Avoid these RBs
These backs are either too expensive, too risky, or have situations that will keep them from performing for your fantasy team in 2026.
De’Von Achane (MIA)
Achane was a top-5 fantasy RB last season, but almost everything that made the Dolphins' offense hum is gone heading into 2026.
Mike McDaniel, Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle are all out the door, with Malik Willis projected as Miami's starting quarterback.
Miami is bracing for an NFL-record ~$182M in dead cap and looks like a team intentionally rebuilding, projected for only around 4.5 wins.
Willis has a historically low checkdown rate, putting real pressure on the receiving role that made Achane a top-4 target earner a year ago.
The talent hasn't gone anywhere, but the ecosystem around him has been dismantled piece by piece… that's a tough combination to draft with confidence in Round 2.
Jeremiyah Love (ARI)
Love has the draft pedigree and the athletic profile of a true bell cow, but the situation he's stepping into works against him from day one.
He enters a "messy" backfield behind Tyler Allgeier (signed for $12M) and James Conner, with Allgeier reportedly expected to be the lead back before Love was drafted.
He's running behind an O-line ranked near the bottom of the league, on an offense that finished 31st in rushing yards a year ago.
Arizona's 2026 schedule projects as the toughest in the league for run games, a real step down from an already middling slate.
Elite tools don't fix a crowded backfield and a brutal schedule at the same time, and that's exactly why experts don't expect him to return on his draft capital.
TreVeyon Henderson (NE)
Henderson flashed real big-play ability as a rookie, but he's being drafted like a lead back when the tape says he's still a committee piece.
Rhamondre Stevenson remains the team’s “program guy” and is entrenched as the "1A," keeping New England in a two-back setup. He bested Henderson in explosive run rate, yards after contact, and maybe most importantly for snaps, pass protection for Drake Maye.
His role shrank exactly when it mattered most: Henderson averaged just 2.4 yards per carry in the postseason while Stevenson handled the touches that counted.
New England's schedule is about to get much tougher, sliding from the 2nd-easiest RB slate in 2025 to the 4th-hardest projected in 2026.
He's a name-brand handcuff being priced like a starter, and Stevenson beat him in every efficiency metric last season.
Bucky Irving (TB)
Irving's efficiency was already cratering before the injuries piled up, and now he's working out of a crowded backfield instead of a clean lead role.
Tampa Bay's $14M free-agent addition Kenneth Gainwell looks like a true 1B, not just insurance (he got paid 7 times what the team was paying Rachaad White), and is reportedly excelling as a receiver in the team's new scheme.
Irving had zero carries inside the 5-yard line in 2025… that job belonged to Sean Tucker, who led the team with 9 carries in that range.
His per-carry efficiency sank to 3.4 yards per carry late in the season, the exact number experts are pointing to as they fade him in Round 3.
The touches should be there, but the touchdowns and efficiency are a real question mark, and that's a tough profile to pay up for. Much better options exist around him in drafts.
Ashton Jeanty (LV)
Jeanty's per-touch numbers were among the worst in the league last season, and his 2026 turnaround story is still mostly unproven.
His fantasy points per opportunity ranked 52nd in the NFL, and his yards per touch (4.1) checked in at 52nd as well… the profile of a back getting stopped before he can create.
He's facing the NFL's toughest projected RB schedule in 2026, layered on top of a QB/pass-defense slate that ranks 32nd in difficulty.
New head coach Klint Kubiak has a history of preferring two-back rotations, so even with an upgraded offensive line, a true workhorse role isn't guaranteed… even though the names down the depth chart aren’t immediately scary.
Experts already flagged him as a reach at his original price point, and until the new coaching staff proves it out on the field, that risk is still very real.
So that’s the list. Avoid these backs in your draft unless they fall to a more acceptable draft position.
-Joe