2025 FREE AGENT RUNNING BACKS FANTASY FOOTBALL IMPACT
Looking forward to the free agent class of 2025 at the running back position and what it means for your fantasy football team. Locking down a couple of stud running backs is an important part of filling in your fantasy roster in any style of game regardless of if it is dynasty or redraft. If you play dynasty now is a perfect time to seek out some of these free agents before they land on a new team and the hype train leaves the station. For those of you in the redraft game, it’s always important to keep an eye on these players and where they land because they might be a late round steal. Let’s begin by looking at the top ten fantasy running back free agents for 2025.
TOP TEN RUNNING BACK FREE AGENTS 2025
| Player | Team | Age | 2024 Fantasy Pts / Rushing yards | 2023 Fantasy Pts / Rushing yards |
| Aaron Jones | MIN | 30 | 241 pts / 1138 yds | 134 pts / 656 yds |
| Najee Harris | PIT | 26 | 204 pts /1043 yds | 195 pts / 1035 yds |
| Rico Dowdle | DAL | 27 | 197 pts / 1079 yds | 91 pts / 361 yds |
| JK Dobbins | LAC | 26 | 191 pts / 905 yds | 11pts / 22 yds |
| Javonte Williams | DEN | 24 | 157 pts / 513 yds | 179 pts / 774 yds |
| Kareem Hunt | KC | 29 | 155 pts / 728 yds | 118 pts / 411 yds |
| Alexander Mattison | LV | 26 | 137 pts / 420 yds | 133 pts / 700 yds |
| Jaylen Warren | PIT | 26 | 124 pts / 511 yds | 196 pts / 784 yds |
| Ameer Abdullah | LV | 31 | 125 pts / 311 yds | 41 pts / 89 yds |
| Jordan Mason | SF | 25 | 115 pts / 789 yds | 44 pts / 206 yds |
Over the past few years, the dynamics of running back free agents have changed, with teams not wanting to pay big money at the position. However, after last year’s resurgence at the position including great years by backs like Saquan Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs we may see a shift back to the normal this year. The 2025 free agent class includes several starting running backs coming off good years. The way the market has been it is possible that none of the backs return to the teams that they played with in 2024.
The best bets to stay put on their current teams are Kareem Hunt, JK Dobbins, Rico Dowdle and Aaron Jones. Hunt was given a second chance by Andy Reid, and it paid off big time stepping up for the injured Isiah Pacheco. In 13 games played he racked up 728 rushing yards and 176 receiving yards to go along with 7 touchdowns. JK Dobbins had the best statistical year of his career in Los Angeles, and he seemed to fit perfectly into Jim Harbaughs game plan. Rico Dowdle started the year off slow as the lead back but finished strong with a career year of 1079 rushing yards, 249 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. This one is hard to know what will happen with a coaching change on the Cowboys, it’s not clear if Dowdle will fit in the game plan for Brian Schottenheimer. Finally, Aaron Jones also had the most rushing yards in the 2024 season for his 8-year career. At 30 years old Minnesota may want to go in a different direction, or they could keep Jones and draft a rookie to play alongside him for the 2025 season.
Then we have guys who are probably on the move to new teams, and they could be good targets for your dynasty league. You will want to make a move to acquire these guys before the March 12th start of free agency. The top two backs in Pittsburgh are both free agents Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren and both will be on the move leaving Cordarrelle Patterson as the top back on the Steelers roster. Javonte Williams who had his best statistical year as a rookie in 2021 rushing for 903 yards has been on the decline since then. At this time, he is not expected to return to Denver but may be a good target in dynasty because you should be able to acquire him without giving up a lot in return. Then we have a couple of backs in the Raiders backfield Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah these two had the best stats in a poor rushing backfield. With a new coach and general manager in place we should expect Mattison and Abdullah to be on the move, but chances are that they will not be fantasy relevant for the 2025 season.
Finally, we have one of the more interesting candidates in the running back market Jordan Mason at 25 years old, his 3rd year was the best year of his career. Mason started the season in relief of the injured Christian McCaffrey and was off to a great start until he suffered an injury in week 13 and finished the season on the IR. San Francisco dealt with several injuries at the position and it’s hard to say what direction they will go for the 2025 season. With the injury history of McCaffrey, they may want to pay Mason to keep him on the roster and draft a rookie at the position. It will be interesting to see what plays out on this one, but if you could pick him up in dynasty, he would be worth taking a shot on. As far as redraft leagues, he should be available in the later rounds and would be worth stashing.
The Fantasy Footballers, 2024 Fantasy Football Stats, PPR 6pt QB, retrieved on 2/6/25, www.thefantasyfootballers.com
Spotrac, NFL Free Agents WR position, retrieved on 2/6/25, www.spotrac.com
