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John's running back sleepers and busts for 2026 fantasy football. His top draft targets/values and fades/busts at RB, including David Montgomery, Kyle Monangai, and more.
The running back position is, unfortunately, one that tends to get quickly depleted in redraft leagues, whether in standard, half-PPR, or full-PPR. A starting running back with a large role in his offense is an extremely valuable fantasy asset to have.
In recent years, there haven't been many waiver wire league-winning RB pickups to make. Their roles tend to be a bit more defined and well-understood before the season starts, while that's often not the case for wide receivers.
In addition, their volume is often more closely tied to draft capital than it is for wide receivers and tight ends, and that role tends to stay steady regardless of quarterback injuries. So who are some good sleepers to target and some busts to avoid at the RB position for fantasy football in 2026? Let's dive in.
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Fantasy Football Running Back Sleepers to Target
D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
ADP 46, RB22
The Bears have alluded to Swift getting a bigger role in 2026 than he had last year. He'll be in his second year in elite offensive-minded head coach Ben Johnson's offense, and there are rumors swirling that he'll be asked to catch more passes this season.
A target is easily the most valuable type of touch for a running back in the NFL. Making a catch is a lot easier than running for 10 yards, and any yardage on top of that is just icing on the cake. Bears backup RB Kyle Monangai (knee) is dealing with a knee injury and isn't a good pass-catcher.
Johnson says D'Andre Swift's vision and execution of intended run reads have improved entering the season.
Ben Johnson: “It's the best I've seen him this time of year. You look back at a year ago, he was very explosive, and yet it takes a little while to gel between him and the… pic.twitter.com/yYwSXvkvq0
— MicNuggets (@micnuggetsnfl) August 27, 2026
Another year in Johnson's system should help him play even better. The Bears have an elite offensive line thanks to the efforts of new head coach Johnson, and the run-blocking is among the best in the NFL.
Swift is the better athlete of the two backs and gives the offense an explosive element out of the backfield. Explosive plays are also a much more important facet of fantasy production in recent seasons. The changes in defensive effectiveness and the shorter drives are a part of this.
The new kickoff rules are allowing offenses to start their drives with less yardage to go, which enables them to go on very short drives before their kickers can kick long field goals and award them points. An explosive play or two per game can change things and lead to more touchdowns.
Swift is a speedster that's ideally suited for playing on a team with a great offensive line. His contact balance isn't high-level, but it doesn't need to be when the defensive linemen are getting moved out of the way effectively.
David Montgomery, Houston Texans
ADP 49, RB 23
Montgomery feels eerily similar to former Texans RB Joe Mixon (foot). Mixon was in a not-so-great offense in 2024 with Houston, but still finished with 17.1 PPR points per game, rushing for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns and catching 36 passes for 309 yards and another score.
Mixon was fed a very high number of touches, which helped account for his lack of efficiency. Montgomery is still a solid running back, and he's likely to get the vast majority of the rushing work. He's a much more talented rusher than his backup, RB Woody Marks.
DAVID MONTGOMERY 35-YARD HOUSE CALL
DALvsDET on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/WhrhQ1Y5nZ— NFL (@NFL) December 5, 2025
Nearly 20 touches per game, even in an offense that isn't great, is enough to make an RB an every-week starter. The best RBs in fantasy football are highly coveted because they typically win their managers' leagues. Even the ones that don't have elite RB1 upside can be crucial because there's such a drop-off in production toward the lower end.
Montgomery should have multiple touchdowns in some spike weeks, as he'll likely be the goal-line back. The Texans have a solid amount of talent at wide receiver, even if quarterback C.J. Stroud continues to struggle.
Additionally, they have one of the best defenses in the NFL, which is huge for their run game. Running the ball on offense should allow them to control the clock as well, and turnovers typically give an offense far more flexibility in how it wants to operate.
A bigger role as a pass-catcher could be in line, too. Montgomery is an adequate blocker, and staying on the field in obvious passing situations is very important. He's quite effective at making defenders miss in tight spaces.
Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
ADP 60, RB 26
Price is a tough player to gauge. But with RB Zach Charbonnet still recovering from a torn ACL, we may see the rookie handle the bulk of the carries early in the season. It doesn't make much sense to draft a running back in the first round if you don't have a big role for him early on.
Charbonnet isn't an elite athlete, but he is a solid player who did a better job hitting the right holes and avoiding losses bouncing runs outside. That's an issue we saw RB Kenneth Walker III have, which is probably why he's no longer on the team.
First Rounder vs First Rounder
Jadarian Price vs Dillon Thieneman pic.twitter.com/xp0m8EObXC
— ᴅᴏxx ⚡️ (@new_era72) April 27, 2026
There's obviously concern that later in the season, we'll see Charbonnet start to take away goal-line touches and some short-yardage work. But jumping out to an early-season lead in your league's standings gives you the flexibility to do what you need later in the season, and Price should shine early for fantasy football.
Without former Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, Seattle's offense might not be quite as good as it was last season, but the rookie is a solid pick to make as a sure-fire starting running back in the middle rounds.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
ADP 100, RB 36
We saw Corum's role increase last season, and RB Kyren Williams' vice grip on the starting role slipped a bit. It's possible the Rams see them as mostly interchangeable, though Corum was still more heavily utilized when the game wasn't on the line. Still... that matters for fantasy football.
We probably won't see Williams have games with 30 or more touches, as he did in previous seasons. It's nice that his efficiency went up, but Corum was more efficient and had six rushing touchdowns as opposed to zero the year before.
Blake Corum rumbles 48 yards for the TD!
LARvsAZ on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/aroS7jo0iI
— NFL (@NFL) December 7, 2025
Los Angeles still has a great offense, and Corum is a fine pick to make late in drafts. He has enormous upside if Williams gets hurt as well. A further increase in his role to build on last year seems plausible considering the rhetoric that's come out of the Rams organization.
Fantasy Football Running Back Busts to Avoid
Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
ADP 45, RB20
It's tough for me to draft a lot of Irving this season. My analysis indicates that his first year in the NFL was somewhat of a "one-hit-wonder" -- even though he looked solid on film, the elite run-blocking schemes were the major driver of his production.
It's easy to come under fire for saying such things, but it's impossible for me to review his film from 2024 and not gawk at the elite level of run-blocking from offensive linemen to tight ends to receivers the Buccaneers' run game benefited from.
Current Jaguars head coach and former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen transformed the blocking of both offensive lines in a very positive way. The Jaguars offensive line went from one of the worst to a solid unit in 2025.
BUCKY IRVING 72-YARD TD
PHIvsTB on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/a4mwpvFFUz
— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025
Irving has nice upside as a receiver and is shifty in open space, but simply does not have the size to be a punishing runner up the middle. Maybe nobody on that roster does, but the problem is that his backup, Kenny Gainwell, was an excellent pass-catching back last season.
Irving isn't cut out for pass protection, so obvious third-down passing situations might be taken from him in favor of Gainwell. That should hurt his upside. Irving's rushing efficiency was horrible last season, too -- he averaged just 3.4 yards per rush last season. That's not sustainable in a large role.
The Buccaneers had injuries along the offensive line, but without Coen, the blocking schemes suffered, and Irving ran into walls at the line of scrimmage often. It may be hard for Tampa Bay to replicate that success moving forward.
Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
ADP 101, RB37
Monangai had a few big games when the starter Swift was injured last season. But now, the second-year pro is recovering from a knee injury and was less efficient and less effective than Swift both as a pass-catcher and as a runner.
We may see the gap between the two widen. Monangai was certainly a surprise, but he was a Round 7 draft pick at a position that isn't valued very highly by NFL teams. Swift is the better athlete by a long shot, too. Monangai is bigger, which helps at the goal line, but he could regress.
Kyle Monangai gives two adult men CTE (colorized 2025) pic.twitter.com/yRuCmpdpi5
— Matas Monangai Mbokazi Murakami (@loveliescrushed) August 30, 2026
It's hard to imagine a late-round pick carving out a larger role over time. Typically, their careers are quite short-lived. Even if Monangai looks solid on film, good coaches tend to know where to give the proper credit, and the offensive lines and run schemes helped him be relevant in fantasy and real football.
Monangai isn't much of a pass-catching back. The upside case relies on a ton of volume for both backs and an offense that puts up a huge amount of points. Even then, the risk of poor games is very high for someone being drafted inside the top 40 running backs.
He's essentially a more expensive handcuff.
Woody Marks, Houston Texans
ADP 42, RB 132
The signing of Montgomery indicates clearly that Houston doesn't want Marks to be the team's workhorse RB. His role is quite unclear now. While many assume he'll catch a lot of passes, that's hardly a given. Montgomery is quite solid with the ball in his hands in space, though he doesn't have extensive usage in that role.
Marks struggled to break tackles both in college and his rookie season. The Texans offense isn't great, and change-of-pace backs in bad offenses tend to be non-factors in fantasy football.
#Texans HC DeMeco Ryans on Woody Marks in Year 2:
“I’m seeing a more dynamic, faster, more physical runner. He’s running behind his pads... He just looks faster, looks more decisive. He’s looking really special, looking like he’s gonna have a special year.” pic.twitter.com/FJpoxGvHwH
— The Coachspeak Index (@CoachspeakIndex) August 22, 2026
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans didn't have much meaningful advice to provide on Marks' role in Year 2. He will be competing with much tougher competition, though, as RB Nick Chubb was clearly not his old self last year, and that was likely a big part of his recent retirement.
The lack of tackle-breaking ability on a bad offense could end up being a death sentence for Marks' chances at having a consistent role. You don't want benchwarmers in fantasy football when you could be using roster spots on high-upside players or those who have untapped potential.
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Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for D'Andre Swift, David Montgomery, Blake Corum, Jadarian Price, Bucky Irving, Woody Marks:
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