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Updated fantasy football rookie running back rankings for 2025. RotoBaller's top rookie running backs and draft targets, including Quinshon Judkins, Kaleb Johnson, and more.
Rookies are always exciting assets to add to a redraft or dynasty team, and if you are seeking help at the RB spot, check out our 2025 fantasy football rookie running back rankings. In the updated rookie RB rankings below, you'll see where Quinshon Judkins, Kaleb Johnson, Bhayshul Tuten, Dylan Sampson, Jaydon Blue, Devin Neal, and DJ Giddens stand, among all other notable rookie ball carriers. This is an impressive class of running backs, so it can be difficult to decide between them.
Continuous tweaks will be made to these rankings for fantasy football rookies all offseason long, so be sure to check back regularly for updates. In addition to this article, you should also be sure to check out our other dynasty rookie rankings and analysis articles, including in-depth coverage of various NFL rookie profiles. It's important to identify studs, sleepers, and duds among first-year players in rookie drafts and 2025 fantasy football leagues, so we have you covered.
Four of our lead fantasy football analysts -- Phil Clark, Jackson Sparks, Andrew Lalama, and Matt Donnelly -- have put together these fantasy football rookie rankings. In addition to these rookie rankings, in our 2025 fantasy football rankings dashboard, you will also find our team's Dynasty League rankings. Bookmark that page, and use it to prepare for all of your 2025 fantasy football dynasty league drafts.
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NFL Rookie Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football (Post-Draft)
Rookie rankings are from after the 2025 NFL Draft
| RB Tier |
RB Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Ashton Jeanty | RB | 1 |
| 1 | 2 | Omarion Hampton | RB | 2 |
| 2 | 3 | TreVeyon Henderson | RB | 5 |
| 2 | 4 | Quinshon Judkins | RB | 6 |
| 2 | 5 | RJ Harvey | RB | 7 |
| 2 | 6 | Kaleb Johnson | RB | 12 |
| 3 | 7 | Cam Skattebo | RB | 16 |
| 3 | 8 | Bhayshul Tuten | RB | 20 |
| 3 | 9 | Dylan Sampson | RB | 23 |
| 3 | 10 | Devin Neal | RB | 25 |
| 4 | 11 | Jaydon Blue | RB | 29 |
| 4 | 12 | Ollie Gordon II | RB | 30 |
| 4 | 13 | Jarquez Hunter | RB | 31 |
| 4 | 14 | Tahj Brooks | RB | 35 |
| 5 | 15 | Damien Martinez | RB | 36 |
| 5 | 16 | DJ Giddens | RB | 38 |
| 5 | 17 | Brashard Smith | RB | 40 |
| 5 | 18 | Trevor Etienne | RB | 42 |
| 5 | 19 | Jordan James | RB | 45 |
| 5 | 20 | Woody Marks | RB | 48 |
| 6 | 21 | Jacory Croskey-Merritt | RB | 51 |
| 6 | 22 | Kyle Monangai | RB | 52 |
| 6 | 23 | Kalel Mullings | RB | 55 |
| 6 | 24 | LeQuint Allen | RB | 56 |
| 7 | 25 | Raheim Sanders | RB | 60 |
| 7 | 26 | Lan Larison | RB | 65 |
| 7 | 27 | Phil Mafah | RB | 66 |
| 7 | 28 | Marcus Yarns | RB | 71 |
| 7 | 29 | Donovan Edwards | RB | 80 |
| 7 | 30 | Corey Kiner | RB | 86 |
| 7 | 31 | Montrell Johnson Jr. | RB | 88 |
Fantasy Football Outlooks for Rookie Running Backs
Quinshon Judkins, Cleveland Browns
Whichever running back landed with the Cleveland Browns in the 2025 NFL Draft had the potential to have a prominent role in this offense right away. It so happens that Ohio State running back Quinshon Judkins was the team's selection in the second round of April's draft. With this landing spot in Cleveland, Judkins will have every opportunity to break out as a rookie.
The Browns let Nick Chubb walk in free agency, and Jerome Ford will likely be the rookie's biggest competition for touches in 2025. While Ford might start the season as Cleveland's RB1, it's only a matter of time until Judkins overtakes him for that job. He has the speed and quickness to make a real impact right away.
As a result, the Ohio State product is a potential breakout candidate this season. The Browns selected him very early in the second round (36th overall), and they saw the vision of how the running back fit in their offense. After totaling over 1,000 yards in all three of his college seasons, it's safe to say that Henderson will bring more explosiveness to this team.
The rookie is also generating a lot of buzz so far in OTAs. He continues to showcase his potential and has been the team's most impressive rookie so far. So, it's hard not to see him emerging as a solid RB2 option in fantasy throughout the season. The opportunities should be there for the Ohio State star in his first year, making him a nice target in the middle rounds.
- Joey Pollizze
Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
It could stun some people that Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson is on this list over New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson. While Henderson should be in for a solid all-around rookie season, Johnson has the chance to take off in his first year.
Johnson was selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft after breaking out in his final college season at Iowa. The All-American running back ran for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns while posting an elite 6.4 yards per carry. He also ranked sixth in yards after contact (1,060), third in carries of 15-plus yards (28), and tied for 19th in missed tackles forced (66) among all FBS backs in 2024.
With Najee Harris leaving in the offseason, Johnson should have a significant role in Year 1. He'll battle with Jaylen Warren for touches in this offense, and those two running backs could be a nice one-two punch out of Pittsburgh's backfield. Warren could handle a lot of the receiving work, while Johnson could emerge as the team's goal-line/short-yardage back.
As a result, Johnson has sneaky RB2 value in fantasy. He'll have every opportunity to break out as a rookie on a Steelers team that wants to be physical. Pittsburgh also ran the ball at the fifth-highest clip (48.3%) last season. That all makes the Iowa product a nice pick in the middle round of drafts. He should have a solid role in this offense in 2025.
- Joey Pollizze
Devin Neal, New Orleans Saints
A subpar combine performance cost Neal (5-foot-11, 213 pounds with a 4.58 40-yard dash) an opportunity to be selected on the first two days of the 2025 NFL Draft. However, he was still selected in the sixth round and landed on a depth chart that could maximize his rushing ability.
Neal was a workhorse during his time with Kansas. He logged 602 carries for 3,635 yards and 41 touchdowns during his final three seasons (38 games) with the Jayhawks. He also carved out a role in the passing game, catching 70 passes for 654 yards and three scores.
The Saints' offense will certainly flow through Alvin Kamara once again, especially with second-round rookie Tyler Shough likely to start most of the games this season. But this offense needs to find a runner to take some stress off Kamara’s body as he gets older.
Neal will compete with Kendre Miller and Clyde Edwards-Helaire for touches in the Saints' backfield as a rookie. Given their ineffectiveness at the NFL level in their careers, there is a good chance that Neal will have fantasy value as soon as his rookie season. Whether he's a deep-league flex play as a handcuff with standalone value or gets pushed into the RB1 role due to a Kamara injury, he's a great pick in the late rounds of rookie drafts.
- Dan Fornek
DJ Giddens, Indianapolis Colts
DJ Giddens went to Kansas State University, so he's automatically slept on by most of the fantasy community. And while Jonathan Taylor will probably remain as the workhorse back and hog most of the touches, his career has been marked by constant injuries since his Cinderella season back in 2021. After that point, he missed nearly a full season's worth of games combined between 2022, 2023, and 2024. The moment he goes down, Giddens could become a quality starter.
He's an excellent athlete with a lot of long runs on his resume, and is pretty shifty in space. And he'll likely get the lion's share of the carries in that scenario, so he'll be fantasy relevant. Colts backup RBs with less talent than him have been serviceable in that team's RB1 role in recent seasons, so it stands to reason that Giddens could do the same. He has an impressive collegiate resume and a do-it-all skill set, so he's another strong target in the later rounds of rookie drafts.
- John Johnson
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