A year ago, the 2025 running back class looked like one of the deepest in recent memory. During Week 4 of the 2025 season, first-year rookie backs combined to run for 737 yards, the most by any set of rookie rushers during a week of September football since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. ESPN's Bill Barnwell writes that things look far less rosy one year later.
In Week 6 of the 2026 season, the class combined for just 246 yards on the ground, its worst weekly total so far. Benchings and injuries have plagued many standouts, and the leading rusher from the class that week was Corey Kiner, an undrafted free agent who was third-string on the Patriots. The class has topped 600 yards in a single week just once since Week 4 of 2025.
Injuries are a major factor. Ashton Jeanty, Ollie Gordon II and Le Quint Allen Jr. are the only three 2025 running back draft picks to be active in every game since entering the league, and Gordon and Allen have been backups for most or all of that time. Jeanty has played through several ailments, including an ankle issue this preseason. Since entering the league, he has turned 372 carries into just 1,303 yards, an average of 3.5 yards per attempt, and he has the worst EPA per rush among backs with 150 or more carries since entering the league.
Barnwell argues Jeanty reflects the class's struggles as a whole. He was drafted sixth overall by the Raiders ahead of several offensive players who have since been more productive, and Barnwell says the league would not take him that high on a second look. Barnwell will review other notable backs, including Omarion Hampton, Quinshon Judkins, TreVeyon Henderson, Bhayshul Tuten and Cam Skattebo. Success stories exist, but they are coming from unexpected places, and the class's final story is still unwritten.
Source: ESPN NFL · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing