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Who should I draft for fantasy football in 2025? Fantasy football outlooks for Tyrone Tracy Jr., Travis Etienne Jr., J.K. Dobbins and our expert draft advice.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook
Tracy's rookie season featured a meteoric rise to relevance followed by a very bumpy ride. Once he was given significant touches, he quickly crushed backup running back Devin Singletary's chances at maintaining the starting job. Tracy easily led the backfield in total volume for the rest of the season.
He showed impressive explosiveness, some utility as a pass-catcher, and very nice tackle-breaking ability on his way to racking up 1,123 yards from scrimmage and six total touchdowns. But where there was impressive play, there were also plenty of mental errors and deficiencies to his game laid bare.
Toe Tap TD for Tyrone Tracy Jr.!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/zCqOIMHpAj
— New York Giants (@Giants) December 22, 2024
The potential is certainly there, but after dropping six passes, fumbling the ball five times, losing two of those fumbles, and having some truly nightmarishly bad pass-protection reps, there has been plenty for Tracy to improve on as he heads into his sophomore season.
I just don't think there's a lot of meaningful competition in this backfield. The Giants used a fourth-round pick to draft rookie RB Cam Skattebo this season, but he's a slow, lumbering back that might not have the juice to take many reps away from Tracy. He was a bit of a puzzling pick.
Skattebo ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. Had he run a laser-timed dash at the combine, he'd likely have been in the 4.7s, which could have plummeted his draft stock. Players who run in the 4.5s or worse at their pro day generally have major limitations to their speed.
Left: All Combine RBs within a half inch of Cam Skattebo's height and 5 pounds of his weight with a Burst Sscore >160
Right: All Combine RBs within a half inch of Cam Skattebo's height and 5 pounds of his weight with a 40 in the 4.6s https://t.co/7UFo3jMlTA pic.twitter.com/y0I1NKOFHM
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) March 28, 2025
It's tough for backs with his athletic profile to succeed in the league, so I expect Tracy to maintain his role from last season, which makes him an intriguing pick. It's not without risk, of course, but volume is crucially important for running backs in fantasy football, so it's very nice to have that box checked, seemingly.
Travis Etienne Jr. Fantasy Football Outlook
Etienne is seen by many fantasy managers as due for a bounce-back. I'm not so sure it happens. There's a new coaching and management regime in Jacksonville, with head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone both having been hired this offseason. And they selected two running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Of particular note, they chose RB Bhayshul Tuten, who was one of the most elusive backs in his class and ran a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine, after weighing in at 206 pounds. Somehow, this isn't being as lauded as it should be, which makes no sense. He's both heavier than and faster than Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs.
I firmly believe Liam Coen is salivating at the idea of scheming up outside runs for Bhayshul Tuten. Taking the handoff at the right hash and beating the entire secondary to the left for a touchdown is absurd. That's elite curvilinear acceleration pic.twitter.com/GW6MX19fCd
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) June 22, 2025
And Tuten's speed isn't just effective in a straight line. He's got elite curvilinear acceleration. In the hands of an offensive mind like Coen, it's easy to see massive upside. Etienne, though, may not have much left. He's been inefficient in his last two seasons.
Etienne averaged just 3.78 yards per carry in 2023, and that dipped to 3.72 in 2024. That's unacceptable for a lead RB in the league. You simply can't help your offense win games if you have such poor rushing efficiency. Though he dealt with injury last season, his missed tackle rate was atrocious.
Preseason depth charts are cool, but keep in mind that they're not always indicative of how the pecking order will change as the season goes on. The "veterans will always keep their jobs" attitude doesn't make much sense, especially when it's so rigid that it only makes exceptions for first-round rookies entering the league.
shocking how much better of a runner Tank Bigsby looked than Travis Etienne in Week 1
Tank created explosives. Forced missed tackles. Etienne bumped into his blockers. And then when he found an alley, he fumbled into the endzone.
(it's just one week) pic.twitter.com/zWG4dM0qSf
— Josh Norris (@JoshNorris) September 10, 2024
Etienne was clearly outplayed by his backup RB, Tank Bigsby, last season. Even when the blocking was good, Etienne failed to create explosive plays. Bigsby thrived, albeit temporarily, in the same offense and behind the same blocking that Etienne failed to do much with.
Dolphins depth chart at this exact point in time during De'Von Achane's rookie season pic.twitter.com/IMzcyPJWu8
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) August 20, 2025
Remember when Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane had no chance at taking the starting job for the Dolphins ever because Jeff Wilson Jr. was ahead of him on the depth chart in his rookie season before the season started? Wait, that didn't happen because Achane was the starter in 2024.
Things change, and poor efficiency for a running back is often a good leading indicator of such change. I've been advocating for you to drop your Etienne stocks in dynasty as quickly as you can. There's still time, unfortunately, but the clock is ticking. And he probably won't be worth rostering in most redraft leagues.
J.K. Dobbins Fantasy Football Outlook
Dobbins is a difficult player to analyze right now. While I've absolutely been a fan of the second-round pick the Broncos took in the draft this year, RB RJ Harvey, there are some holes with Harvey's game that need to be fixed. He often bounces runs outside when he should take them up the middle.
And that's likely one of an offensive coach's pet peeves in the running game. It's possible Harvey's early career arc might be a bit bumpier than I was anticipating. That said, rookies tend to come on strong in the second half of their first season.
Dobbins' upside argument thus revolves around his ability to carry a large workload -- at least last season, before he injured his knee -- and to be a reliable veteran back that might not give you much more than the defense allows, but won't blow up plays on his own with poor decisions and tendencies.
RB J.K, Dobbins to Broncos on a one-year deal, per source.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 10, 2025
Dobbins is on a one-year contract. He wasn't signed until June. He was let go by the Chargers despite having what seemed to many to be a good season. The reality is that, other than in his first two games, which featured horrible run defense, Dobbins was mediocre. He had eight games with four or fewer yards per carry.
The veteran is a solid pass-protector, though, and that's one weak area of Harvey's game. So the path to significant early-season carries is there. Just be wary of Harvey's imminent breakout, and be ready to find a replacement or trade away Dobbins before his volume dips. That might be hard to time.
Who Should I Draft in Fantasy Football?
For season-long upside, I like Tracy the most. It's not unlikely that he'll be a volatile player to have rostered, but of the three backs we've discussed, he has what I consider to be the least threat to his starting job and to take volume away from him, and that matters a lot!
He also has some pass-catching upside that Dobbins doesn't possess and more job security than Etienne Jr.
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Who Should I Draft? Some common 2025 fantasy football draft decisions are regarding players like Tyrone Tracy Jr., Travis Etienne Jr., J.K. Dobbins. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Draft your optimal fantasy football teams for 2025. Our free Who Should I Draft? tool will help make your fantasy football draft decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to draft... all free! Make the right decisions.
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