Do you remember the rookie running back class of 2024? Yeah, me neither.
Okay, that’s not fair to Fantasy Football heroes like Bucky Irving and … I guess Tyrone Tracy, Braelon Allen, Ray Davis, and Isaac Guerendo. Who else made an impact? I should remember these things.
You get the point. The class wasn’t great.
Well, if last year’s RB class was buns, this one is sizzling steak. We’re talking about an influx of talent ranging from passing-downs backs with plus hands who could do serious damage over 12 touches per game to workhorses who can handle 15 touches with goal-line dominance — and even a few backs who can do all of the above with the best one, Ashton Jeanty, carrying Ezekiel Elliott-in-his-prime upside.
Dynasty league managers will love the depth. Expect the first round of rookie-only drafts to look kinda like old-school Fantasy drafts where running backs dominate. That’s because the prospects at this position are great this year and the other positions aren’t. It’s also expected that desirable running backs will make it as far as Round 3 — if you’re lean on long-term running back options, this draft class will make you happy.
And it’s expected that plenty of rookie running backs will get snagged in seasonal drafts, too. Jeanty will be a first-round pick and at least two other rushers will be top-50 options. You might remember a lot of rookie running backs as trendy mid/late-round choices last year (guys like Trey Benson, Blake Corum, and MarShawn Lloyd). There will be more of those this year. Again, it’s a great time for any draft strategy because this class is so deep.
- Age as of Week 1: 21
- Height: 5-foot-8 ½
- Weight: 211
- Hand size: 9 ¼
- Comparable body-type to: Alfred Morris
Ashton Jeanty college stats
| Year | G | Att | Yds | Yds/att | TD | Rec | Yds | Yds/rec | TD | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 14 | 374 | 2601 | 7 | 29 | 23 | 138 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| 2023 | 12 | 220 | 1347 | 6.1 | 14 | 43 | 569 | 13.2 | 5 | 4 |
| 2022 | 14 | 156 | 821 | 5.3 | 7 | 14 | 155 | 11.1 | 0 | 1 |
Best advanced stats: Jeanty accumulated the most yards after contact (1,970) and missed tackles forced (130) in College Football Playoff-era records (since 2014). His number of yards after contact was more than the 1,711 total rush yards Cam Skattebo had — and he finished second in the nation in rushing yards!
Worst advanced stats: In four career games against AP-ranked competition, Jeanty had just 19.4 carries per touchdown with a 9.3% explosive run rate. In three seasons he averaged a touchdown every 15 carries and a 14.1% explosive run rate. Yeah, it was hard to find a bad advanced stat for Jeanty.
Bottom line: Jeanty is among the most NFL-ready prospects in the draft. Powerful with unreal contact balance and great speed, Jeanty should be able to churn for yardage immediately, though the better his offensive line is, the more explosive he’ll be. An NFL team should opt to use him as a pass-catcher as well, giving him another dimension to attack defenders. If it happens, he’ll contend to lead the NFL in yards from scrimmage at least once in his first four years in the league (if not all four years). — Dave Richard
- Age as of Week 1: 22
- Height: 5-foot-11 ¾
- Weight: 221 pounds
- Hand size: 9 ⅜ inches
- 40-yard dash time: 4.46 seconds
- Comparable body-type to: Marshawn Lynch
Omarion Hampton college stats
| Year | G | ATT | YDS | YDS/A | TD | YDS/G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (North Carolina) | 12 | 281 | 1,660 | 5.9 | 15 | 138.3 |
| 2023 (North Carolina) | 13 | 253 | 1,504 | 5.9 | 15 | 115.7 |
| 2022 (North Carolina) | 13 | 88 | 401 | 4.6 | 6 | 30.8 |
Best advanced stats: Hampton ranked in the 97th Percentile in Yards After Contact Per Attempt (4.3), per PFF. It rose to 4.7 yards when not in the red zone.
Worst advanced stats: Hampton had a 42.1% success rate (8 of 19) on carries inside the 5-yard line in 2024, 100th-best in the FBS among backs with at least 100 carries. By comparison, Cam Skattebo had a 72% success rate and Ashton Jeanty had a 52% success rate. Hampton was at 53% in 2023.
Bottom line: Hampton is not the most elusive runner and he runs high, so a porous offensive line could hamper his production (similar to how we’ve seen with runners like Taylor and Latavius Murray, among others) in the past. But if you can get him in the right scheme, he can shine right away. His pass game skills (protection and receiving) give him the upside to play on all three downs for an offense. He can be a weapon in the red zone but also a home-run hitter at any given moment. If you get him in the right zone-blocking scheme, Hampton could be a star right away. — Dan Schneier
- Age as of Week 1: 22 (23 in October)
- Height: 5-foot-10 1/8
- Weight: 202
- Hand size: 9 1/2 inches
- Comparable body-type to: early-career Marshall Faulk
TreVeyon Henderson college stats
| Year | G | Att | Yds | Yds/att | TD | Rec | Yds | Yds/rec | TD | FL |
| 2024 (Ohio State) | 16 | 144 | 1016 | 7.1 | 10 | 27 | 284 | 10.5 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 (Ohio State) | 10 | 156 | 926 | 5.9 | 11 | 19 | 229 | 12.1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 (Ohio State) | 8 | 107 | 571 | 5.3 | 6 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 (Ohio State) | 13 | 183 | 1248 | 6.8 | 15 | 27 | 312 | 11.6 | 4 | 0 |
Best advanced stats: Rushing average of 7.1 yards and an explosive rush rate of 18.8% were both best among all of the top 2025 RB prospects, including Ashton Jeanty (7.0 yards per rush, 14.4% explosive run rate). The dude is fast.
Worst advanced stats: Had a third-down rush conversion rate of 38.5%, among the worst in college football last year. On 18 career carries specifically on third and 1, Henderson converted 10 times, and only one of those came in 2024. He also wasn’t effective (or used much) on carries inside the 5. What about third-down receptions? Not awesome — despite a career 83% catch rate on third downs, Henderson converted 8 of 15 catches (53%) for first downs.
Bottom line: Henderson has evolved into a speedy, make-you-miss running back with upside tied to third-down development and endurance. No doubt his game will work in the NFL, but for his career to be a huge success, a team will have to use him as a regular component, not a part-time feature. Today’s NFL is littered with backs like Henderson who get a large share of touches without the heavy snap workload, and any team that takes Henderson with a top-50 pick will likely see him in that mold. If he struggles in such a role, a team could always scale back his reps further and use him as a part-timer. — Dave Richard
- Age as of Week 1: 21 years old (22 in October)
- Height: 5-11 ⅝
- Weight: 221 pounds
- Hand size: 9 ¼
- Comparable body-type to: Fred Taylor
Quinshon Judkins college stats
| Year | G | Att | Yds | Yds/att | TD | Rec | Yds | Yds/rec | TD | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 (Ohio State) | 16 | 194 | 1060 | 5.5 | 14 | 22 | 161 | 7.3 | 2 | 1 |
| 2023 (Mississippi) | 13 | 271 | 1158 | 4.3 | 15 | 22 | 149 | 6.8 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 (Mississippi) | 13 | 274 | 1567 | 5.7 | 16 | 15 | 132 | 8.8 | 1 | 2 |
Best advanced stats: Cashed in on 66.7% of his carries inside the 5 last year (top-20 among FBS qualifiers), a career-best for him. That’s better than Ashton Jeanty (52%) and Omarion Hampton (42.1%).
Worst advanced stats: Judkins averaged 5.5 yards per rush with a 12.9% explosive rush rate last year, but TreVeyon Henderson averaged 7.1 yards per rush with an 18.8% explosive rush rate playing behind the same offensive line. Judkins had only had 34 runs of 20-to-29 yards and 15 runs of 30-plus yards over 728 career carries. Judkins’ 5.5-yard average was the lowest of all the top 2024 RB prospects.
Bottom line: Judkins is more than capable of working as a “1A” back in either zone or gap schemes as a strong and well-balanced runner. There’s room for development as far as receiving goes, and he should be encouraged to use his agility more often, but his overall speed, while competitive, keeps him from being a dynamic breakaway gamebreaker. The hunch is that he joins a backfield with the potential to take it over within his first season and stick there for at least four years. — Dave Richard
- Age as of Week 1: 22 years old
- Height: 6-foot-1
- Weight: 224 pounds
- Hand size: 9 5/8
- Comparable body-type to: Arian Foster
Kaleb Johnson college stats
| Year | G | Att | Yds | Yds/att | TD | Rec | Yds | Yds/rec | TD | FL |
| 2022 (Iowa) | 13 | 151 | 779 | 5.2 | 6 | 4 | 27 | 6.8 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 (Iowa) | 10 | 117 | 463 | 4.0 | 3 | 3 | 25 | 8.3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 (Iowa) | 12 | 240 | 1537 | 6.4 | 21 | 22 | 188 | 8.5 | 2 | 0 |
Best advanced stats: 4.42 yards after contact per rush was eighth-best among qualifying FBS running backs, and a 15% explosive rush rate was third-best among the top RB prospects, barely ahead of Ashton Jeanty (14.4%).
Worst advanced stats: Johnson ran for zero or negative yards on 21.3% of his 2024 runs, a career-worst but also in the bottom-15th percentile among all qualifying FBS running backs. A little more than one-fifth of his runs in three years at Iowa went for zero or negative yards.
Bottom line: Johnson offers the size, power, and burst needed to get downhill in a heartbeat. His greatest attribute is his decisiveness and willingness to lower his pads and pick up the tough yards between the tackles. … While he’s not overly agile and will not make defenders miss in space, he will break a great deal of tackles to make up for his lack of wiggle. Johnson is a capable receiver on screens and dump-offs, but he likely won’t be much of a threat in the passing game. In an ideal scenario, he should be drafted by a team that needs him to complement a shiftier pass-catching back. — Brandon Howard
- Age as of Week 1: 21 years old
- Height: 5-foot-8
- Weight: 200 pounds
- Hand size: 8 3/4
- Comparable body-type to: Kenneth Gainwell
Dylan Sampson college stats
| Season | G | Att | Yds | Yds/att | TD | Rec | Yds | Yds/rec | TD | FL |
| 2022 (Tennessee) | 10 | 58 | 397 | 6.8 | 6 | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 (Tennessee) | 12 | 106 | 604 | 5.7 | 7 | 17 | 175 | 10.3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 (Tennessee) | 13 | 258 | 1491 | 5.8 | 22 | 20 | 143 | 7.2 | 0 | 4 |
Best advanced stats: Scored once every 11.7 carries in 2024, adding a 68.8% TD rate on his carries inside the 5.
Worst advanced stats: Known for his speed but had an explosive rush rate of 12.4%, lower than “slower” running backs Quinshon Judkins and Cam Skattebo. His avoided tackle rate of 27.1% was lower than Skattebo (35%) and Kaleb Johnson (27.5%).
Bottom line: Sampson is a speed back without the punch to wear defenders out. His upside is tied to his endurance and any improvement in his rushing and receiving techniques. He also needs to hold on to the ball (four fumbles lost and two drops in 2024). If he evolves into a better pass-catcher, that’ll keep him on the field a little longer. If he proves he can take on hits and not lose his best traits, that’ll definitely keep him on the field. Alvin Kamara did both of these things as a lean prospect once upon a time. It’s cool that he’ll barely be 21 when the NFL season starts but he had just the one year of breakout numbers at Tennessee. And lean running backs tend to struggle to last — maybe Sampson can be an exception. — Dave Richard
- Age as of Week 1: 23 years old
- Height: 5-9 1/2
- Weight: 219 pounds
- Hand size: 9 3/8
- Comparable body-type to: Rock Cartwright
Cam Skattebo college stats
| Season | G | Att | Yds | Yds/att | TD | Rec | Yds | Yds/rec | TD | FL |
| 2021 (Sacramento State) | 11 | 57 | 520 | 9.1 | 6 | 12 | 123 | 10.3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 (Sacramento State) | 13 | 196 | 1369 | 7 | 7 | 31 | 371 | 12.0 | 3 | 2 |
| 2023 (Arizona State) | 12 | 164 | 783 | 4.8 | 9 | 24 | 286 | 11.9 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 (Arizona State) | 13 | 293 | 1711 | 5.8 | 21 | 45 | 605 | 13.4 | 3 | 1 |
Best advanced stats: Had at least a 71% TD rate on carries inside the 5 in 2023 and 2024 at Arizona State. Also had an avoided tackle rate of at least 33.5% in each of the four years of college (35% in 2024).
Worst advanced stats: Just a 7.9% explosive play rate in 2023, boosted only to 12.6% in 2024.
Bottom line: Skattebo is a fun, physical, and shifty running back who will have a hard time out-running good defenses on Sundays. His rushing technique is phenomenal, complete with excellent vision, balance, body control, patience, and agility. Skattebo’s hands are also good and experienced, giving him a shot to help on passing downs. He’s just not a burner as his 4.65 40 time at his Pro Day would suggest, nor is he a fit in a wide-zone scheme where winning along the edge is crucial. — Dave Richard
Next best RB prospects
Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech: Stocky, dense, and fast (4.32). Definitely more of a zone runner because of his agility on cuts, Tuten feels like a natural fit for any zone-scheme offense. The 49ers probably love this guy. Questions about his physicality hold him back.
R.J. Harvey, UCF: Harvey is a patient, twitchy speedster who can win on the edge but also hang between the tackles and absorb physical hits. There’s even potential for him as a receiver. Another legit sleeper.
Damien Martinez, Miami: Young and powerful running back with better speed than he was timed (4.51). Potential to be a sleeper in the draft class.
Fantasy landing spots — ranked
Broncos: Denver’s got the perfect landing spot with an immediate opening, a good offensive line, a tremendous play-caller with a track record of running back success, and a quarterback who embraces short throws. TreVeyon Henderson’s fastest path to success is on a team like this.
Chargers: Yes, they signed Najee Harris. Yes, Najee Harris could be supplanted in 2025 and thus would be off the team by 2026. Jim Harbaugh’s crew did better last year when they could actually run the ball. Any of the top backs would thrive with the Bolts and their big O-line.
Steelers: After letting Najee Harris go, Pittsburgh needs someone to handle the physical grinder carries, if not the feature role if the team still isn’t ready to give more to Jaylen Warren (who’s in a contract year). This would be a wonderful landing spot for Omarion Hampton.
Cowboys: We’ve been waiting over a year for the Cowboys to install a great running back. The wait should be over after this draft, especially since they can slot a rookie in right away ahead of Javonte Williams, who is better as a third-down back anyway. It’s a good fit for Quinshon Judkins.
Raiders: They need a back badly after struggling to run the ball last year. Pete Carroll’s track record suggests he’d let a rookie drafted in any round get a shot if he earns it. Linking either Ohio State running back here makes sense since Chip Kelly is the playcaller and he was with the Buckeyes last year, but I wonder if Dylan Sampson or Bhayshul Tuten’s speed is irresistible to them.
Browns: Jerome Ford is the closest thing the team has to a lead back, and he’s a free agent after 2025. Quinshon Judkins or Kaleb Johnson would be among the capable Day 2 draft picks in play.
Jaguars: Travis Etienne hasn’t quite worked out as a lead back and he’s in the final year of his deal. They need someone for the long-term in a division that’s been dominated by bigger, stronger running backs. I bet they’re serious about adding Ashton Jeanty but could still find a long-term solution later in the draft if they pass on him.
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