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Should you draft Cam Skattebo, Bhayshul Tuten, and Jaydon Blue in fantasy football in 2025? John breaks down the fantasy football outlooks for these rookies.
New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten, Dallas Cowboys running back Jaydon Blue, and Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson are four rookie RBs who were selected in the 2025 NFL Draft and will play in their first season in the NFL in 2025.
While it might seem that all four are solid picks to make in fantasy football, we often see new players' careers start on very divergent paths. Clustering mid-round selected running backs into tiers doesn't often help you predict the reality of the situations.
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This piece will differ from the consensus pretty markedly, so while it won't read like a typical article, with some mumblings about upside, college production, and a prediction of some middling stat line, it will attempt to dig into what should actually happen with these players in their new offenses. So let's dive in!
Cam Skattebo Fantasy Football Outlook
When evaluating a rookie running back, it makes sense to look at the other backs the team has rostered. Right now, the Giants have two other healthy RBs -- Tyrone Tracy Jr. and Devin Singletary. Tracy quickly commanded the majority of touches in this backfield in his rookie season in 2024.
While Skattebo was highly productive in his final season in college, tallying over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 21 rushing touchdowns, he might struggle to take reps from Tracy. Skattebo is a powerful back with good contact balance, but his burst is highly suspect. He ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash at his pro day.
Despite everyone and their mama hyping up Cam Skattebo, this is a reminder that Tyrone Tracy is still there and isn’t just going away.
The 3rd run I’m showing is one that stands out to me especially. Despite having to alter his path because of the early penetration, AND having… pic.twitter.com/mFn6vNpJQe
— Charles “Chux” Maranan (@ChuxMaranan) August 19, 2025
Tracy is a converted receiver, and a lot of the mistakes he made in his rookie season are ultimately correctable. The Giants have historically had poor offensive line play, and that was evident last season as well, but Tracy's athleticism and diagnosis of defensive coverages helped him mitigate some of the poor blocking.
He's also a viable pass-catcher, though he struggled with drops in his first season. He's able to create explosive plays with his acceleration and can outrun many linebackers, which is something Skattebo isn't likely to be able to do. Speed matters at the next level.
Latest take from @JordanRaanan on the Tyrone Tracy vs. Cam Skattebo split. pic.twitter.com/jsmLn2tbd6
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) August 14, 2025
Things could swing in favor of Skattebo if Tracy regresses, but that's not easy to count on. It doesn't appear that the team wants to give a lot of reps to Singletary, which makes sense, but Skattebo is set to have to battle for even a 50 percent share of the backfield touches.
In the scenario in which that's the optimistic case for him, it might be difficult to ever want to put him in your starting lineup. The Giants already have a poor offense, and their quarterback options now are an aging Russell Wilson and a rookie Jaxson Dart -- who I like, but could have some growing pains, as he is a young player.
Skattebo's running style is just not one that's conducive to picking up extra yards in the NFL. Trying to bull through NFL tacklers doesn't often lead to picking up extra yards. NFL defenders are far more athletic, faster, have more strength, and are much more disciplined than those in the Big 12.
All of Cam Skattebo's rushes from his NFL debut:
The former Sun Devil star starts his next chapter in NYC.@FOX10Phoenix pic.twitter.com/pQHkvebjFx
— Blake Niemann (@Blakes_Take2) August 22, 2025
While highlights of strong running backs trucking defenders are impressive, that type of play stops the back's momentum, allowing other defenders to swarm in and finish the tackle. There are very few running backs in today's NFL who have long careers based on simply running through defenders.
Derrick Henry is one, but he's also around 240 pounds and is much faster than Skattebo. The momentum he creates is scary. Skattebo, to me, just doesn't have the athletic juice to consistently elude defenders, and ramming into a pile of linebackers and defensive tackles doesn't always lead to good results.
In short, an unathletic rookie running back is on a historically bad offense with a clear RB1 ahead of him that's set to take the lion's share of touches. That's a situation I'd rather avoid, and look elsewhere for my late-round picks and dynasty stashes.
Bhayshul Tuten Fantasy Football Outlook
Tuten is a completely different story. Athleticism is no concern for the Virginia Tech product -- in fact, he's one of the best athletes ever to test at running back at the NFL Combine. He ran an absurd 4.32-second 40-yard dash at 206 pounds. His 1.49-second 10-yard split tied for the lead among all players.
He also jumped 10-feet-10-inches in the broad jump (tied for second among RBs) and had a vertical of 40.5 inches, which led the position group. Tuten's athletic dominance is displayed all over his tape, but it's not just straight-line speed in which he excels.
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 delved into rookie running back film back in January and February. At that time, Tuten was ranked outside the top-10 rookie running backs for some reason. I was stunned by his film. There's a lot of bias against certain colleges that don't have a history of producing elite NFL prospects, but it was still baffling.
Tuten brings everything you want in a running back, with some traits on more steroids than champion bodybuilders. And it all translated to production. In addition to his elite, close-to-league-best athleticism at RB, he's highly elusive, has fantastic contact balance, and has elite bend -- i.e., curvilinear acceleration.
Why is Bhayshul Tuten my RB1? In addition to being an elite athlete, he does some things that I really like running backs to do:
-Breaks tackles
-Eludes tackles
-Carries tacklers with him
-Slips tackles
-Powers through tackles pic.twitter.com/Tj9BjW6GHN— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 28, 2025
Liam Coen, former offensive coordinator of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is now the head coach of the Jaguars. Bucs RB Bucky Irving's film shows elite run-blocking schemes engineered by Coen, who does a fantastic job of having his blockers in the right place to throw their blocks.
Tuten's burst is such that he doesn't need massive lanes to run through to create explosive plays. He can exploit small creases and gaps in the defense to explode through holes and outrun both linebackers and safeties. He's faster than most of the NFL's defensive backs, and all of its linebackers.
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
It was tough for me to find a weakness in Tuten's game that wasn't his fumbling issues. Admittedly, he does struggle to hang on to the ball, but that's ultimately a correctable issue. And we've seen RBs in the NFL, like Los Angeles Rams lead back Kyren Williams, keep their jobs despite fumbling problems.
Williams leads the league in fumbles over the last two seasons by an RB. Despite this, he was recently signed to a contract extension and remains atop the depth chart at his position for his team, though anything can happen given enough time.
Bhayshul Tuten doesn't get enough credit for his stiff arms. They're filthy pic.twitter.com/LT7SWkVVIW
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) June 22, 2025
My analysis leads me to believe that it will be incredibly difficult for Coen to keep Tuten off the field. He has a skill set that's incredibly valuable, and can make plays that very few RBs in the league share the ability to make. I think he takes a prominent role in this backfield and puts up monster, league-winning fantasy numbers at some point in the 2025 season, making him an absolute must-draft in all formats.
Jaydon Blue Fantasy Football Outlook
Blue (ankle) is also a fantastic athlete. He ran a 4.38-second 40-yard dash at the 2025 NFL Combine despite playing through a Grade 2 groin sprain. But he's dealt with injuries throughout the offseason, and currently has a low-ankle sprain.
He's playing in a backfield with very little talent, though. RBs Miles Sanders and Javonte Williams have both performed poorly over the past two seasons, and whatever the reasons for this might be, they don't have nearly the juice that Blue has.
Jaydon Blue is RB1. That vision and burst is unmatched. The most talented RB on the roster. #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/4DawgXyFFq
— Ernie The Cowboys Fan (@E_TheCowboysFan) August 23, 2025
He's also a great pass-catcher. He'll be excellent running routes out of the backfield against linebackers, and he's impressive after the catch. Players like him get schemed touches in space often because they can create explosive plays readily with their elite athleticism.
Blue isn't quite as polished as a pure runner, so it could take some time to develop there. I don't project him as having a workhorse role this season, and he might be inconsistent, but the team might have motivation to use him on their best-designed running plays, considering how much burst he has.
Jaydon Blue also brings "F you" speed https://t.co/1GzUsvWOX7 pic.twitter.com/pqDOcdhclo
— Jacob Gibbs (@jagibbs_23) April 3, 2025
Taking dart throws on the highest-tier athletes among rookie running backs is never a bad idea. A healthy Blue may have run in the low 4.3s at the combine, as his film shows remarkable velocity on a lot of his runs. And the Cowboys should have a solid offense under new coach Brian Schottenheimer with the personnel they have.
As a late-round dart throw, Blue is a very good pick.
Dylan Sampson Fantasy Football Outlook
The Browns drafted both Quinshon Judkins -- in the second round -- and the fourth-rounder Sampson this offseason. Judkins, however, has still not signed his rookie contract, likely because of the now-dropped assault charges he faced. So close to the season, though, it seems that Judkins' seemingly formerly clinched RB1 role might be fading.
Judkins will not face criminal charges, but he was gunning for a fully guaranteed rookie contract. The Browns don't seem to be willing to budge, now, because Judkins has missed practices and didn't play in the preseason. And the NFL could still suspend Judkins.
Going over Quinshon Judkins tape, I lost track of how many times I saw zero hip flexibility. Rarely tries to juke the defender even with clear space to get extra yards. Just tries to run guys over every time. Doesn't work that well in the NFL. Should be a problem. pic.twitter.com/VJmiH2GVIA
— JohnJohn Analysis (@JohnJohnalytics) March 17, 2025
Judkins' strength, burst, and speed are undeniable. Those are basically the only positive traits he possesses, according to my analysis. Once his speed gets going, he has incredibly tight hips and struggles to ever make defenders miss with lateral moves.
His running style is very reminiscent of a big bowling ball careening down the field, out of control but still hard to stop. The NFL values athleticism greatly in running backs, but Judkins was one of the least elusive running backs of the 2025 NFL Draft class, and that's important.
Dylan Sampson started over Jerome Ford in the final Browns preseason game. He also did this! pic.twitter.com/NbqSqIsuKU
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) August 24, 2025
The current RB1 on the Browns depth chart, Jerome Ford, didn't even get a workhorse role last season when Nick Chubb was still recovering from his knee injury. Cleveland doesn't seem to want to give him a lot of touches, clearing the way for Sampson to potentially serve as the team's RB1 to start the season.
Sampson's college numbers were impressive. He was the SEC offensive player of the year. But it should be noted that RB Jaylen Wright smashed in Tennessee's run system and didn't do much in the NFL. Sampson is a more impressive prospect than Wright, in my opinion, though.
Bhayshul Tuten is elusive all around but was notably productive up the middle at VT pic.twitter.com/Urax9F1lfV
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) May 14, 2025
Sampson's advanced efficiency metrics aren't super impressive. I'm more worried about the Browns offense as a whole, though. They're starting a 40-year-old Joe Flacco at quarterback to begin the season. They don't have a long-term answer at QB, and things could be pretty rocky.
In addition, their offensive line is middling to bad, organizational vibes are awful, they're coming off a dreadful losing season, and they're in a brutal division with three other winning teams. Sampson won't have an easy environment to succeed in.
Sampson's opportunity is undeniable, but the return of Judkins could throw a wrench in his production and turn this backfield into an ugly committee. And an ugly committee on a bad team isn't something great to buy into. Still, a late-round pick in a redraft league is fine for Sampson. Just hope you don't have to depend on him later in the season.
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