2025 Running Back Prospects

 

There has been a lot of speculation about teams potentially reevaluating the way running backs have slid down draft boards in recent years. Many have pointed to Saquon Barkley, who joined the Eagles this year and helped them win the Super Bowl, his cheap contract a sign to some people that the devaluation of the position has gone too far. People have started to wonder if we might be due for a shift back, particularly with a strong running back class that could see multiple running backs go in the first round.

I’m still in the camp who thinks this is mostly nonsense. Yes, Barkley was a valuable for the Eagles last year, as was Derrick Henry for the Ravens or Josh Jacobs for the Packers or Aaron Jones for the Vikings. But notably none of these players were actually drafted by the teams they played for. They’re actually good proof that you don’t need to spend draft capital on the position, that you can find elite running backs available in the free agent market. And, notably, in the Super Bowl itself the biggest factor in the Eagles victory was their defensive line, where they have spent three first round selections in the past three years.

So I am still in the “don’t spend valuable draft picks on running backs” camp. And with that said…

 

Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise State

It would require a very special player for me to spend a pick on a running back in the top half of the first round. Ashton Jeanty is a very special player.

The number one trait I look for in a running back is being difficult to tackle, and Jeanty is maybe the most difficult to tackle running back I have ever studied. He is short and compact, and he has absolutely remarkable contact balance, able to absorb hits from any direction without being knocked over. He bounces and weaves through traffic, and then he explodes when he gets into open space, able to turn a two yard gain into an eight yard gain and an eight yard gain into a sixty yard gain.

Jeanty’s physical tools aren’t the most overwhelming, but he is very advanced in utilizing them to attack defenses. He shows good patience and will use his eyes to pull defenders out of position, so that when he does make a cut he has enough space to outrun them to the edge. He doesn’t make the sort of sharp cuts that can get him to the far backside of the play, but he is very quick at identifying open lanes and then accelerating through them to hit the defense at full speed. His feet are always moving, and he is always working his way forward. He doesn’t dance behind the line unnecessarily, and he doesn’t run himself into a negative play trying to create something explosive.

If I have any qualms about Jeanty they’re in the passing game, where he is simply okay rather than extraordinary. He has good hands, but he wasn’t asked to do much as a receiver besides swing routes and screens. He knows what he’s doing as a pass blocker but can occasionally be overwhelmed. He’d probably be best in an offense that rotates him with a dedicated third-down back more suited to these areas, at least for the first couple years. But he also won’t be a liability if asked to be a every-play player. And with his skills as a runner, he can still be one of the most dangerous backs in the league even if he never develops into any sort of threat coming out of the backfield.

 

Omarion Hampton, RB, North Carolina

Hampton is the most physically gifted of the running backs I looked at. At 221 points he ran a 4.46 forty and had a 38 inch vertical leap, matching the explosiveness he plays with on the field. He is a downhill runner who hits the hole in a hurry. When there are defenders in the way, he slams into them and drives the pile forward for extra yardage. When there aren’t defenders in front of him, he accelerates to top speed and runs away for a home run play.

As a pure runner there is still work for Hampton to do. He shows pretty good vision for recognizing holes when they come available, but he doesn’t always give the time needed for that to happen. He’ll slam into the line whether the blocks are there or not, and while this at least keeps him from losing major yardage trying to make too much happen in the backfield, it robs him of some opportunities that could open up if he had a bit more patience. He’s not very shifty either, and he takes a lot of hits square-on. Of course, hitting him square-on doesn’t mean you bring him down. His balance isn’t great—he gets brought down by ankle tackles with frustrating frequency—but he almost always finds a way to drive forward through contact for an extra few yards.

One place he doesn’t have to do much to develop is as a pass blocker. He is smart and aggressive in the backfield, identifying a free rusher and stepping forward to meet him violently while giving the quarterback plenty of space to work behind him. As a receiver, he brings less to the table. His hands aren’t great, and he doesn’t really make people miss in space. He’s just a straight-ahead runner who is at his best working between the tackles. I think he’ll be somewhat limited schematically until he can develop better instincts in the runner, and that’s enough to keep me from having any interest until the second round.

 

Quinshon Judkins, RB, Ohio State

Earlier I said that the most important thing I look for in a running back is being difficult to tackle. Well, in the non-Jeanty realm of things, Judkins is the most difficult running back to tackle in this draft class. He’s 221 pounds of brutal punishment between the tackles, with just enough lateral quickness to avoid taking contact head-on. When he gets up to full speed he’s able to simply bounce off of defenders on the second level to grind his way forward for first down yardage.

The condition in that last sentence is the critical part, because it does take Judkins a while to get up to full speed. He tested surprisingly well at the combine, running a 4.48 forty that caught me a little off guard based on what I saw on the field. He needs a few strides to get up to full speed, and even then he can be chased down from behind by defensive backs and even some linebackers. He’s not a home run threat in the backfield, more someone who will pick up a lot of solid mid-length gains to keep the chains moving.

Judkins is still a bit raw as a runner, and I think he can grow into more than he currently is in the NFL. He has moments displaying good vision to find a backside cutback, but also moments where he’ll slam blindly into his blockers. In the passing game he has the physical tools to be an excellent blocker, but mentally he doesn’t always make the right reads or go the right direction. He wasn’t used much as a receiver, but he looked good while doing so, able to catch the ball with ease and transitioning into a runner in space where his physical tools were able to overwhelm defenders. In a couple years I think he can develop into a very versatile offensive weapon, if one with a slightly limited upside. I’d take him in the third round, and could maybe justify it at the end of the second.

 

TreVeyon Henderson, RB, Ohio State

Henderson has all the burst that Judkins is lacking. He is pretty much always moving at top speed, and that top speed is impressive, a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball. He can outrun defenders to the corner or knife through them on quick-hitting runs up the middle. And once he hits the second level as either a runner or as a receiver, his speed can wreck angles and change the game.

Henderson is a weapon in the passing game. He can run a variety of routes out of the backfield, and he is always dangerous on screen passes, doing a good job reading and setting up his blocks before hitting top gear. As a pass blocker he alternates between delivering devastating chips on edge rushers and stepping forward to absorb blitzing linebackers. At times his small stature means he can get knocked backwards by larger rushers, but he usually attacks aggressively enough to be able to survive being knocked backwards without winding up in the quarterback's lap.

I have a few concerns with Henderson that make it difficult to justify taking him before the third round. As I mentioned, he is fairly small, barely crossing the 200 pound mark at the combine. He’s not afraid of contact, plenty willing to lower his shoulder into a defender’s chest, but it often doesn’t accomplish much. He frequently gets knocked backwards by initial contact, and while he has good quickness, it’s not the sort that leaves defenders on their knees grasping at air while he darts past. More often than not, the first guy to get to him brings him down.

As a runner Henderson displays good vision and patience, but he can run into trouble if there is genuinely nothing there. He tries too hard to bounce plays to the edge, including in costly moments like short yardage. He’ll need to rein these habits in to grow into a reliable lead runner in the NFL. I think he can do this in a couple of years, but even if he doesn’t, he has all the makings of an elite third-down back.

 

Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa

Johnson can be a useful running back for specific offenses. He thrives in a zone blocking scheme, where he uses patience and the ability to explode off a single cut to identify backside lanes and get downhill. He’s very good at setting up his blocks and waiting for the right moment to accelerate, though he can occasionally be too patient, standing and waiting for a backside opportunity when he should just get what he can on the front. Once he gets moving he can build up pretty good speed on the second level. He isn’t a great athlete, but at 224 pounds he has enough juice to avoid being stuck as a dull, short-yardage plodder.

Johnson doesn’t do a lot to escape tackles. At the point of contact he is occasionally strong enough to muscle through, but most of the time the best he can do is fall forward. He has no real lateral quickness, and most of the time the first guy to get to him is able to bring him to the ground. He is good at not being knocked backwards and can be an effective short-yardage rusher, but he doesn’t often erase tacklers on his own in the way top backs do to turn a good run into a great one.

In the passing game he doesn’t offer much. In his first two seasons of college football he had a total of seven receptions, and while that picked up in his final year, it still ended up averaging less than two a game. In pass protection he mostly held up in the reps I saw, though did seem to be a beat slow in responding to the pressure packages happening in front of him. I think he’ll be enough here to avoid being a liability, provided you get enough out of him in the running game to justify it. If you’re a team that runs the right sort of offense for Johnson, he’s probably worth a pick in the third round as someone you can plug into your scheme and count on to produce slightly above-average running back production.