Rookie RB Rankings | NFL Daily 🏈

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is that true qurst T no it’s still All right let’s do [Music] it welcome in everybody for another stream over here on Bleach Report this is NFL Daily and we are your host today Ray Garvin you can find me on X at Ray GQ joined as always by my co-host with the Wake Up with Ray andJ Show Jordan Richards you can find him at your boy Jay Rich on X or Blue Sky wherever you get your social media content this is NFL Daily and we are excited because Jay no schedule releases no NFL draft no hypotheticals we’ve got on field action happening right now in the NFL and we are going to talk through rookie running back rankings we got a lot of them we’ve got a bunch of different tiers we’re going to tear group these rookie running backs up and let you know the ones you need to be drafting to score you points here in 2025 jay how you feeling baby oh I’m always excited Ray this is the year of the running back it was a draft class that was propped up all off season we met a lot of these guys that’s going to be on this list in person so we even have that little personal connection to all of these players but I’m excited man this is a show that’s always super fun to do talk about these rookie running backs who are the ones that are to stand out who are some of our sleepers who are some of the guys we think could start right away and contribute to some of these NFL teams especially when so many teams are running multiple backs in their systems right now and all these guys have plenty of opportunity to contribute very talented draft class and very excited to rank all these guys with you today yeah year of the running back in this past 2025 NFL draft it delivered as far as running backs landing in spots where they can make an impact and we are going to go through it starting off with uh the sleeper tier so you can see on the screen we’ve got a sleeper tier got a rotational running back tier we’ve got the starter tier and then there’s a blank tier at the top and I promise you you won’t want to miss the running backs or backs that are in that tier so make sure you subscribe to the channel follow us on the Bleacher Report app but Jay let’s start off with the sleepers can we load up the sleeper running backs on the board right now sleeper RBs for the 2025 fantasy football season we are going to start off with uh my hometown Jay we’re going to start off right here in Dallas Texas with their new running back that they drafted uh on day three of the NFL draft out of the University of Texas Jaden Blue this is a flyer speedster sub43 type speed you see it on the screen jaden Blue is a big play threat waiting to happen and when you look at the running backs currently in the Dallas backfield Miles Sanders you’ve got Javvant Williams Duce Font nobody brings the type of electricity and speed that Jaden Blue does now he’s probably not going to be your primary starting running back out the gate but is an explosive complimentary back to the guys that they already have there jaden Blue is an exciting RB sleeper here for 2025 fantasy football yeah Ray I mean Blue and what he offers in the receiving game alone I think is more than worthy of being considered the sleeper but when you look at that depth chart in Dallas it just makes so much sense that there’s a world he can get on the field early and make an impact for that Dallas offense so I love Jaden Blue as a sleeper but let’s get on to the next one because there is a lot of guys we have on this list and it’s a personal favorite of yours we met him down at the Senior Bowl in Mobile you were dapping him up left right and center you fell in love with Ali Gordon II the running back out of Oklahoma State coming off a down year though was great in 2023 and a lot of things went wrong for Ali both on the on the field and then even with the coaching staff as well so Oie is a player you look at the numbers 730 rushing yards five forward carry eight touchdowns nothing in comparison to what he did in 2023 he fell to the Dolphins though which is very interesting they got fast backs and they got nobody big it’s Devon Aan it’s Jaden jaden Wright out of last year out of Tennessee so they have a lot of playmakers but Ollie Gordon gives him the one thing they didn’t have size and power and that’s what he’s going to bring to this team and that’s why he’s a sleeper for me and I’m sure he’s a sleeper for you because he has a completely different element that they’ve been missing in this Miami Dolphins offense 100% you nailed it he brings something different to that backfield size uh he is an explosive back to be so big 220 plus pounds but I think he’s going to be an excellent compliment to a player that I think is going to have a bounceback season in Devon Achan really like Ali Gordon as well as Kansas’s running back Devin Neil who landed in New Orleans learning behind the future Hall of Famer Alvin Chimera love Devin Neil’s skill set coming out of Kansas another player that we got to meet and talk to in person put together compact good size can catch the ball in the back field And from the time that he took step foot on field in Lawrence Kansas he just dominated this was a mega producer at Kansas dual sport athlete in college as well devin Neil going to have an opportunity if he can get through Miller to make an impact to some degree for the New Orleans Saints who feel like they’re going to be in a little bit of a rebuilding year in 25 yeah Deon Neil I loved for the Saints because they finally have a back that can just do everything alvin Chimera when he was drafted was a back that was a great receiving back they weren’t sure he could be a workhorse and he worked in a committee and they’ve had committees forever but now regardless of whether Kendrick Miller goes down or Alvin Camra goes down i think you have a player that can fill in either role and Deon Neil is not the fastest player but he can do a bit of everything i think that’s great for this offense now the next player on this list is Rashard Smith the running back/formmer wide receiver out of SMU went to the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round and now you’re probably asking yourself seventh round really sleeper how’s this guy going to get on the field and it’s just the dynamic playmaking that he can make and bring to this Kansas City offense they desperately need it as much as we want to look at Xavier Worthy and Rasheed Weiss and and whatever we get from Travis Kelce in 2025 Isaiah Pacheco really wasn’t the best running back last year yes he did get hurt but Bashard Smith if he sees the field you will notice his impact immediately they can run different packages for him he can have certain sets and I think he’s a player that while he was a seventh rounder and seems very unlikely don’t be surprised if Andy Reid has a plan for this kid because he is a dynamic pass catcher and he’s a pretty damn good runner of the football as well 253 235 carries 1300 yards 14 touchdowns last season at SMU and really his first ever season playing full-time running back great great outlook for him in Kansas City and I love the landing spot it’s just a matter of if not when ultimately they get him on the field and I think he makes an impact in year one well we got to talk to him in Mobile and I just want to give the people what he what we asked him we were like you know you you may have to be a complimentary back like what what about the game do you love he said man I just love ball put me on the field i just want to play football and ball out and I think Kansas City got a steal in Bashard Smith i could see him being deployed remember Jerick McKinnon in that role in that backfield a few years ago if he can be a younger more juiced up version of Jerick McKinnon I think the Chiefs are really cooking with something with Bashard Smith now the final player in the sleeper category tier that we’re going to talk about is another running back who maybe went a little higher than people thought in the NFL draft the Carolina Panthers went out and drafted another running back after last year’s second round pick Jonathan Brooks reinjured that knee that he tore up at Texas they went out and got Trevor ETN another ETN entering the NFL here in 25 and initially on face value you’ve got Chupa Hubard in that back field you’ve got an ascending offensive line those two additions of Lewis and Hunt last year helping solidify that front but they need another back and I know they brought in Rico Dattle from Dallas but this kid Trevor Etn produced a little bit at Florida produced at Georgia this year SEC two years two years two schools and he’s got NFL bloodline and pedigree i I think that this is the epitome of a sleeper there are a lot of people talking about Devin Neil there’s a lot of people excited about Bashard Smith but when I see fantasy analysts talking about Trevor Etienne it’s like there’s no world and no way he can get on the field this is the definition of a sleeper i think he’s a better running back than Rico Dattle and I’m excited to see him uh progress through training camp to see where he ends up on this dep chart yeah he’s a player that I think consistently surprised us when we watched him right and at Georgia we saw the dynamic playmaking he can have we saw it at Florida we know obviously what his brother brought to the table and maybe a little bit more explosive in terms of his brother relative to Trevor but you look to this offense and you say “Yeah they resigned Chuba and yeah they brought in Rico D but there really is opportunity.” And Ray I always go back to Dave Canal’s first press conference when he was asked about how they’re going to balance the offensive attack and he talked about specifically wanting to run the football and we thought going into last season they run the ball a lot obviously they struggled so much defensively they were forced to throw the ball etn could be a massive piece of this offense overall and I think will be in 2025 love him as a sleeper because no one thinks he’s gonna get an make an impact but I would be surprised if he did so rounding out our sleepers we have Jaden Blue the running back out of Texas we have Olly Gordon we have Devin Neil Brashard Smith and Trevor ETN ray do you want to kick it off with our rotational backs because I know that the first one off this list is a favorite of yours let’s pull them up let’s pull up those rotational backs and talk about this tier the running backs that exist in this tier and their pathway to opportunity and we’ve got to talk start off with with the guy that’s got the most dog inside that heart the most dog level running back in this class in New York right now drafted at the top of the fourth round cam Scataboo the all world running back from Arizona State and this is a Colt legend already a fan favorite a true you know what it is workhorse grinder first in last out lunch pale kind of running back cam Scataboo is a monster and if you don’t have your chin strapped on tight if you ain’t got your shoulder pad strapped up right he’s going to punish you and I think in a backfield that right now it’s Tyrone Tracy it’s Devin Singleary and an offense trying to find its way his mentality his play style and let’s not just let’s not forget about the production 1,700 yards six yards a carry 21 touchdowns and he can catch the ball in the back field it’s a good player it’s a good player that New York has and I think for fantasy purposes we will see him on the field early with Tyrone Tracy in 25 scataboo landed in a great spot yeah I mean you just look to the player he is he was the only other player in college football last year that forced 100 plus missed tackles other than the main man the top dog and we’ll get there in a little bit Ashton Genty and Scataboo just provides another outlet I think for this offense and I think that Brian Dable is going to have a tremendous job figuring out how to utilize him everyone just use him as this bruiser back ray but he may even be a better receiver than he is a bruising running back back and I think at the NFL level with his speed being a bit of a problem for him he’s going to make a great receiving back and compliment because you’re not going to know what he’s be doing when he’s on the field we will move forward to one of your boys and and you put me on probably early February before we met him at the Senior Bowl and it’s Woody Marks the running back out of USC drafted in the fourth round which I just called this tier the fourth round tier because all these guys ended up being fourth rounders but Woody Marks out of USC it’s the burst rate the burst that this kid has in my opinion is almost second to none in the entire draft class he’s fast he’s a great runner of the football he showed that at USC and then his entire time at college phenomenal pass catcher lands in Houston probably be operating behind Joe Mixon but is going to be a great compliment to Mixon in terms of his explosiveness as a complimentary back and his ability in pass and pass catching situations as an outlet for CJ Shroud the biggest issue for the Texans last year was their offensive line and one of the best ways to mitigate that is to have a phenomenal dynamic passcatching weapon out of the back field and Woody Marx can absolutely provide that for the Texans yeah this is a player that I I continued to talk about saying this was one of the best running backs that nobody was talking about during the draft process i think a lot of people didn’t think that he’d be drafted in round four you talked about how good he was in the receiving game over 260 career receptions for Woody Marks he’s going to have a role demo Ryan is already talking about how excited they are to add him to their RB room and let’s not forget they didn’t just draft him they traded future capital to move up to get him to select him over multiple running backs that were still on the board i think Woody Mars’ ability to influence and impact the game on receiving downs this is this is what you want especially in those PPR formatted fantasy football leagues let’s talk about Michelle Tutin a lot of people are excited about Scooten Dutton of the Jacksonville Jaguars running back out of Virginia Tech explosive one of the fastest running backs in this class and he confirmed that not at a proday at the combine he went and he ran fast toting over 1100 yards this past college football season but what makes people really excited is that Jason Bucky Irvin liam Cohen is the head coach liam Cohen is calling plays in Jacksonville and Liam Cohen made it a priority to draft him early at the start of day three toutin is a fun player toutin has got a lot of juice and he’s paired with a very creative offensive coordinator i think a lot of people are excited about what Toutin can do in Jacksonville yeah absolutely and if you could just clear up the fumbles Ray that’s one thing very happy about because early in OTAA is I knew you were going to bring it up liam Cohen had to talk about it but the biggest thing with Brashell Tutin you talked about it you can’t teach speed fastest running back at the combine and holds the Virginia Tech record for rushing yards in a game with 266 and we asked him about that at the Senior Bowl and he said “Honestly man I was out there doing my best giving it on every play.” He didn’t even know until he was about five yards short that he was going to break the record he ultimately did but Michelle Tutin dynamic playmaker but he’s third string on the depth chart right now Ray he’s got a lot of work to do but very very talented you got me thinking about that VTEC record because they’ve had some damn good running backs Kevin Jones Ryan Williams of the past so uh good company for Tootton to be in but let’s talk about another running back who lands in a situation that we typically would really like but this was the second running back that the Cleveland Browns drafted this year dylan Samson out of Tennessee in our rotational back tier i’m just gonna say I still like this player i know you aren’t the biggest Dylan Samson fan but when you give me a running back that was the SEC player of the year I believe was that not Sam sec offensive player of the year 22 touchdowns on the ground six yards a carry 1500 yards in an offense that’s supposed to be this highlevel shred and uh shred and attack passing attack he was still able to do this on the ground he lands in Cleveland i’m a big fan of Dylan Samson’s game he provides juice he can catch the ball out of the back field and if you need him bang between the tackles he can do that as well lands in an interesting spot and I’m sure we will talk about his other running back mate but I’m still in on Dylan Samson yeah a player people really really liked right and you talked about it i mean he led the SEC in carries and yards and touchdowns like there’s a lot of things to like with this kid overall but it was just the fact that he was the second running back drafted to the Cleveland Browns just gives you a little bit of pause but we’ve talked about this a lot and and the way that him and Quinchon Judkins can compliment themselves is one of the reasons why you should still like Samson because they have different skill sets and I think the way that Samson wins is so much different from Judkins and in some ways when you’re looking to Dave Montgomery and Jir Gibbs as like this prototypical backfield in the NFL Samson profiles more as the Gibbs i think a lot of people who like running backs would prefer a Gibbs style running back over a David Montgomery it it it really does remind me of the year that Dallas had Zeke and then you could tell Tony Pard was probably pretty good that he probably could be a 1A on his own team but unfortunately he had to share backfield with Zeke it kind of feels like we got a little bit of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pard situation going on with Judkins and Dylan Samson let’s move on to the last running back in this rotational back tier and this is a running back that Jay he could jump up and be the top dog any moment i’m talking about Jark Hunter from the Rams talk about Jark Hunter Jay i mean Jark Hunter is really exciting and and it honestly all starts with one they traded up to get him in the fourth round shawn McVey doesn’t draft a lot of running backs we know they got Kyron Williams there again top four in carries last season doesn’t see a lot of receiving work so it’s mostly going to be on the ground you see the explosiveness 187 carries 1200 yards 6.4 carry eight touchdowns he was the large majority of that Auburn offense and one of the only reasons why they were reasonably successful in the SEC last season but now you’re going into situation like LA they drafted Blake Corm last year but why are you trading up and drafting Jarz Hunter if you’re pretty happy with Blake Corm you have Kron Williams going into a contract season and they haven’t resigned him yet on top of the fact he continues to put the ball off if those things continue to happen don’t be shocked if Jarquz Hunter gets on the field and makes an immediate impact because he can make an impact both in the passing game and in the rushing game as well very dynamic player very explosive and can make an impact in on this team i think Shawn McVey is going to love him once he finally gets the pads on i mean you hit some of the points as to why they drafted Blake Horm last year and why they went back to the running back well and I believe they made a move up for Hunter as well as good as Kairen has been at compiling numbers and he’s been one of the best running backs in the NFL the past two seasons as far as carries and yards no explosive plays he just he does not offer any dynamic ability to rip off a 40 50 yard run he’s not bringing those explosive elements to an offense that needs that explosiveness so I I I think between Hunter and Cororm you’re going to see some more running backs sprinkled into that Rams rotation here in 25 so let’s go through that rotational tier again you’ve got Cam Scatteraboo behind Tyrone Tracy and Devin Singleary a little bit woody Mars in that complimentary role with Joe Mixon Michelle Tooten trying to figure it out in Jacksonville with ETN and Tank Bsby dylan Samson and his running mate Quinn Sean Judkins as well as Jerome Ford and then you got Jark West Hunter in a rotation with Kairen Williams and Blake Corm jay let’s get to the starting running backs the players that you can draft full confidence in fantasy football drafts because they’re going to get the rock and they should get the rock a lot starter tier Jay Rich let’s start this thing off with Omaran Hampton big time playmaker that the Los Angeles Chargers said we got to have this kid in round one you’re pairing him up with Jim Harbaugh with Justin Herbert oh yeah and they signed Naji Harris on a one-year deal i don’t know if you’ve seen some of the pictures and the images and the videos coming out of the Chargers camp but it just looks like it’s only a matter of when not if he takes over as the league dog explosiveness size ability to handle the workload catch the ball out the back field how can you not love Omaron Hampton in LA yeah I mean it’s it’s the perfect fit that no one really saw coming everyone had the Broncos at 20 taking a running back and they decided to take Jay Baron and then all of a sudden Omari on Hampton falls down to the Chargers and we’re like okay you know you signed Naji Harris gave him a pretty good deal but when you have the 6’220 monster in Omari on Hampton just sitting there waiting for you in a Greg Overman offense that we know wants to run the heck out of the football it just makes so much sense and while we’re talking about you know early production and getting on the field I don’t know exactly when Hampton’s going to be on the field but he’s gonna be on the field you know first round pick it’s gonna happen so I’m very excited for him and 92 PFF grade rushing grade last season back-to-back thousand yard seasons 1600 yards last season 15 touchdowns like what more do you want to say the kid is every bit of 6’2 and Ray honestly in some of those photos he looks like he’s 6’2 and it’s going to make an even bigger impact on this team but I’m going to get into one of your favorites because when people talk about rookie running backs the talking about this is going to be a great com because the chats I’ve already seen Henderson’s going to be the top running back uh Judkins the top lead us into this one lead us into this RJ Harvey that we’re about to talk about so the Broncos in the second round kind of surprised people a little bit because like as I mentioned they passed in the first round when everyone thought they were going to take Amaran Hampton and they went and got UCF running back RJ Harvey 5’8 205 lbs now expected to be the lead dog right for the Denver Broncos offense and we know how much Shawn Peyton loves his running backs he turned Mark Ingram into a star he turned Alvin Chimera into a damn superstar and then he went out and got RJ Harvey 1578 yards 22 touchdowns 20 receptions for 260 and another three on the ground dynamic explosive 100 yards in 12 in 10 or sorry nine of his 12 games and against P5 opponents he was a baller we saw him at the Senior Bowl and he looked every bit the part we fell in love with him there we liked him before that but the explosiveness and I’ve always talked to you about this it’s the vision the vision that this kid has relative to everyone else in the class man it is up there in the top three or four easily i’m so excited for Harvey going to be the lead dog jul Mclaclin not afraid audrey Estie not afraid he’s going to be the guy and people need to understand that especially when you compare him to Hampton there is nobody in the way i I don’t need to compare him to anybody else all I need to look at is Shawn Peyton’s track record with running backs you talked about Alvin Chimera and Mark Ingram started long before that with Reggie Bush with Pierre Thomas he knows what he’s doing this is a running back room that prioritizes the running back in the receiving game javvant Williams you look up there weren’t many running backs in the league that had more targets nor receptions than Javvant Williams and RJ Harvey is much more explosive than Javvant Williams he’s taking pictures with damn Shawn Peyton’s daughter rj Harvey is my dark or after Ashton Genty i I truly believe this could be in 2025 the second best rookie running back in this class i’m going to say that again after Ashton Genty I believe that RJ Harvey his opportunity the coaching staff the offense the O line the skill set the defense this is going to be the second most fantasy productive running back in this class you heard it here first it’s RJ Harvey of the Denver Broncos i’m 10 toes down on that the skill set the opportunity the capital it’s all there for RJ Harvey yeah no Ray you you nailed it and and I love R.J harvey it’s just it depends on who you ask right some people love him and they think he’s going to be a great running back some people say “Ah he’s a little bit old he’s 24 years old i don’t need it i don’t score me points right now.” And the reason why people don’t like it is just because he wasn’t on the radar he didn’t go to Ohio State he didn’t go to Alabama he didn’t go to any of those schools that’s why people still have a hard time reconciling the fact that this dude is going to smash in Denver but let’s talk about another running back drafted after RJ Harvey but goes to a great situation in Pittsburgh where we already saw them take a running back that was big maybe not viewed as the most explosive and turn him into a backto backto back thousandy rusher in Pittsburgh and we are talking about Iowa’s Caleb Johnson who lands in Pittsburgh in round three no Naji Harris he’s in LA the only other running back of consequence on this roster is Jaylen Warren and Jaylen Warren more so profiles as your two-minute drill fourminute offense type running back this is a running back that in zone schemes is incredible caleb Johnson has breakaway speed the only players in college football with more breakaway runs than Caleb Johnson in 2024 were the affforementioned RJ Harvey and Ashen Genty this big back can pull away from defenders he’s physical he’s got a a good enough skill set to catch the ball of the back field you won’t confuse him with a passcatching weapon but Caleb Johnson is a monster give me Iowa backs give me Big 10 running backs give me running backs that dawn the black and gold that play in Pittsburgh i’m in on Caleb Johnson yeah Caleb Johnson’s going to be phenomenal and I think when you talk about players you want you want a player where the coach comes out and says “This is an NFL running back.” Like forget what you saw in college forget what happened at the combine the athletic system when we watch this guy on tape Mike Tomlin said he runs into stack boxes and he still has success and he runs NFL plays so that believes he’s a player that can translate to the NFL quickly can acclimate to their rushing scheme and you already talked about Jaylen Warren bit more of a complimentary back kenneth Gainwell not as worried about him they drafted Caleb Johnson because he’s big he’s fast and he can create tons of big plays for this offense and the Steelers desperately need it i think he’s going to be super super good in this offense be honestly when you talk about players especially in this tier making an impact he’s the guy that really could surprise because while he’s not the starter today I wouldn’t be shocked if we walked into week one right and Caleb Johnson was the starter and I think no one’s projecting that right now because he wasn’t drafted in the second round he wasn’t even a first round pick was a player that fell away to the third right into the Steelers lap but the way they talk about him already I just wouldn’t be surprised if they walked into opening day and he was a starting running back when they played the Jets Let’s get into the next running back out of Ohio State transfer from Old Miss one of the most talented running backs we’ve ever seen in my opinion as a freshman Quinn Shan Judkins ray some people think he’s the best running back at Ohio State some people think he’s the second best running back but let’s not forget just how talented Quinn Shawn Judkin is he can catch pass out of the backfield he’s extremely athletic which I’m sure surprised a lot of people at the combine but more importantly he is a heck of a running back a thousand yards last year on five a carry 14 touchdowns and that’s all while splitting opportunities with the player we’ll get to next in Trayvon Henderson lands as the lead back in the second round to the Cleveland Browns we talked about Dylan Samson already this is the lead dog the big dog that’s expected to replace Nick Chub and provide a lot of the rushing attack for this Browns offense very excited for Judkins he can catch the ball he can run the ball very effectively i think he’s gonna be great as the thumper for this team and he can carry the load for this Browns offense in 2025 yeah I’m seeing some some cool comments people saying “Yeah they they really like Johnson and how good he could be at the goal line you know no quarterback situation.” I’m very curious as to the chat’s thoughts and opinions on Judkins in this situation i think once he got drafted on on day two we were really excited man they draft him top of the third top of the second round he’s the lead back and then two rounds later they draft Dylan Samson who’s a very qualified and talented running back himself i agree with you i think Judkins was drafted to be the primary to replace Nick Chub to do some of that heavyduty lifting between the 20s but I don’t know if he’s going to be utilized in the receiving game in the way that we want for fantasy football like there’s a difference i always say there’s a difference between running backs that can catch passes and running backs that can be deployed as a passcatching weapon i do not believe that Quinchon Judkins can be deployed as a passcatching weapon christian McCaffrey you know Alvin Chimera but I think he can catch the ball right i think he can catch the ball for max upside max point scoring potential you need the running backs that can do both or the running back that is going to get 2,000 yards and 20 plus touchdowns and with Dylan Samson there that’s my only slight hesitation about his upside is the fact that Samson is there in tandem in compliment with him but let’s talk about your boy in your team the New England Patriots who drafted one of the most explosive dynamic backs in this class you talk about one of the most impressive freshman seasons go back and take a look at what Trayvon Henderson did year one after not playing his senior year of high school this is a dynamic special player Trayvon Henderson that the New England Patriots drafted i believe Mike Vrabel knows exactly what to do with him how to utili utilize him you will see his skill set and his talent early in the 2025 season we’re not going to have to wait long for Hindo to get on the field people love him he’s a great talent he can catch the ball in the back field and bang between the tackles very good player very safe solid pick in fantasy football yeah yeah really really surprising for the Patriots take a running back but we know that Raandre is probably not going to be there much longer his tenure is just about ran out and I think the the best part about Henderson and right I don’t know if you saw this James White former Patriots running back went on a podcast and he was talking about how Henderson’s been watching some James White tape recently so everyone remembers the days of James White with how dynamic he was i think that’d be a great way to utilize Trayvon Henderson he’s great in pass pro he can catch the ball he’s an effective runner the question with him has always been can he stay healthy but if he can stay healthy oh my goodness I think the Patriots got an absolute steal he’s a player that in my opinion had first round talent but there’s a lot of reasons why he did fall to the second round we know the Bears really wanted him Ray but the Patriots said “Not so fast my friend.” And drafted him at the pick just before 1,000 rushing yards 10 touchdowns unlimited work last season 7.1 a carry arguably the most explosive running back in the 2025 NFL draft class trayvon Henderson is going to be the starter very very soon for the Patriots and I for one cannot wait well you’re a Pats fan so I I’m I’m sure you feel that way as do a couple of people in the chat who have said he’s the best running back in pass pro sign me up he’s going to be on the field he’s got to protect Drake May lot of people excited about Trayvon Henderson so in the starter tier Omaran Hampton RJ Harvey Caleb Johnson Quinn Sean Judkins and Tayon Henderson which leaves one running back and one tier and one player left to display on the screen pull them up producer the Las Vegas Raiders starting running back and we just got this tier called the Genty tier because it’s Ashton Genty it is Ashton Genty you knew it before the show i knew it before the show we all knew it but I want to flip the script a little bit because I don’t think the Raiders drafted him with any other plan outside of get him the damn ball as much as possible by any means necessary jay I understand that this Raiders offensive line today looks nothing like the 2016 Dallas Cowboys offensive line of almost 9 10 years ago but I believe that Ashton Genty is going to be fed enough touches and opportunity to where those numbers are going to look a little bit like Ezekiel Elliott did okay in his rookie year i believe that we are in line for 300 plus rush attempts for Ashen Genty in year one there is no other running back that should come on the field and take him off in receiving down situations you’ve got Pete Harold you got Chip Kelly and bringing in Gino Smith to help open up that passing attack with the best damn tight end in football and Brock Bowers this was a nononsense pick it It’s not preserve him we’re in win now mode give him the damn ball ashen Genty how good it’s not a matter of where is he where is he at amongst these rookie running backs nobody’s going to say anybody how good can he be this year Jay i think he could be a top three running back in football like when you just talk about pure rushing yards Ray would you be surprised if he was just behind Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry for rushing yards on the season like I really wouldn’t be you You could look to a lot of running backs and and say “Well maybe scrimmage yards wise he wouldn’t quite be there.” But just pure running the football rushing the football one of the most successful running backs we’ve ever seen in college football sure he played at Boise State and I like to rag on him a little bit for that but it wouldn’t matter where he was playing when he played Penn State he was good when he played Oregon he was good it did not matter he always showed up he always played well and I think this Raiders offensive line when you compare it to what he had to deal with in college and they’d have a good offensive line at Boise State but relative to some of the competition it’s going to be an even more level playing field this is a player who breaks tackles as at an absurd rate you look at his yards after contact rate i believe he still would have been in the top five in rushing just from his yards after contact you obviously the 1600 the 2600 here still seven a carry 374 carries he’s not going to do that in his rookie season but I wouldn’t be surprised either if he was really really close 330 340 350 range as a rookie let me let me just give you some seasonl long running back lines and I’m just going to name the running backs who have higher rushing yard totals than Ashton Genty you’ve got Bejian Robinson Saquon Barkley Derrick Henry Jonathan Taylor those are the those are the only four running backs with more projected seasonl long rushing yard totals than Ashton Genty’s who’s currently sits at 1,074 a half only Henry Barkley Robinson and Taylor not Jacobs not Gibbs not Bucky not Kairen Williams it’s Ashen Genty this was a nononsense pick they’re going to give him the ball as much as his body can allow and handle ashton Genty is going to smash for us in fantasy football here in 2025 so that is the top tier ashen Genty our starter tier marian Hampton RJ Harvey Caleb Johnson Quinn Sean Junks Trayvon Anderson jay let me ask you this if there was somebody from this tier to jump up into that elite tier which one of these running backs from the starter tier do you think it would be i think it would probably be Omari and Hampton i think it’d be Omar and Hampton part of it is the first round pedigree it It could be him or Harvey i think are the two because maybe there’s a world where Naji just isn’t that good and they realize that very quickly to where Hampton does have a phenomenal season now I have reservations about that but I wouldn’t be shocked either if it happened i’m assuming you’re going to go with your boy RJ Harvey i could see Harvey if Judkins is the guy and Samson doesn’t factor in which I just don’t see a world in which he’s not a part of the rotation i’m just looking at opportunity and pathway and I’m just not scared of Audrey Esté Jalil McLaclin and whoever else they got back there in in Denver i I think Harvey’s path to opportunity the offense the defense it just that situation is so prime for success for a running back i would pick him rotational guys you’ve got Cam Scataboo Woody Mars Michelle Tudin Dylan Samson and Jark West Hunter and then in the sleeper tier we’ve got Olly Gordon Jaden Blue Devin Neil Bashard Smith and Trevor ETN any final thoughts you want to say about these running backs for the people tapping in the show jay I think you should be excited this is probably one of the best rookie running back classes we’ve had years some people go as far back as to 2017 but I’m going to say 2020 is probably what you want to look for i think it’s very comparable to 2020 when we had a ton of phenomenal talent in the NFL 2017 still rearing its ugly head and taking jobs here in even 2025 but I’m very excited for this class and I think everyone watching this show should be as well yeah appreciate you guys uh pulling up for this NFL Daily over here on Bleacher Report every single Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday and Friday 700 p.m eastern Standard Time jay Rich and I are on on Thursdays but all the other days you got dope content creators over here at BR so make sure you sub sub to the YouTube channel download the app follow your favorite content creators and check us out ray Garvin NFL on YouTube every Monday Wednesday and Friday wake up with Jay Rich and myself for everybody over here at Bleacher Report we appreciate y’all tapping into the content hit that thumbs up button like it and we’ll see y’all uh next week have a beautiful weekend and we’ll see y’all on the next one we out peace like riding a bike jay sleep