Fantasy Football Touchdown Risers: 5 Running Back Positive Regression Candidates to Draft (2025)

May 24, 2025

Aidin Ebrahimi's five fantasy football running backs who could score more touchdowns in 2025. His top positive-regression candidates and risers at RB.

The running back position is experiencing a huge revival. Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, and Derrick Henry have catapulted their teams to dizzying heights in recent years. With the arrival of exciting young players like Bijan Robinson and Ashton Jeanty, the future of the position is the brightest it has been since the late 2000s.

However, amongst the established megastars and young studs, we shouldn't forget about other RBs. All three superstars mentioned in the intro have dealt with injuries in recent seasons, and running back is a very volatile and injury-prone position. Zero RB is still a viable strategy, and drafting a running back coming off a disappointing season in the mid-to-late rounds could pay dividends if they turn things around and have a great bounce-back year.

Without further ado, let's look at five RBs who could score more touchdowns than they did in 2024. Players who dealt with injuries for a significant portion of the 2024 season will not feature.

Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans

Back in the 2023 offseason, Tony Pollard was one of the most sought-after fantasy football running backs. The Memphis product burst onto the scene in 2022, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt and earning Pro Bowl honors despite being the RB2 behind Ezekiel Elliott.

6 minutes of Tony Pollard being criminally underrated pic.twitter.com/1gXqYG49DI

— SleeperTitans (@SleeperTitanUp) May 8, 2025

Pollard had 1,378 yards from scrimmage and scored 12 total touchdowns that year, and many analysts believed those numbers would get even better in 2023, now that he was the Cowboys' undisputed RB1.

However, despite getting 59 more carries, he recorded 62 fewer total yards, and his TD total was cut in half. It wasn't all his fault, though. Pollard underwent surgery in the 2023 offseason, but his fibula injury began bothering him after the first few weeks of the year.

Despite that disappointing year, he still signed a three-year, $21.75 million contract with the Titans in the offseason to become the successor to Derrick Henry.

The 2024 Titans struggled with terrible quarterback play and a disappointing offensive line. Many thought Pollard would lose many touches to Tyjae Spears, but Pollard still managed to rush for over 1,000 yards for the third consecutive year, and his season included three games with over 100 rushing yards.

The only real issue with Pollard's 2024 was his touchdown numbers; just five total TDs in 16 games. However, this was more of a team issue than a player issue. The Titans scored just 33 total touchdowns in 2024, one of the worst marks in the league.

But now that first overall pick Cam Ward has replaced Will Levis, the team can certainly march down the field more effectively. Don't forget about the revamped offensive line, as new arrivals Dan Moore Jr. and Kevin Zeitler are huge upgrades and can help the Titans (and Pollard) find the end zone more often in 2025.

Javonte Williams, Dallas Cowboys

Speaking of Pollard and the Cowboys, Rico Dowdle replaced Pollard in the 2024 season and did a fine job. But he left the team in the offseason and has been replaced by former Broncos back Javonte Williams.

In 10 of the last 12 seasons, the Cowboys have had a 1,000-yard rusher, so this is a good chance for Williams to record his first 1,000-yard year. Analysts thought the Cowboys would draft a high-profile RB, but they decided to stay put and are committed to Williams as their RB1.

Williams had an awesome rookie season in 2021, recording 1,219 yards from scrimmage and scoring seven total touchdowns. Unfortunately, he suffered a terrible knee injury early in his sophomore year and has failed to reach those heights ever since.

But now, Williams has a great chance at redemption. The Cowboys have a revamped offensive line, and although I believe they will be a pass-first team, you can't take the "Schottenheimer" out of Brian Schottenheimer.

He'll still try to run the ball a decent amount, and with Williams as the RB1, he has the perfect opportunity to have a career year and potentially double his 2024 touchdown total of four TDs.

Breece Hall, New York Jets

Before settling for Williams, the Cowboys were reportedly after Jets RB Breece Hall, and the Jets were also shopping him during the NFL Draft. Despite that, Hall is still a Jet and will seek a big contract extension after the 2025 season.

Justin Fields ➡ Breece Hall#Jets | 📸 @nyjets pic.twitter.com/jI6KqyDxN1

— Harrison Glaser (@NYJetsTFMedia) May 8, 2025

After his great sophomore season, Hall's numbers dipped slightly in 2024, and he scored one fewer touchdown, though he missed one game during the year. It's clear that he needs a good, double-digit TD year to earn his extension and establish himself as an indispensable part of the team, and he has the opportunity to do that in 2025.

Justin Fields is not a very good passer, and when he does throw the ball, it's usually a checkdown. Fields has had the highest checkdown percentage in the league over the last two years (15.5%), which is excellent for Hall, who is one of the best receiving backs in the league.

The Jets have also retooled their offensive line and look to have a talented unit in 2025. Hall's mentality will also be more aggressive, as the trade rumors and the quest for a big extension will bring out the best in him. A bunch of fantasy managers are selling low on Hall, and this could be the perfect time for you to strike.

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers

As said in my article for rookie RBs you must have in 2025, I believe Kaleb Johnson will overtake Jaylen Warren as the Steelers' RB1 this season, but Warren will likely start the year as the starting back due to his chemistry with the rest of the team.

If that happens, Warren will get the chance to play his first games as a starter in the NFL. After showing some promise in the 2023 season, Warren had an injury-plagued 2024 as he had to deal with knee and back injuries.

He still managed to play in 15 games and had 821 yards from scrimmage, but he only managed to score one touchdown throughout the entire year.

Now that he's healthier and likely to be the RB1 at the start of the year, Warren can easily improve upon his TD numbers and find the end zone more in 2025. Also, he's a good receiving back (ranked 13th in receiving grade among RBs by PFF in 2024 and ninth in 2023) but has yet to score a receiving TD in the NFL. Now that he has the chance to start a few games, he can end that receiving TD drought.

Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos

It seems like the Broncos are content with a three-headed rushing attack. Last year, it was the experienced Javonte Williams, sophomore Jaleel McLaughlin, and rookie Audric Estime. Now, their RB room will consist of the experienced McLaughlin, sophomore Estime, and rookie RJ Harvey.

The Denver Broncos' backfield now includes:

RJ Harvey
Audric Estime
Jaleel McLaughlin
Tyler Badie
Blake Watson

What are your thoughts on the RB room #BroncosCountry ❔ pic.twitter.com/E2ikhbAuxj

— SleeperBroncos (@SleeperBroncos) April 26, 2025

As the most experienced of the trio, McLaughlin could get the most touches to start, which will give him a good chance to improve upon his 2024 touchdown total.

McLaughlin became the Broncos' starting back down the stretch last year and found the end zone just thrice throughout the whole season, with one rushing and two receiving scores. Also, head coach Sean Payton isn't concerned with McLaughlin's height.

"When we evaluate running backs, we don’t have a prototype for height," Payton said when asked about the 5'7" McLaughlin late in the 2024 season. "Our history in this league has shown us over the years that that position is not necessarily built with a prototype for height."

With Payton's backing, McLaughlin could have a good year to earn an extension from the Broncos at the end of the season.

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