Below, you'll find my current Top 5 running backs for the 2025 NFL Draft.
We still have plenty of games left to play out, followed by the pre-draft process — so things can and will change. But if the draft were tomorrow, this is how my board would look:
Top 5 Running Backs for the 2025 NFL Draft
- Ashton Jeanty | Boise State | 5’8/217
- Kaleb Johnson | Iowa | 6’0/225
- Omarion Hampton | North Carolina | 5’11/220
- Quinshon Judkins | Ohio State | 5’11/219
- Jonah Coleman | Washington | 5’9/225
Check out my other prospect ranks here: Top 5 QBs | Top 5 WRs | Top 5 TEs
Breaking Down the RB class
Jeanty, who will turn 21 next month, has locked down the RB1 designation for April’s draft with one of the most incredible RB seasons we’ve seen in recent memory. Jeanty has run for more than 125 yards in every game this season, and more than 185 in five of eight. Jeanty is running more but being used as a receiver less this fall. Luckily, receiving is not a question on his eval – he posted a 43-569-5 line last season and has, throughout his career, flashed great skill in that area. You could pick a million different stats to speak to his greatness. Here’s one: Jeanty’s 83 forced missed tackles in 2024 is 24 more than the next-highest RB in the FBS.
The biggest riser in this class is Iowa’s Johnson, who incredibly didn’t even come into the campaign as the Hawkeyes’ designated RB1. But Johnson seized control of that gig early, and has given the Hawkeyes an offensive identity. He runs hard, he has one-cut suddenness, and he boasts very good feet in general for a big back. Johnson’s 5.1 yards per carry after contact trails on Jeanty (6.03) in the FBS.
UNC’s Hampton has solidified his stock with another strong season. He’s a reliable, efficient back who consistently runs through off-angle attempts. OSU’s Judkins, who came into the fall with an argument for RB1 in the 2025 class, has seen his stock drop a bit due to some inconsistency in his split-work usage in OSU’s backfield. But Judkins should still hear his name called early on Day 2. Another riser in this class is Washington’s Coleman, who hasn’t missed a beat since arriving with HC Jedd Fisch from Arizona. Coleman is my type of back – a bruiser in a prototypical bowling-ball build. He ranks No. 5 in the FBS in missed tackles forced.
Outside Looking In
Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson and Penn State’s Nicholas Singleton have both been bandied about as potential top-5 RBs in the class. They’re my top-2 backs who did not make this list. Each currently looks like a R3 pick in this stacked RB class. My top-10 would currently be rounded out by Kansas State’s DJ Giddens, Rutgers’ Kyle Monangai, and Kansas’ Devin Neal. Monangai would have been higher on my preseason list. But he’s been ganged-up on and has gotten beaten up as the Scarlet Knights’ only legitimate source of offense. Monangai has some Blake Corum to his game. I expect him to wind up in the same late-R3 range that Corum was picked in this past April. There is going to be exciting running backs available late into Day 3 thanks to his abnormally stacked class. Texas Tech’s Tahj Brooks, UCF’s RJ Harvey, Michigan’s Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards, Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter, USC’s Woody Marks, and Clemson’s Phil Mafah could all be had on discounted sticker prices on the last Saturday in April.
