Fantasy Sports

It’s Ashton Jeanty’s World, We Just Live In It—10 Fantasy Football Bold Predictions: Running Backs

Alan Goldsher|
Will Las Vegas Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty dominate the running back position in fantasy football?
Will Las Vegas Raiders rookie Ashton Jeanty dominate the running back position in fantasy football? | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago BearsLas Vegas RaidersBaltimore RavensCarolina PanthersCincinnati BengalsDetroit LionsLos Angeles RamsWashington CommandersHouston TexansGreen Bay Packers

Welcome to the Year of the Running Back.

Last season, as per Pro Football Reference, the NFL’s combined rushing total was 65,174, 720 yards behind 2022’s total of 65,894—that massive 65,894 number was The Shield's most since 2000—and a whopping 4,607 yards ahead of 2003’s third-best total during that stretch (61,287).

We roll into the 2025 welcoming rookie studs-in-waiting Ashton Jeanty (more about him momentarily) and Omarion Hampton, while established stat monsters like Saquon Barkley, Bijan Robinson, Christian McCaffrey, and Jahmyr Gibbs are healthy and will have opportunities galore to deliver career-highs in total yardage.

So topping 2022’s 65,894 league-total rushing yards shouldn’t be a problem.

Thusly, The Year Of the Running Back.

That said, the NFL is a statistically volatile entity, so some aces will hit, and some will miss. And some theoretical RB2s will light it up, while others will be demoted to RB3. And yet others will shock the hell out of us.

Here are 10 fantasy-centric running back prognostications, some of which are silly, some of which are semi-realistic, and some of which will make you want to throw your device at a hard surface.

1) Las Vegas Raiders

Ashton Jeanty Will Finish 2025 As a Top-Two Fantasy RB

In this era of keeping your offensive skill players from getting, y’know, killed, straight-up bell cow running backs are a rarity—but not this year in Vegas.

The only options behind freshman sensation Jeanty on ESPN’s depth chart are 93-year-old Raheem Mostert, the awesomely-named Sincere McCormack, and fantasy streamer darling Zamir White, none of whom will usurp carries from the durable, determined rookie.

2) Chicago Bears

D’Andre Swift Will Be One of Five RB1s To Lose Their Starting Spot By Week 8

As noted above, timeshare backfields are far more of a thing than one-man-bands—great for player durability, frustrating for fantasy owners…and equally frustrating to an ostensible RB2 who’s almost as good as his team’s RB1.

In Chicago, it’s not that RB2 Roschon Johnson is better than RB1 Swift—it’s that Swift isn’t particularly good.

Also, keep an eye on backfield battles in Denver (RJ Harvey and J.K. Dobbins), Jacksonville (Travis Etienne Jr. and Tank Bigsby), Seattle (Kenneth Walker II and Zach Charbonnet), New York (Tyrone Tracy Jr., Devin Singletary, and Cam Skattebo), Tennessee (Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears) and New England (Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson).

3) Baltimore Ravens

Derrick Henry Will Show Signs of Slippage—but It Won’t Be His Fault

Last season’s Ravens offense was a machine, topping the league in total yards per game (424.9) and, more importantly for the sake of this discussion, rushing yards per game (187.6). Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson led the way, but despite their transcendent seasons, Baltimore was knocked out of the playoffs in the Divisional Round, during which Henry had one of his worst games of 2024, managing just 84 rushing yards on 16 carries, and looking a bit pooped in the process.

Much to Henry’s chagrin—and, for that matter, fantasy players who are King Henry truthers—OC Todd Monken will cut the Hall of Famer’s carries so he’ll be fresh(er) for the playoffs.

4) Carolina Panthers

Rico Dowdle Will Replace Chuba Hubbard As Carolina’s Unquestioned RB1—and It’ll Be Quickly

The bolder prediction here is that Carolina won’t stink as much as they have since the 2017 season, the last campaign in which they won more than seven games. As for the backfield, last season, Dowdle and Hubbard had similar statistical performances, with Hubbard getting a slight edge.

But Dowdle is, in theory, the fresher of the two, having compiled 387 career touches as compared to Hubbard’s 876. The former Cowboy will come out of the gate flying, and could be a sneaky late-round, league-winning pick in your draft.

5) Cincinnati Bengals

Chase Brown Will Finish The Season In the Top Five in Both Scrimmage Yards and Fantasy Points Among RBs

I’m all-in on the 2025 Cincinnati Bengals. Last season, their defense was so lousy—they tied for fifth-worst in the league, allowing 25.6 points per game—that it was almost forgotten how freakin’ good their passing game was.

Led by 2025 MVP Joe Burrow (a bonus bold prediction), the Who Deys will be just as toasty as last year’s model, but despite the presence of WR gods Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, Brown will play a large role in the passing game, and will be a PPR monster.

6) Detroit Lions

Jahmyr Gibbs Will Crush In 2025, but David Montgomery Won’t

With former Lions OC Ben Johnson now manning the sidelines in Chicago, Detroit’s offense is in tweak mode—not reboot mode, just tweak—and said tweaking could well involve Gibbs being viewed as more of a RB1 than RB1.5.

Monty will still be worth a mid-round pick, but don’t look for a finish similar to last year’s RB18.

7) Los Angeles Rams

Blake Corum Will Out-Fantasy-Point Kyren Williams

The, kids, is the boldest of the bold.

This is an eye-test, gut feeling thing. Corum looked hungry last season, while Williams looked…fine. Yeah, Williams punched in 12 tuddies in ‘24, and yeah, he finished sixth in fantasy points amongst running backs, as per FFToday (244.1), but something—the gut, the eye, the testicular fortitude—tells me that Corum is going to shift into beast mode about three or four weeks before Thanksgiving.

8) Washington Commanders

Brian Robinson Jr. and Austin Ekeler Will Each Top 1,200 Total Yards

Multi-tooled Washington QB Jayden Daniels is a monster, and will be a high-end fantasy option for years to come—but at some point, the Commanders’ braintrust will focus on keeping the second-year man healthy and ready for a lengthy playoff run…and that point is now, as well it should be.

One of the best ways to help Daniels stay out of the hospital ward is to dial up screen passes, and, spoiler alert, Austin Ekeler is really good at doing things with screen passes. As for Robinson, last season, he racked up 958 scrimmage yards in 14 games, which, spread out over a full season, shakes out to 1,163. My fellow math geniuses know that 1,163 isn’t particularly far away from 1,200.

All that said, If rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt is legit, I’m screwed.

9) Houston Texans

Nick Chubb Will Be Nick Chubb

The Houston Texans seem like a wise franchise, and I seriously doubt they’d have inked former Browns RB1 Chubb if he wasn’t fully recovered from his various severe lower body injuries.

Houston’s RB1, Joe Mixon, just turned 29, so he’ll have plenty of gas in the tank, but, as is the case with Derrick Henry, the team will want him to be in good shape for the playoffs, so Chubb will get his touches, and his yards, and his goal line punch-ins.

FWIW, I’ll probably draft him way too early.

10) Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs Will Lead the League In Rushing Attempts

This is arguably the least bold prognostication here…or is it? Last season, J.J. took 301 handoffs, sixth in the league behind Saquon Barkley (345), Derrick Henry (325), Kyren Williams (316), Bijan Robinson (304), and Jonathan Taylor (303). ESPN has MarShawn Lloyd, Emmanuel Wilson, and Chris Brooks behind Jacobs on the Pack’s depth chart, none of whom should put a dent in Jacobs’ total touches, and since this is the Year of the Running Back, Green Bay OC Adam Stenavich will give him all the food he can eat.

More Fantasy Football Fun From Fantasy Sports On SI

Published | Modified
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

Home/NFL