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RotoBaller staff's 2026 fantasy football rookie RB rankings. See the top rookie running backs and draft targets, including Jonah Coleman, Emmett Johnson, Mike Washington Jr., and more.
The 2026 fantasy football season is almost here, and one of the most exciting aspects of the early-season action is seeing first-year running backs make their debuts. Whether you're about to take part in a rookie draft or just want a peek at the rookie RBs for redraft leagues, we're here to help with our rookie fantasy football running back rankings for 2026.
The updated 2026 rookie RB rankings are constructed by Matt Donnelly, Phil Clark, Jackson Sparks, and Andrew Lalama. Our rookie rankings will be updated throughout the offseason, up until the start of the 2026 NFL regular season, based on training camp intel, preseason performances, injuries, and more. Below, see where key ball carriers such as Mike Washington Jr., Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Jonah Coleman, Emmett Johnson, and more stand, among all others.
In addition to these rookie rankings, in our 2026 fantasy football rankings dashboard, you will also find RotoBaller's Dynasty League rankings. Don't head into the year without them! Bookmark that page, and crush your 2026 fantasy football dynasty league drafts.
Bookmark our updated and revamped fantasy football rankings portal for all league formats!PPR rankings | Half-PPR rankings | Standard rankings | Rookie rankings | Superflex rankings | Dynasty rankings | Who To Start? | Injuries | Matchup Ratings | Strength of Schedule
Fantasy Football Rookie Running Back Rankings
Check out our PPR fantasy football rankings and standard (non-PPR) fantasy football rankings as well:
| Tier | Rank | Player Name | Pos |
| 1 | 1 | Jeremiyah Love | RB |
| 2 | 2 | Jadarian Price | RB |
| 3 | 3 | Jonah Coleman | RB |
| 3 | 4 | Emmett Johnson | RB |
| 3 | 5 | Mike Washington Jr. | RB |
| 3 | 6 | Nicholas Singleton | RB |
| 4 | 7 | Demond Claiborne | RB |
| 4 | 8 | Kaelon Black | RB |
| 4 | 9 | Kaytron Allen | RB |
| 4 | 10 | Adam Randall | RB |
| 4 | 11 | Seth McGowan | RB |
| 5 | 12 | Jam Miller | RB |
| 5 | 13 | J'Mari Taylor | RB |
| 5 | 14 | Roman Hemby | RB |
| 5 | 15 | Dean Connors | RB |
2026 Fantasy Football Rookie Running Back Outlooks
Kaytron Allen, Washington Commanders
The Washington Commanders were short-handed at running back during Wednesday's joint practice with the Ravens, providing sixth-round rookie Kaytron Allen with some of his most extensive work with the first-unit offense, but he was not the only rookie to benefit from the absence of Jacory Croskey-Merritt (groin) and the limitation of Rachaad White (hamstring). With the team's top two backs both dealing with short-term injuries, Allen split first-team reps with undrafted free agent Robert Henry Jr., with both players making their share of positive plays, according to Commanders senior writer Zach Selby.
Through two preseason games, Allen has more than doubled Henry's touch count, but the latter has been more efficient with his opportunities, averaging a full yard more per carry. As a Day 3 pick, Allen was never guaranteed a fantasy-viable workload, but still splitting time in what could essentially be seen as a best-case scenario, any bull case he had takes a serious hit, and there appears to be little reason to pay him mind in 2026 drafts.
Jeremiyah Love, Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals rookie first-round running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) was seen doing some agility work with trainers on a side field ahead of Wednesday's training camp practice, according to Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic. Love suffered a high-ankle sprain in the preseason game on Aug. 13, which puts his Week 1 availability for the contest against the Los Angeles Chargers in question. James Conner (foot) continues to rehab from foot surgery, and Trey Benson (knee) has been ruled out for the entire 2026 season, so Tyler Allgeier is getting even more work as he enters his first year with the team.
The 21-year-old Love is making progress, but he will not appear in the team's preseason finale and is just trying to work himself into a position to be active for the regular-season opener on Sept. 13. Love's ankle injury almost guarantees that the Cardinals will ease him back into their backfield early on in his rookie campaign alongside Allgeier, so fantasy managers should be drafting him as an RB2 with upside instead of surefire RB1.
Mike Washington Jr., Las Vegas Raiders
Arizona Cardinals rookie first-round running back Jeremiyah Love (ankle) was seen doing some agility work with trainers on a side field ahead of Wednesday's training camp practice, according to Theo Mackie of The Arizona Republic. Love suffered a high-ankle sprain in the preseason game on Aug. 13, which puts his Week 1 availability for the contest against the Los Angeles Chargers in question. James Conner (foot) continues to rehab from foot surgery, and Trey Benson (knee) has been ruled out for the entire 2026 season, so Tyler Allgeier is getting even more work as he enters his first year with the team.
The 21-year-old Love is making progress, but he will not appear in the team's preseason finale and is just trying to work himself into a position to be active for the regular-season opener on Sept. 13. Love's ankle injury almost guarantees that the Cardinals will ease him back into their backfield early on in his rookie campaign alongside Allgeier, so fantasy managers should be drafting him as an RB2 with upside instead of surefire RB1.
Nicholas Singleton, Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans running back Nicholas Singleton (foot) returned to practice on Tuesday. The Penn State product, who sustained a Jones fracture (a break in the fifth metatarsal) at the end of his collegiate career, has previously been limited in practices and missed Tennessee's preseason matchup against the Seattle Seahawks due to foot and ankle injury concerns.
Singleton finished his 2025 campaign ranked second on the Nittany Lions in rushing yards (549) and rushing TDs (13) before injuring his foot in January 2026. The fifth-round pick logged eight carries for 31 yards in one preseason appearance for the Titans, but isn't expected to get much playing time as long as Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears are healthy. Singleton has sleeper potential, but is a better late-round dynasty stash than a redraft league candidate.
Who Should I Draft Tool
Read more about the Who Should I Draft tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to draft...
Using The Tool. This is a simple tool but very powerful. The first step is to enter the player names that you want to compare. In the first box, search for the first player's name. In the second box, search for the second player's name. Compare up to four NFL players at once, and then click the Who To Draft? button to see who the recommended draft picks are based on fantasy football rankings, projections, and more.
Improvements For Who Should I Draft? You may have noticed our Who Should I Draft? tool has gotten an overhaul. We've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your 2026 fantasy football drafts. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, stats and projections, ADPs, strength of schedule, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Our RotoBaller staff puts together their preseason fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research and update it constantly throughout the preseason. That information is the core data that is powering the decision-making in this tool. When you search for player names, you will only see those players who are ranked.
Scoring Formats. Fantasy football managers play in various types of leagues, and this tool allows you to choose whether it's PPR scoring, Half-PPR scoring, or Standard (Non-PPR) scoring. The second thing you want to do is to select the scoring format. There are three small radio buttons (small circles), so click on the scoring format you prefer. The results may vary based on the scoring format you select.
Popular Draft Searches. Curious to see some tough draft decisions for 2026? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Draft? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Draft
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Draft tool for 2026 drafts for Mike Washington Jr., Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Jonah Coleman, Emmett Johnson:
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Check out all of RotoBaller's fantasy football rankings. Staff rankings are updated regularly for all positions and include standard formats, PPR scoring, tiered rankings and dynasty leagues.
