The 2025 Fantasy Football season is almost here, and that means once we turn the page on July 4th, it’s prime draft season! Your draft prep starts now and today we’ll be taking a deeper dive into a recent topic from Fantasy Football Today — what to do with the mid-round running backs in 2025 Fantasy drafts. These are always the trickiest and most pivotal rounds of your draft and in the past this range of the draft has been coined the “dead zone” for running backs. For a while there, it had been a desert for backs selected in this range. Then, 2024 happened. Last season, running backs selected in traditional dead zone slots shone and some of them played a key role in your Fantasy Football Championship wins.
Today, we’ll break down the outlooks of the mid-round running backs.
For more from the FFT team’s Adam Aizer, Heath Cummings and Dave Richard on which mid-round backs they can’t leave their drafts without, check out FFT:
Mid-round RB Player OutlooksIsiah Pacheco, RB, Chiefs
Outlook from Dave Richard: “Fantasy managers might hope for Pacheco to return to his pre-injury workload and production, but the Chiefs’ offseason moves suggest otherwise. Not only did they keep Kareem Hunt after filling in for Pacheco last year, but they also signed ex-49er Elijah Mitchell and drafted SMU scatback Brashard Smith. This doesn’t mean Pacheco is headed to the bench, but it does hint at a committee approach and thus Pacheco’s games with 15-plus touches being scarce. Questions about the left side of the offensive line won’t help things, either. And Patrick Mahomes is a potential factor in short-yardage situations, too. Coach Andy Reid said in late May that Pacheco added some “good weight” and “looks tremendous.” Until we get more positive news out of the preseason, we would cautiously rate Pacheco as a borderline No. 2 Fantasy rusher worth speculating on starting in Round 6 or 7.”
Omarion Hampton, RB, Chargers
Outlook from Jacob Gibbs: “Hampton turned in one of the most impressive yardage-after-contact creation profiles in recent RB prospecting memory during his time running behind a North Carolina offensive line that often struggled to create yardage before contact. It’s no surprise that the Chargers wanted more electricity after L.A.’s backfield ranked in the bottom-third of the NFL in yards after contact per rush and explosive run rate in 2024. Hampton adds a new dimension with speed to threaten defenses. Hampton’s offensive environment could be fantastic. J.K. Dobbins was RB14 in points per game before his 2024 injury. With explosive play ability and the potential to play on all three downs, Hampton provides an easy-to-envision outlook for massive Fantasy production. It’s hard to imagine Najee Harris cutting into Hampton’s opportunities in a significant way. Of the 14 running backs selected in Round 1 over the past 10 years, only Christian McCaffrey and Rashaad Penny did not register 200+ touches as rookies. Melvin Gordon, Sony Michel, and Penny were the only ones to not top 1,000+ scrimmage yards. Hampton is worth targeting as early as Round 4 in your Fantasy drafts and has upside to beat that projection.”
Ken Walker, RB, Seahawks
Outlook from Dave Richard: “Walker remains a quality No. 2 Fantasy running back with the upside to be a No. 1 guy, which is why he remains a consideration with a pick inside the top 35. He figures to work as Seattle’s lead running back. Seattle has changed offensive coordinators again, but Walker’s work in the passing game last season proved that he’s a decent fit in a playbook that does call for running back targets. Obviously, Walker is at his best when he routinely gets 15-plus touches in a game, averaging 16.8 PPR points in 30 such matchups in his past three seasons. More could be coming in what amounts to a contract year for him in 2025. If you feel good about Walker hitting that mark weekly, and are OK with the injury risks associated with him (he’s missed at least two games every season), then Walker should be on your wish list. Just know that his first two games this year are against the 49ers and the Steelers, so exercise some patience if he doesn’t come out of the gate on fire.”
Alvin Kamara, RB, Saints
Outlook from Jamey Eisenberg: “Kamara remains a No. 2 Fantasy running back in the majority of leagues, and he’s worth drafting as early as Round 3 in PPR and Round 4 in half and non-PPR leagues. Kamara should continue to have a strong role in the passing game, and he has at least 68 receptions in each of the past two seasons and at least 57 catches in all but one year of his career. He also has at least 1,300 total yards in all but one season. Kendre Miller, rookie Devin Neal, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire will be the top backups for Kamara, but neither one appears like a significant threat to cut into his workload. The negatives for Kamara are his age since he turns 30 in July, and the offense in New Orleans could be terrible now that Derek Carr retired. We’ll see if rookie Tyler Shough or second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler is the starter, but having Kellen Moore as the head coach should be a plus for Kamara. Plan on Kamara being a solid No. 2 Fantasy running back in all leagues when healthy, especially in PPR, and hope that he can help elevate the Saints offense if the quarterback play is potentially mediocre with Carr gone.”
Outlook from Jamey Eisenberg: “Mixon was outstanding in his first season with the Texans in 2024 and will look to build on that performance this year. Mixon should be considered a borderline No. 1 Fantasy running back in all leagues, and he’s worth drafting as early as Round 3. Last year, Mixon averaged 17.2 PPR points per game, which was the second-best mark of his career. He turns 29 in July, and Houston added a rookie running back in the fourth round of the NFL Draft in Woody Marks for depth. But Mixon should still dominate touches for the Texans — he averaged 20.1 touches per game in 2024, which was No. 7 in the NFL — and that’s hard to overlook. As long as he stays healthy (he missed three games early in 2024 with an ankle injury) then Mixon should be a weekly starter and potential league winner. He’s a solid building block to any Fantasy roster in 2025.”
Jame Conner, RB, Cardinals
Outlook from Dave Richard: “For what feels like the fifth year in a row, Fantasy managers will have the chance to get Conner at a dang good value on draft day. And that’s because even though he’s among the least popular running backs to draft, all he’s done since joining the Cardinals four years ago is average at least 15 PPR, 13 half-PPR and 11 non-PPR points per game per season. Additionally, he’s averaged at least 15-plus touches per game for six straight seasons and 17-plus touches per game in his past three. So, hold on … why would anyone pass at the chance at a running back with this kind of outstanding consistency? The main reason is because he’s entering his age-30 season with a quality second-year back behind him in Trey Benson. And honestly, that’s really it. There isn’t a case to be made that Kyler Murray will steal tons of rushing touchdowns away from Conner, and there are almost no efficiency stats that suggest Conner could majorly regress. To get a RB like this in Round 4 or 5 is a dream come true. You could even take Benson as a handcuff about six rounds later.
David Montgomery, RB, Lions
Outlook from Heath Cummings: “Montgomery has been a top-16 running back on a per-game basis each of his two seasons in Detroit. Each of those two years he posted an elite touchdown rate, and last year he actually saw an increase in targets that nearly made up for his drop in carries. With Ben Johnson gone and a new offensive coordinator drawing up plays, his role isn’t quite secure enough to draft him that high, but we still view Montgomery as a borderline RB2 worth a pick in Round 5. Even though he caught more passes last year, we still view him as a better value in non or half-PPR leagues than full. Montgomery’s value suffers in Dynasty leagues because he will be 28 at the start of the 2025 season and has very little guaranteed money on his contract after this season. Montgomery does have RB1 upside if Jahmyr Gibbs misses time.”
D’Andre Swift, RB, Bears
Outlook from Heath Cummings: “Swift has been reunited with Ben Johnson and looks like a surefire lead back for the Bears. While he has not met Fantasy managers’ expectations in the past, he has finished as a top-24 RB per game every year of his career, including an RB16 finish in his last season in Detroit with Johnson. His efficiency should improve this year due to Johnson and the revamped offensive line, and if the Bears don’t add anyone else he has a better shot than you think at cracking the top 12 at RB. We have a wide range of opinions on Swift with his overall ranking ranging from the 30s to the 80s amongst our experts, but he’s best viewed as an upside RB2 that you can start considering in Round 5. Expect his ADP to rise sharply in August if Nick Chubb and J.K. Dobbins sign elsewhere.”
Tony Pollard, RB, Titans
Outlook from Jamey Eisenberg: “Pollard will again be the lead running back for the Titans, and he’s worth drafting with a mid-round pick in all leagues. Pollard will continue to share touches with Tyjae Spears, but we still value Pollard as a low-end No. 2 running back/flex option in all formats. In 2024, Pollard set career highs in carries (260) and rushing yards (1,079) while scoring five touchdowns with 41 catches for 238 yards on 57 targets. He averaged 12.5 PPR points per game, but his numbers popped when Spears was injured. Pollard had seven games last season where he played at least 73 percent of the snaps, and he scored at least 14.7 PPR points in four of those outings. Spears will work in tandem with Pollard, and coach Brian Callahan said in May that “hopefully that division of labor gets a little more evenly distributed” this season between both running backs, which could be a problem for Pollard. But that will hopefully get offset by a better offense in Tennessee under new quarterback Cam Ward. Most likely, Pollard will be a solid value pick — think Round 7 in a 12-team league — and be a borderline No. 2 running back in all leagues.”
Aaron Jones, RB, Vikings
Outlook from Heath Cummings: “Jones had a bounce-back year in 2024, playing all 17 games and setting career highs in rush attempts and total touches. Still, he’ll turn 31 during the 2025 season and may face increased competition from Jordan Mason, who the team acquired via trade in the offseason. For those reasons, we are not advising drafting Jones until late Round 5 in most formats, and we view him as a borderline RB2, not a surefire starter. His 17-game pace for catches over the last three years is 53, so he is more valuable in full PPR leagues, but fumbling issues and Mason’s bruising rushing style should continue to limit Jones’ touchdown upside. The safest way to view Jones is as a PPR flex with occasional spike weeks. He’s even less valuable in Dynasty as a back who could fall off the radar at any moment.”