2025 Fantasy Football Position Battles: Changing Chiefs Backfield

This article is a continuation of our offseason Job Battles series, the first two of which addressed league-wide NFL depth chart and fantasy football position battles at quarterback and running back (here) as well as wide receiver and tight end (here).

The most recent entry (here) detailed NFL position battles among the Pittsburgh wide receivers, Jets tight ends, Jets wide receivers, and Browns quarterbacks.

This entry will focus on the Kansas City Chiefs depth chart at running back, a position battle between two Vikings wide receivers, a training camp battle between two Ravens wideouts, and sprawling scrum for snaps among depth wideouts on the New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns depth chart.

Check out the industry-leading fantasy football live draft assistant to get custom rankings for your league and follow along with a live draft on most major platforms!

Elijah Mitchell vs. Kareem Hunt vs. Brashard Smith, RB, KC

Isiah Pacheco is the likely starter for the Chiefs, assuming he's fully recovered from last year's broken fibula. Even if recovered fully from that injury, though, Pacheco would likely project as one of the NFL's highest injury risks at running back. The state of the Chiefs depth chart behind Pacheco could prove an important detail in the 2025 fantasy season, and the training camp battles between the backups will eventually clarify the next man up.

The battle to back up Pacheco seems primarily between Kareem Hunt – the incumbent starter given Pacheco's 2024 injury – and Elijah Mitchell, who was signed away from San Francisco on a one-year deal. The rookie Brashard Smith might also capitalize in the event of a Pacheco injury, but the seventh-round pick has only played running back for one year and likely requires development time.

That Hunt is the incumbent might make him the favorite over Mitchell, but Mitchell at 27 might have more talent at this point than Hunt does at 30. The Chiefs seem to suspect as much – while neither player is a big investment on one-year contract, Mitchell was paid $1.75 million with $1.1 million guaranteed, while Hunt was paid $1.482 million with $740,000 guaranteed.

Given Hunt's age and given the injury histories of Pacheco and Mitchell, Smith is worth keeping in mind even as the likely RB4. Smith is smallish (5-10, 194), to the point that his frame still resembles that of a wideout more than a runner. In terms of skill set Smith might still be more of a receiver, too, so it might be unrealistic for him to keep up with Hunt or Mitchell. Smith has plenty of ability from scrimmage and is a natural runner despite his wideout background, so Smith would become very interesting if he should poach snaps from Hunt and Mitchell.

Jalen Nailor vs. Tai Felton, WR, MIN

The rookie third-round Maryland prospect Tai Felton might appear imposing to a player with minimal pedigree like Jalen Nailor, but the veteran Nailor has the experience advantage and is probably more talented than your average former sixth-round pick. Both players appear promising for the Vikings, making this one of the more interesting fantasy football position battles for deep-league drafts.

Nailor was highly effective in his minor 2024 role, serving mostly as a decoy slot receiver who drove vertically (11.6 ADOT, 65th percentile) to deter defenses from crashing down on Justin Jefferson (10.8 ADOT) and T.J. Hockenson (8.4 ADOT). Jefferson, Hockenson and Jordan Addison are as immovable of a top-three target rotation as any in the league, so Nailor can't be criticized for drawing only 42 targets on 540 snaps.

The more important detail is that Nailor caught 66.7 percent of his targets at 9.9 yards per target, making him an above-baseline target on his 8.1-percent target share. His six touchdowns were a team share (17.1 percent) more than twice the target share, too. Nailor might not thrive if he were exposed to a higher target rate, but he already proved in 2024 that he's a near-perfect fit for the Vikes as the fourth route runner.

Felton could well have a bright future himself, and if any of the wideouts ahead of him miss time then Felton might have the stuff to produce immediately. Felton broke out as a slot receiver for Maryland in 2024 after previously serving as more of a downfield-oriented boundary wideout the two years prior – a role in which he was also fairly productive. This varied background makes Felton the perfect developmental swing backup in 2025. Expect Felton to step into the WR3 role if Nailor walks in free agency after this year.

The potential suspension for Addison raises an interesting short-term possibility for Nailor, who just might be able to produce usefully during whatever Addison absence.

Last note on Felton – while he might be locked into the WR4 role, Nailor was a very durability-challenged player in college (it's largely why he fell to the sixth round), so between that and the Addison situation Felton might be closer to the field than most WR4s league-wide.

Check out our fantasy football ADP report for a comprehensive tool with live-updated ADP data for multiple league formats and sites.

Devontez Walker vs. Tylan Wallace, WR, BAL

According to ESPN's Jamison Hensley, Devontez Walker (6-2, 193) covered good ground in the offseason and is making a serious push for playing time in 2025 after playing just 55 snaps last year as a rookie fourth-round pick.

Tylan Wallace (5-11, 202) was the WR5 for Baltimore last year ahead of Walker, but in 2025 it could be the taller and much faster Walker (4.36 40) logging the fourth-most wideout snaps. Wallace was re-signed to a one-year deal and the Ravens clearly value him as a cultural contributor, but Wallace is much slower than Walker and it's speed that the Ravens really need from their WR4 reps.

More specifically, the Ravens need a vertical presence on the boundary who can make the defense pay for crashing down the safeties. Good as targets like Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman might be in general, they have very little ability as downfield receivers. Walker has very little ability underneath and over the middle, but his vertical ability is a potential ace in the hole with the safeties crashing down against not just the Lamar Jackson-Derrick Henry rush threat, but even route runners like Flowers and Bateman.

Walker could do nothing but run in a straight line and still improve the Ravens offense from 2024. Defenses need to keep those safeties looking at Jackson and Henry, but a lot of corners would be in trouble if left in man coverage against Walker without safety help. Walker's 4.36 40 is 91st percentile speed according to Mockdraftable, and even if the corner can match stride they probably can't match Walker's catch radius (85th percentile wingspan, 93rd percentile vertical).

Significant as Walker's contributions might be in 2025, he's likely to be a decoy rather than a regular contributor from scrimmage. Flowers, Bateman and DeAndre Hopkins are safely ahead of Walker and Wallace on the Ravens depth chart. All three play more snaps than Walker and will draw targets at a much more rapid pace than Walker. That's by design, and it could be a smashing success for the Ravens, but Walker's function is to free up other players rather than draw targets for himself.

Jamari Thrash vs. David Bell (hip) vs. Diontae Johnson, WR, CLE

Diontae Johnson has the most brand recognition of these three and if he was ever good then he shouldn't be completely washed at 29 years old. With that said, he's on a definite downward trajectory after somewhat disgracefully burning out in Carolina and Baltimore in 2024. The Browns have Johnson on a one-year, veteran minimum deal with zero guaranteed.

David Bell was a highly productive collegiate receiver who was off to a fast start in 2024 before his brutal hip dislocation injury. It's not clear how that injury might affect Bell, but it's a disturbing injury by any standard and Bell was speed challenged even before the injury (4.65 40).

ESPN writer Daniel Oyefusi recently identified Jamari Thrash as the Browns' most surprising offseason improvement, and it's possible that the second-year wideout could claim the WR3 after a quiet rookie year. Thrash was praised by coach Kevin Stefanski for his well-roundedness, but Thrash's production from college grades as backup-quality by NFL standards, and his athletic testing was only decent. If Thrash wins the WR3 role in Cleveland it might have more to do with Bell's injury and Johnson's decline than it does Thrash truly seizing the opportunity.

Efton Chism vs. Kendrick Bourne vs. Ja'Lynn Polk vs. Javon Baker, WR, NE

The Patriots are at once weak and overcrowded at wide receiver, where the starting loadout will likely prove Stefon Diggs (Z), DeMario Douglas (slot) and Mack Hollins (X), or perhaps with Kyle Williams or Kayshon Boutte at the X rep instead of Hollins.

A loadout like that should be vulnerable to a second-year prospect like Ja'Lynn Polk, whom the Patriots selected just outside of the first round in 2024, but the former 37th overall pick was bad enough as a rookie that he might be lucky to make the roster at all in 2025. It seems like Polk's best-case scenario is one where he puts heat on Hollins, Williams and Boutte for snaps, but more realistically he will rank no higher than immediately after them at WR6.

Javon Baker also should have been developed enough at this point to push for playing time, but the 2024 fourth-round pick was such a dud on the field and enough of a headache off the field that he is fully expected to get cut or traded for peanuts.

The veteran Kendrick Bourne seemingly offers the highest floor of this group, though Bourne's 4.7 speed makes him non-viable as an X wideout or as a downfield target in general. I (somewhat baselessly) expect Bourne will be cut or traded, perhaps soon – Bourne is owed $15.6 million over the next two years but with only $4.2 million in remaining guarantees. If Bourne can't earn a top-three role on this team then he's too expensive to keep, and he isn't worth the cap figure in general anyway.

If Polk, Baker and Bourne are out of the picture and the Patriots keep one more wideout after Diggs, Williams, Douglas, Boutte and Hollins, then that remaining player could be Efton Chism, an undrafted slot wideout out of Eastern Washington.

Chism (5-11, 193) is smallish and perilously slow (4.72-second pro day 40), but he was very productive in college and has the quicks (6.77-second three-cone drill) to perhaps prove functional from the slot and from low depths. 

Chism was identified by ESPN writer Mike Reiss as the Patriots' most surprising offseason contributor, and if Chism can offer a little bit on special teams he should have a clear route to that WR7 spot over Bourne and Baker. If Polk is also out of the way then Chism would be pretty much locked in as the WR6.

Dominate your fantasy football league this season by exploring our comprehensive draft kit. Packed with expert insights, rankings and strategy tips, the kit features our interactive mock draft simulator to prepare you for every scenario. Streamline your draft-day decisions using our printable cheat sheet and stay ahead of the competition with our up-to-date rankings for all formats. RotoWire has everything you need to win. To learn more, subscribe now and start optimizing your roster today!