Hardwood timber
The 2025 NFL Draft saw 25 running backs get picked, and the Pittsburgh Steelers took the sixth one off the board with Kaleb Johnson in the third round. He only ended up playing 51 offensive snaps this season as a healthy scratch for several games. It isn’t time to give up on him, but he was Arthur Smith’s ideal back and they barely used him. And now Smith is all but out the door.
Jaylen Warren is under contract through 2027, but Kenneth Gainwell is a pending free agent and could get a nice pay day after being the team MVP with over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in 2025. It’s not impossible to think the Steelers could use one of their projected 12 draft picks on the position once again. The next quarterback can’t step into a situation like Kenny Pickett did with no run game to speak of.
The Senior Bowl serves as one of the first steps in the pre-draft process, and there will be 10 backs on the roster when practices begin on Jan. 27. In preparation for attending the event, I am going through as many position groups as possible. Today, we will look at the running backs.
Previous position group primers:
Quarterbacks
Wide Receivers
Penn State RB Kaytron Allen
Age: 23.0
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-11, 219 pounds
Pro Football Focus Position Rank: 7th (116th overall)
One half of the talented two-headed backfield at Penn State over the last few years, Allen is less flashy than his running mate but was a consistent force between the tackles. Allen spent all four of his college seasons at Penn State and had a strong trajectory with an increase in production each year. Considering he started with 867 yards in his freshman season, that’s impressive.
He finished with 769 carries for 4,180 yards and 39 touchdowns on the ground with another 70 receptions for 490 yards and four TDs. He had over 1,000 rushing yards in each of his last two seasons and finished with a career high 1,303 in 2025. He was second-team All-American from most outlets this season.
South Carolina RB Rahsul Faison
Age: 25.9
Year: 7
Height/Weight: 6-0, 218 pounds
PFFocus Position Rank: 16th (198th overall)
Faison petitioned for a seventh year of eligibility and was granted it just before the 2025 season. He made use of a grayshirt, redshirt, COVID year, and the “Pavia” rule regarding JUCO seasons. He started his time at Marshall but ended up at Lackawanna College and Snow College for the next two seasons where he appeared in zero games. He finally bounced back in 2022 at Snow College and earned himself a look from Utah State. He played there two seasons before transferring to South Carolina for his final season. He effectively didn’t play his first three seasons in college.
In four years, he had 490 carries for 2,670 yards and 22 TDs and another 52 receptions for 269 yards. His best season by far was 2024 at Utah State with a big drop-off in his final year at South Carolina.
Kentucky RB Seth McGowan
Age: 25.3
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 6-1, 215 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 5th (98th overall)
McGowan began his collegiate career at Oklahoma in 2020 and was not part of another college program until 2023 with Butler Community College due to a short prison sentence for larceny of a person at nighttime. His play at Butler earned him another chance with New Mexico State, and he finished things up with his final season at Kentucky. He served as a captain in Kentucky’s game against Auburn.
Including his Butler season, McGowan had 414 carries for 2,043 yards and 22 TDs with another 55 receptions for 604 yards and four TDs.
Alabama RB Jam Miller
Age: 21.7
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-10, 221 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 20th (242nd overall)
Playing all four seasons at Alabama, Miller carved out a role as a true freshman. In total, he had 349 rushing attempts for 1,596 yards and 13 TDs. He also had another 40 receptions for 336 yards and two TDs. An upper-body injury cost him a few games at the beginning of his final season, which contributed to a slight drop from his career highs in 2024.
Texas A&M Le’Veon Moss
Age: 23.2
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 5-11, 210 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 11th (150th overall)
Moss played all four seasons at Texas A&M but only topped 100 carries once. That came in 2024 before an injury cut his season year short. His 2025 season was also truncated due to an ankle injury that cost him several games. In four years, he appeared in just 32 games and had 321 rushes for 1,767 yards and 22 TDs with another 24 receptions for 236 yards. He was second-team All-SEC in 2024 despite his injury.
Clemson RB Adam Randall
Age: 21.5
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 6-2, 235 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 24th (274th overall)
Randall spent all four seasons at Clemson but only moved to running back in 2025 after his first three seasons at wide receiver. That resulted in a massive jump in production as the big-bodied back had 204 total touches for 1,068 yards from scrimmage with 13 TDs. He is the youngest and biggest back in attendance at the Senior Bowl, and his diverse skill set should make for an interesting watch.
Penn State RB Nick Singleton
Age: 22.0
Year: 4
Height/Weight: 6-0, 224 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 6th (112th overall)
Singleton returned for his senior season despite high draft stock last year, and it came back to bite him a bit with Penn State’s program falling apart and his stats taking a significant dip. He is still positioned well as one of the best all-around backs in the class. In four years at Penn State, he had 622 rushing yards for 3,461 yards and 45 TDs with another 102 receptions for 987 yards and nine TDs through the air. At his best, he was one of the most explosive backs in the league with over six yards per carry in two of his four seasons. He finished as the Nittany Lions’ all-time touchdown leader.
He was a true freshman All-American and earned All-Big Ten honors multiple times. He also returned 48 kickoffs for 1,138 yards and a touchdown.
Virginia RB J’Mari Taylor
Age: N/A
Year: 6
Height/Weight: 5-9, 204 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 10th (140th overall)
Taylor spent his first five seasons at North Carolina Central in the MEAC before transferring to Virginia for 2025. He was highly productive at both schools as both a runner and receiver out of the backfield. In 51 total games, he had 2,944 rushing yards and 37 TDs on 575 attempts. He also caught 98 passes for 822 yards and 10 TDs.
Arkansas RB Mike Washington Jr.
Age: N/A
Year: 5
Height/Weight: 6-2, 228 pounds
PFF Position Rank: 9th (135th overall)
Washington spent the first three seasons of his collegiate career at the University of Buffalo before transferring to New Mexico State and then Arkansas for his final two. He had 587 rushing attempts for 2,914 yards and 26 TDs with another 73 receptions for 470 yards and three TDs. Notably, his best season came in the SEC with almost 1,300 yards from scrimmage and nine TDs.
Indiana RB Kaelon Black
Age: 24.3
Year: 6
Height/Weight: 5-10, 211 pounds
Pro Football Focus Position Rank: 17th (207th overall)
Fresh off a national championship with Indiana, Black was a late addition to the Senior Bowl roster. Black played his first four college seasons at James Madison before transferring to Indiana for the final two. He was only a full-time starter in his final season at each school. In total, he had 495 rushing attempts for 2,596 yards and 17 TDs with another 55 receptions for 528 yards and six TDs through the air. He missed time in 2021 and 2022 with injuries at JMU.