The 2025 draft was an unpredictable and exciting weekend. It was highlighted with many great prospects going to great situations. For fantasy football fanatics this means getting late round steals that could end up winning you the league. A position that arguably matters most in Fantasy is the Running Back. There were a lot of talented young backs that could end up making an immediate splash this season. Let’s dive into who you should be drafting in fantasy football this year.
1. Las Vegas – Ashton Jeanty
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Ashton Jeanty is a speedy back who broke countless records in college. He finished second in Heisman voting as a running back and had a genuine argument to win it. Ashton goes into a situation with almost no running back competition in Seattle. With Pete Carol being the newest head coach he’ll want to run teams down. Jeanty is going to have an immediate and positive impact on any fantasy team. Expect him to be in the RB 10-15 range, so try to get him off the board by the 4th round.
2. New England – TreVeyon Henderson
Henderson is a great consistent back who can stay calm and patient during the play. He has great speed with shiftiness. The only worry with him would be his injury history mixed with underwhelming hands. There’s so much to love with his game and with him on a Patriots team that didn’t have a good run attack last year he’ll get so much production. I can see Henderson ending in the RB 20 range at the end of the year. Fantasy teams should pick up his high upside sometime in the 9-10 round. If he stays healthy and can work on the catching mechanics he’ll be one of the biggest steals in your league.
3. Pittsburgh – Kaleb Johnson
Kaleb Johnson is a bulldozer of a back, coming in at 6’1 200+ lbs. He isn’t a very shifty back, but Johnson will ram into defenses and get yards. The main reason I like him as a back in fantasy is because of the team he’s on. The Steelers’ starting running back is the small but speedy Jaylen Warren. Meaning that when if Pittsburgh can get to the goal line Johnson will get the nod to get in the game. His production fully relies on whether or not you believe in this offense to get towards the end zone. I would draft Johnson sometime in the last couple of rounds of your draft. Behind a solid O-line he could score quite often and end up being a solid back up to put in during a bye week.
4. New York – Cam Skattebo
The New York Giants got in what opinion was one of the biggest steals in the draft with Cam Skattebo. Cam is a smart power back who has no issues reading openings in the defense. He has very little completion ahead of him with Tyrone Tracy and David Singletary. There’s a clear path for him to at least be the 3rd down back for the team as Tracy is a smaller guy. Similar to Kaleb Johnson I expect Skattebo to to get the red zone touches to power his way into the end zone. Pair that with the fact that they have a rookie QB who is going to need pressure taken off of him and you’re looking at a recipe for success. I would draft Cam in the later rounds of the draft as a high-upside guy who can come in clutch as a backup.
5. Denver – RJ Harvey
RJ Harvey was taken by the Broncos with the 60th pick of the draft. I personally didn’t like him as much as other people coming out of UCF. That being said he will get a lot of productivity going to a Broncos team that is desperate for a number one back. Him being taken so high shows the faith they have in him moving forward. With a good O-Line and a young core around him, I expect Harvey to have a good rookie year. I think of all the rookies outside of Jeanty he’s the safest one to pick as a back up RB on your roster. Even though I don’t think he has as much upside as the other backs on this list, I would still take RJ around the 10th round of the draft.
