2025 Fantasy Football Breakout Player of the Year

Discover how this rookie could transform his team’s struggling run game in 2025 and emerge as a breakout fantasy football star.

An overall view of the NFL shield logo at midfield on the Camping World Stadium flag football field. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Last season, the Las Vegas Raiders’ ground game sputtered to a near standstill, averaging just 3.7 yards per carry on 331 attempts — dead last in the league with only 1,233 rushing yards and eight scores from their backs. The lone silver lining? They stayed somewhat fantasy-relevant through the air, reeling in 89 receptions for 614 yards and four touchdowns on 112 targets.

Las Vegas Raiders Running Back Room 2024 Stat Sheet:

Alexander Mattison (132/420/4, plus 36/294/1 receiving) has now posted under 4.0 yards per carry for four straight seasons. Explosiveness has been a stranger — just four rushes of 20+ yards over his last 520 attempts — and that lack of big-play pop didn’t help the O-line’s reputation. Now with the Dolphins, Mattison unfortunately suffered a season-ending neck injury.

Ameer Abdullah (66/311/2, plus 40/261/3) quietly made the most of limited touches, averaging 4.7 yards per carry.

Zamir White (65/183/1, plus 6/30) fought through injuries and never delivered a true difference-making performance. Like Mattison, breakaway runs have been rare — just three gains of 20+ yards in 186 career carries.

Sincere McCormick (39/183, plus 6/29) emerged from the fourth-string shadows to flash late-season momentum — 12/64 in Week 13 and 15/78 in Week 14 — before an untimely injury shut him down.

And yes, the quarterbacks chipped in on the ground as well with 49 carries for 124 yards (2.5 YPC) and a single touchdown. Perhaps the phrase “chipped in” is too generous.

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For perspective, the 2023 Buccaneers’ run game looked equally grim at 3.6 yards per carry. But after adding rookie Bucky Irving, Tampa’s offense transformed into a rushing juggernaut, jumping to 5.2 yards per carry and adding over 1.5 yards per play from the year before, while also exploding in the passing game to backs. So how did the Raiders address the glaring issues in their backfield?

Enter Ashton Jeanty.

2025 Fantasy Football Breakout Player of the Year: Ashton Jeanty

The question isn’t just whether Jeanty boosts Las Vegas’ run game — it’s whether he makes the offensive line look better than it is. I’ve said it before: would you rather have a mediocre line with an elite running back, or a good line with a mediocre back? The answer often depends on quarterback play.

This year, the Raiders have a proven, Super Bowl-caliber head coach in Pete Carroll. Geno Smith might not have marquee shine, but he’s a clear upgrade at QB, completing 68.5% of passes over the past two seasons and adding just enough mobility to keep defenses honest.

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty (2) during training camp press conference at the Intermountain Healthcare Performance Center. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

That combination sets the stage for Jeanty to explode. The rookie has league-winning upside, the kind of talent that could leave fantasy managers kicking themselves for passing on him. His price tag won’t be cheap, but his ceiling? Potentially spectacular.

Our current projections list him as the RB6 in PPR formats with 291 carries for 1,335 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, 48 receptions for an additional 343 yards through the air, and two receiving scores. That would result in 293.74 fantasy points. The only running backs projected for more points are Jahmyr Gibbs, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, De'Von Achane, and Saquon Barkley, though Jeanty has overall RB1 upside. It wouldn't be a shock at all to see him finish as the top running back in the entire NFL.