2025 Rookie Profiles: Running Backs Tier 1 & 2
The first of several rookie profile articles - Tier 1 and 2 RBs.
Today, we are going to look rookies at the top of the RB position. This will be the first of 3 RB articles, discussing the Tier 1 and Tier 2 rookie RBs (by the Dataroma rookie rankings). Next, you will get Tier 3 and then lastly Tier 4 RB profiles. The same types of splits go for WR, and then TE will follow the WR articles.
Note with all of these articles, that the rankings of the players are subject to (and will) change. I will do a big update once we know landing spots for all these guys. Let’s dive in!
TIER 1
RB1: Ashton Jeanty
The Good: Jeanty makes you want to throw around the “g” word (generational). He’s got it all, and truly lands in a tier of his own. He had just an unreal 2024, going for 2,595 rush yards and 29 rush TDs on insane efficiency (6.9 YPA, 5.25 YACo/Att, 0.41 MTF/Att). His YACo and MTF numbers both led the entire nation, proving his elite ability in terms of picking up extra yards after contact and making defenders miss.
On top of being an absolute grinder, Jeanty is also plenty capable of ripping off breakaway runs. He had a 50+ yard run in 9/14 games in ‘24, and his career 9.4% breakaway run rate is 5th best in this class. While Jeanty did not do much as a receiver in 2024, he flashed elite ability here in 2023 with a 3.19 YPRR (led all FBS RBs). His 1.62 YPRR in his career is 2nd in the class.
Jeanty is elusive, explosive and has awesome contact balance. He can get it done both on the ground and through the air. Jeanty seems more and more likely to get top-10 NFL draft capital, even further solidifying his role as an immediate stud at the next level.
The Bad: There are very minimal weaknesses to Jeanty’s game. You can nitpick they he did not run a 40 yard dash, but he frankly had no reason to. He might not have sub 4.4 speed, but he’s plenty fast enough to create explosives in the run game. There’s also some critique about his large college workload (748 rushes in 3 years), but I’m not too concerned about that. He’s 21 and has a ton of juice as displayed by his 2024 season.
FF Summary: Jeanty is arguably the best RB prospect we’ve seen come out of college since Saquon. He will undeniably be a top RB with an elite workload wherever he goes. Jeanty is the clear 1.01 in all rookie drafts, regardless of format. In best ball, he’s currently the 2.01 and the RB4. This price is solid, but could easily shoot up to mid 1st round depending on landing spot (Cowboys, Bears, Raiders all positives IMO). Considering one of those landing spots feels relatively likely, he’s a smash at his current price.