Fantasy Football Discounted Veteran Running Backs to Target in 2025

July 1, 2025

Ryan's undervalued running back sleepers for 2025 fantasy football drafts. His top veteran RBs to target and draft, including James Conner and more.

Running backs are often considered the foundation, the backbone, of any fantasy football roster. For a 10- or 12-team league, it's much easier to fill quarterback or wide receiver spots, considering there are 32 starting quarterbacks and at least 64 starting wide receivers. But most leagues require two starting running backs, and there are only 32 of those available, which makes it tempting to want to roster the young, injury-free, high-upside back. However, often that means productive veteran running backs are available at a discount.

Consider that there are eight first- or second-year running backs going in the top 100 picks in the current RotoBaller ADP. Seven of these players are rookies who have never stepped on an NFL field, but the thought of what could be is incredibly tantalizing. For the players listed below, we largely know what they are. Ceilings have been reached, and stats have been accumulated. But these types of running backs are often the ideal candidates to stabilize your roster in the RB2 slot. 

Which running backs have the best combination of reliability and discounted draft price? These four backs have secure roles, a strong historical track record, and an ADP after pick 40 in most half-PPR drafts. Let's dive in to see which veterans are the best value in 2025 fantasy football drafts.

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara is a veteran running back who fantasy managers can select around pick 52 in half-PPR formats. Despite being almost 30 years old and on a bad offense, Kamara was one of the best picks in last year's draft. He finished as the RB5 in fantasy points, averaging 19.0 per game.

Those 19.0 PPR points per game were the product of a lot of usage from the Saints. Kamara was sixth in opportunity share (76%), seventh in snap share (73%), and number one overall in running back targets (89). 

Alvin Kamara has NEVER in his ENTIRE CAREER finished worse than RB16 in PPR fantasy football.

His current ADP is RB19

He’s a lock for 80+ targets which provides him a VERY SAFE floor on a week to week basis.

Oh and he’s the workhorse RB in New Orleans.

What’s not to like? 🤷🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/85FpD4K924

— PPRFantasyTips (@PPRFantasyTips) June 23, 2025

Of course, fantasy managers would be wise to expect some regression from Kamara in 2025. At 30 years old and coming off his most rushing attempts and receptions since 2021, some decline is certainly likely. However, that is already reflected in his current draft position as the RB17 off the board despite his strong numbers last year. 

Last season, Kamara had 950 rush yards while catching 68 passes for 543 yards. He had eight total touchdowns. Even if the veteran loses some carries this year, he should still easily cross 300 total opportunities if he is healthy. Another positive in his ledger is the loss of Taysom Hill.

Without Hill around to vulture touchdowns, Kamara might improve on his 21st-ranked red-zone touches from last season.

James Conner, Arizona Cardinals

Like Kamara, James Conner appears to become stronger and more productive with age. Before 2024, he had never played a full season in his career, but he suited up for 16 games last season. Even at 30 years old, Conner was among the top 12 running backs in a myriad of categories. This year, he can be drafted around pick 56 as the 20th running back off the board. 

In his 16 contests last season -- even after Arizona drafted Trey Benson for running back competition -- Conner was 14th among running backs in carries, and 11th in targets. He was also 10th in red-zone touches, showing that Arizona trusts him in that area. When it was close to the goal line last year, it was Conner and Trey McBride who Kyler Murray trusted.

Conner did suffer from some inefficiency last season, despite ranking 11th in rushing yards and sixth in receiving yards. Conner was just 26th in fantasy points per opportunity. That's likely just a result of some touchdown flukiness, as his 56 red-zone touches only accumulated nine scores. With no new competition brought in this offseason, the backfield here belongs to Conner until he proves he can't do it anymore.

Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans

The debate at this time last year was whether Tony Pollard or Tyjae Spears would emerge as the primary running back for the Tennessee Titans, or if it would be a full-fledged split down the middle. I went on record saying it would be Spears who would emerge between the two, and boy was I dead wrong.

After a series of concussions for Spears, Pollard took over as the lead back and did not look back. He finished ninth in both snap share and opportunity among running backs. He was ninth in targets and 12th in rushing yards with 1,079.

Tony Pollard has 3 straight seasons of 1000 rushing yards & 5+ TDs.

Enter Cam Ward - who is expected to lift the entire Tennessee offense.

Is Pollard worth a late round flier? pic.twitter.com/f4LmgK8GRk

— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) June 24, 2025

This year, the same running back room returns, along with a new quarterback and offensive scheme. For Pollard, his value is tied to whether or not he can stay healthy. If he can play in 14-16 games again, as he did in 2024, the fantasy points are sure to follow. Pollard was very unlucky in the touchdown department last season (just five total), so any positive regression there could send Pollard into the top-15 running backs of the season.

Pollard currently seems to be drafted way too low at pick 80 and is the 28th running back overall. There is an upside here with Cam Ward now keeping defensive lines honest, and Pollard shouldn't see an average of seven defenders in the box all the time like he did last year. Spears will eat into some of the work, but based on last year, it's going to be a lot less than we all expected.

Brian Robinson Jr., Washington Commanders

There are multiple reasons why Brian Robinson Jr. is taken around pick 90 in early summer drafts and is the RB30 off the board right now. The main reason after 2024 is Jayden Daniels. Daniels took the league by storm, especially with his rushing ability. Daniels carried the ball 148 times for 891 yards and six touchdowns.

All of those numbers are in the top three among quarterbacks.

That type of volume eats into a lot of the work of a traditional first- and second-down running back like Robinson. He only saw 25 targets on the year (46th among running backs) and had a 6% target share. Austin Ekeler is still around to suck up those targets, and Daniels should only improve in Year 2. So, what makes Robinson so valuable at his draft price?

Primarily, it's because he is a touchdown scorer. In the past two seasons, Robinson has 17 total touchdowns, and that's with him missing five games due to injuries. He was 20th among all running backs with 44 red-zone touches in 2024 and ranked in the top 18 in total touchdowns.

At RB30, just the team's offensive environment should be enough to carry Robinson past that level of value. The Commanders ran 30.8 rushing plays per game in 2024, which was the fifth most in the NFL. There is enough volume here to sustain Daniels and another rusher, and I would rather draft a reliable red-zone presence like Robinson over unknown assets like Kaleb Johnson, who is currently going around 12 picks earlier.

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