NFL teams just don’t draft running backs like they used to. Last year no running backs went in the first round. The last time more than two running backs went in the first round was 2018, and the running backs were Saquon Barkley, Rashaad Penny and Sony Michel. Could 2025 be the year that three running backs go in the first round again?
It could be based on the betting odds, with the over/under set at 2.5 running backs in the first round. Currently the under is a -150 favorite while the over is a +120 underdog at DraftKings.
At least one running back is a lock to go in the first round: Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty, who will probably be taken somewhere in the 6-10 range.
After Jeanty, the next running back on draft boards is North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton, who seems like a safe bet to go somewhere in the first round. Hampton is -1400 to be a first-round pick.
The question is who the third running back will be. There’s a good chance it will be a back from Ohio State, either TreVeyon Henderson or Quinshon Judkins. Running backs viewed as long shots to go in the first round include Iowa’s Kaleb Johnson and Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo.
After a season in which Barkley helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl, NFL teams may be reconsidering the value of running backs. And we may hear three called in the first round for the first time since Barkley entered the league.
