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Joey's middle-round fantasy football running back sleepers, league-winners, and Zero-RB draft targets for 2026. His must-have RBs include D'Andre Swift, Chuba Hubbard, and more.
There is always some value to find at the running back position in the middle rounds. Whether you are looking for a high-upside running back or a serviceable RB2 after the first few rounds, there are always running backs who emerge as sleepers. Last year, Javonte Williams, Jaylen Warren, Quinshon Judkins, and Travis Etienne Jr. fit under this category.
This year, there are a handful of running backs being undervalued in drafts. This list will feature five mid-round running backs who fantasy managers should be looking to target in drafts. These running backs have the potential to be consistent fantasy options and could be that league-winner type at their respective ADPs. We will dive into five running backs going between the fifth round and the 10th round of current NFFC drafts.
Let's take a look at the biggest undervalued fantasy football running back sleepers in the mid-rounds of 2026 drafts.
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David Montgomery, Houston Texans
NFFC ADP: 53.4 (RB23)
Fantasy managers looking to take a running back in the middle rounds might look over veteran David Montgomery. He's coming off the worst rushing season of his career, just turned 29 years old, and is going to a worse offense from the Detroit Lions to the Houston Texans. Montgomery totaled career lows in both rush attempts (158) and rush yards (716) in his final season with the Lions in 2025.
However, there is a real opportunity in front of Montgomery to be a top-18 fantasy running back again. He doesn't have a superstar like Jahmyr Gibbs in front of him on the depth chart anymore, and the Texans are reportedly enamored with the seven-year veteran. The Athletic recently reported that "Houston views Montgomery as a legitimate three-down back."
If that happens to be the case, fantasy managers should all over him at his 53.4 ADP in NFFC leagues and 73.9 ADP on Sleeper. Montgomery was actually really efficient on the ground last year despite the limited opportunities behind Gibbs. He averaged 4.53 yards per carry (second-best of his career) to go with eight touchdowns.
There is no reason to believe that Montgomery can't be a consistent fantasy option in this offense. While there are some question marks about this Houston offensive line, as well as how much Woody Marks will eat into his workload, the 29-year-old could still average around 14 PPR fantasy points in 2026.
Montgomery should really settle in as that goal-line back for the Texans. He has 33 rushing touchdowns since the beginning of the 2023 season and is just a more physical back for those short-yardage situations than Marks. Montgomery is also a much better pass catcher than Marks, which should help him stay on the field more. The veteran has caught at least 30 passes and totaled over 300 yards in four of his last six seasons.
All this makes Montgomery a nice target at his ADP.
D'Andre Swift, Chicago Bears
NFFC ADP: 54.5 (RB24)
Fantasy managers should want to draft as many players from the Chicago Bears as possible this year. After going from the 28th overall offense in 2024 to the ninth overall offense in 2025, there is a strong chance that this Bears offense takes another step forward in 2026 in Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson's second season together in Chicago.
That should help running back D'Andre Swift continue to be a high-end RB2 fantasy option.
Swift is coming off one of his better fantasy seasons. He finished as the RB15 in PPR formats and averaged 14.3 PPR fantasy points across 16 contests. The 27-year-old ran for 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns while also adding 34 catches for 299 yards and one touchdown through the air. Those numbers helped him post consistent numbers throughout the year, as he finished as a top-20 fantasy RB in eight of the final 12 weeks.
D'Andre Swift ties it up again!
CHIvsSF on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/ktNXWAGdn7— NFL (@NFL) December 29, 2025
Even though Kyle Monangai will be heavily involved and could see somewhere between 40-45% of snaps each week, Swift is still going to be a viable fantasy running back every week. He is still the lead back on a Bears offense that could be even better than it was a season ago. The former Pro Bowl ranked top-15 among all RBs in yards per reception, explosive rating, breakaway runs, and run blocking rating in 2025.
With Monangai in danger of missing the start of the season due to a knee injury, Swift could greatly outperform his current ADP.
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers
NFFC ADP: 73.8 (RB27)
Some of the fantasy community appears to be out on Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard. That's not a total surprise, considering Hubbard posted some of the worst numbers of his career in 2025. The 27-year-old ran just 134 times for 511 yards and one touchdown across 15 games and eventually lost his starting job to Rico Dowdle by the middle of the season.
Nonetheless, the opportunity is there for Hubbard to be that solid RB2 fantasy option again. Dowdle left in the offseason, and that means Hubbard could very well be the RB1 in this offense throughout the 2026 campaign. He'll have to battle for touches with Jonathon Brooks, but the five-year veteran should have a leg up on a running back coming off two significant knee injuries.
Brooks has only appeared in three regular season games since being selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was recovering from a torn ACL entering his rookie season, then re-tore it in a Week 14 game against the Eagles. With the young running back coming off back-to-back ACL tears, there's no telling how he will look once he is back on the field.
The Panthers will likely be very careful with Brooks to start the 2026 season, which should give Hubbard enough time to reclaim that RB1 role in this offense and never give it back. Don't forget, this is the same running back who rushed for 1,195 yards and 10 touchdowns en route to an RB14 fantasy finish in 2024.
Chuba Hubbard calls game 🎬 pic.twitter.com/QUrrCkrQxv
— NFL (@NFL) December 22, 2024
Fantasy managers shouldn't give up on Hubbard after a season in which he dealt with a lingering calf issue. He is now fully healthy again and should start the season as Carolina's RB1 as Brooks gets reacclimated.
Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks
NFFC ADP: 76.3 (RB29)
Seattle Seahawks running back Jadarian Price is an interesting selection in the middle rounds of fantasy drafts this season. The team has already said that Price will not be a bellcow back to begin the year, and rookies always go through some ups and downs in their first year in the league. Just look at Ashton Jeanty, TreVeyon Henderson, and RJ Harvey from last year.
However, Price is one of the few running backs in the middle rounds who has a massive fantasy ceiling if everything goes his way, and everything could go his way in his rookie campaign.
The Seahawks invested high draft capital in Price by selecting him in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. He should almost certainly start the season as the team's RB1, with Kenneth Walker III leaving in free agency and Zach Charbonnet likely out until the second half after tearing his ACL in the playoffs. Those potential high-volume touches should make the rookie a viable RB2 fantasy option, even in that non-bellcow role.
Price should have no problem thriving in a non-workhorse role, as he is used to that from his college days. The 22-year-old ran for 746 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 games in 2024 and totaled 674 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 12 games for Notre Dame in 2025. His big-play ability is why he was taken so high in this year's draft.
Even if Seattle decides to give Price and Emanuel Wilson equal opportunities to begin the season, the rookie should still find himself as a low-end RB2. Price, though, could eventually see more chances as the season goes on. He is obviously more talented than Wilson and has very similar home-run potential to Walker.
Given that Price had 24 explosive runs (10+ yard runs) at Notre Dame last season, he could have a bigger role in this Seattle offense by midseason. That could push him to high-end RB2 status or even low-end RB1 status, depending on when Charbonnet returns.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
NFFC ADP: 100.8 (RB35)
There will be some fantasy managers who will completely avoid Los Angeles Rams running back Blake Corum in drafts because he isn't even the RB1 on his own team. He will obviously back up Kyren Williams this season and serve as a secondary runner in this offense. But Corum should remain a key part of Los Angeles' rushing attack, alongside Kyren Williams
The former Michigan star really started to show signs of breaking out late last season. He was getting more involved in the running game and was a solid RB2 fantasy option in the final few weeks of the season. Corum averaged 12.7 PPR fantasy points over the last six weeks of the regular season, which included a massive 128-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Cardinals in Week 14.
Blake Corum! Rams making a statement 😤
DETvsLAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/13sO5EjLgQ
— NFL (@NFL) December 14, 2025
It's clear that Corum isn't going away. He could find himself getting more opportunities than a season ago, and the Athletic said earlier this offseason that Williams and Corum will operate "in more of a 50-50 split" this season. If Corum plays around 50% of the team's snaps and sees double-digit touches each week, he could really be a smash pick at his 100.8 ADP in NFFC leagues.
The 25-year-old ranked sixth in true yards per carry, second in explosive rating, 14th in juke rate, 15th in breakaway runs, third in run blocking rating, and first in base front carry rate among all RBs in 2025. Corum would also creep up to RB1 territory if Williams ever misses any time, making him arguably the biggest upside pick at this point in drafts.
That's enough reason to grab him at his 100.8 ADP in current NFFC drafts.
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