Omarion Hampton, TreVeyon Henderson and 3 Other Breakout Running Backs for 2025

One of the biggest keys to winning a fantasy football championship is correctly identifying potential breakout candidates and landing those players in the draft. Accomplishing that might be most important at running back because of the turnover at the position.

Rookie running backs have as good of a chance to make an immediate impact as anyone, and reliable, veteran stars at the position usually decline faster at the position than others.

So, we're here to help. Here are five potential breakout candidates at running back fantasy football managers should strongly consider targeting in re-draft leagues this season.

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

Breakout candidates shouldn't be synonymous with sleepers. Hampton is in line to start as a rookie for the Chargers this fall, which has made him a popular choice in re-draft leagues. According to Fantasy Pros, Hampton has an ADP of 38, which is significantly ahead of his Fantasy Pros ranking, which is No. 48 overall.

But it's not surprising managers are excited about Hampton's rookie season. He led the ACC in rushing each of the past two seasons at North Carolina. During 2024, he ran for 1,660 yards while averaging 5.9 yards per carry with 15 touchdowns.

Najee Harris' eye injury has also sidelined the most likely competition Hampton was expected to receive this summer.

TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots

As Hampton was supposed to from Harris, Henderson has received fierce veteran competition during training camp from Rhamondre Stevenson. On the Patriots unofficial depth chart, Stevenson, along with veteran Antonio Gibson, remain ahead of Henderson.

But the experts from Fantasy Pros would much prefer to have the rookie running back. Henderson is rated as RB22 while Stevenson is RB36.

Henderson is extremely dangerous in open space, which is why there's a lot of chatter about a potential breakout for the rookie. Henderson returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in his preseason debut.

He also had a carry for 18 yards on offense.

Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh moved on from the previously-mentioned Harris this offseason and drafted Johnson in the third round. Johnson appears born to be a Steelers back.

The big-bruiser rumbled for 1,537 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns at Iowa last season. He scored 32 total touchdowns in 35 career college football games.

The Steelers still have veteran running back Jaylen Warren, who has been lightning in a bottle as an undrafted free agent. But Warren has never been a primary featured back in his NFL career.

Johnson is expected to at least split carries with Warren as a rookie, and Johnson could be the featured back for the offense, which wants to be a run-first unit, by the end of 2025.

Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks

Most running back breakout lists are going to be filled with rookies. But I wanted to ensure to include at least one veteran back.

Charbonnet experienced a bit of a breakout season for Seattle last year, running for 569 yards and eight touchdowns. But Charbonnet could offer even more production this season.

Charbonnet will likely open 2025 as the Seahawks No. 2 runner behind Kenneth Walker III. But Walker is coming off a disappointing season in which he missed six games because of injury.

Walker will be an unrestricted free agent in March. Charbonnet is a candidate to cut into Walker's playing time even if he remains healthy. Seattle could be looking toward its future or just try to cut down on Walker's workload to keep him fresh for the stretch run.

Charbonnet potentially offers more efficiency than Walker too. Charbonnet averaged 4.2 yards per carry and 5.1 yards per touch last season. Walker posted 3.7 yards per attempt and 4.4 yards per touch during 2024.

Jaydon Blue, Dallas Cowboys

Some of the hype around Blue is dying down because of an injury. The rookie running back is dealing with a bruised ankle, and he isn't expected to play in Week 2 of the preseason.

He didn't dress for Week 1 either.

The fifth-round pick performed well in training camp, though, and if the other Cowboys running backs don't run away with the job, then managers should still keep an eye on Blue as a potential breakout candidate and sleeper.

Over his final two seasons at Texas, Blue averaged 5.7 yards per carry with 1,631 yards from scrimmage in 29 games. He also scored 18 touchdowns.

With the Cowboys running back situation in flux, Blue could make an impact. Fantasy managers obviously want to see him back healthy, but the longer he deals with an injury, the more his ADP might drop to make him more of a value selection.