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Adam Koffler's dark-horse candidates to finish as a fantasy football RB1 in 2026. Target these five running backs with league-winning upside.
The biggest edge in fantasy football is uncovering undervalued players with the greatest opportunities. This article will focus on the running back position; guys being drafted outside the top 24.
For one reason or another, these five players are going later in fantasy drafts than they should be. That presents an opportunity for you, the fantasy manager.
Target wide receivers and an elite tight end in the early rounds and take advantage of the incredible value with these five running backs in the mid-to-late rounds. Here are five dark-horse RB1 (top 12) contenders for the 2026 season.
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Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars
Yahoo ADP: 63.6 (RB25)
This one's all about opportunity. Last season, it was Travis Etienne Jr. operating as RB1 under Liam Coen.
Per Fantasy Points Data, he had the fifth-most red zone touches (62) among running backs and the eighth-highest first-read target share (7.7%) among backs with at least 200 routes run last season.
That led to 13 total touchdowns and nearly 1,400 total yards.
Etienne tallied the 11th-most snaps at the position, which led to 260 rush attempts (eighth-most) and 47 targets (12th-most).
It wasn't just Etienne that found success in a Coen offense. In 2024, it was rookie Bucky Irving that found success once he took over after the bye week.
Irving averaged 5.68 yards per carry on his way to 18.3 fantasy points per game.
Needless to say, Coen's scheme is great for running backs.
Per Fantasy Points' Ryan Heath, Coen ranks seventh in backfield expected fantasy points per game among all play callers over the past three seasons.
Tuten is the next man up. And don't forget, this is Coen's pick at the position. He drafted Tuten in 2025 when he became head coach of the Jaguars.
I assure you he wants to see his draft pick succeed.
#Jaguars HC Liam Coen on Bhayshul Tuten:
“His yards after contact and rushing yards, man, when he can get going and get downhill — I mean, he was 4.28 coming out. He can fly… we’re definitely expecting Tuten to have a big year for us.”
Coen has an 80% reliability rating on… pic.twitter.com/kkxrMtOqG2
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) July 22, 2026
Sure, the Jaguars also brought in Chris Rodriguez Jr., a guy Coen worked with in 2021 at the University of Kentucky.
Rodriguez is a solid player. He runs hard, and he generally picks up positive yardage.
But he's working his way back from a foot injury in the offseason and has never had a heavy workload in the NFL.
Rodriguez can make a difference for this offense while still being just a complementary piece.
This Jaguars offense averaged 32.8 points per game after their bye last season. Coen and company had this team rolling.
In those 11 games, Etienne averaged 16.8 fantasy points per game. Expect that from Tuten if and when the offense is humming once again this season.
Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
Yahoo ADP: 65.6 (RB26)
Price never truly got the shine in college, playing behind Jeremiyah Love. That's about to change at the next level.
With Zach Charbonnet recovering from a torn ACL and Kenneth Walker III now in Kansas City, the Seahawks' first-round draft pick is competing with George Holani and Emanuel Wilson for touches early on.
And despite Holani, who's been with the team a couple years now, mixing in with the ones, early returns are extremely favorable for Price.
#Seahawks 1st-round rookie RB Jadarian Price has been very impressive to start training camp.
"He has just been a star in the first part of training camp. ... I can tell you he's gonna be a very good receiver. Pass protection is a work in progress." ~ @hawkblogger https://t.co/rOsLVyz44j pic.twitter.com/O9JSTcTafY
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 7, 2026
There's a chance Charbonnet is back in action sooner than some people expect, but that shouldn't put a damper on Price if he comes out and lights the world on fire to start the season.
The Seahawks open at home against the Patriots but then have two soft matchups against the Cardinals and Commanders after that.
If Price lives up to expectations, he's going to run for 100+ yards and a touchdown in each of Weeks 2 and 3.
Not only has he been tearing it up in camp, but he's got his head coach in awe, almost speechless on Hard Knocks.
Rookie RB @Jadarian15 is impressing at Seahawks camp 👀
Watch the first episode of Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the @seahawks now on @hbomax pic.twitter.com/Uz7hiZz82y
— NFL (@NFL) August 6, 2026
The Seahawks have the ninth-highest implied point total per game this season (24.8) and are favorites in 14 of their 17 games.
There's going to be a massive opportunity for the RB1 on this team, and all indications are it'll be Price, at least early in the season.
Between Kenneth Walker & Zach Charbonnet, the Seahawks vacate a whopping 81 red zone rush attempts from last season
Seattle’s new offensive coordinator Brian Fleury was the 49ers’ run game coordinator last season when Christian McCaffrey led all RBs w/ 71 red zone rush attempts https://t.co/iHEIPExum2
— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) July 16, 2026
At his price tag (no pun intended), Price makes for one of the best combinations of talent and opportunity at the running back position this season.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Yahoo ADP: RB34 (98.0)
It's no longer the Kyren Williams show in LA. Towards the back end of the 2025 season, we saw Corum eat into Williams' workload more than ever before.
Look for that trend to continue in 2026 with head coach Sean McVay having just as much trust in Corum as he does in Williams.
And once you've earned McVay's trust and blessing, it's usually wheels up.
#Rams HC Sean McVay on Blake Corum:
“He’s a stud, and he’s gonna be a big factor in what we’re gonna do this year”
[McVay has a 75% reliability rating on usage/workload coachspeak] pic.twitter.com/NhNr8wNdst
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) July 25, 2026
I know what you're thinking, it's going to be extremely difficult for both Williams and Corum to be RB1s this season.
While that's probably true if they both stay healthy over the course of the season, it's not out of the realm of possibility we're talking about both guys as fringe top 15 backs.
The Rams have the highest average implied total per game this season (26.5 points) and are favored in 16 of 17 games.
Last season, Williams (51) and Corum (26) combined for 77 red zone rush attempts. In 2024, it was Williams with 65 red zone rush attempts to just eight for Corum. There's that trust we're talking about!
That gap should be even narrower this year, if not an even 50/50 split (eyes emoji).
Rams insider expects 50-50 split for Kyren Williams, Blake Corum
📸 Jayne Kamin-Oncea, Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images https://t.co/yjCRRUECzi pic.twitter.com/o5Z8MnbSXS
— Rams Wire (@TheRamsWire) May 2, 2026
That would make a lot of sense considering how well Corum ran the ball in his second season.
Per Fantasy Points Data, he was second in success rate (60.2%), 11th in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.18), fourth in yards before contact per attempt (2.81), and sixth in explosive run rate (6.4%).
Williams was first in success rate, but just 26th in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.14), 13th in yards before contact per attempt (2.43), and 25th in explosive run rate (4.0%).
That's not to say Corum is flat-out "better" than Williams (as his efficiency metrics come on fewer carries), but that is to say he's earned a lot more work in Year 3.
If this is truly a 50/50 split, expect both guys to finish as mid-range RB2s, with upside for one of these guys to compete for the overall RB1 spot should the other go down with an injury.
J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos
Yahoo ADP: RB35 (100.3)
I know what you're thinking, "Dobbins can't stay healthy." Yes, that's true, but if he can, he's got an outside shot to crack the top 12 running backs in fantasy football this season.
Believe it or not, per Draftsharks' injury profile, Dobbins is actually considered a "low" injury risk for the 2026 season.
He looked like one of the best backs in the league before suffering a foot sprain in Week 10 that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.
Dobbins ranked seventh in rushing yards per game (77.2), fourth in explosive run rate (7.8%), seventh in percentage of team carries inside the five (63.6%), third in missed tackles forced per attempt (0.20), and fifth in yards before contact per attempt (2.78).
He averaged just 11.6 fantasy points per game in those 10 games, but that's due in large part to a lack of touchdowns and targets.
The targets may not increase in 2026 with R.J. Harvey still in the mix on passing downs, but the touchdowns should.
In his rookie season, Dobbins scored nine touchdowns on 134 carries. In 2024, he scored nine touchdowns again on 195 carries. Last season, just four on 153 attempts.
If nothing else, his confidence is through the roof heading into the 2026 season, and I'm absolutely here for it!
“I keep saying it and people think I’m crazy, but I’m going to be No. 1 [in rushing in the NFL this year]. And I’m going to keep it there for the whole year. Seventeen games.”
—J.K. Dobbinshttps://t.co/25KRWE7U2q
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevens) August 3, 2026
Only a guy that's locked into a massive role on early downs makes a bold claim like that.
Dobbins will be running behind one of the best offensive lines in football on a team that got better offensively by adding an elite WR1 in Jaylen Waddle to the mix.
Don't be surprised if and when Dobbins flirts with RB1 production on a weekly basis this season.
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
Yahoo ADP: RB41 (120.6)
The Vikings have never averaged more than 109 rushing yards per game since Kevin O'Connell took over as head coach in 2022.
2022 was the tail end of Dalvin Cook's career. Then it was Alexander Mattison in 2023 and Aaron Jones Sr. in 2024 (another guy at the tail end of his career).
In 2025, we saw Jones fall off a cliff from an efficiency standpoint, while Mason somehow managed to average the 13th-highest true yards per carry (4.6).
This despite a lackluster offense led by an inexperienced rookie J.J. McCarthy, Carson Wentz, and undrafted rookie Max Brosmer.
Here's how Mason and Jones stacked up against each other last season (per Fantasy Points Data, ranked among 44 running backs with at least 125 rush attempts):
| Jordan Mason | Aaron Jones Sr. | |
| Rushing Success Rate | 56.0% (5th) | 49.2% (22nd) |
| Explosive Run Percentage | 5.7% (9th) | 3.8% (29th) |
| Yards After Contact per Attempt | 2.42 (12th) | 1.67 (44th) |
| Missed Tackles Forced per Attempt | 0.19 (8th) | 0.09 (40th) |
And this season, the offense should look a whole lot better with the addition of former Cardinal quarterback Kyler Murray.
He might not light the world on fire, but he's at the very least a capable quarterback with the ability to move a team down the field.
The Vikings struggled to do that at times last season. Mason still somehow punched it into the end zone six times on 159 carries.
In addition to Murray, Minnesota also brought in one of the best run-blocking receivers in the game in Jauan Jennings.
Last, but certainly not least, they hired Frank Smith, the Dolphins' offensive coordinator under Mike McDaniel from 2022-2025, and Chargers' run game coordinator before that.
Smith had 30-year-old Raheem Mostert running for 1,000+ yards and 18 touchdowns back in 2023.
It sounds like we'll be seeing more outside zone schemes from Smith. And guess what? Mason has been elite on outside zone runs throughout his career.
More outside zone coming for Vikings this season.
Jordan Mason career splits ...
Outside zone: 5.6 YPC (!!!)
All other concepts: 4.7 YPC https://t.co/OqqiLjsBFD
— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) August 7, 2026
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