Should Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley Be Drafted Higher in 2025 Fantasy Football Drafts?

Fantasy football season is drawing near. FanDuel Research will have you covered on training camp battles, sleepers, late-round targets, and much more, but some of the most important questions are the simplest ones.

One of those questions heading into the 2025 fantasy football season: Saquon Barkley or Bijan Robinson?

Saquon and Bijan are two of the hottest draft commodities around and each figure to be a top-five overall pick in fantasy drafts this season. Depending on where you fall in the draft order, you may have to make the difficult decision of choosing between the two star running backs.

With that said, let's dive into Saquon Barkley's and Bijan Robinson's fantasy football outlook for this season and see which player should be drafted higher in 2025.

Should Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley Be Drafted Higher in 2025 Fantasy Football Drafts?

There's only one way to describe Saquon's 2024 campaign: historic.

Barkley rushed for a whopping 2,005 yards (eighth-most in NFL history) and added in 15 total touchdowns during the regular season, earning him firm RB1 status. He averaged 21.2 points in half PPR scoring while the next-best at the position (Jahmyr Gibbs) churned out 19.8 points per game.

Has something changed season-over-season that would suggest anything other than elite numbers from Saquon this year?

No, not really.

The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles have retained most of the key players that make this offense tick. Barkley will be backed by a top-ranked offensive line, the same one that allowed him to tear off six 50-plus yard rushes in 2024. Moreover, the Eagles have been a top-five rushing play percentage team since Nick Sirianni took over head coaching duties in 2021.

The team did promote Kevin Patullo to OC after losing Kellen Moore to the New Orleans Saints. And though veteran backs sometimes get a bad name, Barkley's age (28) alone is hardly something that should impact his draft stock.

However, according to FantasyPros' average draft position (ADP) data, Barkley is the second running back and fourth overall player being taken off the board in 2025. It's in part because Bijan Robinson exists.

Robinson leveled up in his sophomore campaign despite Kirk Cousins offering little to no help. He totaled 1,887 scrimmage yards and 15 touchdowns -- good for an RB4 finish. Bijan was particularly elite down the stretch. He totaled 354 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 67 carries across three games with Michael Penix Jr. at the helm, averaging 25.6 half PPR points in the span despite minimal production in the passing game.

Penix will be a full-time starter for the Atlanta Falcons in 2025, and his activity level should swing open running lanes for Bijan, who was oft bogged down in the turnover-prone Cousins offense. At 23 years old, Bijan is gearing up for a career season. Plus, he's got an ideal handcuff in Tyler Allgeier.

But should he be drafted higher than Saquon?

The answer could depend on how much you care about the track records of running backs coming off high-usage seasons.

Saquon played 20 games in 2024. It allowed him to make NFL history, totaling the most rushing yards (2,504) in a single season (including playoffs). But it also forced him to handle an eye-popping 436 carries. According to CBS Sports' Dave Richard, 16 of the 24 running backs who have logged 400-plus carries since 1990 either got hurt (missed seven-plus games) or saw a PPR per-game decline of at least 25.0% in the ensuing season.

That's not a great omen for Saquon, who has dealt with his own injuries and down years. And though a guy like Derrick Henry has taught us age is just a number, I'm a bit more willing to consider Saquon's age with this added context in mind.

It'd be wrong to look at the aforementioned data and conclude that Saquon is in for a rude awakening in 2025. That's not necessarily the case here, and he has room to "decline" in 2025 while still putting up RB1-type numbers. It does, however, make the 23-year-old Robinson that much more of an intriguing prospect and helps build the case for Bijan to be drafted ahead of Saquon this year.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.