There has been some movement on the running back front in the last 48 hours after two of the top remaining free-agent running backs signed with their new respective teams. Nick Chubb joined Joe Mixon in the Houston Texans backfield and the Denver Broncos signed one of the best comeback stories from 2024 in J.K. Dobbins. Today, we’ll take a look at a few stats and fun facts about the running back position as they pertain to your 2025 Fantasy Football draft prep. Some of these stats focused on the new crowded backfields in Denver and Houston, while others centered around some of the surprise stories from the 2024 season.
These fun facts were compiled by Adam Aizer on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. On the show, the FFT guys went into further detail about each player’s outlook. You can find the show wherever you get your podcasts, here, and on YouTube:
Without further ado, let’s take a look at 10 fun facts/stats about running backs heading into your 2025 Fantasy Football draft season:
1. Gus Edwards had a higher ADP than JK Dobbins in 2024
Yes, that’s right. Fantasy managers were drafting Edwards coming off his 13-touchdown season in Baltimore ahead of Dobbins. Of course, it didn’t take long for Dobbins to claim the Chargers backfield last year as one of Fantasy Football’s biggest comeback stories. Dobbins’ 2025 outlook is a bit murkier after he signed with the Broncos. He’ll join rookie second-round draft pick RJ Harvey and 2024 draft pick Audric Estime to form a three-back committee.
2. Jonathan Taylor averaged nearly 32 carries and about 31 PPR Fantasy points in his last three games.
Taylor finished strong after a disappointing start to the 2024 season. Despite his strong finish, Fantasy managers are letting Taylor fall into the end of the second and sometimes third round of Fantasy drafts early this spring.
Here’s what Jamey Eisenberg said of Taylor in his player outlook: “Taylor should once again be considered a No. 1 Fantasy running back this season, and he should be drafted in Round 2 in all leagues. His value is higher in half and non-PPR leagues, but Taylor can still be highly productive in PPR, even with a lack of receptions. In 2024, Taylor had a career-low 18 receptions for 136 yards and one touchdown on 31 targets. But he was dominant on the ground with 1,431 yards and 11 touchdowns on 303 carries, and he closed the season on an impressive run with three games in a row with at least 25 PPR points, while averaging 30.8 PPR points per game over that stretch. We’ll see who starts at quarterback for the Colts between Anthony Richardson or Daniel Jones, but neither quarterback should dramatically alter the Fantasy value for Taylor. We’ll see if he shares touches with new backups in Khalil Herbert or rookie D.J. Giddens, but it’s hard to envision Taylor coming off the field much when healthy. He once again has top-10 upside in all leagues in 2025.”
3. Joe Mixon has been a Top-12 RB per game in six of the last seven seasons.
Mixon has been more of a model of Fantasy consistency that most managers remember. His outlook for 2025 is a bit murkier now that the Texans have signed Nick Chubb.
Here’s what Jamey Eisenberg said of Mixon in his player outlook: “Mixon was outstanding in 2024 in his first season with the Texans, and he will look to build on that performance this year. Mixon should be considered a No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues, and he’s worth drafting as early as Round 5. Last year, Mixon averaged 17.2 PPR points per game, which was the second-best mark of his career. But he turns 29 in July, and Houston added two running backs this offseason with rookie Woody Marks and Nick Chubb. The latter is clearly a potential threat to Mixon’s workload, but Chubb could be a shell of himself after the Browns let him leave as a free agent. As for Mixon, he will hopefully continue to dominate touches for the Texans — he averaged 20.1 touches per game in 2024, which was No. 7 in the NFL — and that’s hard to overlook. As long as he stays healthy (he missed three games early in 2024 with an ankle injury) then Mixon should be a weekly starter in all leagues, even with the addition of Chubb this offseason.”
4. Breece Hall’s rushing yards over expected (per attempt) has dropped from 1.4 to 0.7 to 0.4, per Next Gen Stats. He has finished as Fantasy Football’s RB7, RB6, and RB17 per game in his three seasons (in PPR leagues).
Here’s what Adam Aizer said of Hall in his player outlook: “Hall has gone from a top-five pick in Fantasy in 2024 to someone to consider beginning in Round 3 in 2025. He finished as RB17 per game in PPR and averaged only 4.2 yards per carry, a far cry from the 5.8 yards per carry we saw in his explosive 2022 rookie season. Where has that version of Hall gone? If he can regain his form — now two years removed from a torn ACL — Hall could be a steal in drafts. There is a lot to like: Hall was a top-seven RB per game in PPR leagues in each of his first two seasons, the Jets should run the ball more this year (they were 26th in RB carries in 2024) and the Jets offensive line could be a strength. But with Justin Fields at QB, expect fewer catches for Hall and expect Fields to steal touchdowns near the goal line. Factor in that new head coach Aaron Glenn said he wants to get three Jets RBs involved, and you see why Hall’s upside feels limited. Treat Hall like a solid RB2, and if he starts making big plays again you’ll have a legit RB1 on your hands.”
5. Bucky Irving was Fantasy Football’s RB6 per game from Weeks 10-18 and scored 16.3 or more PPR Fantasy points in seven of his last eight games including the postseason (but not including the one game he left early with an injury; after all this is an Aizer Stat).
Here’s what Jamey said of Irving in his player outlook: “Irving was one of the best surprise Fantasy options as a rookie in 2024, and he will look to build off that performance this season. He’s worth drafting as early as Round 2 in the majority of leagues. Last year, Irving took over the Tampa Bay backfield from Rachaad White and was dominant to close the season, scoring at least 16.3 PPR points in seven of his final nine games, including the playoffs. Irving will again share touches with White and potentially Sean Tucker this season, but Irving should be headed for a bigger role as a sophomore. Tampa Bay’s offense should be explosive this season with Chris Godwin back and the addition of Emeka Egbuka to a receiving corps that also includes Mike Evans, Jalen McMillan, and Cade Otton. Irving has top-10 upside in all formats, and he will hopefully pick up where 2024 ended and play like that all season.”
6. Chase Brown was RB3 per game in PPR from Weeks 9-17. He was on pace for 81 catches.
Here’s what Heath Cummings said of Brown in his player outlook: “Brown was perhaps the most surprising feature back in 2024. From Week 9 on he played at least 79.7% of the offensive snaps in every game and averaged 23.3 touches per game. While his Day 3 draft capital does give some cause for concern, Zack Moss and Samaje Perine are the top backs behind him so Brown will likely get as many touches as he can handle. Surprisingly he was actually more efficient as a rusher last year than he was as a pass catcher, so there is some concern he could lose some third-down work to Perine, but we are still comfortable drafting Brown in Round 2 as a top-12 running back.”
7. Josh Jacobs finished as a Top-6 RB per game in two of his last three seasons. Those are two of three seasons in which Jacobs has been on a team that finished in the top half of the NFL in scoring.
Here’s what Heath said of Jacobs in his player outlook: “You can expect some regression from Jacobs’ career-high 15 touchdowns in 2024, but we are still comfortably drafting him as a top-12 running back late in Round 2. He’s topped 1,600 yards from scrimmage in two of his last three seasons, scored 12 or more touchdowns in three of five seasons, and averaged at least 17 rush attempts every year of his career but one. Last year he was more valuable in non or half-PPR, but that was largely because the Packers went so run-heavy in the second half. We wouldn’t be surprised if they pass more in 2025, and Jacobs sees a small reduction in carries and a small boost in targets. In Dynasty leagues, Jacobs is slightly less valuable as a 27-year-old back with little money guaranteed after this year, but he is still one of the safest RB2s in the format and should have two or three years left as a starter barring injury.”
8. James Cook is only the second RB in the last eight seasons to lead the position in rushing TDs and finish lower than RB5 per game (Jamaal Williams in 2022).
Here’s what Adam said of Cook in his player outlook: “As the lead running back for one of the best offenses in the NFL, James Cook is worth drafting in Round 3 or 4 as a solid RB2. Cook has yet to exceed 237 carries or 44 catches in a season and thus does not have the workload of other top-15 Fantasy running backs. However, Cook is ridiculously efficient — he ranks fourth among running backs in yards per carry since entering the NFL in 2022 and he doesn’t need high volume to be productive. To understand his floor, check out Cook’s last two seasons: In 2023, he finished as RB19 per game in PPR with six touchdowns; in 2024, he finished as RB11 per game with 18 touchdowns. That seems like a player who is a safe bet to be a top-20 RB and has RB1 potential, though he’ll need more touches to be a league-winner as we can’t expect him to repeat his 2024 TD rate.”
9. Ken Walker had 76.1% of the RB carries in Seattle last season. The so-called Seahawks committee wasn’t as advertised.
Here’s what Dave Richard said of Walker in his player outlook: “Walker remains a quality No. 2 Fantasy running back with the upside to be a No. 1 guy, which is why he remains a consideration with a pick inside the top 35. He figures to work as Seattle’s lead running back. Seattle has changed offensive coordinators again, but Walker’s work in the passing game last season proved that he’s a decent fit in a playbook that does call for running back targets. Obviously, Walker is at his best when he routinely gets 15-plus touches in a game, averaging 16.8 PPR points in 30 such matchups in his past three seasons. More could be coming in what amounts to a contract year for him in 2025. If you feel good about Walker hitting that mark weekly and are OK with the injury risks associated with him (he’s missed at least two games every season), then Walker should be on your wish list. Just know that his first two games this year are against the 49ers and the Steelers, so exercise some patience if he doesn’t come out of the gate on fire.”
10. Chuba Hubbard was RB8 per game from Weeks 3-16 and on pace for 306 carries, 1,461 rushing yards, and 13 rushing touchdowns with a 51-reception pace.
Here’s what Jamey said of Hubbard in his player outlook: “Hubbard was one of the best surprises in 2024, and he will look to build off that performance this season. He’s worth drafting as early as Round 4 in the majority of leagues. Last season, Hubbard had minimal competition for touches and finished with 250 carries for 1,195 yards 10 touchdowns, and 43 catches for 171 yards and a touchdown on 54 targets. It was an amazing year, and he scored at least 17.5 PPR points seven times. We’ll see if he can repeat that level of dominance, but the Panthers added two running backs who could take touches away from Hubbard in Rico Dowdle and Trevor Etienne. Keep an eye on what happens in training camp and if Hubbard is going to have a reduced role, but we still expect Hubbard to be the lead rusher and perform like a solid No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues.”
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Author: Dan Schneier
June 11, 2025 | 12:10 pm
