While there probably won’t ever be a point in his career teams won’t be terrified of Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels running the ball, the goal is to eventually make teams account for it … just a little less.
The way they can do that is by adding a game-changer at running back, which the Commanders don’t currently have on the roster.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates predict Washington will find their running back of the future in the 2025 NFl draft, where they predict Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson will land with the Commanders in the third round (No. 67 overall), via a trade with the Cleveland Browns.
Johnson is ranked as the No. 5 overall running back prospect on Kiper’s latest big board.
“More backfield depth makes sense for the Commanders, and Johnson would bring a good blend of size and power,” Yates wrote on April 15. “His 1,537 rushing yards ranked seventh in the FBS last season.”
The NFL draft is scheduled to run from April 24-26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Johnson Draws Comparison to Former NFL Offensive POY
Johnson, 6-foot-1 and 224 pounds, was named a unanimous All-American and the Big Ten Running Back of the Year in after rushing for 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns while averaging a whopping 6.4 yards per carry in 2024 as he set the Iowa single-season record for rushing touchdowns.
Johnson, who left school with one season of eligibility remaining, also showed he was somewhat capable of catching the ball out of the backfield for the first time in 2024 with 22 receptions for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns.
“Johnson is well-built and has the height and weight to handle an NFL workload,” Bleacher Report’s Dame Parson wrote. “He is a volume running back who thrives with a high number of touches. Johnson runs behind his pads, finishing with power and a forward lean. He runs with good contact balance downhill, breaking arm tackles for yards after contact. He runs with an explosive burst and reaches top speed with urgency. He should carve out double-digit 10-plus-yard runs in the NFL.”
Parson made an NFL comparison for Johnson with former NFL Offensive Player of the Year DeMarco Murray, who led the NFL with 1,845 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns with the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. Murray played 7 seasons in the NFL for 3 teams from 2011 to 2017, where he was also a 3-time Pro Bowler and rushed for over 1,000 yards 3 times.
Commanders Can’t Rely on Daniels to Lead Rushing Attack
Daniels set the NFL rookie rushing record for quarterbacks with 891 yards and 6 touchdowns on the way to winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2024.
Daniels also had his only serious injury scare of the year running the ball, when he hurt his ribs at the end of a long run against the Carolina Panthers in Week 7 and missed most of the game — a risk the Commanders want to reduce in the future.
Washington might not wait until the third round to get a running back. The 33rd Team’s James Foster projects the Commanders will take North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton at No. 29 overall in his latest mock draft.
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