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Michael F. Florio offers his scouting report for the top RBs in the 2025 NFL Draft, including Ashton Jeanty, TreVeyon Henderson, Omarion Hampton, and Cam Skattebo.
This running back class has it all. There is elite talent, several backs who could be long-term NFL starters, and depth for days. You should expect to see at least a couple enter the top 30 running backs picked in redraft fantasy football leagues. In dynasty, the first round of rookie drafts will be littered with backs.
The landing spot is extremely important at running back. It matters for all players, but with running back being a position that is so tied to opportunity, that landing spot impacts them more than any other position. It is why I do not allow myself to fall in love with the RB sleepers in draft classes.
However, there are four backs I believe will succeed regardless of where they go. Those are the four featured today!
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Scouting Report for High-End NFL Draft RBs
Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State
Unless you have been living under a rock, you have heard that Ashton Jeanty is elite. Jeanty is extremely tough to tackle with elite contact balance. He can break tackles with the best of them. He is not a make-defenders-miss kind of runner. Although he does have a great first cut, he is more one who just runs through defenders. He has good vision and is patient behind his blockers.
Jeanty doesn’t have elite speed, but he has elite burst and is fast enough to hit plenty of home runs (big plays). While he is very physical and runs well between tackles, he is an elite outside zone runner. His cut to the outside looks effortless.
He should be a very effective goal-line runner in the NFL. Lastly, while he did not catch a ton of passes in college, he did show he has good hands. That could be an added part to his game at the NFL level. Although he is more a back who can catch passes his way and not one you feature as a route runner.
Ashton Jeanty's 2024 game logs are insane. Very create a player in Madden or Derrick Henry in high school esque pic.twitter.com/QWwtETlDYv
— Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) February 20, 2025
For fantasy, Jeanty is going to get drafted very highly right away. The landing spot will determine just how good he could be in Year 1. The floor is in the low-end RB1, high-end RB2 range, while the upside is top five. In rookie drafts, he is the unquestioned 1.01. Two backs who came to mind while watching him were Marshawn Lynch and Maurice Jones-Drew.
Stats to know: Jeanty shattered the PFF-era record for missed tackles forced with 158. The previous high was 105. He also led the class in attempts, yards, touchdowns, yards after contact, and explosive runs -- as well as leading in all of those on just outside runs.
TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State
The thing that stands out immediately is his speed. He has quick feet, hits the hole hard, has a quick burst, and is gone in a flash. He has the speed to outrun secondaries and is the type of runner who should hit plenty of home runs at the next level. He should excel on outside runs in the NFL.
Henderson is an elusive runner who can make defenders miss. He is not the most physical runner, so do not expect him to barrel down defenders often in the NFL. Outside of his speed, I love his pass-catching ability. Henderson has good hands and can adjust to balls that are not perfectly placed.
He has some downfield chops, and what I loved was that he saw some end-zone targets in college. His pass protection is strong, so he should be trusted in obvious passing-down situations.
TreVeyon Henderson pass pro is the football version of “if he wanted to he would”. If the 5’10/202-pound RB is blocking like this no one has any excuse pic.twitter.com/ogUWqIfXLc
— James Foster (@NoFlagsFilm) March 22, 2025
The two biggest aspects I care about for fantasy running backs are these: Can you catch passes? Do you have the speed to break out big plays? Henderson checks both boxes in a big way. His fantasy ceiling is very high, and he is the type of back every team would be able to find touches.
Ideally, though, he would land on a team that uses a lot of outside zone runs. Teams that do so and need an RB are the Bears, Patriots, Saints, Cardinals, Texans, or Steelers. The Bears would be a dream fantasy fit.
I comp him to a better pass-catching version of Kenneth Walker III.
Stats to know: Henderson had the fourth-highest PFF run grade (91.8) and fifth-best receiving grade (75.1) amongst this class. His 6.92 yards per carry was second behind only Jeanty. His 2.52 yards before contact per carry was fourth in this class. He did not fumble in 2024.
Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina
Omarion Hampton was built to handle a ton of touches for an NFL team. He is a workhorse who is a very physical runner. He is not afraid to lower his shoulder and run through a defender. He also has a good wiggle for a back his size and can make defenders miss. His best attribute is that he is a chain-mover who will not often lose yards -- and NFL coaches love that.
Hampton is a patient runner who allows the hole to form and then hit it fast. Hampton has the speed to win outside, but he excels as an inside runner. He is fast enough to pick up chunk plays (10-20+ yard runs) but is not a home-run hitter. He doesn’t have the breakaway speed of, say, a Breece Hall. At times in college, he was run down by defenders. Hampton was an effective goal-line runner in college and should do the same at the next level.
He has soft hands and seemingly catches everything that goes his way. He is more of a back who can catch passes, though, and not a pass-catching weapon such as a Christian McCaffrey or Austin Ekeler.
Where does @OmarionHampton rank in this year's RB class?@UNCFootball | @MoveTheSticks
📺: 2025 #NFLDraft – April 24-26 on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/ez1Plg3LSL— NFL (@NFL) April 8, 2025
For fantasy, I expect him to be a workhorse. In the right spot, he could be a high-end RB2 who has the chance to volume his way to an RB1 finish. One back I kept thinking of while watching him was David Montgomery. Brian Robinson Jr. and Zach Charbonnet were two other names I wrote down as more of the floor for Hampton.
Stats to know: Hampton was second in yards after contact (1,244), trailing only Jeanty. 74 percent of his yards came after contact, the third highest of this class. His 45 explosive runs (10-plus yards) tied for third best. His 6.6 yards per carry on inside runs ranked second, while his 5.2 yards after contact per carry led the class.
Cam Skattebo, RB, Arizona State
Cam Skattebo is a personal favorite of mine. I believe he can fit on any team, will have a long NFL career, and will be one of the very best fantasy weapons from this draft class. Skattebo is the most dynamic back in this class, as he can win in several different ways.
Skattebo has an elite contact balance. He is a bowling-ball type of runner who bounces off defenders with ease, all while staying upright and able to keep churning his legs. It is very difficult to bring him down once he gets going. He is elusive and can swipe defenders away. He hits the hole nicely, although he did get stuffed a bit more than you would like.
You may hear that he does not have elite speed, which is true. But he is fast enough where he can still create chunk plays as a runner. He also should have success as a short-yard/goal-line runner in the NFL.
The Cam Skattebo tape is so fun just watching a flat out damn good ballplayer run through the face of people. He just suited up & put the Sun Devils on his back week after week after week.
Impact player right away for me this fall. pic.twitter.com/JeQ9w0wShB
— Ryan Fowler (@_RyanFowler_) April 7, 2025
What makes Skattebo special is his pass-game chops. He is not just a running back who you can dump the ball off to, but a legit pass-game weapon. He has great hands and can adjust to poorly thrown balls, such as those thrown behind him. Against Utah, he made a jumping catch with his hands extended that stood out to me. He can win downfield, which is very rare for backs. He is by far the best receiving back in this class.
Those backs tend to fit into any offense in the NFL. He can have a lengthy career due to that role. However, I think he is even better than that. I believe he could be a three-down back in the NFL. I compared him to a better-receiving version of Kyren Williams. For fantasy, a back who can catch passes and still be used by the goal line is one who should have lots of success. His landing spot will determine how much in Year 1, but do not be surprised if he pushes for an RB2 year even as a rookie.
Stats to know: Skattebo forced 105 missed tackles, which would have tied the previous PFF-era record if not for Jeanty shattering it this season. He had the second-highest PFF run grade (94.6) and third-best receiving grade (79.8) amongst this class. He led this class in receiving yards, was second in rushing yards, and third in explosive runs. He changed direction on the fourth-highest rate on runs amongst this class.
Make sure to follow Michael on X, @MichaelFFlorio.
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