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Dave highlights five running back sleepers for the 2025 fantasy football season. His undervalued RBs for 2025 fantasy football drafts with expert outlooks.
The 2025 NFL Draft is now in the rearview mirror. That means the start of the NFL season will be here before we know it.
Running backs are always coveted assets in any fantasy football league. While the position’s household names will fly off draft boards early, it’s always important to keep an eye out for potential values during your draft. There are running back sleepers in the draft every year. If you can identify a few potential sleepers, it can mean the difference between a potential title run and being forced to perform an embarrassing punishment. For our exercise today, we will examine several running back sleepers using NFFC (National Fantasy Football Championship) average draft position (ADP).
Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Here are five sleeper running backs you should target in your 2025 fantasy football draft.
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Kaleb Johnson - Pittsburgh Steelers
NFFC ADP: 74.67 Overall
Johnson was a polarizing prospect in the lead-up to the NFL Draft. Many doubters expressed concerns over his athleticism and were quick to point out that he had the luxury of playing behind a very good offensive line at the University of Iowa.
However, despite the concerns, Johnson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
With the 83rd pick in the 2025 #NFLDraft, we select RB Kaleb Johnson. pic.twitter.com/bGIsBRDAQl
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) April 26, 2025
Johnson saw most of his success come in a zone blocking rush scheme. Fortunately for Johnson, he found the ideal landing spot with the Steelers.
Kaleb Johnson was most successful in a zone-blocking scheme.
The #Steelers ran the 2nd most zone-blocking runs in the NFL last year per @FantasyPtsData 👀
This is a GREAT landing spot and Johnson is about to prove all his haters wrong. #fantasyfootball #nfldraft25
— Dave Ventresca (@FF_Stallion) April 26, 2025
The Steelers use zone blocking concepts on the vast majority of their runs. Johnson could not have landed in a better situation. Concerns about his athleticism are overblown. We have seen many backs not test as elite athletes and go on to have strong careers.
He also posted some strong advanced metrics in college. Among 156 collegiate rushers with at least 100 attempts, Johnson ranked 13th in PFF elusive rating, 10th in missed tackles forced, and 24th in PFF rushing grade. Make no mistake about it, he is a very talented back.
.@steelers @HawkeyeFootball. @KJ_Superman2 Kaleb is a Big Powerful RB that ran from a pro style offense. Easy to project to the NFL. #HereWeGo #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/y3gdpFVl2P
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) April 26, 2025
Johnson landed in an ideal situation with the Steelers. He is a strong bet to return back-end RB1/high-end RB2 production and has sneaky upside as a receiver. Take advantage of the nice cost in your drafts this year because this might be the last time you can get Johnson this cheap for quite some time.
Quinshon Judkins - Cleveland Browns
NFFC ADP: 91.09 Overall
Judkins was selected by Cleveland at the top of the second round in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Q!! A Buckeye in the backfield 🌰
Quinshon Judkins is joining the squad! pic.twitter.com/W21uwOrYcp
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 25, 2025
So far, the Browns have not re-signed longtime starter Nick Chubb. It looks like he will be playing elsewhere this year. That means the runway is clear for Judkins to be the Browns bell-cow back for 2025.
QUINSHON JUDKINS WITH A GROWN MAN TOUCHDOWN 😮💨
STIFF ARM 💪 pic.twitter.com/KGqtbCPRZ2
— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025
The elephant in the room regarding Judkins is Cleveland’s quarterback situation, where it looks like Joe Flacco will begin the season as the team’s QB1. Flacco had a great run with the Browns to close the 2023 season. While that’s unlikely to continue during his second stint with the team, he does bring a consistent presence to the quarterback room for this year. It should help open up Cleveland’s running game a bit.
We shouldn’t expect Judkins to step in and immediately produce like Chubb. Even with Flacco starting, this offense is likely to struggle big time in 2025. However, Judkins can still emerge as a back-end RB2 or flex play for gamers.
Judkins is talented, and he fits Kevin Stefanski’s system well. Just how productive he will be in Year 1 remains to be seen, but he’s worth taking a shot as your RB3 given his current price in drafts.
Brian Robinson Jr. - Washington Commanders
NFFC ADP: 99.61 Overall
Robinson missed three games due to injury in 2024, yet still posted career highs in yards per carry, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns. He would finish the season as the PPR RB29.
Blink and you'll miss this Brian Robinson Jr. 39-yard touchdown run! 💨💨💨
(via @Commanders)pic.twitter.com/lyUFktrr72
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) December 1, 2024
The fourth-year back is more of a plodder, but he’s been a solid player during his first three seasons. Washington did not make any noteworthy additions to the running back room this offseason. Austin Ekeler, Robinson’s main competition for touches, turns 30 years old later this month and has looked washed up during the last two seasons.
The runway is clear for Robinson to remain Washington’s lead back, and he should continue to see an efficiency boost playing alongside quarterback Jayden Daniels. It won’t always be pretty, but Robinson should return RB2 production with back-end RB1 upside.
At this ADP, he’s a nice value and is a solid choice for gamers who go with a zero running back or hero running back approach in their draft.
Tank Bigsby - Jacksonville Jaguars
NFFC ADP: 141.63 Overall
After a highly disappointing rookie season in 2023, Bigsby showed signs of life in 2024. He ran for 766 yards and seven touchdowns in his sophomore season.
TANK BIGSBY STIFF ARMS HIS WAY TO A 65-YARD TD.
📺: #INDvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/oVugPI0X5s— NFL (@NFL) October 6, 2024
He looked the part of an NFL-caliber back and outshone incumbent starter Travis Etienne Jr. all year. Bigsby even finished higher than Etienne in Next Gen Stats' rush yards over expected (RYOE), PFF’s rushing grade, and PFF’s signature elusive rating. It was pretty clear Bigsby was Jacksonville’s best back in 2024.
The previous regime (Urban Meyer and Trent Baalke) that used a first-round pick to draft Etienne is gone. Liam Coen takes over as Jacksonville’s new head coach in 2025. It’s unclear who Coen will use as the team’s lead back, so Etienne is by no means a lock to lead the team in touches. Bigsby outproduced Etienne last year, and if he does it again in 2025, Coen could hand the reins over to Bigsby, similar to what he did with Bucky Irving in Tampa Bay last year.
It's worth noting that Jacksonville did select running back Bhayshul Tuten in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Tuten has elite breakaway speed and some impressive traits, but he had fumbling issues throughout his collegiate career. Tuten could also be a viable sleeper out of this backfield, but he needs to improve his ball security if he hopes to surpass Etienne and Bigsby on the depth chart.
For now, Bigsby is a very viable sleeper candidate in the later rounds of drafts and could be in line for a career season if he wrestles the starting job away from Etienne.
Jordan Mason - Minnesota Vikings
NFFC ADP: 157.96 Overall
The San Francisco 49ers traded Mason to the Minnesota Vikings earlier this offseason. At the time, it seemed like an out-of-nowhere move. Based on Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell’s comments, though, Mason could be a big part of Minnesota’s running game.
The Jordan Mason touchdown managers were waiting for!
He has 93 yards and a TD so far! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/lhubclHsVx
— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) September 10, 2024
Mason filled in nicely for Christian McCaffrey last year. In 12 games, he ran for 789 yards and three touchdowns before suffering an ankle injury that ended his season. Some of Mason’s advanced metrics were also quite good. Among 46 backs with 100 carries, Mason finished third in Next Gen Stats' rush yards over expected per attempt (RYOE/ATT), 10th in PFF elusive rating, and 19th in PFF rushing grade.
Mason now enters a situation where he could get more consistent touches as part of a backfield committee with Aaron Jones. Minnesota has made it clear that it acquired Mason to help keep Jones fresh. So, Mason should be in line for plenty of work. He is one of the top handcuffs available and would be in line for a starter’s workload if Jones ever goes down. Mason should provide some standalone value for gamers as well.
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