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Fox News
a day ago
- Business
- Fox News
Who are the top 10 rushing duos headed into the 2025 NFL season?
The NFL has seen the running game featured heavily of late, and several running backs are getting new, high-end extensions. This development comes in the wake of Saquon Barkley breaking the league's combined single-season rushing record, Derrick Henry having a huge first year with the Baltimore Ravens and Christian McCaffrey balling out with the San Francisco 49ers before an injury-plagued 2024. There are also a handful of quarterbacks whose rushing ability is a featured part of their respective team's offense. That said, who are the best overall rushing combinations in the NFL — running backs and/or quarterbacks? Here are the top 10 rushing duos heading into the 2025 season, according to FOX Sports Research. Las Vegas' 2025 offense looks to feature a potent rushing attack, headlined by Jeanty, whom the Raiders selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and Mostert, who rushed for 1,012 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2023. Jeanty was the runner-up for the 2024 Heisman Trophy Award after rushing for a nation-best 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns at Boise State. Ironically, the Raiders were last in the NFL in rushing last season (79.8 yards per game), but Jeanty's grueling skill set and Mostert's proven track record give them a plausible one-two punch. The Washington Commanders have a lot going for them, but their rushing attack stands out first and foremost. Robinson has been a steady force across his three years (2022-24) in the league, averaging 776 rushing yards and five touchdowns on 4.1 yards per carry; he punched in a career-high eight rushing scores last season. Of course, Washington tripling its win total from 2023 to 2024 and making the NFC Championship Game was primarily due to the outstanding play of Daniels, who won 2024 Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The 2023 Heisman Trophy winner threw for 25 touchdowns, posted a 100.1 passer rating, completed 69.0% of his passes and added 891 yards and six touchdowns on the ground. The Carolina Panthers stumbled into a running back room that has two players who rushed for over 1,000 yards last year. Hubbard has continued to produce and increase his production, rushing for a career-high 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry in 2024. Meanwhile, Dowdle, who signed with the Panthers after five years with the Dallas Cowboys (he missed the 2021 season due to a hip injury), became the team's starting back in 2024 and rushed for 1,079 yards and two touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry in what was his first time getting the majority of the running back reps. Prior to his 235 carries in 2024, Dowdle's career high was 89 carries (2023). The Atlanta Falcons have built one of the best running back rooms in the league. A fifth-round pick in 2022, Allgeier rushed for 1,035 yards on 4.9 yards per carry in his rookie campaign. Then, Atlanta took Robinson with the eighth overall pick in 2023, and he became the team's featured running back. Still, Allgeier has rushed for 664 yards per season from 2023-24. Meanwhile, Robinson was a Pro Bowler in 2024 after rushing for 1,456 yards and 14 touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry. He also totaled 61 receptions for 431 yards. The Seattle Seahawks have drafted well, and their running back room epitomizes that notion. Walker, a 2022 second-round pick, came on strong in his rookie season, rushing for 1,050 yards and nine touchdowns on 4.6 yards per carry, which he followed up by rushing for eight scores in 2023. Granted, Walker rushed for just 573 yards across 11 games in 2024. Charbonnet, a 2023 second-round pick, had his bright moments as a rookie and then rushed for 569 yards and eight touchdowns in 2024, while tallying 42 receptions for 340 yards. The Seahawks have a pair of quick running backs on rookie deals. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are another team that has drafted well and has the running back room to prove it. Tampa Bay selected Irving in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and he became an integral part of its offense from the jump; Irving rushed for 1,122 yards and eight touchdowns on 5.4 yards per carry in his rookie campaign while reeling in 47 receptions for 392 yards. His 1,122 rushing yards were the most for a Bucs player in a single season since Doug Martin rushed for 1,402 yards in 2015. Meanwhile, White has been a balanced threat in Tampa Bay's offense, both bouncing to the outside and serving as a reliable part of the team's passing attack. In three years, White has rushed for 695 yards and three touchdowns and reeled in 55 receptions for 411 yards and four touchdowns per season. The Buffalo Bills love to run that football, which is what happens when arguably your two best offensive players can rip it up on the ground. A Pro Bowler in two of his first three years, Cook has emerged as one of the better backs in the league, rushing for 1,066 yards on 4.8 yards per carry per season from 2023-24 and rushing for 16 touchdowns in 2024. Meanwhile, Allen is arguably the most physically imposing quarterback in the sport, bulldozing defenders at 6-foot-5, 237 pounds. Allen, the 2024 NFL MVP, has rushed for 592 yards and nine touchdowns per season over his seven-year career (2018-24) and posted 13.5 rushing scores per season from 2023-24. Already a perennial Super Bowl contender, the Philadelphia Eagles brought in Barkley and created a physically imposing backfield of historical heights. After rushing for 1,000-plus yards in three of his six seasons with the New York Giants (2018-23), Barkley became the ninth running back in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards, posting 2,005 yards and 13 rushing scores in 16 games last year. Then, he rushed for five touchdowns in the playoffs, with three of those scores going for at least 60 yards. All the while, Hurts, the Super Bowl LIX MVP and a two-time Pro Bowler, has been a force to be reckoned with on the ground, rushing for 695 yards and 13 touchdowns per season from 2021-24, while being at the center of the "tush push" execution. The Detroit Lions' offense is a well-oiled machine, as it ranked second in the NFL in passing yards (263.2 yards per game) and sixth in rushing yards (146.4 yards per game) last season. A Pro Bowler in each of his first two campaigns, Gibbs has been an electric force as both a rusher and pass-catcher. Last year, Gibbs rushed for 1,412 yards and an NFL-high 16 touchdowns on 5.6 yards per carry, while racking up 52 receptions for 517 yards and four scores. Montgomery has missed three regular-season games in each of the past two years for the Lions but has been a battering ram with the ball in his hands, averaging 12.5 rushing touchdowns per season from 2023-24 and totaling 341 receiving yards in 2024. Detroit has ranked in the top six in the NFL in rushing in each of the past two years. The Baltimore Ravens have finished in the top three in rushing in each of the past seven seasons and first in the past two. That's what happens when you add Henry to an offense that already includes a two-time NFL MVP in Jackson. Henry, a five-time Pro Bowler, rushed for 1,921 yards and an NFL-high 16 touchdowns on a career-high 5.9 yards per carry in his first year with the franchise (2024). He also led the NFL with 19 carries for 20 or more yards. Jackson, who posted a career-high 4,172 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns and a 119.6 passer rating in 2024, continues to kick up dust, also rushing for 915 yards and four touchdowns. Since 2019, Jackson has averaged 913 rushing yards and five rushing scores per season. Honorable mentions: Check out all of our Daily Rankers. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Steelers Sights & Sounds: RBs Work Pass Pro, Secondary Stressed
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers took the field for OTA practice No. 3 at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Thursday, and the running backs are already getting ready for one of the highlights of training camp. Jaylen Warren was already a backs-on-backers star for the Steelers, and the team added two more potential firebrands in free agent Kenneth Gainwell and rookie Kaleb Johnson. Gainwell and Johnson were wearing out the punching bag at practice on Thursday, getting ready for their Steelers training camp debuts. Advertisement On the defensive field, new secondary coach Gerald Alexander was stressing communication by putting his charges through a litany of scenarios meant to challenge their ability to change calls at the line of scrimmage and pass players through complex attempts at overloads by the offense — a significant problem spot for the secondary in 2024. More in the sights and sounds from OTA practice No. 3: This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers Sights & Sounds: RBs Work Pass Pro, Secondary Stressed Related Headlines
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Atlanta Falcons post-draft position preview: Running back
With most key players set to return in 2025, the Atlanta Falcons offense is primed for a big season. Aside from losing center Drew Dalman in free agency, this group has elite talent at every position. The running back position is by far the best example of this. Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier have formed one of the most dangerous one-two punches of any backfield. Let's examine the team's running back room ahead of the 2025 NFL season in our latest post-draft position preview. RB Depth Chart (6): Bijan Robinson Tyler Allgeier Jase McClellan Carlos Washington Jr. Elijah Dotson Nathan Carter Advertisement Robinson and Allgeier are the only locks to make the roster, but Mclellan and Washington will firmly be in the mix. Dotson and Carter will have to ball out during training camp to play themselves onto the roster. This is arguably one of the most talented running back groups in the entire league. 2025 salary cap hits Robinson: $5,988,694 Allgeier: $1,183,472 McClellan: $1,008,592 Washington: $960,000 Dotson: $960,000 Carter: $845,000 For the amount of talent in the backfield, the Falcons are getting a major bargain. Allgeier and Robinson take up around $7.2 million of cap space combined. If you look at what some of the top backs make around the league, it's hard to find a better value in the NFL at running back. Top free agents available: JK Dobbins Nick Chubb Jamaal Williams Jeff Wilson Ameer Abdullah Advertisement Unless the Falcons are unhappy with McClellan and want a more experienced No. 3 running back, we think they'll stand pat with their current group. Adding a veteran like Jamaal Williams would make some sense, though. Predictions/expectations for 2025 Robinson just posted a career-high 1,456 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns. He should only get better with a more explosive passing attack to complement him in 2025. Allgeier is a perfect change-of-pace back whose bruising style wears out opposing defenders late in games. McClellan is a solid dual-threat option who should again serve as the No. 3 back. I like this group to top 2,000 combined rushing yards this season. Around Falcons Wire This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons 2025 RB breakdown: Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier
Forbes
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
3 Running Backs To Buy In Dynasty Fantasy Football (May)
Prior to the 2025 NFL Draft, I wrote an article on 3 running backs to buy in dynasty fantasy football. It seems like that was very well received, so my plan is to give you guys a new and updated list every month going forward. With the NFL Draft shaking things up, it's time to reevaluate. Tank Bigsby and Rhamondre Stevenson were sleepers that didn't work out, but J.K. Dobbins is still a great buy. Below, we'll be going over three running backs who are valued way too low in dynasty fantasy football. The baseline rankings that we'll use for this list are from Keep Trade Cut. Bhayshul Tuten is a great value in dynasty right now. On paper, the Jacksonville Jaguars situation doesn't look great. Right now, you have Travis Etienne and Tank Bigsby in front of him, which is a worry. However, Etienne is set to hit free agency in 2026 and Bigsby wasn't drafted by the current regime. New head coach Liam Coen was only a part of the Jaguars when Tuten was drafted, meaning he likely had input there. Even though Bigsby is a solid player, he'll likely just be the secondary back until 2027, when his contract is up. Tuten is a super explosive back on an offense that has a ton of potential with Travis Hunter, Brian Thomas Jr and Trevor Lawrence. When looking at two PFF numbers, Tuten had a 143.2 elusive rating and 4.4 yards after contact per attempt. The main concern with Tuten is that he had nine total fumbles in 2023 and 2024. That's a big concern, but if Tuten can clean that up, he's poised to be a star in the NFL. In both redraft and dynasty formats, Jaydon Blue is a great player to own. I'll keep this a bit shorter because I talked about Blue in my 'Late Round Running Backs To Draft' article, which you can find here. The takeaway from my Blue breakdown is that the Cowboys are a good offense with a wide open path for a lead running back to emerge. On top of that, Blue looked good in a small sample at Texas. Per PFF, Blue had a 113.1 elusive rating, which was near the top percentile in college football and you can say the same about his yards after contact per attempt at 3.83. At the price of RB37, it wouldn't shock me at all if Blue becomes a top 24 dynasty running back if he wins the starting job in Dallas. Since coming into the NFL, Kendre Miller has been disappointing. After getting day two draft capital, many expected Miller to take the starting role from Alvin Kamara at some point. Or, at the very least, have a contributing role. Due to a mix between injuries and other issues, Miller has failed to run for more than 200 yards in either of his first two seasons. That said, the day two hit rate for running backs is fairly strong. According to data from DynastyFFDino on Reddit, third round running backs have a 35% chance of becoming an RB2. If Miller has an RB2 season, his value will skyrocket from RB64. In that case, even if you don't believe in Miller, you'll get a massive value win. I've watched Miller at TCU and he passed the eye test, but another way to verify this is with PFF. Miller had an 88.5 PFF run grade, 3.64 yards after contact per attempt and a 119.9 elusive rating. Even after a disappointing few years, the only back that Miller really has to compete with is a 6th round rookie, Devin Neal.
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
3 Late Round Running Backs To Draft In 2025 Fantasy Football
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - OCTOBER 10: Jordan Mason #24 of the San Francisco 49ers carries the ball ... More against the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field on October 10, 2024 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by) With the summer fast approaching, we're getting close to the 2025 fantasy football season. Today, we're going to look at three running backs who would be great late round targets for your 2025 fantasy football drafts. You can either use this information to draft best ball teams right away or just to get familiar with some of these outlooks. Two of the players on this list are rookies and one of them was traded this past year. The ADP we'll be using is from Underdog Fantasy, which uses a half-PPR format. That said, there's plenty of analysis to be done, so let's dive right into it. Jordan Mason had his breakout year with the San Francisco 49ers when Christian McCaffrey went down in 2024. With McCaffrey going down, Mason saw his previous career high in carries (43) increased dramatically to 153. With those touches, Mason was able to run for 789 yards on 5.2 YPC. This kind of production gave Mason three games above 15 points last season. It's worth noting that the Minnesota Vikings went out of their way to trade for Mason, showing that they clearly value him in the offense. While Aaron Jones is still on the team and he had a great 2024 season, at 30 years old, there's a risk of injury. Expect Mason to be used to help conserve Jones while also having upside to have spike weeks if Jones goes down. It wouldn't surprise me if Jaydon Blue was the outright starter for the Dallas Cowboys in 2025. With Rico Dowdle out the door, the Cowboys running back room is wide open. Although many speculated the Dallas Cowboys would draft a running back early in the draft, Blue was the first running back they selected and that was in round five. Although Blue didn't put up great numbers in college, he showed great flashes on film. The only players that Blue has to compete with right now are Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. Williams was a great prospect coming out of college, but after suffering a torn ACL and LCL tear, he hasn't had more than 3.8 YPC since 2023. Sanders is 28 years old and has struggled heavily since leaving the Philadelphia Eagles. In the last two seasons, Sanders hasn't had more than 3.8 YPC as well. The Cowboys are typically a good offense who give their players more opportunity by running 64.9 plays per game. Getting the starting running back in that offense is great value as the RB40. PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY - NOVEMBER 23: Kyle Monangai #5 of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights runs with the ... More ball while Alex Bray #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks to tackle him during the second half at SHI Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Piscataway, New Jersey. (Photo by) Staying on the trend of rookies, Kyle Monangai is a deep sleeper. Monangai isn't even going to be drafted in most leagues, so you should be able to get him as your last pick in ESPN or Yahoo leagues. Monangai was a 7th round draft pick for the Chicago Bears, but he's in a similar situation to Blue. D'Andre Swift was extremely inefficient last year with 3.8 YPC and many speculated that the Bears would take a running back early. Monangai ended up being the only running back they selected. Monangai has an easy path to take over the Bears backfield, and they project to be a great offense. With Caleb Williams, Rome Odunze, DJ Moore, Luther Burden, Colston Loveland and quite a few offensive line additions, the Bears should be scoring a ton of points next year. Although Monangai wasn't drafted very early in the NFL and doesn't have a super high ceiling, he's a bruiser. On tape, it's clear that Monangai runs defenders over, and that was shown by his 1,279-yard rushing season at Rutgers. With how late you're able to draft Monangai, he should be a target for 2025 fantasy football.
