Ranking the Runners: 2025 Running Back Prospects (Part 2)

by John Laub · Featured
Dynasty Draft Rookie RB

tPlayerProfiler is home to award-winning dynasty rankings and tools. Our Dynasty Deluxe package includes complete Dynasty Rankings, Rookie Rankings, Trade Analyzer, Draft Planner, Mock Drafts, and more. Check it out. Here John Laub breaks down his dynasty draft rookie rankings and analysis of running back prospects eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft.

Also, be sure to check out Part 1 here.

Scholar’s Running Back Rankings, RB Model, and Statistical Benchmarks

2025 Scholar’s RB Rankings

Ranking the Runners: 2025 Running Back Prospects (Part 2)

RJ Harvey, UCF

Prospect Resume

Over the past two years, it was a pleasure to watch and scout RJ Harvey. Last December, I took a deep dive into Harvey’s tape and loved the film. Even so, I wanted to see elite-level athleticism at the Combine before assigning a final grade and rank. In Indianapolis, he smashed the drills and displayed the baseline skills to succeed in the NFL. Among all running backs, he finished fourth in the 40-yard dash, eighth in the Vertical Jump, and sixth in the Broad Jump.

In high school, Harvey played quarterback and was a three-star recruit. As a senior in 2018, he accounted for 48 total touchdowns (25 rushing and 23 passing) while passing for 1,787 yards and rushing for 1,376 yards. In 2019, he enrolled at Virginia and redshirted in 2019. Afterward, he transferred to UCF and missed the 2020 season after tearing an ACL in the preseason.

In 2022, Harvey finally made a significant impact on the field with 796 rushing yards while earning Third Team All-AAC. The next year, he exploded for 1,416 rushing yards and 16 scores. He was also a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award and earned All-Big 12 honorable mention. Last season, the sixth-year back was even better with 1,577 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns. Once again, he was a Doak Walker semifinalist and named Third Team All-American and First Team All-Big 12. During his UCF tenure, he established a program record for career touchdowns with 48 and finished second with 43 career rushing scores.

Film Breakdown and Skills

At 5-8 and 205 pounds, Harvey has a compact and well-built frame with an impressive Body Mass Index (BMI) of 31.2. He has a dynamic skill set and is a hard runner between the tackles. With fancy feet, he employs great lateral agility and jump cuts to avoid defenders in traffic. He runs with a low pad level, and with good vision, he scans blockers and defenders to identify creases. Pinball-style ball carrier, Harvey is a patient runner with a low center of gravity and a one-cut competitor, who runs angry and purposefully.

A workhorse, Harvey embraces contact and bounces off defenders. He wields good burst and explosion through traffic to burst upfield. A shifty playmaker, he makes defenders miss in tight spaces and is elusive in the open field. With natural hands, Harvey is an underrated pass catcher with 61 career catches for 720 yards and four scores. He runs wheel routes out of the backfield and attacks defenses down the field.

In pass protection, Harvey is a liability and needs to prove in training camp that he can pick up blitzes and improve his technique. Occasionally, he dances behind the line of scrimmage and bounces plays outside too often. An older prospect at 24 years old, Harvey might fall in the draft if organizations seek a younger and longer-term solution in the backfield. Nevertheless, I no longer expect to keep a ball carrier on my Dynasty roster for more than three years, and Harvey is a screaming value with a three-year window for fantasy production at a reasonable ADP.

Scholar’s Grade: B

Dylan Sampson, Tennessee

Prospect Resume

To assess Dylan Sampson, the junior running back must be placed into the context of coach Josh Heupel’s offensive scheme: Tennessee stresses wide splits by the offensive line and a vertical aerial attack with receivers challenging safeties deep. Hence, running backs do not often see stacked boxes and get to daylight quickly. Sampson excelled in Heupel’s ground game and was one of the biggest risers among running backs in college football last year.

In high school, Sampson was a three-star recruit, the No. 24 running back in the nation, and the No. 15 overall prospect in Louisiana. He racked up 4,927 rushing yards on 521 carries in his career and was named team captain as a senior. In June 2022, he enrolled at Tennessee. During his first two years on campus, Sampson formed a high-powered backfield trio with Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small. As a freshman, he garnered 58 carries for 397 yards and six touchdowns while averaging 6.8 ypc. In 2023 as a sophomore, he started one game and toted the pigskin 106 times for 604 yards and seven scores.

Breakout

In 2024, the junior took over the reins as the starting back in the Volunteers’ backfield and became a star. He secured 258 carries for 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns with 20 catches for 143 yards. At the end of the season, he collected an array of accolades—SEC Offensive Player of the Year, First Team All-SEC, and Second Team All-America. Sampson was also nominated as a semifinalist for both the Doak Walker and Maxwell awards.

One of the fastest players on the team, Sampson was clocked at 22-23 miles per hour on the Catapult system, and at the Tennessee Pro Day, he sprinted a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash. For his tenure, he rushed for 2,492 yards on 422 carries with 35 touchdowns and averaged 5.9 ypc. He recorded 39 career catches for 340 yards and one score. A two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, he was one of the Vols’ leaders in community service, and as a member of the team’s leadership council, he articulated a vocal presence on the team.

Film Breakdown and Skills

Dylan Sampson is undersized for a feature back at 5-8 and 200 pounds. Yet, he has an impressive BMI of 30.4 to handle the punishment as a professional. Only 20 years old, he leaves campus after three seasons and limited tread on the tires. An explosive and speedy back, he illustrated great playmaking ability and was a home run threat every time he touched the football. With great vision and pace, Sampson sets up, and uses, blockers to find holes. He has a stupendous burst and accelerates rapidly through creases into the second level of the defense. In three years, the junior made a lot of big plays with a combination of vision, patience, and anticipation.

A downhill runner who pulls away from defenders, Sampson is an easy dasher who coasts to the end zone. He is a good decision-maker with an instinctual understanding of the ground game. He employs an impressive spin move and sufficient wiggle to navigate traffic. A one-cut runner with exciting jump-cut abilities and good contact balance, Sampson makes chunk plays and turns check-downs into scores. He displays exceptional short-area burst and excels in short-yardage situations with an 80-percent success rate.

Size Concerns?

While smaller ball carriers have flourished in the NFL over the past three seasons, size still matters and some organizations still prefer bigger backs who can move the pile and dominate at the line of scrimmage. How will scouting departments and teams look at Sampson? At only 200 pounds with a lean frame, he lacks the mass to anchor and stuff pass rushers—at times, he does not always identify the blitz correctly.

While converting short yardage, he does not move the pile. From time to time, he bounces the run outside rather than take yards up the middle. Regrettably, tacklers can rip the ball out of his hands, which will infuriate coaches. Sampson earned a third-round grade in my analysis and is a nice second-round selection in Dynasty rookie drafts.

Scholar’s Grade: B

Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech

Prospect Resume

Astute draftniks find a good balance between film study, analytics, and athleticism when grading prospects. Bhayshul Tuten illuminates the intersection of the aforementioned categories when scouting. The former Hookies’ runner looks impressive on tape and in a production model. Nevertheless, did he have the athletic prowess that foreshadows success at the next level? At the Combine, Draftniks like myself discovered the answer. Among ball carriers, he ranked first in the 40-yard dash (4.32) and Vertical Jump (40.50”) and finished fourth in the Broad Jump (10-10). Tuten is a superior athlete and under-appreciated prospect.

In high school, Tuten concluded his career with 3,768 rushing yards, averaging 8.8 yards per carry (ypc.), and producing 77 touchdowns. He also snatched 35 passes for 437 receiving yards with seven scores. Upon graduation, he enrolled at North Carolina A&T (FCS) and played two seasons for the Aggies. As a freshman, he exhibited special teams skills, returning 18 kicks and five punts. As a sophomore in 2022, he rushed for 1,363 yards and 13 touchdowns, including 10 straight games over 100 yards and an all-time school-best 256 yards versus Campbell. He was FCS Third Team All-America and First Team All-Big South.

Virginia Tech

Moving up in competition, Tuten transferred to Virginia Tech before the 2023 campaign. He sprinted for 863 yards with 27 catches for 239 yards and 12 total touchdowns, garnering Second Team All-ACC accolades as an All-Purpose Back. Last season, he performed even better: He collected 183 carries for 1,159 yards and 15 scores, earning Second-Team All-ACC. He posted six 100-yard rushing games and established the program mark for a single game with 266 yards against Boston College. A home run hitter in a zone scheme, he charted 21 carries of at least 15 yards and 10 carries of 20-plus yards.

Film Breakdown and Skills

At 5-9 and 206 pounds, Tuten has a compact and sturdy frame and owns a stirring 30.4 BMI. A smooth competitor with track speed, he is a north-south runner who finds holes and blasts through cutback lanes with burst and speed. He sets up blocks with patience, rapidly blasting upfield to hit home runs. An easy running style with short strides, he is an open-field sprinter who is a stupendous accelerator, running away from tacklers downfield.

Tuten is also tough between the tackles and employs a nice combo of patience and vision before planting his foot and roaring ahead. He erases angles by tacklers to find green grass and lowers his shoulders before collisions. He pounds forward for additional yards after a rendezvous with defenders. A good pass catcher, he excels in the screen game and tracks the ball well. A straight-line ball carrier, he moreover provides utility as a special team contributor. Profiling as a one-cut zone runner, Tuten uses timing and pace, waiting for holes to open to escape defenders.

Like many shorter backs, the former Hokies’ leading man must improve as a pass protector—technique falls short of NFL standards. He drops eyes and swings and misses blitzing defenders. He also bounces and dances in the backfield too often. Ball security issues (nine fumbles at Virginia Tech) need to be addressed or he will end up in the coaches’ dog house on the sideline. Tuten absorbs too many big hits and could extend his career by avoiding punishing tackles. Elite speed is always a premium in the NFL and astute PlayerProfiler readers bank on athleticism in the backfield. Currently, Tuten has an enticing fantasy ceiling at a low cost in Dynasty drafts.

Scholar’s Grade: B

DJ Giddens, Kansas State

Prospect Resume

There are so many high-quality running back prospects in the 2025 class that DJ Giddens had been overlooked before his eye-popping Combine performance. According to the Relative Athletic Score, the former Kansas State star recorded a 9.89, which places Giddens No. 23 among 1,935 running back prospects since 1987. Lofty grades in both explosion and speed, Giddens’ athletic ability casts light upon his prolific production profile as a Wildcat.

An ungraded recruit from Junction City, KS, Giddens did not play high school football until his junior season and spent most of the season injured. Schools did not seem interested until the end of his senior year, and most of them were from the junior college ranks. Finally, the Wildcats noticed and extended Giddens his only scholarship offer. Once on campus, he dedicated himself in the classroom and on the field. He redshirted as a freshman before earning 89 carries for 518 yards in 2022.

Over the past two falls, the redshirt junior recorded back-to-back 1,000-yard campaigns in Manhattan, KS. He bolted for more than 2,500 rushing yards and averaged 6.0 ypc. He also secured 50 passes for 581 yards and crossed the finish line 27 total times. In 2024, he was named Second Team All-Big 12 and a semifinalist for the Doak Walker Award. Also, in 2023, Giddens earned All-Big 12 honorable mention and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after producing a career-best 207 rushing yards and four touchdowns against UCF.

In Kansas State history, Giddens finished second in ypc. (5.97), third in rushing yards (3,087) and 100-yard rushing games (13), tied for third in consecutive 100-yard rushing games (6), and fourth in scrimmage yards (3,766), placing him among former Wildcat greats like Darren Sproles, Daniel Thomas, and Deuce Vaughn. After a stellar tenure, Giddens is preparing himself for the jump to the NFL, and sad to say, is overshadowed by a strong cadre of runners in 2025.

Film Breakdown and Skills

At 6-0 and 212 pounds, Giddens is a potential workhorse ball carrier. Patient behind blockers, he utilizes atypical lateral agility in traffic and detects cut-back lanes with good vision. He patiently reads blocks well and uncovers holes to exploit. With footwork, lateral agility, and slipperiness, he pops into the second level, leaving defenders grasping for straws. Effortless in space, the long strider is a quick mover, makes defenders miss, and gains YAC with smooth jumps and shake-and-bake elusiveness in the open field.

Upright through traffic, Giddens has fantastic body control and formidable start-stop ability. He uses superb vision and strings moves on top of moves to leave tacklers empty-handed. Natural and soft hands as a pass catcher, he runs good routes, including wheels outside the hash marks. He turns checkdowns into long gains and is a solid pass protector, who engages rushers with determination. Impressively, he fumbled once on 226 touches during his final campus crusade.

On film, Giddens does not have elite explosiveness and gets caught from behind deep down the field at times. He is not a quick-twitch competitor in uniform and takes too many steps before accelerating. An upright runner with a lean frame, he does not always lower pads and displays limited power: He might need to bulk up for a short-yardage role. With limited practice reps and carries, there is still room for improvement by Giddens as a ball carrier. Throughout the draft process, he checks all the boxes—film study, production, and athleticism—and continues to climb draft rankings.

Scholar’s Grade: B

Damien Martinez, Miami

Prospect Resume

During a 20-year era in my lifetime, Miami produced premier running back prospects who became fantasy stars: Edgerrin James, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Frank Gore all successfully transitioned from All-Americans to fantasy studs. Previous to my love of the game, both Chuck Foreman and Ottis Anderson were first-round draft picks in the Seventies. Not since 2014 has a Hurricanes’ ball carrier emerged in my Top 12 RB rankings. Damien Martinez is the first since Duke Johnson, who was a third-round selection 11 years ago.

A three-star recruit from Texas, Martinez was an all-state and all-district runner, who earned District MVP in 2021. A two-time team captain in high school, he amassed 207 carries as a senior, accumulating 1,712 yards while dashing for 26 touchdowns. He was a finalist for the Landry Award, which is given annually to the top player in North Texas. Martinez also competed in track and field, running the 100m as well as the 4x 100m and 4x 200m relays.

At Oregon State as a freshman in 2022, the former Beaver bulldozed his way for 982 yards and scored seven times. He was named Freshman First Team All-America and Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore, he was even better with 1,185 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, earning First Team All-Pac-12 and being selected as a Doak Walker Semifinalist. Afterward, Martinez entered the transfer portal to a more competitive program and increased his draft grade.

In only one season at Miami, he rambled for 10 scores and 1,002 yards, posting the first 1,000-yard campaign by a Hurricanes’ running back since 2016. He caught 17 passes for 204 yards, pacing the team with 1,206 all-purpose yards. The junior averaged 6.3 ypc. and collected All-ACC honorable mention for the Hurricanes.

Film Breakdown and Skills

At 5-11 and 217 pounds, Martinez popped as an 18-year-old freshman at Oregon State and profiles as a workhorse ball carrier with a sturdy frame and BMI of 30.3. Watching the former Hurricane, flashbacks to the Eighties are plentiful—a smash-mouth style runner with nimble feet and good shiftiness. Smooth in traffic between the tackles, he runs angry and embraces the physicality of the position.

A decisive downhill runner, Martinez is patient behind the line of scrimmage and sets up blocks while waiting for defenders to commit: He exploits tacklers who make too early a decision. He employs underrated quickness and elusiveness in a phonebooth. With outstanding contact balance, he packs a punch and lowers shoulder to blast through opponents, bowling over smaller defensive backs. He has superb change-of-direction abilities for his size and stacks cuts upon cuts to elude opponents. He seldom goes down on first contact and gains yards after contact.

Unfortunately, the three-year starter is not an explosive or evasive athlete. A short strider, he lacks the extra gear to reach top-end long speed and struggles to get outside and turn the corner. A slow starter at the snap, Martinez does not scoot well east-west and looks like a two-down grinder. In the aerial game, he needs to improve pass blocking and catching. He profiles as a bulldozer in a thunder-lighting backfield duo. A gap scheme runner, Martinez has a limited ceiling as a fantasy player whose upside will be determined by touchdown equity.

Scholar’s Grade: C+

Cam Skattebo, Arizona State

Prospect Resume

Draftniks often tout their so-called “My Guys” but rarely admit challenging prospects to grade. In full disclosure, Cam Skattebo has been my most difficult evaluation throughout the process this winter. He was my favorite running back to watch throughout the fall, and his performances in the Big 12 Championship Game and CFP Quarterfinal against Ohio State got me off the couch with cheers and gasps. Yet, I pondered his raw athletic ability. Unfortunately, he only participated in the vertical and broad jump drills at the Combine so questions remained.

In high school, Skattebo was a non-ranked recruit with 0 stars and enrolled at Sacramento State in 2021. After a year of learning and waiting, he was named Big Sky Offensive Player of the Year as a sophomore. He scampered for 1,382 yards and seven touchdowns, adding 31 catches for 371 yards and three scores. He led his team to No. 2 ranking in the FCS.

Afterward, Skattebo moved up to the FBS level when he transferred to Arizona State for the 2023 campaign. When the season ended, he was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award (nation’s most versatile player) after lining up at several positions—QB, RB, TE, WR (slot)—and returned kicks. Last year, the super-charged back finished second in the nation with 1,711 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns while recording 45 catches for 605 yards and three additional scores. He was named First Team All-Big 12, earned the Most Valuable Player award in the Big 12 Championship Game, and MVP against Texas in the CFP Quarterfinal game.

Film Breakdown and Skills

At 5-9 and 219 pounds, Skattebo is a downhill runner, who is a thumper between the tackles and at the goal line. An extremely tough competitor with a violent nature, he gives, and absorbs, punishment with a magnificent BMI of 32.2. With a nice blend of vision and patience, the battering ram ball carrier attacks open gaps and employs impressive jump cuts and lateral moves in tight spaces. He has prodigious contact balance and strength, bouncing off single tacklers—usually corralled by multiple defenders.

The All-American is an intoxicating playmaker who inspires teammates with his non-stop motor and stamina. He scans opponents behind the line of scrimmage, uncovers creases, is decisive in the hole, and finds his way through congestion. He is fantastic in short-yardage and goal-line situations; he churns his legs through contact and falls forward for extra yards until the whistle blows. A powerful lower body, Skattebo forces broken tackles—110 missed ones in 2024. A natural hands catcher, he is effective out of the backfield and terrific on dump-off and swing passes.

Skattebo lacks elite-level explosiveness and has limited downfield speed, which may cap his upside as a fantasy scorer. He is not a quick-twitch athlete, and at times, is slow at the snap. He gets caught from behind downfield: Can he succeed in space? Unfortunately, he has challenges holding onto the pigskin with 10 fumbles over the past three campaigns. He is inconsistent in pass protection and needs to improve his technique. I have no question that an organization will pinpoint Skattebo’s skills, determination and enthusiasm as a coveted asset on their team. Concerns about raw athleticism, play style, and long speed cap his fantasy upside. Draft capital will determine his final grade, but for now, I am below consensus on the former Sun Devil.

Scholar’s Grade: C+

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