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Matt's 5 undervalued fantasy football running backs to target in drafts. Prioritize these workhorse RBs: Kenneth Walker, James Conner, Chuba Hubbard, D'Andre Swift, and Tony Pollard.
Don't look now, but the 2025 fantasy football season is upon us, as best ball drafts have taken center stage and once again captured the nation's curiosity.
One strategy that many top ball managers have used, which has trickled over from standard redraft leagues in recent years, is waiting on the running back position and finding value later in drafts. The best way to do that, whether it's in best ball, redraft leagues, or looking to make a deal to strengthen your dynasty roster to make a push for a championship, is to identify those workhorse-type backs that come at a fraction of the cost.
While running backs such as Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, and Ashton Jeanty are projected to be among the clubhouse leaders in snap percentage and rushing attempt share for their respective teams, they also carry a steeper price tag to acquire their services. Here are five backs in 2025 that will likely rival those elite backs in opportunities at a fraction of the cost.
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James Conner, Arizona Cardinals
RB21, ADP 68
James Conner is the most criminally underrated back in the history of fantasy football. The Cardinals' workhorse has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns while averaging 4.3 yards per carry or more in four of the last five seasons. In the one season in which he failed to hit 4.3 yards per carry, Conner finished with 18 total touchdowns and was the RB5 that season despite missing two contests.
This isn't predictive, but still interesting. James Conner's actual PPR PPG versus his expected (based on average draft position) over the last four years:
2024: +3.7 PPG
2023: + 4.4 PPG
2022: +1.0 PPG
2021: +8.1 PPGhttps://t.co/GlaDtNLerk— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) May 30, 2025
Last season, Conner ran the ball on 236 occasions and accounted for 54.1% of the Cardinals' rushing attempt share, playing on 60.4% of the total snaps. Conner was also relied upon in the passing game, running 237 routes on 578 dropbacks and targeted 52 times, resulting in a 10.2% target share.
With opportunity often comes production. Conner's opportunities led him to finish the 2024 season as the RB11, posting 253.8 fantasy points while averaging 15.9 fantasy points per game (equal to that of Chase Brown). With a current ADP of RB21, you are getting RB1 production in the sixth round. Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon recently said that Conner is "getting himself ready to carry the load for us." With Conner's track record, that's more than enough to get excited about.
Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans
RB25, ADP 81
Titans head coach Brian Callahan wants to increase Tyjae Spears' involvement in the Titans' backfield this upcoming season and acknowledged that Tony Pollard "carried the ball a lot" last season. The "coach speak" here shouldn't scare away fantasy managers as the risk is already baked into Pollard's ADP of RB25 (seventh round).
Tennessee has arguably one of the most improved rosters in the NFL entering the 2025 campaign, with a new franchise signal caller in Cam Ward lining up under center and reliable veterans on the outside in Calvin Ridley and Tyler Lockett. While Ward's mobility will benefit Pollard and the run game, so too will the additions of Dan Moore Jr. and Kevin Zeitler to the offensive line. Again, great news for Pollard, who has run for 1,000 yards or more in three consecutive seasons. Tennessee isn't ignoring what Pollard has done in the past, and even if backfield touches are more evenly distributed, those additions will lead to higher efficiency.
Last season, Pollard averaged 67 yards per game on the ground and added 15 more yards per contest through the passing game. While the expectation is that his overall snap share (68.9%) and rushing attempt share (61.9%) will likely go down, Pollard's touchdown rate will likely increase, considering he hit pay dirt on just five occasions. Pollard's 11.2% target share is a game-changer in itself, as the Titans' back was the ninth-most targeted back last season
Tony Pollard's rank by Yards After Contact per Attempt
[+ among RBs, min. 125 carries]2021: 1st
2022: 2nd*Fractured his leg and had tightrope surgery after the 2022 NFL playoffs*
2023: 23rd
2024: 4th pic.twitter.com/d8vvZVznZR— Fantasy Points Data (@FantasyPtsData) April 30, 2025
D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
RB33, ADP 122
Now I know that new Bears head coach Ben Johnson coached D'Andre Swift in Detroit and ultimately gave Swift's opportunities away to some kid named Jahmyr Gibbs, but let's not forget that Johnson's offenses haven't been cranking out top 24 backs over the last couple of seasons or that Swift has never finished lower than RB24 in his career thanks to his career 13.7 fantasy points per game. The bottom line is Swift's ADP RB33 doesn't make sense.
3) D’Andre Swift
RB29 ADP is Truly SHOCKING…
Considering he’s never finished worse than RB21 on a season in his career…
Weeks 4-18 Last Year (Per Game)
- 13.9 Fantasy Points (RB14)
- 18+ OpportunitiesSwift (26) is also the PRIME age for RBs…
And his new OC is a genius… pic.twitter.com/kUaw9BB10V
— Joe Orrico (@JoeOrricoFF) June 2, 2025
Last year, the Lions' backfield received 35 opportunities per contest, split between Gibbs and David Montgomery. When Montgomery went down, those touches found their way to Gibbs, and the fantasy production catapulted Gibbs to the top of the fantasy charts. Swift isn't competing with Montgomery or Gibbs for touches; his competition comes in the form of unproven backs Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monangai.
From Week 4 on, Swift averaged 13.9 fantasy points per contest and was afforded more than 18 opportunities per game. For a back with an ADP that suggests ninth-round draft capital, Swift finished in the top 10 in snaps (705), snap percentage (66.2%), rushing attempts (252), rushing attempt share, and 16th in targets (51).
Another factor working in Swift's favour is Chicago's investment in the offensive line, most notably the interior, where the Bears added Joe Thuney, Drew Dalman, and Jonah Jackson this offseason.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
RB18, ADP 56
If I told you there was a running back out there that accounted for 686 snaps (sixth-most), a 77.8% snap share (third-most), a 68.1% rushing attempts share (third-most), 10.7% target share, averaged 16.1 fantasy points per game (12th-most), and was available in the fifth round of the draft as the RB18, you'd smash that all day.
Running Backs who averaged 4.5+ yards per carry when facing a stacked box in 2024 (min. 150 carries):
Derrick Henry 6.0
Saquon Barkley 5.7
J.K. Dobbins 5.7
Bucky Irving 5.4
Jahmyr Gibbs 5.0
Chuba Hubbard 4.8
Tank Bigsby 4.5per @FTNFantasy StatsHub
— Colin McTamany (@Colin_McT) June 2, 2025
If the addition of Rico Dowdle scares you off of Chuba Hubbard, I'm not sure what to tell you. It's not every day a running back who totalled 1,366 yards and 11 touchdowns becomes available, offering you more bang for your buck than someone like Breece Hall, Taylor, or Bucky Irving.
Carolina ranked 21st in red zone scoring attempts per game and 24th in yards per play, which ultimately capped Hubbard's production, even though the Edmontonian ranked seventh and 11th in yards after contact per attempt and explosive run rate. The additions of Tetairoa McMillan, Hunter Renfrow, and Dowdle, as well as the maturation of Bryce Young in this Panthers offense, should lead to an overall improvement for the Panthers' offense, lending itself to even more fantasy opportunities for Hubbard in 2025.
Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks
RB17, ADP 54
Coming off the board just ahead of Hubbard in the fifth round is Kenneth Walker of the Seattle Seahawks. Walker is currently being slept on after missing six contests last season due to injury. However, when Walker was in the lineup, he was a difference maker, averaging 15.1 fantasy points per game.
Walker could produce thanks to the opportunities presented when he was healthy. With a 64.1% snap percentage, a 62.5% rushing attempt share, and a 12.7% target share, Walker ranked inside the top 12 in all those categories, leading to a 21.5% team fantasy point expected share.
Fantasy Points Data points out that of the 45 qualifying backs last season, Walker also led all backs in missed tackles forced per attempt while also finishing 10th in yards after contact per attempt. In the passing game, he was just as impressive, finishing third in first downs per route run, sixth in receiving yards per game, and sixth in targets per route run, proving to be an integral and invaluable piece of this offense.
Kenneth Walker III (RB27 in 24’)
16.5 Fantasy PPG in 2024 ranked 12th through 11 games
Finished as a Top 10 Fantasy RB in 4/5 of his first games last szn. 3 of those games were over 20 Fantasy Points
8 TD’s through 11 games. Career-high 46 catches through 11 games too
— Skrip (@P2WFantasy) June 3, 2025
The NFL, and even fantasy football, is a what have you done for me lately business. However, let us look back on what Walker was doing through the first nine weeks of the 2025 season. His 19.1 fantasy points per game over that stretch was the fifth-most, trailing only Henry, Barkley, Alvin Kamara, and Joe Mixon. Over that period, 264 of Walker's rushing yards (66.3%) came after contact. He found his way into the endzone on six occasions.
With DK Metcalf and Lockett relocated this offseason, there are 182 vacated targets. It's safe to assume that a majority of those will find their way to Cooper Kupp. Still, considering the volume and Kupp's recent injury history, there is a case to be made that Walker will become even more involved in this Seahawks passing game under Sam Darnold's leadership.
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