Running Back Early Season Rankings for the 2025 Draft

Here we will look at the running back prospects for the 2025 NFL Draft. To preview the 2025 class, I watched 10 eligible draft prospects and rank them based on their talent, athleticism, production, and potential. My RB grading categories include vision, elusiveness, quickness/agility, speed/acceleration, receiving, blocking, strength, and ball security.

The class overall scored fairly highly for me. Ashton Jeanty stands out as the best currently, but the backs behind him have the traits to be 2nd-4th round picks. While I think this is a deep class, from the ten I watched, there isn't a stud first rounder. However, I'm sure some underclassmen will pop up and challenge for a top spot. I only watched 10 prospects, but I wanted to give some honorable mentions. Some running backs to watch out for include:

Devin Neal (Kansas)

Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech)

Raheim Sanders (South Carolina)

DJ Giddens (Kansas State)

Kyle Monangai (Rutgers)

Alton McCaskill (Arizona State)

Camar Wheaton (SMU)

Kaytron Allen (PSU)

Pat Garwo (Nevada)

Roman Hemby (Maryland)

Roydell Williams (FSU)

Ulysses Bentley (Ole Miss)

Now for my rankings!

At #1 we have Ashton Jeanty - Boise State (5'8, 210lbs)

Jeanty is a really fun watch. He's a tackle breaking machine with fantastic body control and contact balance. He's patient behind his blockers and has an explosive first gear to separate through gaps. Once he gets into open space he's creative with his moves and vision, using his quickness and agility to string cuts together. He has the natural instincts to find open areas and the creativity to make the most of it. He gets up to speed quickly, and he's shown the ability to break away from defenders on long runs. His hands look reliable out the back. His vision at the first level can be inconsistent, and he’ll rely on his strength and ability to bounce between tackles until he finds open space. He can get tunnel vision as he approaches the line of scrimmage, but he did improve on this as the season went on. His jukes are also missing the explosive element, causing him to struggle in 1v1's with defenders. My only real concern though is how translatable his tackle breaking ability is at the NFL level. He is short but stocky, with a low center of gravity. He’s a similar height, weight, and speed to D’Andre Swift, but not as explosive. I believe in his ability though and he's my top RB prospect coming into the season. In this clip, Jeanty does well to notice space on his left and burst upfield, breaking tackles to score the long TD.

#2 - TreVeyon Henderson - OSU (5'10, 212lbs)

Henderson is one of the more polished backs in the class. He’s explosive in his cuts and can string lateral moves together. He has a strong frame and does well to lower his pads and finish runs hard. His vision was impressive, and he does well to maneuver through traffic. He flashes the ability to manipulate second level defenders, and I want to see more of that this upcoming season. In the limited receiving reps he looked very comfortable catching the ball and transitioning as a runner. His speed is good enough but nothing special, and he will struggle with decisiveness at times. I also think he has the burst and footwork to be more creative and juke defenders in one on ones, but he just doesn’t do it often. Overall he's a solid prospect with RB1 potential at the next level. I'm excited to watch him this season, but he now needs to share the backfield with Judkins. Here Henderson catches the ball over the middle and makes an immediate move to the outside to avoid the defender.

#3 - Jaydn Ott - Cal (6'0, 200lbs)

Ott is a really smart runner, displaying great patience and flashing the ability to manipulate second level defenders. Once he’s running inside he has great footwork and wiggle to evade defenders. He times his gaps really well and burst through, possessing breakaway speed to take it all the way. His lateral agility and sidesteps are fluid, although his explosiveness laterally is lacking. He’s creative in space and always looking for the open path, but his ability 1v1 against defenders is just average. He’s not a good blocker, and he wasn’t used much in the receiving game. If he can improve his blocking and prove his ability as a receiving back, he’s got everything needed to be a top 5 back come April. Here Ott shows off his footwork and strings cuts together to break his run for the long gain. I love his tempo as a runner.

#4 - Ollie Gordon - Oklahoma State (6'1, 211lbs)

Gordon is smooth and natural runner, but he’s really not explosive or fast. He’s more of a finesse runner who displays patience behind his blockers and maneuvers well in tight spaces. He has loose hips and can comfortably string cuts together. He has a decent first gear but it’s fairly short lived. His long speed is good enough though, as he broke off several long TD runs and was only caught from behind a couple times on tape.  He does struggle with indecisiveness and his vision right now is inconsistent, but when he’s on his game he will pull off slashing runs up the middle for chunk gains. His decision making and vision will continue to improve, and he has the instincts to be a starter in the NFL. You can see his skills well in this clip. He reads the defenders stacking on his right and strings cuts, finishing his run hard.

#5 - Trevor Etienne - Georgia (5'9, 205lbs)

Originally at Florida, Etienne is now at Georgia. He won’t wow you athletically. He’s a bit rigid and lacks explosiveness out of his cuts, but he has those running back instincts and traits you don’t see often in prospects. He’s great at playing behind his blockers and waiting for the defender to commit, then cutting into space. He reads defenders and leverage so well. Out of all the other backs I watched, he’s the best at timing his cuts and catching defenders either flat-footed or with too much momentum. His vision and quick reactions are his best traits. He’s a poor blocker and needs to continue developing those skills. He also showed reliable hands and but had limited targets. I think with more receiving reps he’ll prove his ability in the passing game. In this clip, Etienne stays patient behind his blocker, and reads the defender commit to his left. He then cuts right upfield for a good gain.

#6 - Omarion Hampton - UNC (6'0, 220lbs)

Hampton is a strong runner that can run through arm tackles and drag defenders for extra yards. He has great contact balance and will pinball around on inside runs. UNC did well to create big gaps for him and he used his burst and power to consistently hit chunk gains. His speed isn’t great but he does show the speed to beat defenders to the outside and break long TD runs. His vision is still developing but he flashes the ability to read second level defenders, although he does have a ways to go. His hips are tight and he’s best when he can get upfield quickly and doesn’t need to dance around for space. The lack of lateral movement isn’t too worrying as that’s not his style of play. I was also pleased to see how strong a blocker he is, and his receiving ability is respectable. Here Hampton shows off his contact balance and strength as he breaks a tackle in the backfield and scores the TD.

#7 - Quinshon Judkins - OSU (5'10, 210lbs)

Originally at Ole Miss, Judkins is now at OSU. Judkins is a well-rounded back but not really elite in any area.  He’s light on his feet and his reaction time is fantastic. He’s usually very good at reading first level defenders and bursting through the hole with speed and power. He runs with a low pad level and finishes his runs hard, consistently adding a couple yards at the end. His frame is compact and strong. He’s a good one cut back but also has the agility to string moves together. He’s not a home run hitter but he has decent speed. I think his inconsistencies with his vision is his last area of development. He is either too patient or rushes his runs, often running into defenders. He’s more reactive than proactive.  I also didn’t see many receptions on tape and hope to see more contribution this season. I think he possesses the talent to be a starting back in the NFL, he just needs to put it all together. And that may be difficult this season as he needs to share the backfield with Henderson. Here Judkins displays patience and waits for his gap to open, finishing his run for extra yards.

#8 - Damien Martinez - Miami (5'11, 232lbs)

Originally at Oregon State, Martinez is now at Miami. Martinez is best as a north-south runner who uses his strength and footwork to break into the second level. He displays good first level vision and cuts upfield with power. He plants his foot and burst upfield, dragging tacklers along the way. His agility and quickness are good for his size, although his hips are a bit tight. He struggles to get to the outside and his speed is a slight concern. However, he makes plays by being patient and using his vision to find gaps and break past the line of scrimmage where multiple defenders are needed to tackle him. His blocking needs much work and he was not used much as a receiver, so those are areas that hopefully improve. In this clip Martinez easily shrugs off the tackler to get into space for the long gain.

#9 - Nicholas Singleton - PSU (6'0, 222lbs)

Singleton displays great first level vision, showing the ability to read and manipulate downhill defenders. He’s really patient behind his blockers and will ride behind as long as he can. He does well to avoid negative plays. He’s not the most agile but he’s  got quick footwork, and can string cuts together. He’s a better runner between the tackles than in space. I question his long speed and he rarely broke runs past the second level. His longest run last season was only 24 yards. I’m also not sure about his acceleration, as he looked explosive in some games but not in others. He had a couple drops on tape and caught with his body often, so he needs to continue building out his receiving skillset. He was also a poor blocker. There’s a lot to work with here though, and his vision is among the best. Singleton shows good inside running skills here.

#10 - Donovan Edwards - Michigan (6'0, 210lbs)

For the most part, Edwards is a north-south runner with the strength and patience to allow his gap to open and gain extra yards on contact. He isn’t someone who will create much for himself, but if he’s able to get into space past the first level, he has the speed make the most out of it. He displays quick reactions and feet on inside runs that allow him to cut into open areas. His biggest weaknesses are his vision and lack of explosiveness. He can also run with an inconsistent pad level, but when he stays low on contact he does well to fall forward and get extra yards. He has also shown he’s a capable receiver out the back but he does catch with his body most of the time. His blocking and receiving ability scream third-down back to me, and he may be best in a gap scheme or on inside zone runs. Here Edwards works well into space for the chunk gain, but I don't like how long it takes him to realize his right side is wide open.

If you made it this far thanks for reading!

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Display Image Credits

Ashton Jeanty: David Zalubowski-Associated Press

TreVeyon Henderson: Kyle Robertson-Columbus Dispatch