When you think of the favorites to lead the league in rushing in 2025, the first two names that immediately come to mind are Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry and Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley.
That's because Barkley and Henry finished No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in rushing yards last season. In fact, no one else was close, as Barkley tallied 2,005 yards and Henry posted 1,921 yards, while the next closest back, Atlanta Falcons back Bijan Robinson, had 1,456.
Is picking Barkley or Henry to win the rushing crown in 2025 the easy way to go? Yes, but it's also the most logical, seeing as how nobody came close to the pair in 2024.
However, ESPN's Mike Clay doesn't see it that way. Instead, he's predicting that Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor will win the honor with 1,392 rushing yards.
Meanwhile, Clay envisions both Barkley and Henry taking a massive step back by posting 1,367 yards and 1,267 yards, respectively. Barring injury, those are totals Henry and Barkley should reach with several weeks to spare in the season.
The problem with choosing Taylor is that, while he's no doubt very talented, Taylor is going up against two unicorns. Adding to that, the Colts running back has had issues staying healthy over the past three years and can't hope to keep up with the aforementioned backs if he can't stay on the field for a full 17 games.
Playing devil's advocate for a second, Taylor is capable of pulling off an upset over the two superstars. Despite playing in 14 games on a terrible offense last season, he still managed to rip off 1,431 rushing yards, so there's that.
We would definitely consider Taylor a dark-horse candidate to take home the honor, but if we were to put money on it, we're easily taking Henry or Barkley over him.
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