Welcome back to the 2025 Dynasty Rookie Rankings Battle. Last week, we looked at some speedsters who are projected to be drafted on Day Two of the NFL Draft. Today, we will zero in on the best of the rest. Which of these prospects will force their way into the Day Two conversation, and which will fall by the wayside? Here is a list of the prospects evaluated:
Bhayshul Tuten, Virginia Tech
Woody Marks, USC
Jaydon Blue, Texas
Jordan James, Oregon
Donovan Edwards, Michigan
Kalel Mullings, Michigan
Brashard Smith, SMU
Damien Martinez, Miami (Florida)
Kyle Monangai, Rutgers
Raheim Sanders, South Carolina
LeQuint Allen, Syracuse
Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech
This article will rate one player at a time using the categories in the Get Better at Dynasty series, copied here for your convenience. Recall that the highlighting in the template reflects the relative importance of each trait, whereas the actual prospect report represents how strong they are in that skill.
Bhayshul Tuten
(Virginia Tech, 5’9” 206 lbs)
Tuten’s name was really starting to gain traction as a sleeper prior to the combine, but after running a 4.32 40-yard dash and jumping out of the gym, he’s not exactly under the radar anymore.
Goal Line
Despite being a little undersized, Tuten has a really sturdy build and defensive backs pretty much fall off of him. However, he was frequently used as a decoy around the goal line and was not a priority option, especially since Virginia Tech had a very mobile quarterback whom they preferred in short-yardage situations.
I don’t expect Tuten to be a primary option around the goal line, but he doesn’t strictly have to come off the field. He does have the desire to get low and drive his legs. Overall, he can punch the ball in, but I stop short of projecting him to a goal-line role in the NFL.
Pass Catching
Tuten was his team’s preferred option in two-minute drills and obvious passing situations. He made good adjustments to catch sloppy throws. However, his receiving yardage was noticeably down this year, in part because of playing with a hyper-mobile QB whose checkdown was to run like hell.
Tuten did catch a lot of swing passes, but this year, at least, they didn’t go anywhere. While he’s extremely fast and explosive, in run-after-catch situations, he was missing a bit of the fluidity and vision to make it count. He also was not successful running downfield routes this past season.
Elusiveness
While Tuten can move laterally, especially in the second level, poor balance and footwork make his elusiveness play down compared to what you’d expect from his measurable athletic traits. He does have a solid juke move that can make defenders whiff, but he loses a lot of speed in and out of it.
Tuten is theoretically a fine lateral mover, but he can’t make you miss at full speed, which is something the very best rushers consistently do. Maybe because his lower body is so powerful, he sometimes has trouble throttling down smoothly. His contact balance is also fine in the sense that he’s built like a fire hydrant, so defensive backs can’t really tackle him, but it doesn’t play up against bigger players.
Explosive Play Ability
Tuten has the kind of explosiveness that will force offensive coordinators to get him on the field. He’s essentially always in the red zone at all times. The explosiveness and long speed are both elite for the position, and you’ll have to be very wary about giving him a shred of daylight. Tuten is just fine at turning the corner. While he’s a fast runner, his balance and footwork slow down his ability to corner.
Ball Security
Tuten fumbled five times in 2023, his first at the FBS level, and four times last season as a workhorse. Hopefully, it will not cause an NFL staff to lose trust in him.
Early Down Rushing
I mentioned previously that Tuten melts defensive backs, but his contact balance doesn’t translate as far as busting through a crowded line of scrimmage. Virginia Tech rarely used him for inside rushing, preferring to give him tosses to get him outside as quickly as possible.
It’s hard to tell if that’s because he can’t run between the tackles or just because they preferred his outside rushing, but any sort of major early down rushing role for Tuten is a major projection. He looked tentative, rushing inside, though he is capable of planting and making a solid one-cut run on occasion.
Pass Blocking
Tuten is a joy to watch pass-block. He plays to the whistle and stays engaged with the edge rusher or blitzer, even making second and third attempts as the rusher tries to disengage from him. He’s also just a strong dude and sturdy all the way through.
With his hands, speed, and blocking ability, I think he projects favorably to an early NFL role with upside for a rushing role based on his explosive play ability. He needs to be one of the better players within this archetype to pay us off for fantasy, but he’s capable of it.
Short Yardage
Virginia Tech much preferred to run the ball with their quarterback in these situations, and I did see Tuten get stopped on the occasions he was called into action here. This area will not get him onto the field in the NFL.
Profile
A classic 1B back in a “thunder and lightning” tandem, who is trusty in passing situations but also justifiably gets a smattering of rushes each game because of his big play ability. He ends up in a decently high tier because there is a clear projection to an NFL role here, plus juice for fantasy in the on-field athletic profile.
Best Case
Tuten secures a major passing role and plays on a team with high pace and spacing, which can get him 10-12 efficient rushes in a game, too.
Worst Case
Tuten’s route running doesn’t develop, and we’re left with a pure backup who entices but doesn’t deliver.
Jo’quavious “Woody” Marks
(USC, 5’10” 207 lbs)
While the jokes about a Trojan named Woody may write themselves on the field, we have to take Marks seriously. He makes decisions and cuts at top speed, which makes his just ok athletic measurables play up significantly. With a ton of experience as a pass catcher in college and an urgent, violent running style, some offensive coordinator is going to want him in his offense.
Goal Line
Despite being on the smaller side, Marks runs really hard and has a low pad level. However, he was always in committees in college and, overall, had limited volume as a goal line back. This will likely continue in the NFL.
Pass Catching
Marks has a ton of experience catching screens and swing passes, amassing a whopping 261 receptions over his college career. He wasn’t used downfield as much as I would have liked, and the time I did see him run an angle route, the cut was rounded.
Still, he has a track record of reliability in this facet. He’s also a solid run-after-catch threat, running like a kick returner by planting and cutting at top speed.
Elusiveness
Marks has great lateral agility, getting through the trenches at high speed and changing directions with a strong plant leg. He can present defensive backs and linebackers with unfavorable tackling angles by making lateral progress while fully sprinting, and he can make defenders miss in a phone booth, albeit not with star-level consistency. His contact balance is fine as far as effort, but it doesn’t play up in terms of creation in the trenches.
Explosive Play Ability
While Marks may not have the fastest top speed, he accelerates rapidly and can corner well. His lateral agility serves him well in this area. Marks isn’t the type of back who is always a threat to make a house call, but he is somebody who can make a 12-yard run into a 30-yard run by changing a tackling angle with a sharp, crisp cut in the second level.
Ball Security
Marks fumbled rarely each season of his career, albeit only seeing workhorse touches in his final season at USC. This isn’t an area of concern at the moment.
Early Down Rushing
Marks is a surprisingly fun watch here, as he brings a violent running style to the table. He has a playmaker’s vision at the line of scrimmage, finding cutback lanes when they’re there. He hits the hole hard and can make adjustments to slice his way through the scrum.
Despite his small stature, Marks runs really hard on inside rushes, and his ability to fall forward plays up here. He’s also a no-nonsense runner who doesn’t hesitate behind the line of scrimmage, decisively getting to top speed before he’s contacted. Overall, I think his size will limit his total rushing workload at the NFL level, but you don’t need to take him off the field here.
Pass Blocking
Marks is a willing and experienced pass-blocker, but he’s missing a bit of play strength and is still too willing to throw a shoulder rather than engage. He’ll likely be able to handle this role at the NFL level, but there is a risk he will fail to make good on his pass-catching ability if he doesn’t perform in training camp.
Short Yardage
Marks is very willing to put his head down and dive into a crease, but he doesn't have the most inertia and is stoppable in these situations.
Profile
I am not making a judgment on overall quality, but Marks reminds me of Bucky Irving stylistically. Undersized with mediocre combine results, he plays fast and plays bigger than his listed size, thanks to his feet and his decision-making. He’ll get drafted for his pass-catching ability, but you don’t need to take him off the field when you want to run the ball.
Best Case
Marks immediately gets drafted for his pass-catching ability but quickly eats into his backfield partner’s rushing share with his violent running style. Eventually becoming the de facto 1A on his team.
Worst Case
The pass-blocking technique doesn’t get cleaned up, so Marks never gets on the field enough to make the juice worth the squeeze as far as his pass-catching role for fantasy. He’s also on the older side, so maybe there isn’t much development left in his game.
Jaydon Blue
(Texas, 5’9” 196 lbs)
The parade of undersized backs who fit neatly into 1B roles in the NFL continues with Jaydon Blue, another pass catcher with “let’s get him on the field” explosive play ability.
Goal Line
There isn’t a ton to say here. Blue was in a committee at Texas and was rarely on the field in these situations. At his size, that isn’t overly surprising and likely continues at the NFL level.
Pass Catching
Jaydon Blue will be on my radar for fantasy because of his ability to make explosive passing plays. He was devastating when getting matched up with linebackers on wheel routes and did an impressive job tracking and adjusting to the ball to make tough-ish catches.
He looks like a kick returner in the run-after-catch game, meaning he can pick out a crease, make lateral progress to it, and run like hell to leave defenses behind. He justifiably can get a nice dose of screens and downfield passing concepts.
Elusiveness
Jaydon Blue has great lateral agility, but it manifests more in the kick returner “erase an angle” way than in a phone booth. In the second level, though, he’s great at presenting unfavorable angles to defensive backs. Between his size and an overall lack of contact balance, Blue won’t break many tackles with physicality.
Explosive Play Ability
Jaydon Blue is a threat to score from anywhere, much like with Tuten. He has true angle-erasing speed and lateral agility to get to a crease at top speed. He corners well and overall is fluid at top speed.
Ball Security
Blue fumbled four times this season despite limited touches and does not have experience as a workhorse -- something to watch here.
Early Down Rushing
To his credit, Blue does get north/south those times he is asked to run the ball. However, he’s lacking a certain amount of creation in the backfield and won’t make up for it with physicality. I don’t mind his vision, and he runs with effort. He won’t disgust his coaches here, but he won’t demand a role, either.
Pass Blocking
The play strength isn’t really there, but Blue is willing to get his hands dirty and engage, delivering punches and violent chips. If he’s matched up with a linebacker, we have a math problem on our hands, but there won’t be a lack of effort.
Short Yardage
Blue is willing to put his head down and run through a crease, but he’s just small, and this won’t be his forte.
Profile
Blue is yet another capable scatback who might be explosive enough to justify a rushing role that is useful for fantasy.
Best Case
Like with the others, Blue will be hoping to get onto a high-volume pace-and-space offense that can get him 10-ish efficient rushes and a major passing role. Also, like before, he needs to be one of the better players in this role to be a fantasy star.
Worst Case
The explosive ability does not translate into a fantasy asset because his floor is too low week-to-week.
Profiles in Lower Tiers
The following players ended up in lower tiers. I’ll keep their write-ups brief and explain why they’re in my lower tiers. I don’t expect to have many, if any, shares of players in these tiers unless the draft capital is juicy. For players in this tier who do get interesting draft capital, I will revisit them at a later date with a full breakdown.
Jordan James
(Oregon, 5’9" 205 lbs)
In my opinion, James is a tweener who plays like a 1A physical back but at a scatback size and without the elite creation ability needed to make this profile work. While he is explosive and corners well on tape, he was lacking creation behind the line of scrimmage, which is a bar he needed to clear for me to project favorably as a run-first yet undersized back. He can make lateral adjustments in the second level but was missing the “make you miss” ability in a phone booth and didn’t make up for it with surprising contact balance.
James was not used much at all as an extension of Oregon’s passing game, although he did make some nice catches those times he was called into action. Compounding this issue, his pass-blocking seriously lacked technique. James consistently "caught" the rusher, meaning he passively lets the rusher initiate the contact. Those times he didn't, he threw his shoulder and missed.
James rushes hard inside and mentally has everything you want in a downhill runner, but he does not have the physical strength or special athletic traits to make him more efficient at the NFL level. This is just a tweener-y profile to me.
Donovan Edwards
(Michigan, 5’11" 205 lbs)
A team will take a chance on Donovan Edwards, as he’s an experienced pass-catching back and a great athlete. However, there is a very good reason Michigan always paired him with an inside rusher, which is that his vision and physicality leave a lot to be desired. This will prevent him from being a starter at the NFL level.
Edwards has really good jump-cut ability and lateral agility in the second level, and he looks fast and explosive when he finds a crease. However, he lacks polish and looks almost out of position playing running back.
His running style is “find a crease and run like hell,” but I don’t see the footwork or balance of a true running back. There is enough physical upside paired with his ability in passing situations here to warrant taking a chance on him in dynasty if he gets intriguing draft capital, but I don’t see a good NFL player here.
Kalel Mullings
(Michigan, 6’1” 226 lbs)
Mullings has a fairly uncomplicated profile. He’s a good inside rusher with bruising size and NFL-caliber athletic traits who was not asked to put much of anything else on tape. His lateral agility and burst are fine at the second level, but he’s really lacking an elusiveness component to his game.
Mullings was barely ever asked to pass catch at Michigan, though, to be fair, he sometimes put good pass-blocking reps on tape. For fantasy, Mullings would need to be one of the highest-end players with this profile. Otherwise, there simply is not enough creation for fantasy juice.
Having only recently converted to running back, there might be untapped potential here. If Mullings gets decent draft capital, he might be worth a flier based on his floor in terms of inside rushing and goal line, plus the chance he develops more to his game. There might be a fantasy asset here based on his bruising size, projecting a heavy workload.
Brashard Smith
(SMU, 5’10 194 lbs)
On paper, Smith has the goods for creating some type of fantasy role. His hands are excellent, and he makes lots of difficult catches on film. He plucks the ball away from his frame, and he’s even put one-handed catches and toe drags on film. His speed makes him a threat in run-after-catch and screen situations, too.
In addition to the pass-catching ability, Smith has great explosiveness and long speed. However, he differs from the 1B backs ranked above him in that his lateral agility and explosive ability play down considerably because of how much he slows down in and out of cuts. Unlike Woody Marks, who can cut at top speed, Brashard Smith can change direction sharply, but only by coming to a stop and restarting.
With him severely lacking a physical component to his rushing style, limited fluidity, and poor pass-blocking ability, I see too many speed bumps to having a notable role on his NFL team.
Damien Martinez
(Miami, 6’0” 217 lbs)
NFL coaches will like Damien Martinez for his no-nonsense, bruising style. He’s tough, strong, and gritty in goal-line and short-yardage situations, and to his credit, he fully deserves to be a priority in these areas.
Martinez is an extremely straightforward north/south runner who plays a bruising and punishing style. However, there is a lack of high-end traits that would be needed to elevate this role into a key player, and the elusiveness is severely lacking. Sure, Martinez will fall forward, but he won’t create and step through the muck cleanly and keep rumbling for a big gain.
There, likewise, isn’t a ton of explosive play ability in his tape. This might be a mindset thing, as Martinez is so focused on the physical side of the game that we don’t see him bounce runs or improvise enough to create a big play. The speed and ability to win a footrace are also limited on tape.
Overall, Martinez is lacking in other ways to contribute to his NFL team other than inside rushing. There was very little pass-catching or pass-blocking ability to speak of on Martinez’s tape, and he lacked the high-end traits to be a priority in his offense. I think every NFL team would like to have a player like Martinez around, but none would consider running an offense through him. This just isn’t the type of player I would invest a draft pick in for dynasty.
Kyle Monangai
(Rutgers, 5’8" 211 lbs)
Monangai certainly wins the Isaiah Pacheco award for running like he's angry at the ground. He’s a very straightforward one-cut runner with good burst through the hole and a violent edge to his game. However, he does not contribute to the passing game or create behind the line of scrimmage, and a lateral agility component is missing.
We're looking at a slightly undersized pure inside rusher without special movement ability on tape. I just don’t think there is juice for fantasy here.
Raheim Sanders
(South Carolina, 6’0” 217 lbs)
Sanders brings great measurables to the table and a strong size/speed combination on paper. However, his movements are completely lacking in fluidity. He loses a ton of speed in and out of cuts and is very upright. Despite the measurables, I have trouble seeing him overcoming that jarring a lack of fluidity.
LeQuint Allen
(Syracuse, 6’0” 204 lbs)
Allen is a well-rounded football player with good pass-catching ability who was an absolute workhorse for Syracuse. However, I think he lacked the high-end explosive traits, speed, and overall movement ability to get any amount of priority from an NFL coaching staff. There just isn’t athletic juice for fantasy here.
Don’t get me wrong, Allen might have an NFL career as a backup as a dutiful inside runner and reliable pass catcher, but he’s lacking a ton of play strength, both in terms of leg drive and blocking, which doesn’t pair great with his lack of overall movement ability.
Tahj Brooks
(Texas Tech, 5’9” 214 lbs)
Similar to Allen, Tahj Brooks is not the worst football player on this list. He is good at throttling up and down to make himself more elusive, he caught the ball, and he created in the backfield. However, if you watch him in a footrace to the corner, or trying to create in the second level, I just don’t think there is starter-caliber juice here. Brooks might have an NFL career based on skill and mental makeup, but I don’t see the movement ability to have a starter and fantasy asset here.
Overall
We finally have a finished tier list for the 2025 NFL Draft’s running back class. By evaluating each running back's profile with an eye toward fantasy scoring, we can draft this group more efficiently and create dominant fantasy teams. Stay tuned for when the 2025 Dynasty Rookie Rankings battle continues with this year's much-maligned quarterback class!
