Rambling Sports: 2026 Fantasy Football - 1st Ranks

Running back is starting to build up some really nice depth at the top and plenty to talk and argue about in the middle. There feels like a slightly bigger group of bell cows but getting the right side of backfield splits will be continue to be the most impactful skill in fantasy.

Tier 1 (1-4) – Elite Tier
Pos	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2^nd
RB1	Jahmyr Gibbs	DET	270	1391	15	99	689	5	406	1	0	2	1	-1
RB2	Bijan Robinson	ATL	297	1443	12	97	686	5	388	2	0	1	2	1
RB3	Christian McCaffrey	SF	287	1313	10	110	856	4	389	3	0	3	3	0
RB4	Jonathan Taylor	IND	306	1451	13	54	349	2	310	4	0	4	4	0

The top four stays the same, we’ll have to watch the McCaffrey injury news but that’s about it. The biggest question I would guess some may have is should this just be a 2 or 3-man tier. Maybe… I just find Taylor too consistent, maybe he should be tier 2 by himself but that seemed like being too cute.

Ter 2 (5-12) – Very Good Tier
Pos	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2^nd
RB5	De'Von Achane	MIA	263	1431	12	67	492	4	345	7	-2	6	7	-1
RB6	James Cook	BUF	275	1392	12	46	335	3	296	6	0	10	5	-4
RB7	Saquon Barkley	PHI	281	1285	10	57	365	3	285	8	-1	5	8	2
RB8	Omarion Hampton	LAC	226	992	8	69	437	2	265	10	-2	8	9	0
RB9	Ashton Jeanty	LVR	312	1143	10	74	331	4	287	5	4	7	6	2
RB10	Derrick Henry	BAL	292	1426	14	27	205	1	271	12	-2	12	12	-2
RB11	Breece Hall	NYJ	262	1181	7	53	366	3	255	14	-3	9	14	2
RB12	Chase Brown	CIN	251	1087	8	85	559	4	306	9	3	13	10	-1

Some great options here, I would say I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if any of these guys ends up RB1 for the season. No major differences here so let’s talk about what’s holding these guys back… Achane will be the main focus of every defense Miami faces with little in the way of playmakers outside of Willis. Cook has been on an insane touchdown run after Allen dominated the redzone for the Bills for years, but what happens if the defense isn’t quite up to the task and more games are shootouts, to be fair he might give Taylor a run for his money with consistency if he performs this season. Barkley, has been incredibly boom or bust and a step back by the offensive line, and general offensive decline, really highlighted that last season and is the biggest concern again this year. The biggest concern for Hampton is a weird trio of backs and the coaching staffs insistence on it not being a true #1 situation. The Raiders look to be competent this year but the offensive line is still a massive concern for Jeanty as is the lack of standout weapons to draw defensive attention outside of Bowers. Henry is old, but he still performs, and he still gets the rock inside the red zone but now ‘til the end of his career will always have the “when is the end” cloud hanging over him as this will be his age 33 season. Hall has an injury that will keep him out a couple of weeks, and an offense that is full of question marks, the good news is he has an offensive line. Brown rounds out this group with the opposite problem of Achane and Jeanty, in that there are just a whole bunch of mouths to feed. Cincy has added depth to the backfield but the line is still a question mark and there is at least a small chance the offense is a whole mess again.

Tier 3 (13-20) – Extremely Solid Tier
Pos	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2^nd
RB13	Jeremiyah Love	ARI	258	1036	16	71	449	4	318	13	0	11	13	2
RB14	Kenneth Walker	KC	228	989	8	48	336	2	233	11	3	14	11	0
RB15	Bucky Irving	TB	252	1134	6	37	276	1	217	23	-8	15	20	0
RB16	Josh Jacobs	GB	238	1007	12	53	359	1	256	17	-1	16	16	0
RB17	Javonte Williams	DAL	259	1087	8	50	296	2	236	16	1	17	18	0
RB18	Travis Etienne Jr	NO	202	857	6	57	378	2	211	18	0	18	17	0
RB19	Kyren Williams	LAR	219	1000	10	46	281	2	234	15	4	22	15	-3
RB20	D'Andre Swift	CHI	223	995	10	50	316	2	242	22	-2	19	24	1

Love has the most variance of the group as a rookie, with an injury, and a coaching staff that seems intent on using him less than fully. Irving is our first big difference of the rankings, I understand Gainwell came in, Tucker exists, and Tampa is weird but I think so much of this Bucky “drop” has to with everyone remembering limited hurt Bucky and not the player we all wanted to have more of the ball. I’m not blind to the fact that this may go poorly, just merely willing to gamble on talent I’ve seen before.

Tier 4 (21-36) – Low End Starters and High End Splits
Pos	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2^nd
RB21	Jadarian Price	SEA	183	716	12	41	294	2	214	26	-5	23	26	-2
RB22	TreVeyon Henderson	NE	179	908	8	50	333	2	226	24	-2	20	21	2
RB23	Bhayshul Tuten	JAX	228	878	12	57	357	8	285	25	-2	21	25	2
RB24	Quinshon Judkins	CLE	244	876	6	42	238	0	178	21	3	25	22	-1
RB25	Tony Pollard	TEN	294	1346	8	38	213	1	234	28	-3	27	30	-2
RB26	Cam Skattebo	NYG	162	659	7	53	348	3	202	19	7	28	19	-2
RB27	JK Dobbins	DEN	105	493	6	10	51	0	99	36	-9	26	36	1
RB28	Chuba Hubbard	CAR	224	974	7	48	267	2	216	32	-4	30	27	-2
RB29	David Montgomery	HOU	233	963	10	22	157	0	192	20	9	24	23	5
RB30	Jaylen Warren	PIT	208	982	4	59	407	1	219	27	3	31	28	-1
RB31	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	WAS	165	761	6	28	175	0	149	40	-9	32	40	-1
RB32	Rhamondre Stevenson	NE	136	598	6	36	245	1	153	29	3	36	31	-4
RB33	Kyle Monangai	CHI	176	814	6	36	215	1	166	37	-4	47	33	-14
RB34	Blake Corum	LAR	164	769	7	24	141	1	156	34	0	33	35	1
RB35	Brian Robinson Jr	ATL	111	459	4	13	90	1	93	54	-19	34	88	1
RB36	Aaron Jones Sr	MIN	164	800	5	48	306	2	192	41	-5	35	38	1

We have 5 players in this tier with greater than a six spot difference. The first of which is Skattebo, this just comes down to the fact that I don’t trust him to make good enough decisions to stay healthy all season. I hope I’m wrong because he’s a fun player with a unique type of skill set but he just doesn’t do anything to preserve his body. I’m much higher on Dobbins, I plan to move him down a little but I think he’s the starter here still, Coleman has definitely looked good and been praised by Payton, and he’s not without injury risks. Ultimately drum beats the next couple weeks might continue to push him down but if he is the main back he’s going to be much more valuable than current valuation. Montgomery is going to be the lead back with Marks as the spell guy and Houston has shown a propensity to lean on the run especially with a great defense. I think he’s useful I’m just not sure his upside is there, he’s a good 3^rd or 4^th option and not a guy I’d want to bank on week in week out as your 2^nd running back. Bill might be the RB3 that will either make me a hero or an idiot, the Washington backfield is still kind of a mess but I think he builds on a solid rookie season. Lastly is Robinson, the lesser of the BRobs in Atlanta but he should have a solid backup role that Allgeier turned into a low-end RB3 on average the last three seasons. Lastly I want to hit on the Jones/Mason situation as I have them on opposite sides of the tier break. In the 12 games Jones played he started, had more rushes per game, more receptions per game, more yards per target and slightly less yards per rush (4.2 to 4.6). I think they’re gonna end up real close I just think Jones does more valuable work in the pass game and does well enough on the ground to keep him just a smidge ahead.

Tier 5 (37-60) – Good Backups, and Valuable 3rds Tier
Pos	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2^nd
RB37	Zach Charbonnet	SEA	140	576	6	22	145	0	127	45	-8	51	46	-14
RB38	Jordan Mason	MIN	139	706	5	21	129	0	128	39	-1	38	41	0
RB39	RJ Harvey	DEN	126	494	6	64	403	4	201	31	8	29	29	10
RB40	Tyrone Tracy Jr	NYG	136	585	4	44	273	1	150	42	-2	44	42	-4
RB41	Braelon Allen	NYJ	85	317	3	25	161	1	89	63	-22	42	62	-1
RB42	Rico Dowdle	PIT	148	662	3	50	334	2	170	30	12	43	32	-1
RB43	Tyler Allgeier	ARI	86	366	5	14	99	0	91	47	-4	37	47	6
RB44	Isiah Pacheco	DET	154	701	4	30	191	1	142	49	-5	48	45	-4
RB45	Kenn Gainwell	TB	103	452	3	42	268	2	135	35	-10	52	34	-7
RB46	Tyjae Spears	TEN	108	443	4	50	289	1	142	51	-6	39	48	6
RB47	Woody Marks	HOU	116	417	3	42	277	2	127	43	3	40	44	6
RB48	Rachaad White	WAS	119	465	4	42	285	2	149	38	9	45	39	2
RB49	Jonah Coleman	DEN	84	304	4	6	41	0	64	50	-2	75	50	-27
RB50	Dylan Sampson	CLE	93	250	4	45	299	2	129	53	-4	50	53	-1
RB51	Jonathon Brooks	CAR	139	578	5	34	237	2	150	33	18	71	37	-20
RB52	Ray Davis	BUF	51	232	2	1	11	0	39	58	-6	41	64	11
RB53	Keaton Mitchell	LAC	68	429	2	19	143	1	89	46	7	61	51	-8
RB54	Jaydon Blue	DAL	80	292	2	12	73	0	61	56	-2	64	71	-10
RB55	Chris Rodriguez Jr	JAX	106	459	6	14	104	0	105	44	11	74	43	-19
RB56	Alvin Kamara	NO	68	296	3	20	137	1	81	48	8	46	49	10
RB57	Ty Johnson	BUF	46	207	1	37	254	1	84	90	-33	56	83	1
RB58	Jordan James	SF	79	304	4	14	96	0	76	69	-11	79	65	-21
RB59	Sean Tucker	TB	88	380	6	11	70	1	94	61	-2	73	59	-14
RB60	Marshawn Lloyd	GB	48	197	1	20	160	1	62	55	5	66	66	-6

This tier sees three players who are at least 12 spots different from ADP, and 3 players I adjusted 20 or more spots. Allen is my first big difference from ADP in this tier and the reasons are simple, I think he’s an incredibly talented backup, Hall is already banged up, and the offensive line is good. Ray Davis may not be the flashiest player, and would certainly be higher if Ty Johnson didn’t pip quite a few passing down reps but he has a solid role if he’s asked for fill in for an injured Cook, and has shown the ability to take advantage of a big workload, see his 21-carry, 151-yard performance last season. Jonathon Brooks is 18 spots lower for me than ADP because I don’t trust he’s healthy and gonna hit the ground running. We are taking Brooks as an RB3, hasn’t been on an NFL field since December of ’24, he hasn’t had double digit carries since November of ’23 at Texas, in the 9 carries he’s had in the NFL he’s averaged 2.4 yards per carry, and he’s played 23 snaps. I just think the amount people are willing to ignore risk on Brooks is absolutely insane. His upside is undeniable but the risk is so much more than just about any player in the league and that’s not properly valued. The last of ADP disagreements is Ty Johnson has been a top 50 RB the last two seasons, and I don’t think his role appreciably changes this year, he’s good for 25-35 targets and 40-50 carries and that’s his where he starts, he’s maybe a bit more conservative of a choice in this range but he’s been an extremely stable performer.

Tier 6 (61-80) – Lottery Tickets Tier
Pos	Player	Tm	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2^nd
RB61	Brashard Smith	KC	37	144	0	36	228	1	69	136	-75	53	88	8
RB62	Chris Brooks	GB	95	413	3	21	136	1	96	82	-20	59	68	3
RB63	Samaje Perine	CIN	94	388	2	20	145	1	86	74	-11	83	76	-20
RB64	Tahj Brooks	CIN	31	118	2	7	40	0	31	136	-72	54	88	10
RB65	Isaiah Davis	NYJ	53	300	2	33	226	1	94	79	-14	69	87	-4
RB66	Ollie Gordon II	MIA	55	179	3	7	44	0	46	83	-17	55	87	11
RB67	Jaylen Wright	MIA	53	204	1	7	43	0	33	73	-6	62	72	5
RB68	Eli Heidenreich	PIT	23	94	1	30	288	2	77	71	-3	113	79	-45
RB69	Rasheen Ali	BAL	19	74	1	35	222	2	75	91	-22	114	87	-45
RB70	Justice Hill	BAL	58	273	3	13	94	0	68	70	0	70	70	0
RB71	Emanuel Wilson	SEA	57	256	2	14	82	0	58	72	-1	58	58	13
RB72	George Holani	SEA	39	129	2	6	33	0	31	65	7	119	75	-47
RB73	James Conner	ARI	14	61	1	4	28	0	17	66	7	96	61	-23
RB74	LeQuint Allen Jr	JAX	36	147	2	14	84	0	48	76	-2	63	84	11
RB75	Trevor Etienne	CAR	62	280	2	10	53	0	56	89	-14	67	87	8
RB76	Emari Demercado	KC	61	295	1	21	130	1	72	75	1	90	87	-14
RB77	Tank Bigsby	PHI	62	278	3	8	47	0	55	52	25	85	54	-8
RB78	Mike Washington Jr	LVR	55	206	2	21	89	1	61	57	21	77	56	1
RB79	Kyle Juszczyk	SEA	2	8	0	28	216	1	52	86	-7	182	87	-103
RB80	Malik Davis	DAL	19	89	1	3	21	0	17	96	-16	49	78	31

A whole bunch of big differences here so let’s rapid fire the players who are currently going undrafted or have a difference over 20… Smith may end up losing his role to Emmett Johnson but he showed intriguing flashes last year and if he get touches he’s explosive enough to take them, Chris Brooks looks to be losing out by just a bit to Lloyd but if Lloyd gets hurt or Jacobs gets suspended I may be too low, Tahj Brooks a player I liked coming out of college I think he’d make a really nice compliment to Brown, Ali is explosive and fills the annual Keaton Mitchell role in Baltimore, I have no faith that Tank Bigsby can take the reins if Barkley gets hurt, and lastly, Washington Jr is incredibly explosive but I think he gets pigeon holed in a small role in Vegas (Jeanty went down while I was finishing that up and may make this point relatively moot).

Tier 7 (81-111) – Deep Sleepers
Pos	Player	Team	Rush	Rush Yds	Rush TDs	Tar	Rec Yds	Rec TDs	FP	Tier	Pos ADP	Diff	1^st Rank	1^st Pos ADP	1^st Vs 2nd
RB81	Devin Singletary	NYG	37	162	1	6	35	0	31	7	136	-55	60	88	21
RB82	Kaytron Allen	WAS	37	141	2	11	66	1	44	7	64	18	65	60	17
RB83	Nicholas Singleton	TEN	38	144	1	9	54	1	37	7	136	-53	68	88	15
RB84	Emmett Johnson	KC	22	82	1	6	38	0	23	7	59	25	76	55	8
RB85	Kimani Vidal	LAC	41	164	2	11	75	0	43	7	60	25	81	63	4
RB86	Demond Claiborne	MIN	30	110	1	13	80	0	40	7	68	18	84	69	2
RB87	Kaelon Black	SF	17	63	1	6	40	0	18	7	67	20	89	67	-2
RB88	Devin Neal	NO	46	164	2	11	73	0	43	7	136	-48	72	88	16
RB89	DJ Giddens	IND	52	191	2	5	18	0	33	7	94	-5	80	87	9
RB90	Adam Randall	BAL	6	23	0	13	94	1	28	7	88	2	82	80	8
RB91	Kaleb Johnson	PIT	46	114	2	9	54	0	33	7	136	-45	86	88	5
RB92	Will Shipley	PHI	12	36	1	13	85	1	35	7	136	-44	88	88	4
RB93	Jaleel McLaughlin	DEN	21	102	0	3	16	0	17	7	87	6	92	87	1
RB94	Dylan Laube	LVR	23	86	1	8	44	0	26	7	136	-42	91	88	3
RB95	Jerome Ford	WAS	12	53	0	6	33	0	16	7	136	-41	95	88	0
RB96	Donovan Edwards	MIA	3	9	0	12	87	1	22	7	136	-40	104	88	-8
RB97	Trey Benson	ARI	28	137	1	14	86	0	40	7	81	16	107	77	-10
RB98	Isaac Guerendo	SF	10	48	1	3	25	0	16	7	136	-38	109	88	-11
RB99	Phil Mafah	DAL	36	137	1	6	32	0	27	7	136	-37	147	88	-48
RB100	Jeremy McNichols	WAS	7	33	0	8	53	0	17	7	136	-36	106	88	-6
RB101	Zavier Scott	MIN	35	123	0	13	87	1	38	7	136	-35	131	88	-30
RB102	Raheim Sanders	CLE	35	119	2	5	31	0	31	7	136	-34	128	88	-26
RB103	Seth McGowan	IND	16	62	1	19	132	1	46	7	78	25	111	87	-8
RB104	Kendre Miller	NO	34	134	1	9	63	0	32	7	136	-32	94	88	10
RB105	Tyler Goodson	ATL	47	230	1	4	22	0	34	7	136	-31	93	88	12
RB106	Jawhar Jordan	HOU	37	167	0	8	52	0	30	7	136	-30	117	88	-11
RB107	Ty Chandler	NO	23	89	0	6	38	0	20	7	136	-29	186	88	-79
RB108	Ahmani Marshall	CLE	23	85	0	26	149	0	42	7	136	-28	150	88	-42
RB109	Lan Larison	NE	18	70	1	3	23	0	19	7	136	-27	152	88	-43
RB110	Davon Booth	CLE	12	44	0	8	50	1	22	7	136	-26	165	88	-55
RB111	Hunter Luepke	DAL	15	55	1	15	105	0	36	7	136	-25	182	88	-71

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2026 Fantasy Football - 1st Ranks - Running Backs

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