Every Fantasy Football Running Back With a Potential Workhorse Role (2025)

John analyzes fantasy football running back studs, sleepers and value picks who can be workhorses. Which RBs can get bell-cow roles and be fantasy anchors for 2025?

Running backs with workhorse roles are absolutely crucial to fantasy football teams' success each season. A consistent and high-scoring player at the RB position can give you the edge you need to grind out tough, close wins during the regular season and make it to the playoffs.

Almost invariably, the top-scoring running backs each season are mainly those who have a ton of volume. Because rushes don't award extra points in PPR leagues, as receptions do, players need more rushes to make up for the difference and be relevant league-winners. Receivers have no such issues.

But while no receiver is getting 20 catches per game, there are backs that average 20 rushes per game over the course of the season.

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James Conner, Arizona Cardinals

Conner's role is unlikely to change significantly in 2025. He performed very well in his workhorse role last season. While his backup, Trey Benson, is a talented athlete, there was little reason not to put the ball in Conner's hands. The 29-year-old (his age last season) racked up just over 1,500 yards from scrimmage and nine total scores.

#AZCardinals James Conner is just one of seven NFL RB's to have hit at least 1,000 yards rushing in each of the last two seasons. pic.twitter.com/kKkIClK10d

— Donnie Druin (@DonnieDruin) July 9, 2025

There are glaring flaws in Benson's game. Conner is a far more sound back, and though he's not particularly fast, it doesn't matter. He was one of the best backs at forcing missed tackles last season, which allowed him to pick up far more rushing yards than expected per play. That was impressive.

Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons

Robinson had a far larger role than his backup, Tyler Allgeier, last season. With a new offensive coaching staff that actually appeared to see the value in giving their incredibly highly drafted running back a huge touch share, Robinson easily enjoyed a massive Year 2.

Bijan Robinson will be the best rb in the NFL 🤘🏽🐂🔥#RBU
pic.twitter.com/0i6nCziRqA

— Chuy Vasquez (@loslonghorns) July 8, 2025

Robinson logged 1,887 yards from scrimmage and 19 total touchdowns in his sophomore season. A similar role is likely lined up for 2025. He proved that he was a highly talented back, and he helped Atlanta's offense consistently move the chains and convert in the red zone.

Derrick Henry, Baltimore Ravens

There isn't a lot to write about here. Henry is still clearly in his prime, or at least able to play at a very high level. He absolutely demolished stacked boxes last season. He's the engine through which Baltimore's offense runs, and he almost reached 2,000 rushing yards last season.

Henry is headed to the Hall of Fame when his career is over. For now, we'll get to enjoy watching even more dominance from one of the best running backs to ever play football in history.

Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals didn't draft a running back until the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, despite this year's RB class being absolutely stacked. This signals to me that Brown will still handle a large share of the team's backfield touches in 2025, just as he did last season, to great success in fantasy football.

Brown was a below-average RB as a pure runner, according to Pro Football Focus, but he's an explosive athlete who can create huge plays with his burst and speed. Brown played well as a pass-catcher and should maintain that role this season.

Josh Jacobs, Green Bay Packers

Jacobs could definitely reprise his role last season, but there are a few reasons to step back and exercise caution before you reach too hard and draft him early in the second round of redraft leagues. Jacobs was solid last season, but he had huge volume partly because his backup was injured most of the year.

In addition, quarterback Jordan Love got hurt, and the Packers passed the ball noticeably less after he picked up that injury. Of course, with an injured backup and only undrafted free agents left healthy on the depth chart behind him, Jacobs enjoyed massive volume that helped him finish as a prized fantasy asset.

I know everyone's given up on MarShawn Lloyd, but he had 7 touches in just 14% of snaps in Week 2, the only game he played in. Matt LaFleur ran a committee backfield every season except in 2024, when Lloyd got hurt and the other RBs were UDFAs. I think Lloyd surprises in 2025. pic.twitter.com/V6HJYhy6xO

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) June 17, 2025

Jacobs should be the primary back. That much isn't up for debate. However, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur is likely planning to pass the ball more this season and seems set on giving Lloyd significant volume. I'd be hesitant to draft Jacobs.

Jonathan Taylor, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts spent a late pick in the 2025 NFL Draft to select rookie DJ Giddens. That's unlikely to be super-important to Taylor's role. Giddens presents a very good handcuff case for fantasy managers, but it will be Taylor who handles the lion's share of the touches.

With Daniel Jones opening the season as the QB1, the passing offense may struggle at times. As a result, the team could thus choose to lean even further into Taylor, who could finish in the top three in the league in total rushes.

Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars

The parallels between Tuten and Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving (last season) are striking. Both have the same man running the offense (Liam Coen, head coach of the Jaguars now and offensive coordinator for the Bucs last season) for starters.

But additionally, Tuten was a highly elusive back in college, as was Irving. Both can succeed despite not being great pass-protectors, and both joined backfields with highly inefficient veteran backs. RB Travis Etienne Jr. averaged under 3.8 yards per carry in both 2023 and 2024. And RB Tank Bigsby faltered hard down the stretch.

Bhayshul Tuten will have a long touchdown run sometime in the first 4 weeks of the season and all the offseason narratives will go out the window. You can't keep a player with his burst, speed, strength, and elusiveness off the field. Draft him everywhere. pic.twitter.com/gjR0b4l8zl

— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) July 18, 2025

I expect Tuten to win leagues in 2025. He should be in a fantastic role. He was a highly elusive back who ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash. He's faster than Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs. Yet he's still insanely slept on. Make it make sense.

Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

This isn't a surprise. The Raiders don't have another good back on their roster. A geriatric Raheem Mostert, who was pretty awful last season, isn't likely to cut into Jeanty's volume much. Vegas used the sixth overall pick on the rookie. He's likely to have massive volume all season long.

Kyren Williams or Jarquez Hunter, Los Angeles Rams

I put the "or" here because Williams was just a disappointment last season. Not for fantasy football, but for about everything else. He had precisely zero rushing yards over expectation season-long, wasn't good at forcing missed tackles, and was the second-worst explosive-play back in the league, volume-adjusted.

Only the Kansas City Chiefs RB, Kareem Hunt, was worse at creating big plays (plays of 20 or more rushing yards) -- and Williams and his backup, Blake Corum, did virtually nothing to help the Rams' offense other than what defenses gave to them.

Rams RBs in their 2024 seasons...

Kyren Williams❌
+ 0.13 MTF/Att (49th/70 RBs)
+ 1.9% explosive % (57th)
+ 4.65 40

Blake Corum❌
+ 0.14 MTF/Att (40th/70 RBs)
+ 0% explosive % (70th)
+ 4.53 40
---
JARQUEZ HUNTER✅
+ 0.32 MTF/Att (5th/32 RBs)
+ 12.4% explosive % (3rd)
+ 4.40 40

— Dataroma (@ffdataroma) May 2, 2025

The Rams' lead back role is insanely valuable for fantasy football. That's how Williams, who regressed by nearly 20 percent from 5.0 yards per carry in 2023 to just 4.1 in 2024, still managed to be such a great fantasy asset. Keep in mind, Hunter absolutely tore up the SEC, the hardest conference in college football.

Hunter should be reached for in all fantasy leagues this offseason. There's a chance he gets the role at some point in 2025, especially if Williams gets injured.

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

Hampton might get thrust into a big role a bit earlier than he was expecting. While the Chargers paid good money for RB Najee Harris (eye) to join the team, he injured his eye in a fireworks accident in the offseason, and his status for the beginning of the year could be in question.

Hampton in a committee with Harris seemed likely, but who knows what could happen now. While offensive coordinator Greg Roman sucks at creating productive backfields for fantasy football, the Chargers might not have many good options other than giving Hampton the rock early and often.

De'Von Achane, Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins have running backs Jaylen Wright, Ollie Gordon II, and Alexander Mattison behind Achane on the depth chart. It's likely those four will be the team's backs heading into the season. None possesses nearly the upside Achane has. The third-year pro is undersized, but is a marvelous receiving back.

Achane's pass-protection is very poor, but Miami can design its offense to account for that. It's likely that they'd at least prefer either Gordon or Wright to step up into an RB2 role that could feature meaningful volume, but it might take time for either of them to emerge as a real threat.

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

I sincerely doubt rookie back Devin Neal will do much. There's plenty of hype surrounding his potential, but he's just not very good. He generally played poorly against tough college competition (i.e., against Power-4 schools) and wasn't elusive, fast, or a good pass catcher.

Kamara is getting old, but he's still the best the Saints have. RB Kendre Miller, who could pose some threat to his rushing production, hasn't been able to stay healthy to this point. If he can stay away from injuries, he could eat into Kamara's role, perhaps at the goal line. But for now, it looks like Kamara is the main guy by far.

Cam Skattebo, New York Giants

I'm not super high on Skattebo as a prospect. He's undersized and not very athletic, and I'm unsure if he has the ability to overcome poor offensive line play and a general lack of talent on the roster. That said, I think he could handle the majority of the rushing plays.

The team's other RB, Tyrone Tracy Jr., had a rookie season marked even more by being absolutely fraught with mental errors and horrible reps than it was by a few explosive plays. Tracy was a horrible pass-protector and routinely got his quarterback, Daniel Jones, absolutely blasted by defenders.

My bold take: Cam Skattebo, for all his bruising rushing ability, will be the third-down back. Tyrone Tracy has the WR background but he struggled with drops/pass pro as a rookie. Skattebo had major receiving projection in college. Looks natural pic.twitter.com/3GyUEsjwWn

— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) May 10, 2025

If I'm wrong about Skattebo and his lack of speed and burst aren't a major roadblock for his ability to produce in the NFL, we could see him hogging the lion's share of touches for the Giants down the stretch. Perhaps Tracy could clean up his drops and pass-protection, but if he doesn't, we could be seeing a lot of Skattebo in 2025.

Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

Barkley's first season with the Eagles featured over 2,000 yards rushing and multiple long scores. There's absolutely zero reason for them not to give him the ball on the vast majority of rushing plays this season. While his touchdown upside is capped by the presence of elite running quarterback Jalen Hurts, that might not matter.

Barkley is a massive fantasy asset for a few reasons -- mainly that he's an elite athlete and that the Eagles have, easily, the best offensive line in the league. That gives outsized production boosts to the best athletes on the roster. Obviously, that's what Barkley is. Maybe if King Henry were also on this team, things would be different.

But Barkley's backup, RB Will Shipley, is simply a handcuff. It will be No. 26 who will handle the load when healthy.

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

McCaffrey is the guy in San Francisco. Head coach Kyle Shanahan is unlikely to change the philosophy that works for him. He gives his best running back essentially all of the volume, even when his team is winning by multiple scores. It's fabulous for fantasy football, but maybe not great for his players' health.

Still, McCaffrey has a dream role that every fantasy manager wants for their running backs -- pretty much always being on the field, catching plenty of passes, and running the absolute hell of the rock sun or shine. CMC has massive, league-winning upside in his reprised role as the 49ers RB1.

Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Irving, like Achane, isn't a very good pass protector. It might not be the case that the team is willing to give him more touches, since RB Rachaad White, his backup, is actually good at pass-blocking. Nonetheless, White isn't good at generating offensive yards and touchdowns on his own.

But Tampa has a good offensive line that excels at run-blocking, so perhaps that will be enough to keep him on the field a decent amount. Irving should clearly lead the backfield in touches; it will just be a matter of how much he can improve as a pass-blocker and how much the team's new offensive coordinator is willing to scheme around his weaknesses.

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