- Braelon Allen’s short-yardage strength: The New York Jets running back demonstrated his ability to succeed in critical short-yardage situations last season, which is a role he should maintain in 2025.
- Trey Benson remains a top handcuff: Benson is in the same situation as he was last season: a top handcuff to Arizona Cardinals’ star running back James Conner.
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Estimated Reading Time: 10 minutes
The 2024 running draft class wasn’t expected to be strong. Bucky Irving was the lone standout, and Tyrone Tracy Jr. was the only other player on track to be a starter. However, several second-year backs will be primary backups this season, and a few may yield fantasy value.
Here are three second-year, late-round running backs to target in case things work out. The average draft position listed is sourced from a consensus between ESPN, Sleeper and Yahoo! based on where the player is picked on average in a 12-team, redraft league.
Last updated: Thursday, August 28
Braelon Allen, New York Jets (ADP: 15.07)
Allen joined the Jets as a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. He took over for New York's primary backup to Breece Hall in 2023, Dalvin Cook, whom the Jets didn’t end up re-signing. Hall was dealing with a quadriceps injury early in the 2024 campaign, allowing Allen to log seven carries for 33 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 and 11 carries for 55 yards in Week 3.
His playing time fluctuated throughout the year, between two to seven carries in most weeks. Allen started in Week 14 when Hall was out due to a knee injury. He played 54.4% of New York's offensive snaps in that game, while his high in other weeks was 36.5%. He ran 11 times for 43 yards and caught four passes for 38 yards, while fifth-round rookie Isaiah Davis was also given an opportunity to shine.
Allen averaged a low 3.6 yards per carry, but he graded well thanks to his excellent play in short-yardage situations. He ran the ball 16 times when the Jets needed 2 yards or less for a first down, and he converted 14 of them. He averaged 3.3 yards per carry on those runs, while the league average was 3.2. His 90.0 PFF rushing grade on such plays was the best among running backs.
The Jets didn’t make any changes to their backfield for 2025, as Hall and Davis were Allen's primary sources of competition. The team did add quarterback Justin Fields, who will be running the ball a lot more than Aaron Rodgers. This could also include short-yardage situations. The Jets voted to keep the tush push, so there is a chance Fields, in particular, could take those 1-yard carries, even though Allen was very successful on them.
Allen is one of the biggest running backs in the league, measuring 6-foot-1 and 235 pounds. Most running backs of that size aren't used significantly in passing situations. Derrick Henry, Najee Harris, Gus Edwards, D’Onta Foreman and James Conner have rarely been used in passing situations. Henry and Conner have been able to turn into consistent fantasy starters despite this, but Allen would need to at least double his rushing attempts per game to reach their level.
The Jets will feature a new coaching staff in 2025, headlined by head coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, both of whom were hired from the Detroit Lions. In recent years, the Lions have used either Jamaal Williams or David Montgomery on early downs, and D’Andre Swift or Jahmyr Gibbs on passing downs. Allen could be well-suited for that early-down role, as he's bigger than Williams and Montgomery. The two were used to convert first downs, wear down defenses and, most importantly, score touchdowns.
The running back in this role has finished in the top 20 in fantasy points per game each of the past three seasons. A few things need to go right for Allen to reach that top-20 range. Engstrand needs to use the same running back rotation, and Fields can’t be used as the runner in short-yardage situations. The first preseason game was a step in the right direction. While Hall got the start, Allen and Hall rotated in and out throughout the first drive and Davis played on third downs.
The Jets also need their offensive line to play close to the Lions' level. Detroit has ranked among the top 10 in PFF run-blocking grade each of the past three seasons, while the Jets placed 12th last season. The Jets moved on from veteran tackles Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses and replaced them with two first-round picks in Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou. The entire line has a very high positively graded play rate, which is generally good for breaking long runs. The unit has mixed results when it comes to negatively blocked runs.
However, Allen stood out in how well he played on non-perfectly blocked runs, averaging 3.4 yards per carry. Montgomery also logged 3.4 yards per carry on non-perfectly blocked runs, but he was better on the positively blocked runs. If Allen can avoid more tackles once the line gives him those clean blocks, it could make a big difference to his fantasy production.
The goal is for Allen to be the next David Montgomery. The coaching staff needs to use him in that role, the offense needs to play well enough for Allen to score enough points, and Justin Fields can’t be used on the tush push. While that is a lot, there is similarly a lot for any other late-round running back, and this one doesn’t require an injury to a starter.
Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals (ADP: 13.11)
The Cardinals made Benson a third-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It was obvious that he would be James Conner‘s backup in his rookie season after Conner set career highs in yards per carry and rushing yards per game in 2023. Conner is among the older running backs in the NFL and has taken more than 1,000 career carries, so Benson seemed to be the team's running back of the future. Conner had also missed a minimum of two games every season, which made it seem likely that Benson would see at least a few starts as the lead running back as a rookie. The possibility of another Conner injury made Benson one of the top handcuff options in redraft leagues last season.
Conner missed the 2024 season's last game, but unfortunately, Benson suffered an ankle injury in Week 15, causing him to sit out the last two games of the campaign. That, unfortunately, meant he missed his lone opportunity to start.
Benson played anywhere from two to 22 snaps each week. He ran the ball five times or fewer in most of his games. The four exceptions were all 20-point blowouts, with three in the Cardinals‘ favor. Benson ran eight to 11 times in those games, and he didn’t grade too well, largely because of one fumble. He had solid first-down and 10-plus-yard carry rates, though. It’s hard to take too much away from Benson’s numbers, considering a high percentage of them came in the fourth quarter when games were out of reach.
Benson was barely used as a receiver, but he caught all six of his targets, and half resulted in first downs.
Benson remains in a rough spot with the Cardinals this season. Arizona kept an identical backfield to 2024, including bringing back the practice-squad running backs who would get elevated in the case of an injury. Often, if a running back was waiting in the wings, they could play in whatever situation where the main running back was weakest. However, Conner played everything but third downs, which Emari Demercado handled. This meant Conner had those plays to rest and didn’t need to get rotated out as often on early downs.
Benson tended to get used to more in short-yardage situations, even though he and Conner are very similar in size. Conner was in the last season of his contract, but in late November, he signed a two-year extension. There is little to no chance that he will get traded, and while the Cardinals could comfortably move on from him after the season if they wanted to, his price tag for 2026 is reasonable.
This means Benson is in the exact same spot as he was last year. He is Conner's handcuff and either needs Conner's play to decline or for him to get injured to move up the ranks. Given Conner’s injury history, it is more likely Benson will see starts this season compared to other backup running backs. We can expect him to fully take Conner’s role if the veteran suffers an injury.
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills (ADP: 15.10)
The fourth-round pick in 2024 spent most of his rookie season as the early-down backup to James Cook. He averaged only 24% of the Bills' offensive snaps on the year.
Davis played significantly in Week 6 when Cook was out with an injury, running 20 times for 97 yards and catching three passes for 55 yards. He also played a significant role in Week 18, when the Bills rested their starters, rushing 15 times for 64 yards and catching two passes, one for a touchdown.
Outside of those three games, Davis entirely depended on the game script to see playing time. He averaged 2.3 carries for 3.7 yards and 8.3 snaps in the Bills’ losses, 4.8 carries for 15 yards on 11.8 snaps in their one-score wins and 6.5 carries for 26 yards on 14.6 snaps in their multi-score wins.
Davis graded well as a runner, largely stemming from his ability to avoid tackles. He showed promise at times as a receiver but wasn’t given many opportunities, and a single fumble hurt his PFF receiving grade.
The Bills retained their top three running backs from last season, which means Davis is likely to be in a very similar role to start the 2025 campaign. While he’s graded well as a runner, Cook has graded even better, so there isn’t much reason to expect Davis to beat Cook in a competition.
Similarly, we shouldn’t expect a significant change in playing time. The Bills utilize a three-back committee, with Ty Johnson playing on third downs and in two-minute drills, so none of the running backs are consistently playing more than 50% of the offensive snaps. This means Cook is well-rested.
Therefore, Davis won’t have any standalone value, except for in very deep leagues during weeks when the Bills are heavily favored. He will be Cook's handcuff, and he should have significant value if Cook doesn’t play, as he was featured heavily in the offense in the two games that Cook missed in 2024. Cook signed a four-year contract extension, so the only way he won't play at this point is through an injury. Davis would be a must-start player in that scenario.
Davis will be playing in his second year in Joe Brady’s offense — an excellent environment for him thus far. The Bills have had one of the best offenses in the league, which has given Davis plenty of opportunities. Brady made the offense more balanced than in the past, so the fact that Buffalo runs so much despite having Josh Allen is also a big positive for the team's running backs.
Davis’ value is as a handcuff. He has a higher floor than most handcuffs, thanks to the Bills‘ great offense, but a lower ceiling due to Ty Johnson‘s presence, Josh Allen’s rushing touchdowns and his own lack of breakaway ability.
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