With the NFL season starting this week and your 2025 fantasy football drafts closing in, you need to start figuring out your strategy for the draft.
You’ve likely heard of the “Running Back Dead Zone” when drafting your past fantasy teams, and today I’ll explain what the dead zone is and how to use it to your advantage in your 2025 fantasy football drafts.
The Running Back Dead Zone: What is it?
The running back dead zone is typically found between rounds three and six, where running backs have historically underproduced compared to the draft capital invested in them.
This trend is reinforced by many impatient fantasy owners rushing to secure their RB2, generally ignoring better value at other positions in favor of filling their roster.
While this trend is true for some players, such as 2024 Rachaad White, 2022 A.J. Dillon, and 2023 Miles Sanders, recently, there have been many exceptions to this trend, as other positions are taken much earlier.
Referencing previous scoring information and historical draft information, we find performances like 2023 Breece Hall, 2022 Josh Jacobs, and 2023 Travis Etienne Jr., who were all top-five scoring running backs in their respective seasons, and came directly from the running back dead zone in rounds three through six.
With these recent performances in mind, follow me as I take you through three prospective gems in the 2025 running back dead zone.
Chubba Hubbard
(Carolina Panthers)
Sleeper ADP: 47, Late 3rd Round
Chubba Hubbard is going off the board as the RB18 within Sleeper's ADP, and is in the middle of the dead zone, being taken in the back of the third round in 2025 drafts.
In 2024, Hubbard finished as the RB14 while also missing two games, totaling 1,195 rushing yards on 250 carries with 10 rushing touchdowns. He was still an active participant in the receiving game as well, having 43 receptions, 171 receiving yards, and 1 additional touchdown.
While the Panthers signed former Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle this offseason, the rushing offense will still run through Hubbard, with his experience prevailing over the new addition.
Hubbard is geared for success in 2025, and when he replicates these numbers, his late third-round draft slot is going to be the steal of the draft.
With Hubbard proving he can already produce at near RB1 numbers, and the Panthers revamping their offense in the offseason, this is an outstanding pick in the confusion and uncertainty of the 2025 running back dead zone.
Chase Brown
(Cincinnati Bengals)
Sleeper ADP: 29, Early 3rd Round
Chase Brown exploded for an RB10 overall finish during his sophomore season in 2024, without being Cincinnati’s RB1 for part of the season.
In 2024, Brown split carries with teammate Zack Moss until his injury in Week 8 sidelined him for the rest of the season.
In fact, Brown played less than 65% of snaps in all of the games he shared with Moss, only seeing RB1 snap shares after Moss was injured, after which Brown never dropped below an 80% snap share to finish the season.
From Weeks 9-17, when Brown was the lone running back, he averaged 20.6 fantasy points per game, which was on pace for the RB3 overall had he started in all the games.
Brown also adds elite receiving upside in one of the most pass-centered offenses the league has, as he totaled 54 receptions, 360 receiving yards, and 4 touchdowns through the air.
With the Bengals making little addition to their historically bad defense this offseason, it's quite likely that the Bengals will rely on the passing game to maintain competitiveness in their games, allowing Brown to feast on easy checkdowns and targets.
Additionally, Zack Moss was recently released from the Bengals, meaning that Brown has little competition on the roster, allowing him to maintain his lead role with the team.
With Brown having full control over the rushing attack and a growing role in the receiving game, look to see him replicating his 2024 success and being another gem in the 2025 running back dead zone.
TreyVeon Henderson
(New England Patriots)
Sleeper ADP: 65, Middle of 5th Round
Last but certainly not least, we have TreyVeon Henderson of the New England Patriots.
Henderson was selected with the 38th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, and is currently going off the board in fantasy drafts in the middle of the fifth round.
Henderson was an electric college running back, helping Ohio State win a National Championship alongside teammate Quinshon Judkins.
Even with having to split time with Judkins, Henderson compiled an impressive statline in 2024, finishing with 144 rushes, 1,016 rushing yards, and 10 touchdowns, while paring that impressive rushing resume with an equally impressive receiving statline of 27 receptions, 284 receiving yards, and 1 additional touchdown.
Henderson finds himself in a Patriots offense that lacks identity, but with head coach Mike Vrabel leading the team, who led the Titans during Derrick Henry’s prime seasons, Henderson will likely be used as a three-down back in the Patriots' system.
While former breakout star Rhamondre Stevenson is still rostered, his effects on Henderson’s production should be limited, as he was being phased out by the team last season, and Henderson was drafted to be his replacement.
With quarterback Drake Maye heading into his sophomore season with limited NFL experience, look for Henderson to receive plenty of checkdown passes and be utilized as the lead back in a growing Patriots offense.
Henderson’s situation bodes extremely well for his fantasy value, as the Patriots will need to learn to rely on the run to take the pressure off of Maye, and Henderson offers a skill set that can support a heavy NFL workload.
Watch out for Henderson to fly past his draft value and be a worthwhile target in the 2025 running back dead zone.
Final Thoughts
While the running back dead zone does still exist, the players I listed above are all primed to break the curse of the dead zone and are all worthwhile targets.
Use this guide to help you draft your championship squads in your 2025 fantasy football drafts!
Additional Resources
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