About a year ago the 2025 rookie running back class looked poised to be one of the deepest groups in recent memory. In Week 4 of the 2025 season, first-year backs combined for 737 rushing yards, the most by any set of rookie rushers during a week of September football since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, the original analysis noted.
One year later, the same class has struggled for consistency. In Week 6 of the 2026 season the group combined for just 246 rushing yards, its worst weekly total so far, and the leading rusher that week was Corey Kiner, an undrafted free agent who was the Patriots’ third-string option, the piece reported. The class has topped 600 yards in a week only once since that 737-yard outburst.
Injuries and benchings have been recurring themes. Ashton Jeanty, Ollie Gordon II and LeQuint Allen Jr. are the only 2025-drafted running backs to be active for every game since entering the league, and Gordon and Allen have spent most or all of that time as backups, according to the analysis. Jeanty has played through several ailments, including an ankle issue during the preseason.
Jeanty, the first back selected at No. 6 overall by the Raiders, has flashed but not produced at anticipated levels. Since entering the league he has 372 carries for 1,303 yards, a 3.5-yard average. The analysis reported that Jeanty has averaged minus-0.27 expected points added (EPA) per rush attempt — the worst mark among backs with at least 150 carries since the start of 2025.
Per NFL Next Gen Stats cited in the piece, Jeanty ranks second to last in success rate (32.8%) and last in first downs over expectation (minus-16). He averaged just 1.3 yards before contact as a rookie — the lowest in the NFL — and was hit at or behind the line of scrimmage nearly 52% of the time, a figure topped only by Quinshon Judkins, the report said.
The original analysis concluded that while there are success stories emerging from unexpected places, many of the most highly touted 2025 backs have yet to match early expectations and their long-term trajectories remain unresolved.
