5 Fantasy Football Running Backs To Sell In Dynasty Leagues (2026)

February 16, 2026

Which fantasy football running backs should managers sell in dynasty leagues? Aidin Ebrahimi looks at five running backs who you should be selling in the 2026 offseason.

In the 2025 NFL season, five teams ran more than they passed. Those teams included the Packers, Bills, and the Super Bowl LX champion Seahawks, three of the most successful teams in the league. RBs are on the rise once again.

Getting a good running back is now crucial to winning a fantasy championship, but sometimes you have to cut your losses and sell the running backs who are on a downward trajectory, especially because of the position's short shelf life.

Without further ado, let's look at five running backs to sell in dynasty fantasy football leagues ahead of the 2026 season.

Saquon Barkley - Philadelphia Eagles

Many doubted Saquon Barkley when he signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2024 offseason. Barkley was coming off a disappointing and injury-riddled 2023 campaign, and fans had doubts about whether he could return to his peak after six seasons of playing with the dysfunctional New York Giants.

Highlighting the birthday boy! Happy Birthday Saquon! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/jMK0gEVFyi

— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) February 9, 2026

Barkley proved all of his doubters wrong in 2024, as he had one of the best seasons a running back has ever had in recent memory.

He averaged 22.2 PPR points per game, the most of any running back since Christian McCaffrey in the previous season. He amassed 2,283 yards from scrimmage and scored 15 total touchdowns, and continued his good play in the postseason to help the Eagles win a Super Bowl.

Barkley was made the highest-paid running back in NFL history in the 2025 offseason, and many considered him to be the best player in the world. However, Barkley's 2025 season was a huge letdown, as his yards per touch declined from 6.0 to 4.5.

Many factors can be attributed to his poor season, such as the team's decline in run blocking compared to 2024 and Kevin Patullo's uncreative play-calling.

But we must not forget that running backs decline suddenly, especially when they're approaching 30 with around 2,000 touches. Barkley, who just turned 29, has had a remarkable 3,115 touches since his freshman year at Penn State.

Of course, Barkley has proved that he can bounce back from down years on multiple occasions, such as in 2022 and 2024. But even if he does bounce back in 2026, it'd be hard to imagine him returning to his extremely high 2024 standards.

It's always better to be early than late in dynasty fantasy football, and if you were one of the lucky managers who got a ring out of Barkley in 2024, it's time to sell him while you still can get some value.

Rico Dowdle - Carolina Panthers

Rico Dowdle got his first opportunity to be a starter in the NFL in the 2024 season and did a solid job as the Cowboys' RB1. But the Cowboys reportedly felt he couldn't replicate his production and wanted some change after what was a disappointing year for the team as a whole.

Dowdle signed with the Panthers, initially as the RB2 behind Chuba Hubbard, but then he had the stretch of a lifetime once Hubbard suffered a calf injury.

Dowdle put up a historic 473 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage in two games without Hubbard in the lineup, which caused Hubbard to return earlier than anticipated in an attempt to save his starting job.

Dowdle won the midseason position battle, but the Panthers began to see diminishing returns from him. As Hubbard got healthier, Dowdle's snap count gradually decreased.

Dowdle ran for just 341 yards on 105 carries (3.2 yards per attempt) in his last eight games of the year, and only played in 35.8% of the team's snaps during its playoff loss to the Rams.

With the Panthers fully committed to the younger Hubbard, Dowdle is currently being linked to a shock return to the Cowboys. We've seen how quick the Cowboys are to change their running backs every year, so a return to Dallas wouldn't exactly be the most reassuring scenario for Dowdle's long-term fantasy value.

If no other team is willing to offer him an RB1 role, Dowdle's stock could plummet even further.

Rachaad White - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Before becoming a superstar at LSU, Jayden Daniels was the starting quarterback at Arizona State. That's where Daniels first met and played with Rachaad White.

Rachaad White touchdown!

TBvsSEA on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/rCaBTsCCK3

— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025

The pair rushed for a combined 2,359 yards and 30 touchdowns in 15 games together, and despite White leaving for the NFL and Daniels transferring to LSU, the pair formed a strong bond and are still close to this day.

Now that White is set to leave the Buccaneers in free agency, he's looking to reunite with Daniels on the Washington Commanders. It's one of the most "no-brainer" moves of the 2026 offseason, but will it be beneficial to White's fantasy value?

When he arrives in Washington, he'll have to compete with Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who finished fourth amongst rookies in rushing yards (805) and third in rushing touchdowns (eight).

Yes, he was wildly inconsistent and didn't live up to the crazy (and unjustified) fantasy hype, but those are very promising returns from a seventh-round rookie.

White will make plenty of solid plays in Washington and will likely get more touches than "Bill," but the days of him being a team's full-on RB1 like in 2023 are long gone.

Alvin Kamara - New Orleans Saints

Alvin Kamara will go down in history as one of the most productive running backs of our generation and a fantasy football icon. 11,541 yards and 85 touchdowns from scrimmage in 115 games from 2017 to 2024, all while having to deal with many injuries and weak rosters after Drew Brees' retirement.

But the wheels finally fell off in 2025, his age-30 season. He kicked the year off with a bang, scoring in the season opener and rushing for 256 yards in his first four games.

However, Kamara would only rush for 215 more yards in his next seven games before going down with a season-ending MCL injury. The Saints are headed to a new era, with Devin Neal and Audric Estime showing lots of promise toward the end of the season, not to mention the oft-injured but still full of potential Kendre Miller.

Kamara is only under contract for one more year, and his fantasy value will only go down from here.

Aaron Jones Sr. - Minnesota Vikings

Another former superstar RB from the 2017 draft class, Aaron Jones Sr.'s switch from Green Bay to Minnesota in 2024 proved to be a wise decision, as he tallied 1,546 yards and scored seven touchdowns to help the Vikings to an unexpected 14-win season.

Aaron Jones is in for the TD!@Vikings take advantage of the turnover to take the lead.

DETvsMIN on @Netflix pic.twitter.com/FK5YIVRksc

— NFL (@NFL) December 25, 2025

Unfortunately, Jones struggled in his second year as a Viking. He suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for four games, and he only averaged 45.7 rushing yards per game when he was healthy, a far cry from the 66.9 yards per game he put up in the previous campaign.

In Jones' absence, Jordan Mason stepped up and showed that he is one of the most impressive pure runners in the league. Mason ranked in the top eight in yards after contact per carry in 2025 (3.41) while also forcing a missed tackle on 32.1% of his rushing attempts.

Both players have one year left on their deals, and Jones will be 32 with over 2,000 career touches after this year. Jones is no longer a superstar, and the Vikings are looking to move into a new era, so it's time to move on from him in dynasty leagues.

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