3 Fantasy Football Rookie Running Backs Sleepers - Jarquez Hunter, Dylan Sampson, Trevor Etienne

Andrew's 2025 fantasy football rookie running backs sleepers to target in drafts. Expert fantasy football player analysis for Jarquez Hunter, Dylan Sampson, and Trevor Etienne.

There's (almost) always one.

From Bucky Irving to Chase Brown to Kyren Williams to Rhamondre Stevenson to Tony Pollard (we can go back further if you like), at least one Day 3 running back becomes a fantasy football asset (2020 being the lone exception in recent history). The dopamine hit when fantasy managers strike gold on a late-round running back is unlike anything else.

The fourth-round running backs are popular choices this year. Bhayshul Tuten and Cam Skattebo are the favorites, but the trio of Jarquez Hunter, Dylan Sampson, and Trevor Etienne are candidates too, depending on who you ask.

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Jarquez Hunter, RB, Los Angeles Rams

Is a rookie coming to take Williams' job?

That has been a (not the) drumbeat for the second straight offseason. Blake Corum was selected in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Williams dispelled any notion that the Michigan product would eat into his workload by rushing for 1,299 yards and 14 touchdowns in 16 games. Corum tallied 207 yards on 58 carries.

This offseason, fourth-round pick Hunter is the shiny new fascination. The Rams traded up to select Hunter, addressing the running back room for the second time in as many offseasons. What does that say about Corum? Or what does it say about Williams?

The incumbent starter is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and a big payday is due. Williams led the league in rushing yards (95.3) and trailed Christian McCaffrey in PPR points per game (21.3) in 2023. The efficiency numbers slipped with increased attempts per game, but he still breaks tackles at a top-5 rate and averages over one touchdown per game as a full-time starter.

Kyren Williams has the 2nd most PPR points for a Day 3 RB thru their first 38 games since 2010

RB1 seasons after their 1st 3 seasons among this list:
*3 Aaron Jones
*2
*1 Chris Carson, Devonta Freeman
*0 Jordan Howard, Alfred Morris

Day 3 RBs rarely stick around pic.twitter.com/8WR3b2P78X

— Ron Stewart (@RonStewart_) May 15, 2025

A giant question next offseason will be if the Rams want to pay Williams to remain in Los Angeles. Since making Todd Gurley the highest-paid running back in the league in 2018, Sean McVay and Co. have gone the cheap route: Darrell Henderson Jr., Sony Michel, Cam Akers, and Williams himself. All four running backs played for the Rams on their rookie contract.

That's where Hunter comes into the picture. The selection may have been a bigger-picture look at the position following the 2025 season. To know what they have, it requires getting Hunter or Corum on the field. The Rams clearly have a type. Williams, Corum, and Hunter are 5'9" or shorter, and their best skill is breaking tackles with lower-body strength.

Hunter was involved in the Auburn offense from the moment he stepped on campus, averaging 6.3 yards per carry over his four-year stint with the Tigers. Thanks to a 278-yard effort against Kentucky, Hunter's weekly average surpassed triple digits. He logged a breakaway run on over 10 percent of his carries.

Sean McVay has a type. But Jarquez Hunter had a lot more burst than Kyren and Corum coming out.

- Reception Share: Best-season mark in college
- Breakout Score: Schedule- and age-adjusted receiving yards per team pass attempt
- Career explosive run rate courtesy of PFF pic.twitter.com/uTTyRufR38

— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) April 29, 2025

However, Hunter is not the strongest pass-catcher, and his tape doesn't show a reliable pass-protector. Corum isn't suited for that role either. If Williams is to lose touches in 2025, it won't be on high-value third downs or near the red zone.

Hunter is a taxi squad candidate for dynasty fantasy football leagues, but his redraft value is well outside standard-sized draft range. Unless something happens to Williams, Hunter won't see more than spot usage, even if he beats out Corum for the second spot on the depth chart.

Dylan Sampson, RB, Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns, notably, double-dipped at the quarterback position in the NFL Draft. Less notably, they also took two swings in the backfield.

Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins filled a massive need for the Browns roster. Cleveland's third all-time leading rusher, Nick Chubb, was uncertain about returning in 2025. Judkins and Jerome Ford would form a nice one-two punch as Cleveland enters a new era. Then, general manager Andrew Berry pulled the trigger on a second running back, Tennessee's Sampson, in the fourth round, slamming the door on another year of Chubb and making a mess of a backfield.

Sampson led the SEC with 1,491 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns in his final season at Knoxville en route to an SEC Offensive Player of the Year title.

Dylan Sampson is the @Vol_Football record holder for single-season rushing touchdowns with 22 last year

...a mark previously set in 1929 😳 pic.twitter.com/gUDBdDc7Tm

— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) April 26, 2025

Despite his speed, there weren't many (two over 40 yards, to be exact) breakaway runs. Rather, he was a volume king, leading the conference in carries (258) and notching eight games with over 20 totes. The Volunteers could trust their guy to easily pick up five or six yards, patiently waiting for his blockers to open gaps.

Judkins, known as a physical runner, meshes well with Sampson's speed. On paper, it's a great pair for the future of the backfield.

But Ford will be a thorn in 2025, the final season of his contract. The veteran averaged five yards per carry on the league's lowest-scoring offense. That's an offense, behind quarterback play from Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, or a rookie, that likely won't show much improvement.

So, the immediate returns on Sampson likely won't be fruitful. Judkins and Ford are projected to dominate backfield touches. Even if Sampson usurps Ford, the offense won't offer running backs a chance to find the end zone often. Hopefully, for the first time since Bernie Kosar, the Browns can find a franchise quarterback and right the offensive ship in 2026. Sampson's long-term value hangs on it.

Trevor Etienne, RB, Carolina Panthers

The younger brother of Jacksonville's Travis Etienne Jr. enters the NFL without his sibling's pedigree or draft capital. He's smaller, lighter, and less athletic than his brother and never dominated backfield touches in college. But don't write him off just yet.

Etienne became a fourth-round selection by the Carolina Panthers to round out a running back room with a vacant spot left by the injured Jonathon Brooks (knee). He, Chuba Hubbard, and Rico Dowdle will be the trio active on game days, barring a surprise in training camp.

Hubbard established himself as a workhorse in 2024 with 1,195 yards and 11 total touchdowns in 15 games and was rewarded with a four-year, $33M contract. The Panthers added a second 1,000-yard rusher when Dowdle inked a one-year deal to return to his home state. The top of the depth chart is, by all intents and purposes, set for 2025.

While Carolina wasn't the best landing spot for Etienne, there is a path toward playing time. He confirmed his skills as a pass-catching running back at the Senior Bowl and can quickly diagnose blitzes and protect his quarterback. Hubbard and Dowdle are passable in those areas, but neither excels.

Trevor Etienne is still just 20 years old and flashed big-play ability as an 18 year old in the SEC

He's buried in a deep draft class, but there's upside for ETN to carve out a role for himself as a change-of-pace lightning back as a pro! pic.twitter.com/oxp9BpoP2i

— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) April 17, 2025

Ultimately, his size prevents him from being a three-down back, limiting the number of weekly opportunities. It's doubtful any potential receiving work Etienne would be enough to crack redraft rosters.

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