We’ve been using the downtime between mini-camp the start of training camp to get an early look at prospects who’ll be on the field in the upcoming college season. It’s time now to take a look at the running back position for the 2025 NFL Draft.
The New York Giants have completely renovated their running back position over the last several months. But are the Giants done?
It’s unlikely that they’ll invest significant resources in a running back any time soon. But it’s also notable that they’ve spent draft picks on running backs in the last two drafts, three if you count running back-turned-receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
The 2025 running back class looks to be a particularly deep and talented one, though it’s anyone’s guess where they’ll be drafted. The 2025 running back class is so deep it could reasonably be compared to the 2024 wide receiver class.
It’s possible that the Giants could find some real gems and legitimate second or third round talents early on Day 3.
Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State)
Gordon doesn’t look like a runner who would lead the nation in yardage, but he is. He’s built more like an “X” receiver than a running back, particularly compared to most running backs being produced by modern offenses. Generally, most modern runners are roughly 6-foot and 220 pounds to take advantage of the lighter boxes forced by spread offenses. Gordon, meanwhile, is listed at 6-foot-2, 211 pounds and looks lanky on the field. However, he picked up 1,732 yards (6.1 per carry), with 21 touchdowns last year.
Gordon is a graceful runner with good patience behind the line of scrimmage and almost seems to glide when running. He has good vision as a runner and is very good at forcing poor angles. Gordon hits his top speed quickly and is able to take advantage of quickly-closing holes. He’s also an asset on receiving downs, both as a pass catcher and blocker. Gordon is very willing, and tough, blocker who understands his assignment and is aggressive coming up to meet blockers. He also seems to be a natural pass catcher who presents a good target to his quarterback and has soft hands.
Gordon’s height – and high center of gravity – can work against him at times. Low hits can upset his balance and send him stumbling. His quickness allows him to avoid taking direct hits and he’s still consistently able to fall forward to pick up yards after the catch. Gordon might not be the best fit for a power running team, but zone teams should keep a close eye on him.
Oklahoma State offense vs. Oklahoma (Gordon is RB number 0)
Devin Neal (Kansas)
Neal is a compact (5-foot-11, 210 pound) and shifty runner. He has a frenetic running style with a great stride frequency, which not only allows him to cut suddenly, but also accelerate hard out of his cuts. Neal’s agility and acceleration allow him to exploit small holes and poor angles by defenders. It also allows him to run a bit bigger than his listed size, with his momentum allowing him to pick up yards after contact.
He was primarily used on the perimeter of Kansas’ offense, at least in the tape viewed. Neal was frequently used on off-tackle runs or as an option for tosses on option plays. He might be a player who needs room with which to work, as he doesn’t have the mass or very low center of gravity to consistently keep his feet through hits. He could also have upside inside thanks to his acceleration, but he may also have been too dangerous on the outside in option plays.
Neal has the potential to be a weapon out of the backfield, with the most upside for teams that run outside zone schemes and make use of read-option plays.
Kansas offense vs. Kansas State (Neal is Kansas RB number 4)
Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)
The first of two runners for Ohio State, Judkins is transferring to OSU following two productive seasons at Ole Miss. The junior has plenty of experience, carrying the ball 274 times as a freshman and 271 times as a sophom*ore – while also averaging 5.0 yards per carry and scoring 31 touchdowns over his first two seasons.
Judkins has a good build for a modern running back at 6-foot, 220 pounds and is a no-nonsense runner. While he’s well-rounded enough to execute most assignments, he looks most comfortable when he can get north-south soonest. Judkins is, at his core, a one-cut downhill runner who accelerates hard and trusts his play strength and balance to see him through incidental contact.
Judkins will need to show that he’s a good all-around athlete, and that he’s a consistent (and reliable) option in the passing game. He wasn’t a regularly targeted option with just 37 targets over the last two seasons combined. Judkins is going to a stacked offense at Ohio State, so there might not be enough targets to go around to answer those questions.
Ole Miss offense vs. LSU (Judkins is Ole Miss RB number 4)
TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State)
Henderson is entering his fourth year at Ohio State and the dynamics of the OSU backfield could be fascinating to watch. Henderson hasn’t been a high-volume runner for the Buckeyes, with his high water mark being 183 carries as a freshman. He could be penciled in as more of a 3rd down back while Judkins is the primary runner, though he proved to be a versatile runner when he got the ball.
Henderson is similar to Neal in that he’s agile, has good acceleration, and good vision as a runner. He identifies holes well and does a good job of altering his path to maximize his yardage on a given run. He’s able to run between the tackles as well as off-tackle, though nobody would mistake him for a bruising power back.
He doesn’t have the size that Judkins brings to the table, and we could see Ohio State use Judkins in short-yardage situations. That could lead some evaluators to question how well Henderson handles those duties.
Ohio State offense vs. Notre Dame (Henderson is OSU RB number 32)
Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
Jeanty is a player to watch this year. He started his college career as a reasonably productive back with 156 carries for 821 yards (5.3 per carry) and 7 touchdowns. He took a significant step forward in 2023 with 220 carries for 1,347 yards (6.1 per carry) and 14 touchdowns – in addition to 43 receptions averaging 13.2 per catch and 5 touchdowns.
He’s another compact runner at 5-foot-9, 210 pounds and could measure both shorter and thicker than he’s listed. Jeanty probably won’t run particularly well at the Combine, but he has solid quickness and great contact balance. He won’t run anyone over, but has a tendency to bounce off defenders and pick up plenty of yards after contact. Jeanty does a good job of lowering his center of balance into contact and angling to prevent clean hits.
It’s unlikely that he’ll be able to make significant improvements on his production in 2023, so the trick will be maintaining his efficiency. Teams will also want to see Jeanty produce against the best teams on Boise State’s schedule. He had relatively poor games against Washington and UCLA, and NFL teams will want to make sure he can handle a jump in competition.
Boise State offense vs. Colorado State (Jeanty is Boise State RB number 2)
Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)
Hampton has a good build and size to fill the running back role in a modern offense at 5-foot-11, 220 pounds.
As mentioned earlier, spread offenses tend to favor powerful backs and use them to exploit the lighter boxes forced by the weaponization of space in the passing game, and Hampton fits that role well. So it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that fans of smashmouth football will find a lot to like in Omarion Hampton’s game. He’s a no-nonsense, physical, downhill runner who thrives on aggression and physicality.
There’s very little subtlety involved in Hampton’s running, relying on a powerful lower body and good contact balance to survive hits around the line of scrimmage. Hampton does seem to have solid vision, but tends to use it to seek out contact, rather than pick his way through the trash to find open field. He runs behind his pads and looks to finish his runs by delivering hits to defenders whenever the opportunity presents itself. That aggression and physicality shows itself in his pass protection as well. Not only does he know where he’s supposed to be, but he absolutely gets after defenders. He attacks defenders as a blocker and isn’t shy about laying hits when “chipping” as he releases into his routes.
Hampton is probably best described as a “good but not great” athlete. He’s able to break off runs for chunk yardage when he finds open space, but he isn’t going to out-athlete defenders. He isn’t particularly shifty or agile, nor is he explosive out of his cuts or have blazing speed. In fact, he can be run down from behind, so he probably
Looking ahead to 2024, teams will likely want to see Hampton develop further as a receiver. He’s already a punishing pass protector, but he only has 35 receptions in college – 29 of which came last year. Improving and getting more comfortable as a route runner and pass catcher will only help his draft stock.
North Carolina offense vs. Clemson (Hampton is North Carolina RB number 28)
Donovan Edwards (Michigan)
Edwards will have his chance to shine after splitting time with (now Los Angeles Rams RB) Blake Corum over the previous three years.
Edwards isn’t a big power back – he weighs in at roughly 6-foot, 205 pounds – but he’s still a physical runner who’s willing to run behind his pads between the tackles. That said, Edwards is at his best running off-tackle and when he has a menu of cutback options available. He has excellent vision, not only picking out running lanes at the first level, but also anticipating defenders at the second and third levels. He also has good agility to go with great acceleration and burst out of his cuts.
Edwards tended to be more of a receiving and “between the 20’s” back in Michigan’s backfield, with Corum doing dirty work in short-yardage situations and on the goal line. Teams will want to see him be a more complete back in 2024, though teams that want a downhill power back may want to look elsewhere.
Michigan offense vs. Penn State (Edwards is Michigan RB number 7)
Trevor Etienne (Georgia)
Etienne will certainly have eyes on him this year. The younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, Trevor won’t turn 20 until July 9th over this year. He’ll also be playing his junior season at the University of Georgia after starting his collegiate career at Florida.
Etienne is a quick, agile runner with solid vision who anticipates defenders well and knows how to follow his blocks. He always seems to be on the knife-edge of breaking a big run and can turn a glimmer of daylight into a good gain on any given play. Etienne is best suited to a zone scheme, though he has the versatility to run inside or outside. He’s able to take advantage of cutback lanes and is also very dangerous on counter runs.
He wasn’t a high-volume receiver in Florida’s offense, though that could change in a Georgia offense that’s adapting to life after Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. Likewise, Etienne was more of a “position” blocker than anything else in pass protection. He’s good at getting in defenders’ way, but needs to get better about attacking and engaging defenders.
Etienne is a versatile and well-rounded running back who’s good at a lot of things. The flip side of that is that he isn’t quite great at anything – at least not yet. He’s quick and agile, but doesn’t have the elite stop-start quickness of a true scat-back. He’s fast, but doesn’t have blazing speed to break angles. He’s a physical runner, but lacks the mass and power to consistently run through contact and punish defenders. It will be interesting to see how he develops at Georgia, as well as how he continues to physically mature as he enters his 20’s.
Florida offense vs. Tennessee defense (Etienne is Florida RB number 7)
Raheim Sanders (South Carolina)
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders is flying firmly under the radar at the moment, though that could change quickly if he recaptures his 2022 form.
Sanders is transferring to South Carolina after only playing in 6 games for Arkansas in 2023. He suffered a knee injury in the season opener, then a torn labrum (which required surgery) at the end of the season. Sanders only ran for 209 yards (3.4 per carry) and 2 touchdowns in 2023, but was a special back in 2022 with 1,443 yards (6.5 per carry) and 10 touchdowns. He’s hoping to show the world at South Carolina that the player he was in 2022 is who he really is.
He offers a rare blend of size and speed at 6-foot-2, 242 pounds with (reportedly) 4.44 speed – for reference, Derrick Henry was 6-foot-3, 247 pounds and ran a 4.54 at the 2016 Combine. Sanders also moves very well for a bigger back and has a fairly devastating jump-cut. He’ll never be truly quick or agile like a smaller back, however he’s able to change paths and force poor tackle attempts – which his mass and acceleration routinely turn into yards after contact.
How Sanders plays at South Carolina; whether he’s able to return to his 2022 form and stay healthy, will play a huge part in his draft stock. If Sanders is once again productive while also showing off his rare combination of size and speed, he could… rocket… up draft boards.
Arkansas offense vs. Alabama (2022) (Sanders is Arkansas RB number 5)
Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech)
Brooks’ draft stock could vary wildly from analyst to analyst and from team to team this year. He could wind up being (relatively) highly drafted, or he could be firmly below the radar.
The Senior was one of the best running backs in the Big 12 in 2023 and briefly considered making the leap to the NFL this year. However, he ultimately decided to return to school, with the speculation being that the NFL wasn’t quite as high on him as he hoped. That said, he is coming off of an impressive season for the Red Raiders. Brooks roughly doubled his 2022 production in 2023, carrying the ball 290 times (up from 147) for 1,538 yards (up from 691), with 5.3 yards per carry (up from 4.7) and 10 touchdowns (up from 7).
Brooks is listed at 5-foot-10, 230 pounds and on the field he looks like he’s built like a bowling ball. He makes full use of his low center of gravity and stout build, dropping his pads to run through contact or keep his feet while bouncing off of defenders. He also has good vision for finding cutback lanes as well as the agility and quickness to take advantage of them. Brooks has surprisingly quick feet for a back with his build and has a particularly effective jump cut.
Unfortunately, Brooks’ quickness and agility don’t also translate into speed. He doesn’t appear to have much of a top gear and will likely time somewhere between 4.5 seconds and 4.6 on the 40-yard dash. His lack of a tangible “home run” element could keep scouts from getting excited about him, though he should be scheme diverse enough to be a productive workhorse in most offenses.
Texas Tech offense vs. Houston (Brooks is Texas Tech RB number 28)
Other names to watch
- Damien Martinez (Oregon State)
- Nick Singleton (Penn State)
- Phil Mafah (Clemson)
- Jaydon Blue (Texas)
- Jo’Quavious Marks (USC)
