2025 Pre-Draft Dynasty Rookie Rankings: Running Backs

We are starting to lay the groundwork for the 2025 season.

Kicking things off in that capacity, we are digging into this incoming rookie class for Dynasty rookie drafts, startups, and even the potential these young players can have in 2025 seasonal formats.

Even before the NFL Draft in April, rookies are available in Best Ball formats across all open platforms.

Now that the NFL combine has passed, we have a plethora of new athletic data on this upcoming rookie class.

That information can be applied to athletic models and used to shape prospects' full portfolios along with production profiles, which are a general overlay of what these players put on tape for NFL teams.

We will add notes about those prospects as we receive more athletic testing data via Pro Days.

However, overall, athletic testing has a low correlation to actual fantasy output, and when it does, it is typically counted twice for a productive player.

But when a prospect has subpar athletic testing paired with a limited or nonexistent production resume, we are playing with fire when attempting to elevate or count on that player for NFL production.

Nothing matters more to the position than invested draft capital for running backs.

Over the past decade, fantasy production in years one through three has a 32% correlation to draft capital alone.

Post-draft, we’ll have the added influence of draft investment and landing spot to add to the layout, but opportunity is the name of the game for the running back position.

If you can find the field and accrue touches, that’s the starting block we care about.

Because of that, I have the least conviction in my priors heading into the NFL at the running back position. If a back gets tangible volume, he is relevant at the position.

This class particularly is one in which I would not get hung up on individual player ranking.

This draft class is going to run into opportunities.

This is arguably the deepest pool of quality running backs entering the league, and that depth is paired with a headline player in Ashton Jeanty, who is expected to be drafted in the front end of the first round.

This class will disrupt the fantasy landscape completely differently than last year’s lackluster crop of backs did.

Last year’s limited class elevated the veteran free-agent market and impacted our mid-round fantasy values a year ago.

Many of the backs we were drafting in that area based on projected opportunity on limited-depth charts will have their teams add viable talent to those depth charts.

Please peruse the 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 breakdowns.

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Tier 1 Dynasty Rookie Running Backs

• Ashton Jeanty

Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Final Year Age: 21.1

This rookie class orbits around Jeanty as the crown jewel.

As a 19-year-old freshman in 2022, Jeanty posted 976 total yards and 7 touchdowns on 170 touches.

He leaped forward after that, producing 1,916 total yards and 19 touchdowns on 263 touches in 2023 before flirting with all-time production this past season, exploding for 2,739 total yards and 30 touchdowns on 397 touches.

He rushed for over 100 yards in all 14 games this past season.

He rushed for 7.0 yards per carry, tied for the highest rate in the class with TreVeyon Henderson.

Henderson had 230 fewer attempts than Jeanty.

Jeanty handled a class-high 49.7% of his team touches and accounted for 41.9% of Boise State’s total yardage, the highest rate in the country last season.

Only 34.5% of his rushing attempts came with a light box (six or fewer defenders), the second lowest rate in this class.

Jeanty runs like dreidel. His contact balance can sometimes appear unorthodox, but that is because it is in rare air.

He forced a missed tackle on 33.2% of his rushing attempts, which was second in this draft class.

The only player with a higher rate also had 193 fewer attempts.

Jeanty posted 4.8 yards after contact per rush, the highest rate for any running back in this draft.

On 158 runs when hit at or behind the line of scrimmage, Jeanty averaged 2.9 yards per rush.

While that number may not pop on the surface, no running back with that many runs hit at or behind the line has posted a higher YPC on those over the past decade.

There have only been four seasons over that span in which a running back posted more yards per carry with 100 or more runs hit at or behind the line: Zack Moss in 2019 (3.4 YPC), Omarion Hampton in 2023 (3.1 YPC), Jonathan Taylor in 2017 (3.1 YPC), and Rashaad Penny in 2017 (3.0 YPC).

Jeanty’s ability to create yards was never on more display than in his final game against Penn State.

The box score shows that Jeanty only averaged 3.5 YPC, but his offensive line was outmatched entirely in the caliber of talent.

Jeanty forced 19 missed tackles on his 33 touches in that game, posting 81 of his 104 rushing yards after contact.

He averaged 5.5 yards per rush after contact in that game despite the 3.5 YPC in the box score.

When Jeanty was not hit at or behind the line of scrimmage, he posted a robust 9.9 yards per rush.

He rushed for 1,366 yards on runs of 15 or more yards alone, 505 more yards than the next closest player in this draft.

If you had to find some red on his ledger, Jeanty was not overly impressive in the passing game this past season.

He had a 9.1% drop rate (fifth highest in this class) and was 27th out of 31 running backs invited to the combine in yards per route run (0.54).

He also allowed a 7.6% pressure rate in pass protection, which was 19th in this class.

Jeanty did catch 43 passes for 569 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2023.

His 2024 production in the passing game was a significant step backward, but he does have that 2023 season to highlight his capability to catch passes.

Even with the NFL devaluing the running back position in the modern era, we have consistently seen that teams will still aggressively draft top-end talent with high-end draft capital.

Jeanty is anticipated to flirt with being a top-10 selection this April and not slide beyond the top half of the first Round.

If that plays out as expected, Jeanty should be in line for a significant workload out of the packaging in the NFL.

Tier 2 Dynasty Rookie Running Backs