The 2024 NFL Draft will be underway in just a few short days, and we’ll finally know the landing spots for our favorite incoming rookies. In most dynasty leagues, the annual rookie draft occurs almost immediately following the NFL Draft. This means in about a week or so, the soonest rookie picks you’ll be able to trade for are those 2025 picks. If you play in devy leagues like myself, you try and stay tuned into the top college prospects from Day 1. But even if you’re solely a dynasty player, you’ll be best served to familiarize yourself with the 2025 Draft-eligible prospects this summer, as it will give you a better idea of how to value those rookie picks in general.
I’m not going to dive into the entire class with this series; instead, I’ll focus on the RB class specifically. I’m going to bring you my tier ranks of who I feel are the Top 20 RB prospects in this 2025 class as of today. I’m sure these ranks will look much differently this time next year, as a number of these guys may opt to stay in college an extra season. NIL has changed the college game drastically, incentivizing many NFL-ready guys to stay 4+ years in college. Regardless, this will give you a good sense of how to value these backs once they hit the NFL ranks.
I will break this into three parts, with Part 1 being my top tier, consisting of a handful of players. Let’s jump in and find out what this 2025 class has to offer!
Tier 1
TreVeyon Henderson, Nicholas Singleton, Trevor Etienne, Quinshon Judkins, Ashton Jeanty
Yes, I know. This is a big first tier. Typically, you’ll have one or two guys separate themselves from the rest of the pack and establish themselves as the top options. I fully expect that to happen in this class as well. We still have an entire college season to get through, not to mention the NFL Draft, where we’ll find draft capital and landing spot (two massively important components to a running back’s dynasty value). But for now, my Tier 1 consists of five players. Let’s rapid-fire through these names to see strengths and weaknesses.
TreVeyon Henderson
Strengths: True freshman breakout at OSU, strong, elusive, quick, good pass blocker, the whole nine yards
Weaknesses: If you’re nitpicking, he’s staying for his senior year. I don’t see that as being a weakness, though. He would’ve been the RB1 in this draft class. We’ll see how his DC is affected by a deeper class and sharing the backfield with Quinshon.
Nicholas Singleton
Strengths: This guy is built like a tank. Great at fighting through contact, competent blocker, and has produced alongside another NFL talent, Kaytron Allen
Weaknesses: He’s not the most elusive back and was way more efficient as a freshman.
Trevor Etienne
Strengths: Tons of burst to this kid’s game. He’s shifty and has some great contact balance. Good size for a 3-down workhorse. Produced alongside junior Montrell Johnson Jr. at Florida, who is no scrub.
Weaknesses: Doesn’t appear to be the pass-catcher his brother is. Or if he is, we haven’t seen it on display yet. Should be the top dawg (pun intended) at Georgia this upcoming year, but we know Kirby loves his committee backfields. Will Etienne produce enough to be a potential Round 1 NFL Draft pick?
Quinshon Judkins
Strengths: Similar to Henderson, Judkins had an absolutely electric freshman campaign. He’s a powerful downhill runner and could take on a full workload in the NFL, no question.
Weaknesses: Surprisingly not that impressive when it comes to yards after contact. Also, not a real receiving threat. 11.26% target rate and 0.65 yards per route run (best season) are not what you want to see in PPR formats. We’ll see how he and TreVeyon mesh at Ohio State.
Ashton Jeanty
Strengths: Best RB prospect in this class from an analytical standpoint, and as the kids would say, “it’s not even close”. Best season numbers include: 6.2 yards per attempt (YPA), 4.52 yards after contact per attempt (YCO/A), 0.38 missed tackles per attempt (MTF/A), 183.6 elusiveness rating, 26.5% target rate, 3.19 yards per route run (YPRR). These are all near the top of this loaded class.
Weaknesses: The glaring weakness here is Jeanty doesn’t play in the Power 5. Playing in the Mountain West is nothing like the SEC. How much we penalize Jeanty for this is the question.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article, and I hope you got some valuable information you can use for your fantasy team! If you’d like additional insight into Dynasty Football news and analysis, please follow me on Twitter at @jim_DFF. Until next time, keep grinding out there, DFF family! #DFFArmy #AlwaysBeBuilding
