Running back is one of the most difficult positions to project in fantasy football, and avoiding busts could make or break your season. While the following players are talented and could have spike weeks, their projected production doesn’t match their current draft prices.
Note: This list is for redraft, not dynasty. Average draft position information is courtesy of FantasyCalc.
Top 4 Running Back Busts In Fantasy Football
Omarion Hampton (RB10)
Omarion Hampton is one of the most exciting rookies in the league and is a highly valuable player in dynasty formats. In redraft, however, fantasy managers should be pumping the brakes on the 2025 season. The Chargers signed Najee Harris to a one-year deal, and while he won’t be a long-term hindrance to Hampton’s potential, he will steal carries from him in 2025. Los Angeles has a Super Bowl-caliber roster, which means head coach Jim Harbaugh would probably prefer to start the season with a proven veteran at RB1, rather than the untested Hampton, who could make rookie mistakes.
Omarion Hampton will probably win the starting job by the end of the season, but you’ll probably have to bench him for the first month or two of the season. Seeing as he’s currently going as the RB10, you can’t afford to select someone that early, knowing you can’t start them right out of the gate. Even if Hampton wins the starting job right away, RB10 is still probably his best-case scenario without a Najee Harris injury.
Breece Hall (RB12)
Breece Hall is a talented running back who could easily justify his current RB12 price tag if he received a full three-down workload. Unfortunately, all signs point towards first-year head coach Aaron Glenn using a running back by committee. Reports across the league indicate Glenn wants Hall, Braelon Allen, and Isaiah Davis to share the workload in the upcoming season.
This suggests Hall will likely be the primary pass-catching back, which isn’t good news when your quarterback is Justin Fields. Say what you will about Fields as a real-life quarterback, but you’ll never operate a high-volume passing attack with him under center. Additionally, Fields usually prefers to stretch the field or scramble and rarely targets his running backs. Hall can be efficient on a per-touch basis, but it’s hard to see how he’ll get the volume to avoid a spot on the fantasy football busts list.
James Cook (RB13)
We’re going to ignore the current holdout situation and assume James Cook will return to the field for Week 1. The former second-round pick is coming off a great season with an RB8 finish in PPR. However, he needed a league-leading 16 rushing touchdowns to get there. In his first two seasons, Cook scored a combined four rushing touchdowns. Touchdowns are notoriously unstable on a year-to-year basis, yet the fantasy football community is drafting Cook as if he’s guaranteed to have another season with double-digit touchdowns. He’ll probably finish as a mid-RB2, so RB13 isn’t too big of a reach, but he’s still too expensive at his current cost.
TreVeyon Henderson (RB17)
Much like Omarion Hampton, rookie TreVeyon Henderson has a bright future in the league, but might not get results in 2025. Like it or not, Rhamondre Stevenson isn’t going anywhere, and the former fourth-round pick will continue to handle the early-down work in this offense. This leaves TreVeyon Henderson battling Antonio Gibson for the James White role in the offense. Don’t believe me? Just ask Henderson himself, as the rookie recently said he’s studying alongside White and preparing for that type of workload.
James White had many fantasy-relevant seasons in New England, but nobody should expect that type of production from Henderson in 2025. Josh McDaniels is the offensive coordinator again, but Tom Brady is nowhere to be found, and White himself didn’t do anything as a rookie. Seeing as the team already has a competent receiving back in Gibson, Henderson probably won’t be anything more than a low-impact role player as a rookie.
Main Photo: Kirby Lee – Imagn Images
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