Messiest RB Rooms in the NFL: 2025 Edition

When it comes to fantasy football, there are many enigmatic scenarios that can play multiple different ways. One of the hardest things to figure out is who will come away with the most carries in a crowded running back room. Some folks may want to stay away from drafting anyone on these teams to avoid the hassle and decide to go for a player with a more defined role. Others are willing to roll the dice on a specific player knowing they will come away with more opportunities to put up numbers. If you are described more like the former than the latter, this advice is sure to help you steer clear of the messiest running back rooms with three or more viable candidates for decent usage. Here are my Top 5 messiest situations for the 2025 season:

1. Cowboys

Obvious first choice with the way they have addressed their backfield since they broke up the stellar duo of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard a few years back. Now, the Cowboys are looking at a much more below average room led by veterans Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders. They went and drafted Jaydon Blue in the 5th round and Phil Mafah in the 7th round. This is, by far, the hardest backfield to determine who will provide the most production. Early bets can go to Williams but he’s proven to be a shell of his former self after a brutal injury while in Denver. None of these backs are worth any higher than a very late round flier in redraft format.

2. Browns

The Cleveland Browns backfield situation got even messier in the last week. Rookie Quinshon Judkins was drafted in the early 2nd round and was in line to provide early firepower to an offense that looks to struggle without a talented QB. Judkins then goes on to get into trouble and will now likely face a suspension at some point. The Browns also selected Dylan Sampson in the 4th round to provide even stronger depth. Jerome Ford continues to work as the incumbent lead back, but when your team drafts two RBs in the same draft, it’s not usually good for your future as the RB1 of the team and the team’s confidence in you. The Browns are just a messy organization, and the RB room is only a microcosm of that.

3. Broncos

It seems that the Broncos have a bevy of rushing talent. The highlighted RB is rookie RJ Harvey (5’ 8”, 205lb) who was a surprise pick in the late 2nd round. Although the hype surrounding Harvey is nice, I find it hard to believe that they will entirely give up on the group of backs around them that have given decent production in the past. Jaleel McLaughlin is an extremely efficient runner (a career 4.8 YPC) while Audric Estime offers size that you don’t find in other backs (5’ 11, 227lb). The Broncos also signed J.K. Dobbins this offseason, who is coming off his best season of his career with the Chargers and offers a veteran presence to this young RB room. This group will be interesting to watch, and I would be weary on reaching for Harvey with the group of backs behind him.

4. Jaguars

It seems like a lot longer has passed since Travis Etienne took the NFL and fantasy landscape by storm. Since then, he’s slowly petered out and lost significant ground in the Jaguars backfield production. Tank Bigsby proved he could carry a larger workload this past season where he even had a RB1 finish in a single week last season. There still are concerns about Bigsby, especially that he doesn’t have the receiving upside that Etienne does. Even when it seems that these two may be decent compliments to each other, Jacksonville still went out and drafted another RB to shake things up even further. Bhayshul Tuten was picked by the Jags in the early 4th round this year. His draft stock rose when he ran a 4.32 at the NFL Combine in February. With the fact that Tuten is your “lightning in a bottle” back to add to your bruiser (Bigsby) and receiving talent (Etienne), it plays for an interesting backfield committee that may or may not have a clear-cut leader in production.

5. Giants

Tyrone Tracy was one of few bright spots for the Giants last season when burst on to the scene as a rookie with two Top 10 RB performances within his first 5 starts. He managed to level out a bit as the season wore on with nagging injuries seeming to drag him down a bit. Tracy, though, managed to take the head RB role from Devin Singletary quite easily. Singletary, however, does have great pass-catching acumen to his resume and should have a small role in the offense as a veteran presence. This may not seem messy just yet, until you realize the Giants used an early 4th round pick on the highly productive college back Cam Skattebo. He has the ability to supplant Singletary with a similar skillset, but until he does, he will work to earn his keep and his opportunities in the offense. After all, Skattebo did only run a 4.7 40-yard dash at the Combine.

HM: Chiefs, Jets, Patriots

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