tough tackle once he gets going but limiting his evasion, change of direction quickness, and creativity in the backfield.
While he’s unlikely to be a 50-catch back at the NFL level, he improved as a receiver through his college career and averaged 9.8 yards per reception on 38 catches in 2024, thanks primarily to plus acceleration and yards after contact on screens. Hampton is the kind of back whose upside might depend more heavily on finding a good scheme fit and a good offensive line, but who carries a high floor as a Week 1 starter with three-down potential and an early crack at goal-line work.
Over the rest of the first round of rookie drafts, three more running backs form a sort of 2B tier (leaving Hampton alone in 2A), and you’ll find them in every possible order depending on who you ask. They also form a tier in many mocks of the NFL draft, with all three drawing interest early on day two.
TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
Pick Projection: Round 2
Comps: Aaron Jones
Explosivity. It’s not hard to pinpoint what Henderson offers to an offense and that’s it: game-breaking big-play ability. He earned the highest Next Gen Stats “Athleticism Score” among the backs at the 2025 combine, thanks in large part to a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash, where he reached 23.38 miles per hour. Henderson is a primarily north-south runner who will burst through the hole with immediate top-end speed, but he also has good vision and decent contact balance and can make impressive lateral cuts when needed. He’s a very capable pass-catcher and well-recognized for his pass-blocking chops, so you can expect to see him active on third downs immediately.
The main downside with Henderson is his size (5-foot-10, 202 lbs), durability, and what those factors mean for his potential workload. He split touches with Quinshon Judkins in 2024 for a reason: Henderson’s frame and skills are best suited for a complementary role in an offense with a bruiser between the tackles. That will typically limit his fantasy upside — and likely keeps him out of the first round in April — but Henderson does have Jahmyr-Gibbs-in-Detroit-type upside in a best-case scenario.
Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
Pick Projection: Round 2
Comps: Brian Robinson Jr., James Conner
Johnson is a somewhat unique balance of traits: he’s patient and shifty behind the line — sometimes drawing Le’Veon Bell comps as a result — but powerful through contact with a bell-cow build (6-foot-1, 224 pounds). He doesn’t have flashy speed by any means, but his quickness and agility through the line get him to the second level with consistency. Last year, 56 running backs in college football had 200+ carries, and while Ashton Jeanty (and only Jeanty among that group) had more yards after contact per attempt than Johnson (4.4), the Iowa runner averaged more yards before contact per attempt (1.9) than Jeanty. The vision behind the line and the toughness through traffic set a high floor for Johnson, even if the ceiling is somewhat capped. Johnson has done very little as a receiver and struggles in pass protection, so his path to a three-down workload is narrow — though he has the size and stamina to shoulder it if needed. For scouts and fantasy managers with a preference for reliable runners over flashy athletes, Johnson could be the RB2 in this class.
Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
Pick Projection: Round 2
Comps: Kareem Hunt, Joe Mixon
Like Johnson, Judkins carries a prototypical frame — 6-foot, 221 pounds — but unlike Johnson, he possesses 4.4 speed (and an explosive 11-foot broad jump). He earned a 92 Athleticism Score from Next Gen Stats at the combine, putting him in a tier of size-plus-athleticism that includes names like Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor. And while Judkins does not have the production peaks those prospects did, he did post 1,000+ rushing yards and 14+ rushing touchdowns in all three college seasons (something only two other Power 5 backs have done in the last 20 years).
He’s an explosive runner — not surprising, given his measurables — who has the vision to find the hole, the burst to win it, and the tools to force tons of missed tackles with both contact balance and agility. He’s always falling forward, which is an underrated feature for between-the-tackles RBs, and should find the end zone plenty at the NFL level. He has natural hands and should be serviceable as a receiver, but many coaches and systems may prefer to pair him with a “third-down back.” If he gets second-round capital, I think you can expect Judkins to get an RB1 workload out the gate and threaten for fantasy relevance immediately.
What to Do in Drafts
So how do the first couple rounds of this 2025 draft class compare, and where should we be looking to snag them in rookie drafts (especially any that occur pre-NFL-draft)?
For me, I think we need to hearken back a little further in the past to find a semi-comparable group: specifically to 2018. That was the year Saquon Barkley went second overall to the Giants, marking the last time a running back was drafted inside the top seven — a feasible outcome for Ashton Jeanty. He has landscape-shifting potential that can elevate an entire class, but this isn’t all about the Boise State back. That 2018 class also had six backs picked between 27th overall and 59th overall — Rashaad Penny, Sony Michel, Nick Chubb, Ronald Jones II, Kerryon Johnson and Derrius Guice.
While I don’t expect to see that quantity of RBs on late day one and early day two, it’s quite possible we get an equal or better serving of quality. Omarion Hampton can be what Penny might have been with better health and a starting gig. Henderson should be a more effective, reliable, and versatile speedster than Jones. And both Johnson and Judkins have the upside to land somewhere between Michel and Chubb — ideally closer to the latter. It’s also a curious bonus that if Henderson and Judkins are both selected in the first two rounds, they’ll be just the second draft school duo to accomplish that in the last 15 years … alongside Chubb and Michel.
In non-superflex rookie drafts, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a rookie mock or rankings list that doesn’t have all five of these running backs in the first round. And good luck finding a single one with Jeanty lower than 1.01 — he is the unquestioned king of this class, regardless of position, and the number one pick should be worth a boatload in trade talks when relevant. While a few analysts will have one of the Henderson-Judkins-Johnson duo ahead of Hampton, most will agree that Hampton is the next back off the board and slot him in anywhere from 1.02 to 1.04 depending on top wide receiver valuations.
After that, the OSU duo typically takes the next two RB spots in the middle of the first round, with the order depending mostly on stylistic preference. Personally, I prefer Judkins to Henderson, but some like Henderson’s upside as a Gibbs-esque game-changer. As for Johnson, he drops closer to the back of the first round in most rankings, but don’t be surprised to see him around 1.08 in ADP (and in my own rankings) — his slot will likely be dictated by whether the top two tight ends go before or after him in your draft.
Superflex formats don’t change much. Cam Ward will likely go right after Jeanty and drop the other backs down a slot, and many drafts will likely see Shedeur Sanders go before the fifth RB, but otherwise things stay relatively the same.
We’ll cover a full class evaluation once we tackle the remaining names next week, but as far as this top half is concerned, we can log a couple of important takeaways. One, if you want a starting running back out the gate, you’ll need to invest in one of these five prospects in the first round of your rookie draft. The tier drop to the next batch of names is nearly a full round in most circles and will massively reduce the likelihood of hitting. Two, if you have a significant need at the position, this group is strong enough to justify trading up to grab more than one of them. I would not be surprised to see several long-term starters born from the top of this class, so feel free to be aggressive in drafts if you want them. Oh, and if you can get Jeanty, do it.
- 2025 NFL Draft Class by Position: Tight Ends - April 20, 2025
- 2025 Dynasty Fantasy Football Rookie Drafts: A View from the 1.08 - April 14, 2025
- 2025 NFL Draft Class by Position: Wide Receivers, Part Two - April 12, 2025
