Best RBs
Running backs win drafts, and this year the value is spread across the whole board. Here are seven backs (one from each of the first seven rounds) worth building your roster around.
Round 1: Jahmyr Gibbs (DET)
Gibbs put up elite numbers as the overall RB4 in 2025 while sharing the backfield all season… now that split may very well be gone.
David Montgomery was traded to Houston in March, leaving Gibbs as the undisputed Lions RB1 with no credible competition (Isiah Pacheco signed only as a depth piece).
Those RB4 numbers came inside a timeshare: 21.7 fantasy points per game (4th), 89 targets (3rd), and 274.1 weighted opportunities (4th)… all set to climb with a bigger workload.
Detroit's RB strength of schedule jumps from 8th-hardest to 3rd-easiest in 2026, one of the biggest schedule swings for any back in the league, and Gibbs' 5th-year option is already exercised, so there's zero contract distraction.
A full-time workload plus one of the softest schedules in football makes Gibbs a defensible 1.01 regardless of position.
Round 2: Chase Brown (CIN)
Brown's 2025 season was really two seasons, and the version with a healthy Joe Burrow is what you're drafting.
Brown finished as the overall RB7 in points per game (16.6), but the season split hard: a rough start with Jake Browning under center, then 5+ yards per carry and 71 yards per game from Week 6 on once Burrow (and Flacco) took over.
His role is a true three-down workload: 232 carries (17th), 88 targets (4th), and 375 routes run (4th), spanning both the run and pass game.
Cincinnati brings back full continuity (Zac Taylor and OC Dan Pitcher), didn't add any backfield competition, and Brown enters a contract year with extension talks already underway.
Burrow's return alone should push Brown's per-game production back toward his second-half 2025 pace, and that's a Round 2 bargain.
Round 3: Javonte Williams (DAL)
Williams' breakout wasn't a one-game fluke… it was a full season of lead-back production, and Dallas just paid him to keep it going.
Set career highs across the board in 2025: 1,201 rushing yards (9th), 13 total touchdowns (7th), and a final RB11 finish at 15.2 points per game.
Ranked 5th in the NFL with 62 red zone touches, giving him some of the best weekly scoring access of any running back.
Signed a three-year, $24 million extension ($16 million guaranteed) this offseason, faced almost no real competition for touches behind him, and Dallas' RB strength of schedule stays elite — 5th-easiest projected in 2026 after 4th-easiest in 2025.
Locked-in volume, red zone equity, and a friendly schedule for a second straight year make Williams a strong Round 3 anchor.
Round 4: Cam Skattebo (NYG)
Skattebo's rookie tape only covered eight games, but the efficiency numbers say the workhorse role is coming regardless.
Averaged 16.0 fantasy points per game and finished as the overall RB37 despite his season ending in Week 8 with a dislocated ankle.
Graded out elite as a rookie: 6th among all backs in yards created per touch (3.84) and 9th in fantasy points per opportunity (0.96).
New head coach John Harbaugh and OC Matt Nagy have already signaled they expect Skattebo to lead the backfield as a workhorse, and the Giants' RB strength of schedule jumps from 7th-hardest to 10th-easiest in 2026.
The risks include Tyrone Tracy and a newly-signed Najee Harris, but Skattebo is still expected to be the leader of the backfield.
The ankle seems fine so far, so this profiles as one of the best value plays anywhere on the board.. and stick around, because a very different kind of injury-recovery bet shows up later in this newsletter, too.
Round 5: David Montgomery (HOU)
Montgomery's move to Houston resets his outlook completely: new team, clean depth chart, better line.
Acquired in a blockbuster trade from Detroit and is the presumed Texans RB1 for 2026, with Houston clearing the path for him to lead.
Was nearly even with Jahmyr Gibbs in receiving production last year (310 yards to Gibbs' 312) before a mid-season injury slowed him down… the pass-catching chops are still there.
Before that, played the “thunder” to Gibbs’s “lightning", and was a Top-20 PPG back for two years before tailing off in ‘25.
Joins a run-blocking unit that added All-Pro guard Wyatt Teller and first-round guard Keylan Rutledge, and Houston's RB strength of schedule improves from 28th-easiest to 15th-easiest in 2026.
A fresh workhorse opportunity on an upgraded offensive line makes Montgomery a high-floor Round 5 target.
Round 6: Rhamondre Stevenson (NE)
Everyone is chasing the explosiveness of TreVeyon Henderson, but Stevenson's efficiency numbers were arguably the best of any running back in football last season… and the Patriots' coaching staff trusts him in the biggest moments.
Ranked 1st among all running backs in yards per catch (10.8), showing off elite receiving efficiency out of the backfield.
Led the NFL in average rush yards over expected and ranked 3rd among backs in yards per touch (5.9).
Despite TreVeyon Henderson's rookie buzz, New England's staff leaned on Stevenson's toughness and pass protection in the playoffs, out-touching Henderson 68-35 in the postseason, on an offense that ranked 2nd in the NFL in points scored.
A prove-it contract year, proven playoff trust, and top-tier efficiency give Stevenson a real floor at a Round 6 price.
Round 7: Jonathon Brooks (CAR)
We’re in sleeper territory now, and Brooks is the highest-variance name on this list, but the risk comes cheap this late… and the opportunity is real.
He’s remained healthy throughout summer OTAs and training camp so far, with reports of him already top speeds in drills, and looking solid in preseason action.
Positioned for a real path to the lead role as Chuba Hubbard has reportedly lost some standing in the building, although coaches recently said both guys will get touches.
His second-round draft pedigree gives him the talent to eventually take over the job outright.
Two ACL tears in the same knee make this a legitimate risk, but at a Round 7 cost, the RB1 upside is worth the swing.
The Best of the Rest:
Round 8: J.K. Dobbins
Round 9: Kenny Gainwell
Round 10: Rachaad White
Round 11: Woody Marks
Round 12: Zach Charbonnet
Round 13: Alvin Kamara
Round 14: Jonah Coleman
Round 15: Tank Bigsby
Round 16: MarShawn Lloyd
That’s the list. You can build your entire RB roster off this newsletter alone.
-Joe