2025 NFL Draft Rookie Fantasy Fallout: Running Backs (Part 1)
After months of preparation, the 2025 NFL Draft has come and gone, which means that we finally have landing spots for all of these rookies. Instead of speculating, we can analyze these players’ fits with their new teams and project certain roles for them.
Specifically, running backs are always a great investment in fantasy football every year, so in today’s discussion, we will be going over the fantasy outlooks for 2025 and beyond for some of the NFL’s most notable rookie running backs.
Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders
Ashton Jeanty going to the Las Vegas Raiders 6th overall is a dream fit for fantasy football. I am not saying that Jeanty is Marshawn Lynch, but in terms of workload projection, you can see the parallels in Pete Carroll’s offense. Jeanty is going to get all the volume he can handle in Vegas. Outside of Brock Bowers, this offense has no reliable, established pass catchers on the roster. Jakobi Meyers is fine enough, but not a player who strikes fear into defenses by any means. Plus, Geno Smith is going to be the quarterback for the Raiders this year, so Jeanty should get a lot of cheap check-downs because Smith is not the best deep ball passer in the world.
Ashton Jeanty’s receiving ability out of the backfield is a very underrated part of his game, so in PPR formats, he should also provide a high ceiling in that department. In terms of Jeanty’s fantasy outlook for 2025, the young stud is a first-round pick in redraft leagues. From a dynasty perspective, Jeanty is 100% a franchise cornerstone-type player. This guy can completely change your team’s outlook in your dynasty league. I am not trying to sound hyperbolic, but I expect Ashton Jeanty to have a Saquon Barkley-esque rookie season with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
Omarion Hampton is a very good player, but his fit with the Los Angeles Chargers is a bit more complicated, specifically in year 1. Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman love to run the football, but there is some competition in this backfield for Hampton. Najee Harris is not the best running back in the league, but he is a consistent and reliable back who has always produced in his career. Harbaugh’s love for Najee Harris goes all the way back to high school, as he recruited Harris to Michigan years ago. Harris ended up going to Alabama, but Harbaugh wanted the running back very badly. He finally got his guy in the NFL, so you know that Harris will be heavily involved in this offense right out of the gate. Also, if you think about it, Hampton and Harris are both very similar backs. They have similar builds, similar skill sets, and similar fit in this offense.
Everyone is expecting Omarion Hampton to take over for Najee Harris as the lead back on this team at some point this season, maybe even early on, but what if that does not ever happen? What if this is an annoying split the entire season this year, and nobody rises above the other to the point where neither back is worth starting in 2025 redraft leagues? For 2025 redraft leagues, I am not as high on Hampton as everyone else, mainly because I like Najee Harris in this offense more than the general public, from what I have seen recently. I will most likely be below consensus on Omarion Hampton for 2025. If you can get a good value on the highly-touted rookie running back in drafts this summer, take him. It could end up being a steal if everything goes right. But I am personally a bit skeptical. For dynasty, though, I am extremely high on this player because Najee Harris is only on a one-year deal in Los Angeles, so he will likely be gone after this year, especially since the Chargers spent first-round draft capital on Hampton. Omarion Hampton is absolutely worth a top-three pick in rookie drafts right now.
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
Quinshon Judkins profiles best as a big, powerful back that can handle a lot of volume. Not the most explosive guy in the world or the best pass catcher out of the backfield. Even though Judkins is a back that can handle a lot of volume, the question is, will he get that volume? You would think so, but this backfield in Cleveland is a bit crowded after the NFL Draft. Jerome Ford has shown flashes at times over the last couple of years, and the Browns also drafted Dylan Sampson, a guy that I was pretty high on in the pre-draft process, so I am personally a bit skeptical of Quinshon Judkins’ 2025 fantasy outlook as a rookie.
This year, we could be walking into a situation where Kevin Stefanski deploys a true committee with this backfield, where everyone has a defined role. Judkins would be the two-down grinder, Ford the third-down back, and Sampson the change-of-pace receiving back. If this sounds like an ugly situation for fantasy, that is because it is. This could be a very annoying backfield to deal with this season, so I would stay away from all of them in 2025 redraft leagues. However, I am still relatively high on Quinshon Judkins from a dynasty perspective. I do not love the landing spot, but I do love the talent, so that is where my optimism comes from with this situation. You might have to wait a couple of years to get great production from Quinshon Judkins, but if you are willing to wait it out for a little bit, then Judkins should absolutely still be a mid-first-round pick in rookie drafts, mainly because of the talent alone.
TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
When the New England Patriots initially took TreVeyon Henderson in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, I did not like it all that much. But as I continue to think about it more and more, the fit and landing spot has grown on me as time has gone on. I still like Rhamondre Stevenson to an extent, but it is clear that Mike Vrabel and Co. wanted to upgrade over Stevenson in that backfield. Stevenson might still have a decent enough goal-line role in this Patriots offense, but outside of that, he will probably not be getting much work. Stevenson is not an explosive back. That is where Henderson comes in, as the rookie is electric with the ball in his hands. Once he gets into the open field, forget it. Nobody can catch him. Henderson has elite explosiveness, speed, and acceleration, which we love to see for fantasy purposes.
Henderson will be a PPR monster, as he is an elite receiving back out of the backfield. With Drake Maye being such a young quarterback in the NFL, he is going to be looking for a lot of cheap check-downs, so Henderson should see a boatload of targets in this Patriot’s offense in 2025. This might seem like a bold take because of how talented Omarion Hampton is. Still, if you ask me, TreVeyon Henderson will be the second most productive rookie running back behind only Ashton Jeanty. He has a more favorable year 1 outlook than those other couple of running backs that I’ve already talked about above. This is one of the rare situations where TreVeyon Henderson to the New England Patriots is equally great for both redraft and dynasty. Henderson is set up for massive success in this offense for 2025 and beyond.