With fantasy drafts popping off left and right, we're gathered here today to continue to forge through our positional sleepers. On tap today?—running back sleepers for the 2025 fantasy football season.

Like yesterday, we've gathered the best and brightest, with four of our Fantasy Life rankers collaborating to unveil their sleepers. See our staff's RB sleepers for 2025—courtesy of Ian Hartitz, Dwain McFarland, and Matthew Freedman—below.

Fantasy Football RB Sleepers For 2025

J.K. Dobbins | Broncos

• Consensus ADP: RB34
• Consensus Rank: RB33

Ian: Death, taxes, Sean Payton enabling fantasy-friendly RBs … at least before he got to Denver.

Sean Payton highest scoring RB in PPR points per game:

• 2006: Reggie Bush (RB10)
• 2007: Bush (RB5)
• 2008: Bush (RB5)
• 2009: Pierre Thomas (RB17)
• 2010: Bush (RB33)
• 2011: Darren Sproles (RB7)
• 2013: Thomas (RB18)
• 2014: Mark Ingram (RB11)
• 2015: Ingram (RB2)
• 2016: Ingram (RB10)
• 2017: Alvin Kamara (RB4)
• 2018: Kamara (RB4)
• 2019: Kamara (RB8)
• 2020: Kamara (RB1)
• 2021: Kamara (RB5)
• 2023: Javonte Williams (RB31)
• 2024: Williams (RB37)

Of course, second-rounder RJ Harvey looks like a good bet to soak up plenty of snaps himself, but don't discount the potential for Payton to enable *two* fantasy-relevant backs. After all, the 2017 Saints (Kamara and Ingram) and 2023 Dolphins (De'Von Achane and Raheem Mostert) are the only teams to produce multiple top-12 RBs in the same season since 2011.

Learned doctors believe Dobbins could be closer to 100% an extra year removed from his Achilles injury, and honestly, Next-Gen Stats' RB12 in rush yards over expected per carry (+0.6) was already pretty solid last year. Everyone loves to bring up the lack of long speed on this run; just realize the 26-year-old veteran still reached a faster MPH mark than guys like Kyren Williams and Travis Etienne last season.

Dobbins profiles as a quality FLEX-with-benefits option who is priced closer to pure handcuffs. He's a buy for me, particularly in this range of drafts, where the good WR options are pretty much dried up.

Zach Charbonnet | Seahawks

• Consensus ADP: RB35
• Consensus Rank: RB38

Ian: Look, I'm a fan of Round 4-5 Kenneth Walker, but the laundry list of injuries over the years is undoubtedly concerning.

• 2022 (2 missed games): Hamstring, hernia, ankle
• 2023 (2 missed games): Groin, abdomen
• 2024 (6 missed games): Abdomen, calf, ankle

Most recently, Walker has been battling a foot issue. I still expect him to lead the way in Seattle when healthy enough to suit up, although expecting that to be for 17 games feels like wishful thinking at this point.

Enter: Charbonnet, who has actually worked as the more efficient RB over the past two seasons when looking at everything other than missed tackles forced per carry.

Seattle has been more than willing to hand Charbonnet a full-time role when Walker has been sidelined. Overall, he's posted PPR RB1, RB7, RB8, RB13, RB17, RB18, RB20, RB30, and RB39 finishes in nine games as the offense's featured back over the past two seasons. Charbs racked up an average of 19.3 combined carries and targets in these contests.

The man has a solid case for the league's single-best handcuff—and we shouldn't dismiss the possibility for a bit more standalone upside than usual under new OC Klint Kubiak. Throw in an offensive line that has spent the preseason paving some pretty awesome runways for their RBs, and you have someone who is absolutely a must-draft option over at ESPN at his ridiculously low ADP.

Jacory Croskey-Merritt (Bill) | Commanders

• Consensus ADP: 165, RB49
• Fantasy Life consensus rank: 133, RB43
   

Dwain: The seventh-round rookie known as Bill is at the center of a perfect storm.

1. Consistent training camp buzz.
2. Hit a big play in the preseason.
3. Brian Robinson Jr. is out.
    

The storm surge is crashing across the fantasy community with Bill surfing on the top of it. This isn't hyperbole: he could be one of the largest August risers we have ever seen.

• Sleeper: +63
• Underdog: +44
• FFPC: +32

For more on Jacory Croskey-Merritt, check out Ian's six preseason takeaways column!

To be honest, our ADP tool can't even keep up with the wave Bill is riding. Ian and I saw him go in Round 5 of our latest RTSports draft (see team 12 below).

He went in Round 9 in two of my Best Ball Mania drafts on Underdog last night.

Croskey-Merritt worked behind Chris Rodriguez Jr. in the preseason game, so there is no guarantee that Bill is taking over a starting role. This could still be a rotation in Washington.

While some drafters might be steaming Bill into questionable territory considering the tradeoff costs, I do think the market has the signal right. What changed in the Commanders' backfield that has made them feel comfortable moving on from Robinson Jr.? Bill.

Rodriguez has been on this team for two years and was waived twice by the coaching staff that watched him practice every day. If there is an upside bet in this room, Bill is it.

The price tag might be prohibitive in high-stakes leagues, but in home leagues, you can still secure Bill in Round 10 or later. 

My son, Camden, snagged him in Round 11 of his Yahoo draft last night as his RB4. Note: There was an audible gasp from several leaguemates. Croskey-Merritt is not a complete unknown, even in more casual leagues, so don't wait too long if you want him.

Jaydon Blue | Cowboys

• Consensus ADP: RB47
• Consensus Rank: RB48

Dwain: Blue never handled a significant workload in college, weighs 196 pounds, and doesn't have substantial draft capital (Round 5). Those are the talking points for the glass-half-empty crowd, and those are fair.

But let's be honest, the fantasy community is uncanny in how they apply the under-200-pound label to some backs, but not others. 

• Jahmyr Gibbs (198 lbs): Round 1 fantasy pick.
• De'Von Achane (192): Round 2 fantasy pick.
• Bucky Irving (194): Round 2 fantasy pick.
• James Cook (190): Round 3 fantasy pick.

So basically, once a player is good, we don't care anymore. But until then, they are too small. Got it!

On the workload stuff, it is worth noting that Blue played behind Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Jonathon Brooks. He may never become a 300-attempt workhorse, but 150-175 attempts with 40-50 receptions is in the range of outcomes.

The thesis on Blue is simple: The Cowboys' backfield stinks, and he is a Round 12 pick.

Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders are Blue's primary competition. The rookie has earned first-team reps and passing-down work during training camp. The door is open, y'all.

The glass-half-full view of Blue says to look at those small backs everyone discounted in their rookie seasons. He has the speed (4.38 forty-yard dash) and passing down chops to see the field early in what could be a pass-heavy offense.

Freedman: I'm not massively ahead of ADP for Jaydon Blue, but he is one of my favorite 2025 fantasy bench picks, and I do find myself frequently drafting him whenever I do mock drafts in our Draft Champion Simulator.

The factors in Blue's favor are multiple.

First, he's on the Cowboys, who will probably have an above-average offense but don't have an established hierarchy in the backfield. That means he could earn some high-quality opportunities early in his career.

On top of that, the guys he's competing against in the backfield are nothing special. While Williams is the assumed starter, he has averaged 3.6 yards per carry and 4.5 yards per target over the past two seasons.

Those are truly terrible numbers, which means that Williams is vulnerable.

Additionally, Blue has the characteristics that can make one excited about a rookie: He's fast (4.38-second 40-yard dash). He's young (21 years old). And he was productive in college (1,098 yards, 14 TDs on 134 carries, 42 receptions in 2024).

Although he's most likely to be a change-of-pace back, Blue has the underappreciated potential to be a three-down player—and if he's able to wrestle away the starting job from Williams, he could be a league winner.

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