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Adam identifies four veteran running backs set to lose touches in fantasy football 2025. His RB fallers for 2025 fantasy football drafts: Kyren Williams, James Cook, Aaron Jones, and Rhamondre Stevenson.
The running back position is by far the most volatile offensive skill position in the league. Sometimes the lifespan of a running back can be just a couple of seasons. In this article, we'll take a look at four running backs set to lose touches in 2025.
Some of these guys were workhorses as recently as last season, but that doesn't mean that's going to continue in 2025. There are often reasons guys fall off, but sometimes, it's as simple as their bodies can't continue handling a full workload.
These four veteran running backs are set to lose touches in 2025. Each of them will have a lighter workload in 2025 than they had in previous seasons. Use caution when drafting these four veteran running backs this season.
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Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Sean McVay can't seem to get enough of King Kyren. He loves his former fifth-round pick so much that he gave him the second-highest opportunity share (82.8%) among running backs last season. Williams also led all backs in red zone touches with 77.
But he was just not very good in 2024. Per PlayerProfiler, Williams was 52nd among running backs in yards created per touch (2.78) and 47th in yards per touch (4.7). His PFF rushing grade subsequently dropped from 90.6 in 2023 to just 74.3 in 2024.
Williams also didn't grade particularly well as a pass-blocker either. He led all running backs with a whopping 179 pass-blocking snaps but received a 41 grade. Despite the limited pass-blocking snaps (17), Kyren's backfield mate, Blake Corum, received a 54.1 grade in that area.
Not only does Corum loom, but the Rams also took Auburn RB Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Unlike Williams, Hunter proved to be extremely explosive last season. He posted the second-highest explosive rush rate among FBS running backs with more than 150 carries last season.
Jarquez Hunter is a beast and a problem for both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum.
Similar build to former Ram Darrell Henderson.
1200 rushing yards & 8 TDs this season in the SEC. Ran a 4.44 40.
Powerlifting background. pic.twitter.com/4a5a90Hg1I
— Theo Gremminger (@TheOGfantasy) April 26, 2025
While Williams has earned the trust of the coaching staff despite his inefficient running, that doesn't mean his job is safe. We just saw the Rams release long-time great and fan-favorite Cooper Kupp after his decline in efficiency over the last two seasons.
Don't be surprised when Williams loses touches this season to other young, hungry, and talented tailbacks in Corum and Hunter.
James Cook, Buffalo Bills
With Ray Davis and Ty Johnson in the backfield mix in 2024, Cook saw his snap share (49.2% vs. 55.1%), opportunity share (58.9% vs. 62.4%), and weighted opportunities (11.5 vs. 13.4) all decrease from 2023.
However, he scored 18 total touchdowns last season compared to just six in 2023. That led to an inflated 1.09 fantasy points per opportunity vs. 0.80 two seasons ago. As a result, Cook managed to finish the year as an RB1 on a points-per-game basis.
However, when looking at future fantasy value, we should focus on the declining opportunities as opposed to the touchdown numbers. Those aren't sticky year-to-year, meaning he could score just six in 2025 like he did in 2023. Had he only scored six in 2024, we'd be talking about a low-end RB2 last season.
Cook also saw a big dip in his usage as a receiver. Per PlayerProfiler, his route participation dropped from 45.9% in 2023 to just 27.4% in 2024. The Bills love Johnson as the third-down back, thus limiting Cook's opportunities in that facet of the game.
Davis also has a full year of experience in the Bills' system, meaning he'll be even more comfortable in the offense.
Fewer touches, fewer scoring opportunities, and fewer touchdowns will yield fewer fantasy points for Cook in 2025.
Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
In his first year with the Vikings, Jones produced a career-high 1,138 rushing yards on a career-high 255 rush attempts. As a result, Minnesota elected to extend the 30-year-old back for another two seasons.
However, just a couple of weeks later, the Vikings acquired Jordan Mason from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2025 fifth-round pick swap and a 2026 sixth-round pick.
At 5-foot-11, 223 pounds, Mason brings a more powerful running style to Minnesota that will complement Jones well. In 2024, per PlayerProfiler, Mason ranked seventh among all running backs in true yards per carry (4.8) and ninth in yards per touch (5.4). He also had a 7.8% breakaway run rate.
In comparison, Jones had a breakaway run rate of just 3.5%.
Some Jordan Mason highlights to bless your timeline this morning. pic.twitter.com/6zOvg1JDGv
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) May 22, 2025
He brings a different style of running to the table, and it appears Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell has big plans for Mason in 2025.
#Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell on “1b” Jordan Mason:
“I do think Jordan’s gonna bring something to the table in those short-yardage situations, those goal-line situations, goal-to-go, where we’ve really left a lot to be desired as a football team.” pic.twitter.com/sOrk2XwDOE
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) April 1, 2025
In 2024, Jones turned 24 rush attempts inside the 10-yard line into just three touchdowns. In comparison, Kareem Hunt and Brian Robinson Jr. both turned the same 24 rush attempts into seven touchdowns each last season.
Don't expect Jones to tote the rock 255 times again in 2025 with Mason in the mix. After extending him for $20 million this offseason, it would behoove the Vikings to extend the shelf-life of their star running back by distributing the backfield touches a little more evenly this season.
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
First of all, prayers up for Rhamondre, who just lost his father at the young age of 54. After returning to practice a few days later, head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters that Stevenson would be "a large part of what we do [on offense in 2025."
However, it remains to be seen what that looks like, especially given the Patriots spent premium draft capital on Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson.
So not only will Stevenson be playing the 2025 season with a heavy heart, but he'll also have to fend off a speedy rookie who rushed for 3,761 yards and 42 touchdowns in his career at Ohio State.
Stevenson is not anywhere near the fastest guy in the room either, clocking in at just a 4.69 40-yard dash. Meanwhile, Henderson clocked in at 4.43, leading to an 81st percentile speed score, per PlayerProfiler. Don't look now, but the rookie's best comparable player is Swiss Army Knife Reggie Bush.
It's hard to imagine Stevenson retaining his 64% opportunity share in 2025 after posting a PFF grade of just 69.6 last season. Kyren Williams, Tony Pollard, and Isiah Pacheco were the only other starting running backs to grade lower than him in 2024.
It's no wonder Vrabel and company wanted to bring in a spark plug to help the offense in 2025.
TREVEYON HENDERSON TOOK IT 66 YARDS TO THE HOUSE 🏠
BUCKEYES UP 31-0 👀 pic.twitter.com/Vv0qMxUQ7i
— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2025
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