Welcome back for Part 2 of my Devy RB Series, where I give you my tier rankings for those college backs eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. If you missed Part 1, be sure to check that article out here. As a quick recap, I covered my top tier of RBs in the first article, which included TreVeyon Henderson, Nicholas Singleton, Trevor Etienne, Quinshon Judkins, and Ashton Jeanty.
In Part 2, I’ll cover my second and third tiers, and then I’ll finish Part 3 with my fourth and fifth tiers. As it stands today, I believe the backs in Tiers 2 and 3 would not be considered for first-round capital in your 2025 Superflex rookie drafts. However, they all have a high ceiling, and moving into the Top five RBs in this class is within their range of outcomes. Let’s take a look at Tier 2 and see what we’re working with!
Tier 2
Ollie Gordon II
In Tier 2, we have two incoming seniors and two incoming juniors. I’ll briefly cover each prospect’s strengths and weaknesses here.
Raheim Sanders
Strengths: Listed at 6’2″ and 242 pounds, Raheim “Rocket” Sanders is the largest RB in this draft class. I mean, this kid is Derrick Henry big. Shows good vision and burst. He was a lot of dynasty players’ RB1 in the 2024 class last year, before his unfortunate 2023 season.
Weaknesses: The injury history is pretty worrisome. Sanders appeared in just six contests last season, battling a torn labrum and a left knee injury most of the year. It was apparent he was not playing at 100%, and the numbers confirmed this as well. He’ll have a fresh slate this season in South Carolina to try and build his draft stock again.
Ollie Gordon II
Strengths: Doak Walker award winner, Big 12 Player of the Year, FBS leader in rush yards…I mean, what else can you say here? Ollie had about as productive a sophomore campaign as we’ve seen before, finishing with over 2,000 scrimmage yards and 22 touchdowns.
Weakness: Production in college doesn’t always equate to fantasy success at the NFL level. Former Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard had a similar sophomore breakout season. While Chuba has had a fine NFL career, he hasn’t lived up to expectations. Ollie has some great counting stats but hasn’t popped from an efficiency standpoint. Then again, the run blocking in Stillwater was not great, either.
Devin Neal
Strengths: Extremely productive career at Kansas thus far, compiling over 3,500 scrimmage yards and 36 touchdowns in three seasons. Good vision, soft hands, very effective out in open space. Should be in the position for another 1,200-yard, 10-touchdown season for the Jayhawks.
Weaknesses: Elected to stay his senior year instead of declaring in what should be a weak 2024 RB class. Decent size, but not as big as many in this class. Not an overly effective pass protector. Has some juice but lacks true breakaway speed.
Omarion Hampton
Strengths: Great combination of size and speed. Similar to Ollie Gordon, Hampton got little help from his o-line (both outside the top 100 FBS schools in PFF run block grade). Has improved leaps and bounds from his freshman year. Displays good vision and patience in the backfield and excellent footwork.
Weaknesses: We haven’t seen much in terms of his receiving ability. Best season results include an 11.99% target rate and 0.83 YPRR. This could severely cap Hampton in PPR formats, potentially keeping him off the field in third-down situations.
Tier 3
We’ll finish up this article with our third tier, consisting of the following guys:
These are guys I see being 3rd round rookie picks in Superflex rookie drafts, but could easily move up my ranks with a big 2024 season.
Kaytron Allen
Strengths: Big, strong back. Grinds out the tough yardage. Has managed to post over 2,000 scrimmage yards in two seasons while sharing the backfield with Nicholas Singleton. Many devy players say Kaytron would be considered a Top 5 RB in this class if he left Penn State and had a backfield to himself.
Weaknesses: He’s staying in Happy Valley for 2024, meaning he’ll likely continue to play second fiddle in this loaded backfield. I don’t see this as being the most beneficial for his NFL draft stock. Allen is not the most explosive or elusive back in this class, and his role as a receiver has been relatively limited.
Jonah Coleman
Strengths: Outside of Ashton Jeanty, Coleman has the cleanest analytical profile of this class. Near the top of the class in YPA, YCO/A, MTF/A, elusiveness rating, PFF run grade…solid pass protector and receiver, saw a target rate of 18.27% as a freshman.
Weaknesses: The sample size we have is extremely limited. Coleman has just 203 rush attempts through two seasons. He’s following his head coach, Jed Fisch, to Washington and will need a monster Year 3 to cement himself as a top option in this 2025 class.
Donovan Edwards
Strengths: Impressive sophomore season in 2022 alongside Blake Corum. Averaged over 7.1 YPA and a 53% breakaway rate that year. Tremendous pass-catcher, already amassing 84 targets and 69 receptions through three seasons in a limited role. Earned 26 targets on just 70 routes run as a freshman.
Weaknesses: Lower BMI, not going to be muscling his way into extra yardage very often. Lacks some shiftiness and burst to his game as well. Entering his senior year. But with Corum gone, he has the opportunity to put up some big-time numbers and secure Day 2 draft capital in the 2025 Draft.
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
