Last year at this time, we were so excited to see the 2025 rookie running back class in action. What we did not expect was that Dylan Sampson and Jacory Croskey-Merritt would be the only backs to finish top 20 in Week 1. By the end of the year, Cam Skattebo, Omarian Hampton, and Ashton Jeanty all ranked top 20 on a per-game basis, but Jeanty was the only one of the three to play double-digit games.
In other words, we didn't quite get what we were looking for. That hasn't exactly lowered our expectations. In my early Week 1 projections, all three of those backs are top 20, while Quinshon Judkins, Bhayshul Tuten, Crosket-Merritt, and RJ Harvey are all top 32.
We are still counting on that 2025 class and if they disappoint again, the running back position is going to be much thinner than we think. Two of the biggest question marks heading into Week 1 also come from the 2025 class: TreVeyon Henderson and Kyle Monangai. As I wrote about in the Week 1 Projections Risers and Fallers, we started the week anticipating that both would be out this week.
That would be a big boost to both D'Andre Swift and Rhamondre Stevenson. Swift has a good matchup and as of Tuesday morning, ranks as a top 12 back in our consensus rankings. Stevenson is in my top 12, but I am alone in that, so we should probably discuss it.
The matchup is awful, let's get that out of the way. Seattle gave up the fourth fewest points (19.2 PPR FPPG) to running backs last season. But it is how they gave up those points that gave me hope.
The 97 catches they allowed to running backs were the most in the NFL. Remember the Super Bowl when they held Stevenson to 23 yards rushing? He still scored 18.5 PPR Fantasy points because of his receiving work.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
