Why the 2025 NFL Draft is the year of the running back

No position on the gridiron divides opinion more than running back.

Some analysts will argue that even the NFL’s top rushers are so replicable and replaceable that a significant chunk of the salary cap and first-round draft picks should never be spent on them.

Others will implore that running backs – despite the NFL’s shift to a more pass-heavy form of offense over the last decade – can still be hugely impactful if properly utilised.

In 2023, a group of the league’s premier running backs got together on a Zoom call to discuss how they could combat an alarming trend toward their position becoming devalued.

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Over the previous decade, the NFL’s salary cap had increased by 82.8 per cent. Yet the average top five salaries paid to running backs over the same period rose by only 22.8 per cent.

But last season, the reputation of the running back was rehabilitated thanks to the record-breaking campaign Saquon Barkley delivered en-route to Super Bowl glory with the Philadelphia Eagles, while the likes of Derrick Henry, James Cook, Jahmyr Gibbs and Josh Jacobs also enjoyed stellar years.

Barkley was rewarded for his 2,005-yard season with a new contract, which – with an average annual value of $20million – is the biggest ever received by a running back.

And now the 2025 draft class arrives boasting a bevy of high-potential young running backs, headlined by a blue-chip prospect rated as the best to emerge in the position since Barkley himself in 2018.

Ashton Jeanty rushed for a staggering 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns for Boise State last season. Regarded as one of the best players at any position in the upcoming draft, he seems certain to be selected within the first six picks.

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After Jeanty, North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton – who rushed for 1,660 yards last year – is also expected to be off the board by the end of the first round, with manty mock drafts predicting he’ll go as early as pick No.12, to the Dallas Cowboys.

And beyond that standout pair, there are as many as 30 running backs graded as draftable NFL prospects.

The last time that many running backs were drafted was in 2017, the year in which NFL superstar Christian McCaffrey was taken eighth overall by the Carolina Panthers and Leonard Fournette went four spots earlier to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Here are some other names to look out for in round two and beyond:

TreyVeyon Henderson 

A slightly undersized but speedy and elusive running back who rushed for 1,016 yards for national champions Ohio State.

Quinshon Judkins

A battering-ram of a back who racked up 1,060 yards as part of a backfield tandem with Henderson on the Natty-winning Buckeyes.

Cam Skatterbo

A Heisman finalist who earned plaudits for his do-it-all performances on Arizona State’s run to the College Football Playoffs semi-finals.

Dylan Sampson

An explosive back with solid receiving chops. Sampson rushed for 1,485 yards for Tennessee in 2024. He’ll need to take better care of the ball at the NFL level, however, after losing four fumbles last year.

Kaleb Johnson

A fleet-footed and twitchy runner who piled up 1,537 yards for the Iowa Hawkeyes last year as he was named Big 10 Running back of the Year.

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