Kenneth Walker, RJ Harvey Headline 2025 Fantasy Football Running Back Busts

Kenneth Walker III, Alvin Kamara, and RJ Harvey are risky top-24 fantasy RB picks in 2025—here’s why you should steer clear.

Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III (9) during warmups before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Lumen Field. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

There is nothing worse in fantasy football than when you have a player you love, and you get your guy in the draft. Somehow, he fell to you. You laugh at your league mates for being dumb enough not to select this stud when they had the chance. Then, as the season gets going, the wheels completely fall off. Your star player turned out to be a bust. These are three running backs in the top 24 in ECR who will be a bust this season. 

Kenneth Walker III, Seattle Seahawks

Walker is a running back whose talent I love. He was the best running back prospect in his rookie class, and he did not disappoint when he entered the league. As a rookie in 2022, he topped 1,000 yards, rushed for nine TDs, and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. He showed off his explosive play ability. Unfortunately, he has struggled to hold up physically. Through three years, he is yet to play a full slate of games, and his production has declined each year since he entered the league. 

Now, he enters 2025 in a contract year with Zach Charbonnet primed to take on a larger role in the offense. It appears like the team is ready to move on from the oft-injured rusher. We anticipate a decrease in volume, which could help him withstand a full 17-game season for the first time in his career, but it isn't ideal for fantasy owners. 

Insane: Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker looks like an entirely different person after spending 3 years in Seattle 😳😬 pic.twitter.com/zORf1dejz2

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 8, 2025

Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

Kamara will enter this season at 30 years old. On film, it's clear he's not the explosive player he once was. He's not that home run threat on the ground anymore, and he's just been PPRing his way through fantasy seasons for years now. With the old coaching regime mercifully out in New Orleans, finally, you would have to at least hope that the new staff would come up with a better plan than to inch their way down the field with dump-offs to an aging running back. 

Alvin Kamara from scrimmage in his career:

11,541 YDS
100.4 YPG
85 TD

One of ten RBs to hit those numbers before his age-30 season. pic.twitter.com/OwIGf9NmtE

— StatMuse Football (@statmusefb) May 9, 2025

This is a rebuilding team that will likely phase Kamara out as we get deeper into the season. We may finally get to see Kendre Miller get a fair shot now that the head coach doesn't inexplicably hate him.   

RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos

Harvey is not a prospect I was particularly high on in the 2025 NFL Draft, and he has no business being ranked as the 23rd fantasy running back based on ECR. Even after the Broncos picked up JK Dobbins, Harvey is still ranked above rookies with superior talent like TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins, and Kaleb Johnson. All three of these rookies are better players and have just as clear a path to opportunities, if not more. 

This is simply a case of fantasy owners being stuck in the past, hoping to relive the glory days of a Sean Payton backfield. Every year since he's been back in Denver, we've heard how one of the backs in his system each year will be great; it's just a matter of figuring out which one. How has that worked out for everybody? Expect much of the same in Denver this season from a muddled backfield with moderate production.