Last year saw the six top running back rookies, in terms of rushing yards, all get drafted in the fourth round or later. Thus, if searching for a 2025 Fantasy football breakout at the position, you shouldn’t just narrow your focus on first and second-round picks like Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton or TreVeyon Henderson. They could certainly still have fantastic NFL debuts, but so could mid-round draftees like Cam Skattebo, Trevor Etienne or Jordan James. The learning curve for rookie running backs isn’t as steep as it is for other positions, so don’t be surprised if not-as-hyped ball carriers produce right away.

Players like Kyren Williams and Isiah Pacheco were selected in the fifth round or later, while Jaylen Warren went undrafted entirely. You can find value with running backs everywhere in, and outside, of the NFL Draft. So, you can also expect to find value by waiting late in your 2025 Fantasy football drafts before taking a flyer on a ball carrier. Before crafting your 2025 Fantasy football draft strategy, be sure to check out the 2025 Fantasy football rankings and cheat sheets from the proven computer model at SportsLine.

Last year, the model accurately predicted that Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels would comfortably outperform his ADP (QB13). The result: Daniels threw for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns with only nine interceptions and added 891 rushing yards with six more scores on the ground to take home NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. He finished as QB5 in CBS Sports PPR leagues and was a great addition to Fantasy football lineups.

The same model has a proven track record providing Fantasy football tips, identifying A.J. Brown as a sleeper in 2020, nailing Jonathan Taylor’s monstrous season in 2021 and correctly predicting C.J. Stroud would take a step back in 2024. Additionally, it’s called past Fantasy football sleepers like Derrick Henry in 2019, Christian McCaffrey and Alvin Kamara in 2018, and Davante Adams in 2017. Anybody who banked on players like those made a run at their league title.

Now, SportsLine has simulated the entire NFL season 10,000 times and released its latest Fantasy football rankings 2025, along with plenty of sleepers, breakouts and busts. Head to SportsLine now to see them. 

Top 2025 Fantasy football breakouts

One of the 2025 Fantasy football breakouts the model is predicting: Chargers running back Omarion Hampton. Jim Harbaugh’s teams have always been dedicated to running the football, and the Chargers completely revamped their running back room this offseason by signing Najee Harris and drafting Hampton in the first round. News that Harris was likely to begin his season on the NFI list after a fireworks incident on the Fourth of July is giving Hampton needed reps in training camp and preseason.

The North Carolina product rushed for 3,164 yards and 30 touchdowns in his final two seasons in Chapel Hill, and then he tested well at the NFL Scouting Combine, running a 4.46-second 40-yard-dash at 221 pounds while showcasing his explosiveness with a 38-inch vertical and a 10-foot-10 broad jump. He has an ideal blend of size, strength and aggressiveness to play for Harbaugh, and the model ranks him as a top-25 back for 2025.

Another potential breakout that SportsLine’s Fantasy football rankings 2025 have identified: Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy. The speedster was projected to be Kansas City’s No. 3 wideout as a rookie last year, but injuries thrust him into the No. 1 role. With a limited route tree, his 638 receiving yards ranked just 60th in the NFL and was only seventh-best among rookies. He did, however, show a knack for finding the endzone with six receiving scores, plus another three rushing touchdowns. Worthy also teased what he could do as part of a healthy receiving core once the Chiefs added DeAndre Hopkins, and later, Marquise Brown.

Worthy noticeably improved over the second half of the year, after Hopkins’ arrival, as the rookie went from averaging 27.3 yards in Weeks 1-10 to 56 yards per game in Weeks 10-17. Then once Brown returned for the playoffs, Worthy’s game reached another level as he averaged 95.7 yards across the three postseason games, including a standout 8-157-2 stat line in Kansas City’s disappointing Super Bowl defeat. With Brown still in the fold, and Rashee Rice coming back, Worthy should look every bit like the first-round pick that he is as a 2025 Fantasy football breakout. See which other Fantasy football breakouts 2025 to pick here.

How to find proven 2025 Fantasy football rankings

SportsLine is also extremely high on a rookie running back to make an immediate impact. The model ranks this player as a top-10 option ahead of more established stars like Christian McCaffrey and Bucky Irving. You can only see who it is, and the 2025 Fantasy football rankings for every player, at SportsLine.

So which 2025 Fantasy Football breakouts should you target, and which RB shocks the NFL with a top-10 performance? Visit SportsLine now to get 2025 Fantasy Football cheat sheets for every single position, all from the model that called Jayden Daniels’ breakout rookie season, and find out.

2025 Fantasy football ADP

(PPR, via CBS)

1. Ja’Marr Chase (1.85)
2. Bijan Robinson (2.73)
3. Saquon Barkley (3.00)
4. Jahmyr Gibbs (4.52)
5. Justin Jefferson (7.22)
6. CeeDee Lamb (7.93)
7. Derrick Henry (10.13)
8. De’Von Achane (10.73)
9. Christian McCaffrey (11.34)
10. Malik Nabers (12.93)