QB Projections for Fantasy Football 2025: Josh Allen, Drake Maye, And More Who Could Rush Over 75 Attempts
Matthew Freedman projects eight NFL quarterbacks who could rush at least 75 times in the 2025 season, increasing their fantasy football production.
I tend to be a late-round QB drafter—and I've had success with it.
Patrick Mahomes in 2018. Lamar Jackson in 2019. Josh Allen in 2020. Jalen Hurts in 2021.Jayden Daniels last year.Of course, sometimes this strategy doesn't work: Trey Lance in 2022 and Anthony Richardson in 2023.Yeah, not good.What do all these guys have in common? To one degree or another, they're all good runners. Aside from Mahomes, I'd say they're all exceptional runners.For years, we've known that running production can be a source of excess fantasy value at the QB position—but I think the degree to which rushing drives QB performance is still underappreciated.Looking at my season-long player projections for QBs, I just ran a correlation between projected rushing attempts and projected 0.5 PPR fantasy points.The connection between the two is strong: The coefficient of correlation (R) is 0.866, and the coefficient of determination (R squared) is 0.750.In other words: Across the entire sample of my QB data set, 75% of my fantasy point projections can be explained by my projected rushing attempts.
Translation: Passing is nice, but most QBs can throw the ball. The guys who can run at the position—they're distinguished.
With that in mind, here are the eight QBs I have projected for 75+ rushing attempts this season (in order from least to most).
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QBs With 2025 Projections of 75+ Carries
A quick note: These are median projections and thus relatively conservative, but I feel pretty good about the distribution of carries across this sample.
For example: Last year, there were eight QBs with 75+ carries, and the highest mark was 150.In my projections this year, I have eight QBs with 75+ carries, and my highest projected carry total is 149.
We're well within the realm of reality.
OK, let's get to the QBs, with their 0.5 PPR projections and their consensus average draft positions (via our Fantasy Life ADP Tool).
QB Drake Maye (Patriots)—76.3 Carries
- ADP: 131.1 (QB18)
- Projection: 281.1 (QB16)
Drake Maye is one of my favorite 2025 fantasy bench picks.
He's naturally likely to improve this year as he moves into his second season, and the Patriots offense should be better with the slew of offseason additions (OC Josh McDaniels, LT Will Campbell, LG Cole Strange, C Garrett Bradbury, RT Morgan Moses, WR Stefon Diggs, and RB TreVeyon Henderson).
And last year, Maye averaged 36.3 yards rushing across his 10 full games.
He could easily be a top-12 QB this season.
QB Kyler Murray (Cardinals)—80.6 Carries
- ADP: 88.2 (QB9)
- Projection: 300.5 (QB9)
What needs to be said about Kyler Murray? He probably will never live up to the expectations set by his 2019 OROY campaign—but his rushing ability gives him a solid midrange QB1 floor every year.
QB Bo Nix (Broncos)—81.9 Carries
- ADP: 82.3 (QB8)
- Projection: 300.0 (QB10)
I have a confession to make: I have Bo Nix on my do-not-draft list. I simply don't like his upside at cost.
He was fine as a rookie, but he wasn't great: Last year he ranked No. 19 in composite EPA+ CPOE (0.081, per RBs Don't Matter) and No. 25 in AY/A (6.7). He was acceptably mediocre.
But he probably also won't be terrible this year.
And I suppose he has upside that I'm underestimating, given that he's entering his season and tied to offensive HC Sean Payton. It's possible.
QB Josh Allen (Bills) - 103.0 Carries
- ADP: 22.7 (QB1)
- Projection: 374.0 (QB2)
With all apologies to Mahomes and some of the other guys on this list, I believe that Josh Allen has been the league's best QB over the past half decade.
His high-end passing/rushing combo is unrivaled.
Over the past five years, he has four 4,000-yard passing campaigns, whereas Jackson has just one.
Since 2000, he has rushed for 500+ yards four times, whereas Mahomes has never hit that number.
I don't like to take QBs as early as Allen goes, but he might be the safest overall player in fantasy.
QB Jayden Daniels (Commanders)—138.3 Carries
- ADP: 30.3 (QB3)
- Projection: 358.4 (QB4)
As I just said, I don't usually take QBs in the early rounds, and that's where Jayden Daniels is going … but if I were to draft a QB this year in a premium pick, it would probably be Daniels.
Think of the "Top Tier of Four:" Allen, Jackson, Hurts, and Daniels.
We know what Allen, Jackson, and Hurts are. They've all been in the league for 5+ years. It's not hard to project their production, and as great as they are, nothing they do this year is likely to surprise us.
But Daniels could legitimately still surprise us, because he's entering just his second season, and as great as his 2024 OPOY campaign was (3,568 passing yards and 25 TDs passing and 148-891-6 rushing), he could be even better this year, especially since the Commanders this offseason retained key personnel (OC Kliff Kingsbury, TE Zach Ertz) and added offensive upgrades (LT Laremy Tunsil, RT Josh Conerly, WR Deebo Samuel).
He probably isn't … but it's not unthinkable that Daniels this year could actually be a better (and cheaper) version of Jackson.
QB Lamar Jackson (Ravens)—139.3 Carries
- ADP: 23.1 (QB2)
- Projection: 383.0 (QB1)
In my previous two blurbs, I said that Allen was the best QB over the past half decade and that Daniels could be better than Jackson.
But I don't mean to throw any shade at Jackson, who is a true positional game changer.
Over the past six years, he has three first-team All-Pro campaigns.
The dude is basically the QB Messiah to Michael Vick's John the Baptist.
He hasn't rushed for 1,000 yards since 2020, but 750+ feels like his floor as long as he stays healthy—and that kind of rushing production also gives him a high weekly ceiling.
QB Jalen Hurts (Eagles)—142.1 Carries
- ADP: 36.9 (QB4)
- Projection: 360.3 (QB3)
Last year, Jalen Hurts was No. 1 at the position with a 21% designed rush rate and 45% goal-line rush rate (per our Fantasy Life Utilization Report).
In each of his seasons as a full-time starter, he has 600+ yards and 10+ TDs rushing.
He's essentially Allen minus 1,000 yards and 10 TDs passing.
QB Justin Fields (Jets)—149.0 Carries
- ADP: 105.9 (QB11)
- Projection: 303.9 (QB8)
Here he is: My highest-projected QB rusher for the 2025 season!
As a runner, Justin Fields has true Jackson-like upside, given the 160-1,143-8 rushing performance he had with the Bears in 2022.
What about as a passer?
He's not great—but he has improved every year of his career (based on adjusted yards per attempt):
- 2021: 5.8 AY/A
- 2022: 6.6 AY/A
- 2023: 6.7 AY/A
- 2024: 7.2 AY/A
Given his contract (two years, $40M), Fields has a real shot to start for the entire year—and if he improves a little as a passer and does what he typically does as a runner, then he'll likely finish in the top five this year.
Maybe top three.
And that makes him someone I really want to draft.
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