Burst. It’s the lifeblood of running back evaluation. However, for every ball carrier with explosive, game-breaking tendencies that translate to the NFL, there’s a college back who has nothing but bust potential at the professional level. Which is which? Our 2025 NFL Draft RB Rankings seek to separate the best from the rest.
Top 10 RBs in the 2025 NFL Draft
10) R.J. Harvey, UCF
RJ Harvey has below-average size but makes up for it with a compact frame. He possesses excellent lateral agility and a thick lower half, making him a very good tackle-breaker. Harvey is an explosive rushing creator who can consistently find the second level and make defenses pay for mistakes.
A good chunk of his production comes from hitting explosive runs. Harvey is a consistently reliable pass catcher who runs efficient routes and can serve as a third-down back. He is a well below-average pass blocker whose technique is poor. He had very high levels of production in his college career, posting back-to-back seasons with at least 1400 rushing yards and at least 200 receiving yards.
Harvey has scored a whopping 38 rushing touchdowns in the past two years.
9) DJ Giddens, Kansas State
DJ Giddens is a versatile running back with the ability to impact the game as both a runner and a receiver. He runs with a physical style, displaying excellent balance and the ability to break tackles in tight spaces. Giddens combines good vision and patience with strong acceleration through the hole, making him effective between the tackles and in open space.
As a receiver, he shows reliable hands and the ability to create mismatches against linebackers. The main concerns with Giddens are a lack of elite mass, and his ability to be a reliable pass blocker. However, he is relatively new to the position, so there is plenty of development potential. Overall, Giddens is a lean slasher with enough speed to stretch seams and generate momentum, and his skill set lends well to schematic flexibility.
8) Devin Neal, Kansas
Devin Neal is a dynamic, well-rounded running back with impressive burst and vision. He excels at finding cutback lanes and displays great patience behind his blocks, often turning small openings into explosive plays.
Neal’s acceleration through the hole and balance through contact make him a consistent threat for chunk yardage. He’s also a reliable pass catcher, adding value on third downs.
While he shows solid top-end speed, he lacks the elite breakaway gear to consistently outrun defenders in the open field. Neal’s pass protection is adequate but still developing, and he occasionally hesitates against more physical front sevens.
7) Dylan Sampson, Tennessee
With Nico Iamaleava and a revamped receiving corps, the Tennessee Volunteers’ offense didn’t meet expectations in 2024 — but a not-so-quiet bright spot was RB Dylan Sampson, who accumulated 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns on 258 carries.
At around 5’8″, 200 pounds, Sampson is one of the smaller backs in the 2025 NFL Draft class, but he doesn’t let any size mismatch intimidate him. He keeps his legs unforgivingly active, allowing him to excel as a cutting dynamo and as a finisher through contact.
Where Sampson truly makes his money is with his explosiveness, agility, speed, and blend of creativity skills. He has the running leverage and wiry frame to play bigger than his size, but his dynamism is what will make him a valuable part of an RB rotation.
6) Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
Good things can come from Kirk Ferentz’s old-school Iowa Hawkeyes. Kaleb Johnson is one of those good things. Johnson rumbled for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns on 240 carries in 2024, and he breaks into our Top 5 in a stacked 2025 NFL Draft RB class.
At 6’1″, 224 pounds, Johnson isn’t the most explosive or the fastest back, but he compensates with some of the best vision and creative instincts the class has to offer. A fast first- and second-level processor, and an efficient footwork technician, Johnson knows how to use his setup space to bait defenders and clear lanes.
He also has the bend and constant leg churn to create chunk plays once he’s working vertically.
5) Cam Skattebo, Arizona State
Cam Skattebo was one of college football’s top players in 2024 and deserved to be in the Heisman Trophy race. The Arizona State Sun Devil is a workhorse who has elite contact balance. His uncompromising, rugged running style forced missed tackles while his thunderous movement creates substantial leg drive.
Skattebo doesn’t have the top-tier athletic traits that others do, but his playstyle is proven to be productive, and his highly energized lower half and core strength allow him to be efficient as a pass protector.
4) Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
One of the trickiest quandaries for talent evaluators in the 2025 NFL Draft cycle is ranking the two-headed RB tandem at Ohio State. Quinshon Judkins comes in as the second-best of the two on our board, but he’s compelling as an early-round option in his own right.
Judkins rode his historic early production to an opportunity with the Buckeyes in 2024, and he was able to win a BCS National Championship while sharing touches with TreVeyon Henderson. His production dipped, but his projection remains tantalizing for scouts.
At 6’0″, 221 pounds, Judkins is a hyper-energetic, short-strider with elite burst and searing speed through gaps. He’s not an adept creator when things go off-script, but when things are on schedule, he’s a super-charged carving knife with his keen vision and quick pace.
3) TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins are graded very similarly on our 2025 NFL Draft board, but Henderson comes away with a slight edge, even though he’s a year older (22). Henderson is the type of back that every offensive coordinator would love to have in their RB room.
Henderson had no qualms about sharing the Ohio State backfield with Judkins, and even as Judkins eclipsed Henderson in carries, Henderson bested Judkins with his efficiency. He was the better goal-line option and receiving threat. At 5’10”, 202 pounds, Henderson is a compact, low-to-the-ground slasher with the burst and speed to reach the second level in a blink.
He’s physical and hyperactive, yet he’s a controlled pass-catcher and an ultra-reliable pass-protector with third-down value. That all-around ability, combined with his home-run speed, could cause him to go higher than expected on draft day.
2) Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
- Selected by the Los Angeles Chargers
- 22nd overall selection
- Second running back selected
Omarion Hampton can genuinely do it all. He is a strong, dense rusher who powers through contact. He plays over his toes to turn what looks like an automatic three-yard loss into a one-yard gain. The North Carolina Tar Heels’ natural lean allows him to fend off contact and avoid tackles while also playing with his eyes up to exploit space.
At 6’0” and 221 pounds, Hampton plays low and has a churning leg drive. His vision is exceptional, and he also has the creation capacity to make plays when the play breaks down.
In most other classes, Hampton would be spoken more highly of, but a certain back at the top is stealing all the attention. Which may mean someone will get a steel in the North Carolina product later than he should go.
1) Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
- Selected by the Las Vegas Raiders
- Sixth overall selection
- First running back selected
After a historic season, Ashton Jeanty is rightly being spoken about as one of the top prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. The running back is elite in every way. His 2,601 yards led the FBS and are the second most all-time, only 27 yards short of the great Barry Sanders’ all-time record.
What makes Jeanty so unique is his contact balance. The Boise State Broncos running back forced 170 missed tackles in 2024, with 1,970 of his rushing yards coming after contact. It is an extraordinary stat for a remarkable player.
Jeanty’s elite vision, explisive movement, and patient style are translatable to the NFL, and his tape is also completely clean as a projection to the NFL. The one knock on his tape – the pass blocking technique needs developing.
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