2026 Running Back Fantasy Football Draft Rankings: PPR Scoring

August 18, 2026

Updated PPR running back (RB) rankings for fantasy football. Tiered RB rankings for 2026, including Ashton Jeanty, Omarion Hampton, Christian McCaffrey, and more.

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While wide receivers and tight ends get a lot of shine in PPR leagues, there is no shortage of productive pass-catching running backs in the NFL, and their do-it-all skill sets make them potential league-winners in this format. Having a stable of productive running backs will always be key in your search for a fantasy title, so we're here to assist with our updated PPR fantasy football running back rankings for 2026.

Our 2026 fantasy football rankings are put together by Nick Mariano, a top-accuracy industry ranker and the lead forecaster here at RotoBaller. Find out where key RBs such as Ashton Jeanty, Chase Brown, Javonte Williams, Travis Etienne Jr., Jeremiyah Love, David Montgomery, Jadarian Price, and Quinshon Judkins stand below.

In addition to these PPR rankings, our 2026 fantasy football rankings dashboard also provides our team's Dynasty League rankings and Rookie Rankings. Bookmark those pages, and use them to prepare for all of your 2026 fantasy football drafts.

PPR Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings

Tier	Rank	Player Name	Pos
1	1	Jahmyr Gibbs	RB
1	2	Bijan Robinson	RB
1	3	Christian McCaffrey	RB
2	4	Jonathan Taylor	RB
2	5	James Cook III	RB
2	6	Saquon Barkley	RB
2	7	Chase Brown	RB
2	8	Kenneth Walker III	RB
2	9	De'Von Achane	RB
3	10	Derrick Henry	RB
3	11	Ashton Jeanty	RB
3	12	Omarion Hampton	RB
4	13	Kyren Williams	RB
4	14	Javonte Williams	RB
4	15	Breece Hall	RB
4	16	Travis Etienne Jr.	RB
4	17	Jeremiyah Love	RB
4	18	Josh Jacobs	RB
5	19	D'Andre Swift	RB
5	20	Cam Skattebo	RB
5	21	David Montgomery	RB
6	22	Jadarian Price	RB
6	23	Bhayshul Tuten	RB
6	24	Bucky Irving	RB
6	25	Quinshon Judkins	RB
6	26	Rhamondre Stevenson	RB
7	27	TreVeyon Henderson	RB
7	28	Tony Pollard	RB
7	29	Rico Dowdle	RB
7	30	Jaylen Warren	RB
7	31	J.K. Dobbins	RB
7	32	Jonathon Brooks	RB
8	33	Blake Corum	RB
8	34	RJ Harvey	RB
8	35	Kyle Monangai	RB
9	36	Kenneth Gainwell	RB
9	37	Chuba Hubbard	RB
9	38	Jordan Mason	RB
9	39	Jacory Croskey-Merritt	RB
9	40	Chris Rodriguez Jr.	RB
9	41	Rachaad White	RB
10	42	Keaton Mitchell	RB
10	43	Aaron Jones Sr.	RB
11	44	Tyrone Tracy Jr.	RB
11	45	Tank Bigsby	RB
11	46	Woody Marks	RB
11	47	Tyjae Spears	RB
11	48	Tyler Allgeier	RB
11	49	MarShawn Lloyd	RB
11	50	Brian Robinson Jr.	RB
11	51	Jonah Coleman	RB
12	52	Jaydon Blue	RB
12	53	Alvin Kamara	RB
12	54	Dylan Sampson	RB
12	55	Ray Davis	RB
12	56	Sean Tucker	RB
12	57	Samaje Perine	RB
13	58	Isiah Pacheco	RB
13	59	Zach Charbonnet	RB
13	60	James Conner	RB
13	61	Seth McGowan	RB
13	62	Emmett Johnson	RB
13	63	Jordan James	RB
13	64	Kaytron Allen	RB
13	65	Kaelon Black	RB
14	66	Braelon Allen	RB
14	67	Mike Washington Jr.	RB
14	68	Justice Hill	RB
14	69	Emanuel Wilson	RB
14	70	Demond Claiborne	RB
14	71	Nicholas Singleton	RB
14	72	Ty Johnson	RB
14	73	Chris Brooks	RB
14	74	Kimani Vidal	RB
15	75	Jaylen Wright	RB
15	76	DJ Giddens	RB
15	77	Najee Harris	RB
15	78	George Holani	RB
15	79	Emari Demercado	RB
15	80	Isaiah Davis	RB
16	81	Trevor Etienne	RB
16	82	LeQuint Allen Jr.	RB
16	83	Ollie Gordon II	RB
16	84	Devin Singletary	RB
16	85	Kaleb Johnson	RB
16	86	Brashard Smith	RB
16	87	Jarquez Hunter	RB
16	88	Jerome Ford	RB
16	89	Devin Neal	RB
16	90	Adam Randall	RB
16	91	Kyle Juszczyk	RB
16	92	Malik Davis	RB
16	93	Will Shipley	RB
17	94	Phil Mafah	RB
17	95	Trey Benson	RB

Fantasy Football Running Back Player News

J.K. Dobbins, Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos running back J.K. Dobbins was back in full pads Tuesday as he continues working through the soft-tissue issue that cut short his Aug. 10 practice. Dobbins was already back doing individual drills the next day and practiced Wednesday again, then returned Monday during Denver's non-padded session.

So this hasn't turned into a long absence. He ran for 772 yards and four touchdowns on 153 carries in 10 games last season before a foot injury sent him to injured reserve after Week 10. Denver re-signed him to a two-year deal in March, and Dobbins is still listed first on the Broncos' initial unofficial depth chart ahead of RJ Harvey. Rookie Jonah Coleman is in the mix, too, after a good start to camp. Tuesday's full-pads appearance is another good sign for Dobbins, but there still hasn't been confirmation that he's back to a completely normal workload. That's the next thing to watch.

Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals rookie first-round running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) does not need surgery on his high-ankle sprain, head coach Mike LaFleur told Tyler Drake of Arizona Sports. Love, the third overall pick in April from Notre Dame, suffered a high-ankle sprain in Thursday's preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders and is unlikely to play in the team's final two preseason contests. The good news is that the 21-year-old do-it-all back will not need surgery, and the Cardinals are hopeful that he will be ready to make his regular-season NFL debut in Week 1 versus the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 13.

Arizona's RB room is pretty banged up right now with Love, James Conner (foot), and Trey Benson (knee) all nursing injuries, leaving more work for Tyler Allgeier to close out training camp and the preseason. Love easily has the most short- and long-term upside of all the Cardinals' RBs, but reports have suggested that he might be more of a featured back in his rookie season instead of an every-down one. Still, he is going to come off the board in the early rounds of most fantasy drafts as at least a high-end RB2 in what is expected to be a run-heavy offense in 2026 under LaFleur.

Breece Hall, New York Jets

New York Jets running back Breece Hall (groin) exited Monday's practice with a groin injury and is now expected to miss 2-3 weeks, with head coach Aaron Glenn telling reporters he will be ready for the start of the regular season, according to The Athletic's Zack Rosenblatt. Hall pulled up after catching a pass on Monday and went down without any contact, but the team's lead back appears to have avoided serious injury. The former second-round pick has lived in mid-RB2 territory in each of the past two seasons after an overall RB4 finish in 2023.

Still, with the Jets offense projected to take a sizable step forward following a change at quarterback, Hall could be seen as an underrated draft target, as his ADP has seen little movement. Now projected to be available for the team's Week 1 matchup with the Titans, Hall remains an attractive third-round option at RotoBaller's RB15, adding upside as an RB2 or allowing WR-heavy drafters to still find a trustworthy starting back outside of the first two rounds.

Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears has had a productive summer, accumulating 39 yards on five touches in the team's preseason opener and carrying that momentum back to the practice field. With Tony Pollard (foot), Nick Singleton (undisclosed/foot), and Kalel Mullings (hip) all held out of Monday's session, Spears was the Titans' most active back, particularly in the passing game, where senior writer Jim Wyatt credits him with a practice-high six catches.

Spears has stood out for his receiving work for much of camp, and he figures to carry a significant pass-catching role into the regular season, making him an underrated late-round target in PPR leagues. Currently being selected as the RB53, he has standalone value that more than justifies his draft cost and can lead the backfield if forced into a larger role, as evidenced on Monday.

Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (undisclosed) is actually dealing with tightness despite speculation that he was sitting out due to contractual reasons, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. There had been plenty of recent speculation on social media that McCaffrey was holding in, but Rapoport confirmed that he is actually experiencing tightness, as the 49ers previously announced. The exact specifics of his injury are unknown, though, and it's too early to tell whether he'll play in the 49ers' season opener against the Los Angeles Rams.

The good news, though, is that it's not believed to be much of a concern. McCaffrey is no stranger to injury concerns, but he was able to stay healthy for a full slate of 17 games last season. In doing so, he tallied 413 touches, 2,126 scrimmage yards, and 17 touchdowns en route to ranking as the RB1 in PPR leagues. Even at 30 years old, he remains capable of leading his position group in fantasy points if he can stay healthy for a full season. Fantasy managers will want to monitor McCaffrey's status and seek out additional updates as Week 1 gets closer.

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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft

Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Ashton Jeanty, Chase Brown, Javonte Williams, Travis Etienne Jr., Jeremiyah Love, David Montgomery, Jadarian Price, Quinshon Judkins: