Ashton Jeanty then who?: Ranking the top-10 RBs in the 2025 NFL Draft
Let's discuss my top-10 running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft.
We have a fun group of 2025 NFL Draft running backs, headlined by the obvious top dog in Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty.
Not only is Jeanty the top running back in the class, but he is my third overall player on my big board (I don’t play around with positional value on big board rankings). He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up for a reason and has every right to be a first round pick.
However, what other backs round out this class? While some rave about the immense depth of the class, I found myself cooling off on a lot of the running backs in this class after about the top seven of them. Day 3 backs, however, always seem to find roles at the NFL level every year.
So let’s talk about the depth of this class a bit. Here are my top-10 running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft:
Dalton and I also discussed our top-five in depth on the Daft on Draft Podcast
10. Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
Quinshon Judkins is one of those running backs that is pretty limited in the role he can play, but also the type of running back that every room needs. Having a guy who will run through your face for three yards in short-yardage situations wears down a defense.
The issue with Judkins, however, is that he is often willing to run over his own blockers to accomplish that goal. His eyes are suspect and Judkins has no patience to wait for his blockers to get out in front of him and clear a path for him.
Add in a limited amount of explosiveness in the open field (I thought he pulled something on his long run in the national championship game!) when he hits green grass, a limited body of work in the passing game, and a pretty stiff lower half, and Judkins’ role may strictly be a change-of-pace player who can be a one-cut and lower his head type of player.
Grade: Late 4th round
9. Cam Skattebo, Arizona State
There might not be a more fun running back in the draft class than Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, highlighted by his unreal performance in the College Football Playoffs quarterfinals slugfest against Texas.
The Achilles heel of Skattebo’s game, however, is that there is virtually no juice to his game. It does not take Skattebo long to accelerate to top speed, but that is mainly because his top speed is a school zone. Even when he sees holes develop, the top speed his initial burst can get to is pretty low.
His eyes also dip in pass protection, but Skattebo has the frame and build to be coached up in this phase of the game.
None of this will stop Skattebo from contributing in a committee though. He is too good of a pass catcher, too fluid of a mover in a phone booth, and has too good of contact balance to be completely shelved at the NFL level. He has a bit of a Rex Burkhead-type role calling his name.
Grade: Early 4th round
8. Devin Neal, Kansas
Kansas running back Devin Neal is a good deal of fun.
He’s twitchy in short areas to stick his foot in the ground and change directions at a high level and is a slippery runner to bring to the ground. His eyes are trustworthy enough to press gaps, get second-level defenders to commit, and then slip through a crease his blockers have created. Those eyes keep working at the second and third levels as well.
However, his explosiveness seems to decrease every year. And for four-year starting back at Kansas with 837 career touches to his name already, that is a bit terrifying when thinking about investing a draft pick into.
Like some of the other backs in this class as well, Neal has to step up as a pass protector at a much higher level than he did in 2024.
Grade: Early 4th round
7. DJ Giddens, Kansas State
Kansas State running back DJ Giddens is my candidate for the player who goes late on Day 2 or into Day 3 and finds a way to make an impact early on in his career.
Does Giddens have game-breaking explosiveness or the consistent ability to produce out of the backfield as a receiver or pass protector? No. However, what he does have is the ability to attack through the trenches with trustworthy and decisive eyes. His eyes stay up as he works through the second and third level too, continuously seeking out green grass.
Giddens not only possesses the contact balance to consistently fall forward at the end of his runs, but his fluidity at 212 pounds is what carries him into the top-10 of my board here. Giddens shows off flexible ankles and hips to make defenders look silly in the open field, even at 6-foot-1.
Consistent eyes and trustworthy decision-making with the football in your hands will play at the NFL level, even if it is as just a two-down back.
Grade: Late 3rd round
6. Jaydon Blue, Texas
Texas running back Jaydon Blue is the best receiving back in the 2025 NFL Draft class. He can split out, create lightning in a bottle on screens, and constantly burns second and third-level defenders down the field on wheel routes out of the backfield.
A shifty runner, Blue can stick his foot in the ground and change directions without much difficulty and can turn the corner and get upfield losslessly.
His eyes need to sharpen up when working through the trenches, perhaps limiting him to passing situations early in his career. But if that is the case, then his pass protection needs to take a step forward too.
Oh, and the fumbles have to stop. But these tend to be unpredictable year-to-year.
Grade: Late third round
5. Trevor Etienne, Georgia
This is the back I was most surprised by turning the tape on. While the Florida-to-Georgia transfer running back Trevor Etienne has proven to have some durability issues, the tape is good when he’s on the field.
Etienne is a quick-twitch back with the ability to reverse course and make defenders miss in a phone booth with frequency. The explosiveness is there too for Etienne as he constantly beats defenders to the edge when forced wide and turns the corner fluidly with flexible ankles.
His contact balance is noticeable too. Etienne is verified at 5-foot-8 and 202 pounds, and that naturally low center of gravity allows for Etienne to get into the chest of defenders and get after them after contact when he has to.
There is not much there in terms of receiving out of the backfield, but he dropped just one pass on 63 targets in his collegiate career. The pass protection, however, needs to take a big leap forward.
Grade: Mid-third round
4. Omarion Hampton, North Carolina
An absolute wrecking ball, Omarion Hampton just wears down defenders trying to bring him down in the open field. You cannot go wrong with any of the first four running backs in this class, and Hampton rounds that group out.
Hampton is up there with Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty in terms of contact balance. He runs with a controlled center of gravity and opts to run through the chest of defenders. Hampton is an absolute brute.
Once Hampton gets into green grass, he possesses the explosiveness that makes him hard to bring down in the open field. That burst shows up when he sees a crease develop and hits it too. Expect a nutty 10-yard split when Hampton runs his 40-yard dash at the combine in two weeks.
So why is Hampton RB4 then? Because he’s a bit stiff in the ankles. There is not an overwhelming ability to change directions shown from Hampton, and it takes him an added step or two to throttle down and turn the corner when he hits the boundary.
Grade: Late second round
3. TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
What a roller-coaster career it has been for Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson. He was an electric freshman phenom in 2021, suffered through a hairline fracture in his foot that hampered his ability to make plays in 2022, started to return to form in 2023, and then exploded back onto the scene in his senior season.
Ohio State does not complete their magical College Football Playoff run without Henderson. The Buckeye running back has rare game-breaking explosiveness, and it was on display in every single game in the playoffs, shining through most when he took a screen pass 80 yards for a touchdown as the first half dwindled in the semifinals against Texas.
The long speed is back, and his ability to cut on a dime without losing any acceleration makes him such a valuable ball carrier. He has proven to be a weapon and mismatch in the passing game, and nobody is a more willing or dominant pass protector than Henderson.
The foot will still need to be checked out at the NFL Scouting Combine when Henderson undergoes medicals, but the tape this season speaks for itself.
Grade: Late second round
2. Kaleb Johnson, Iowa
It doesn’t get much smoother than Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson.
While Johnson is not the most explosive athlete in the 2025 NFL Draft class, likely a 4.5 athlete at the NFL Scouting Combine, he plays incredibly light on his feet for being in a 220-pound frame. With lightning-quick feet that are in unison with his eyes, Johnson is a patient and decisive runner who understands how to force defenders into over-pursuit to create his creases.
An ideal fit in a wide zone offensive system at the NFL level, Johnson has the stellar ability to sniff out backside cuts and change directions on a dime to hit them. He is a slippery runner who has no problem turning the corner with lossless acceleration for his size.
His body of work as a receiver is limited, but he shows soft and confident hands when he is targeted. The pass protection needs some work, but again, we are talking about a 220-pound running back here.
Grade: Mid-Second Round
1. Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
What is there to discuss here?
The Heisman Trophy runner-up fell just short of breaking Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record and put the Boise State offense on his back on the way to a College Football Playoff berth. It’s extremely difficult to poke a hole in Jeanty’s game.
Jeanty possesses unbelievable contact balance to absorb a hit without budging off of his track, X-ray vision to seek out green grass, and gobs of explosiveness to pull away from defenders in the open field. He does not shy away from contact either, throwing his weight around as one of the best pass-protecting backs in the class.
And if you weren’t sold on his work this season as a receiver, just look back to 2023, when he led all running backs in receiving yards before becoming an absolute workhorse in 2024.
He has every right to be a first round pick and is the third overall player on my board.
Grade: Blue Chip player