Running Back and Tight End Sleepers: Vacated Targets

August 22, 2026

Thunder Dan Palyo outlines which fantasy football running backs and tight ends have huge opportunities in 2026 based on the amount of vacated air yards and targets on their teams.

Earlier this week, I wrote about wide receivers who stand to benefit this season as a result of roster turnover in the offseason. Now, it's time to look at the tight ends and running backs who could also see an uptick in usage in 2026.

We tend to focus on targets and air yards for wide receivers more than other positions, but some teams utilize their backs more often than others in the passing game. The tight end position has become increasingly more important league-wide, too, with tight ends commanding a larger share of targets than it seems like they ever have before.

Like last time, the main focus here is on players who are mid-tier or late-round values. Let's dig into the data and see who pops in a big way when evaluating the vacated targets at the running back and tight end positions.

Vacated Targets Equal Opportunity

What we're looking for here are teams that lost some of their top pass-catchers in the offseason. Looking at the vacated targets for entire teams (and comparing them) gives us a sense of where the largest opportunities exist.

Vacated Targets: All Positions

We can even look at how many red zone targets were vacated on each team to try and find some touchdown upside for receivers, too.

Percentage of Vacated Targets Inside Ten-Yard Line

This data includes players from all positions. While I focused on wide receivers in my last article, this time I'm looking at which running backs and tight ends could specifically benefit from the departure of their former teammates.

Running Back Values

We have position-specific data for vacated targets to chew on. Some teams simply throw to their running backs more often than others, whether that's a product of a specific quarterback's tendency or the offensive scheme.

Bucky Irving, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (55)

Note: All ADP is from Yahoo and appears in parentheses after each player's team.

Who's ready for a Bucky bounce-back in 2026? I'm someone who drafted him in the second round last season, and I'm still a believer in his talent. Irving's 2025 season was stifled by injuries to both him and his offensive line, and now we are seeing him go in the fifth round despite being the lead back on a team with playoff potential.

Yes, the Bucs did bring in Kenneth Gainwell to replace Rachaad White as the third-down complement to Irving, but let's not act as if Irving is strictly an early-down grinder. Irving is a dynamic receiver who had 47 catches for 392 yards in 2024 and another 30 catches for 277 yards (and three touchdowns) last season.

Baker Mayfield TO BUCKY IRVING FOR A 72-YARD TOUCHDOWN‼️‼️

Bucs aren’t going down without a fight 👀

Eagles lead the Buccaneers by 11…

pic.twitter.com/IZMkAov3c4

— Mikerophone (@MikerophoneNFL) September 28, 2025

The worst-case scenario for Bucky is that Sean Tucker steals goal-line touches and Gainwell eats too much into his receiving duties. But those risks are baked into his ADP. If he stays healthy this year, he's going to get his fair share of rushing touchdowns (he had eight in 2024), and I think he'll earn another 50+ targets as a receiver. Sure, you can still draft Gainwell later as an insurance policy, but Bucky is a back with second-round upside that is being taken 30+ picks later.

Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars (62)

When Travis Etienne Jr. departed for New Orleans, he took 52 targets from last season with him. He had the same number of targets in 2024 and a 73-target season back in 2023.

There has been a pretty heated discussion this summer about which Jacksonville receiver is the player to draft this season between Parker Washington and Brian Thomas Jr., but it's pretty clear that the Jaguars like to throw the football to their running backs and that trend didn't change with the arrival of Liam Coen last season.

Tuten had a very minor role in the passing game last year, catching just 10 of 14 targets for 79 yards. But that doesn't mean that he's not a capable receiver. While Laquint Allen is in the mix for some third-down work, I expect Tuten to soak up the majority of those targets that Etienne got last season.

Etienne had six receiving touchdowns, and Tuten added two more of his own. And let's not forget that the aforementioned Bucky Irving thrived as a receiver in Coen's offense in Tampa Bay in 2024.

Is Chris Rodriguez a threat to steal goal line touches? Perhaps, but Tuten is still the better all-around back, and I expect him to thrive in this offense this season in many different roles.

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers (77)

Holy targets, Batman! Kenneth Gainwell was targeted 82 times by Aaron Rodgers (and Mason Rudolph) last season and is now in Tampa Bay. Jaylen Warren now finds himself in a committee with Rico Dowdle, who arrives in Pittsburgh after a 1000-yard rushing campaign in Carolina.

Whether Warren or Dowdle is officially the starter matters not to me. It's really about how each will be used in this offense. The Steelers tried to make Warren an early-down back last year, but I think Dowdle is much better suited for that role, with Warren picking up more of the passing game work.

Jaylen Warren went crazy on this catch and run 🔥

SEAvsPIT on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/fKSeR78pKg

— NFL (@NFL) September 14, 2025

Warren has 61, 38, and 40 receptions in his last three seasons. His ability to pick up blitzes in pass protection is incredibly important with Aaron Rodgers' lack of mobility, and his reliable hands and shiftiness in the open field make him a dynamic playmaker in the passing game.

That lack of mobility from Rodgers is going to lead to a lot more checkdowns again this season. I don't think Warren gets close to 80+ targets as Gainwell did, but I do think he outperforms Dowdle as a receiver and that the pass-catching back in this offense is the guy we want.

Mike McCarthy targeted his backs heavily during his time in Dallas, especially in his first two seasons there when Ezekiel Elliot and Tony Pollard combined for 111 targets in both 2020 and 2021.

Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns (131)

I tend to agree with my friend Adam Koffler when it comes to targeting Browns players in fantasy football this year.

The Browns are gonna be so bad this season, no way in hell you’ll find me drafting anyone on this team https://t.co/tvZNwJcZV3

— Adam Koffler (@AdamKoffler) August 20, 2026

But I think I'll make one exception - I like Dylan Sampson late in drafts. He earned 40 targets in his rookie season, catching 33 balls for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Quinshon Judkins was non-existent as a pass-catcher last year, and with Jerome Ford (who was targeted 32 times last year) no longer in Cleveland, there's a real chance that Sampson could see 60+ targets on a bad Browns team that will be playing in a lot of negative (likely pass-heavy) game scripts this year.

Emmett Johnson, Kansas City Chiefs (182)

The buzz around Chiefs camp is that rookie Johnson has separated himself from Emari Demercado and Breshard Smith and is the RB2 in Kansas City to start the season. There's been a lot of Kenneth Walker III hype this summer, but he costs a second-round pick, and I'm not entirely sold that he's ready for the three-down bellcow role that everyone wants for him.

Former Iowa DB Xavier Nwankpa with a big hit on former Nebraska RB Emmett Johnson at the end of this play.

The college rivalry carrying over to camp #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/oXeeE0nnWj

— Matt Foster (@MattFosterTV) August 10, 2026

Check out the nifty catch he made on that play before getting decked! Johnson caught 46 balls for 370 yards in his senior season at Nebraska, so we know he's got the ability to be a productive receiver. Maybe KWIII gets the majority of targets this year in Eric Bienemy's offense, but maybe he doesn't! Walker has never handled more than a 64% snap share (2024), and whoever gets utilized as a receiver in this KC offense this year could emerge with some real value.

If Johnson can get on the field for some passing downs, I think he has some standalone appeal as a late-round pick this year. And he's obviously a very valuable handcuff for Walker, who has dealt with his fair share of injuries already in his career.

Tight End Values

We have two teams that both have huge raw totals of vacated targets in Miami and Washington. The Titans lost the most total TE targets with Chig Okonkwo's departure, but with Gunnar Helm also being heavily targeted last season, it's a smaller percentage of Tennessee's TE targets last season. Chig and Helm are both firmly on my radar this season!

Isaiah Likely, New York Giants (109)

Likely is the buzziest of my late-round targets, and there's a good chance you may have to take him a round earlier than this if we keep getting positive reports about his rapport with Jaxson Dart out of Giants camp.

I think the hype is pretty warranted in Likely's situation. He's flashed big play potential in his first four years in Baltimore as a part-time player in a run-heavy offense, but now he has the opportunity to be a full-time starter and probably the second option in the New York passing game behind Malik Nabers.

The vacated targets at the TE position (26) come from Daniel Bellinger's departure, but let's not forget that the other Giants' tight end, Theo Johnson, had 74 targets in this offense last year. And while I know that Wan'Dale Robinson's 140 targets last season were a product of Nabers missing most of the season, some of those targets are up for grabs as well, as Nabers will surely soak up most of them, but not all of them. That's especially true of all the shorter routes that Robinson ran, which would be better suited for Likely.

Young quarterbacks love a reliable tight end as a safety valve, and I think an 80+ target season for Likely is well within the range of outcomes this year.

Chig Okonkwo, Washington Commanders (127)

The arrival of Stefon Diggs has squashed a little of my enthusiasm about Chig as a late-round TE with massive upside. But we shouldn't write him off entirely, and perhaps we should even consider buying the dip.

Last year, Zach Ertz had a whopping 72 targets from the TE position, and even with Diggs in the fold, Chig could potentially still operate as the third option in this passing game, as Washington doesn't have a lot of depth in their wide receiver room.

I mentioned it in my Diggs' blurb earlier this week, but the injury to left tackle Laremy Tunsil is very concerning for Daniels' pass protection, and it could force him into more short throws. That should benefit Diggs and Okonkwo both and hurts Terry McLaurin more than anyone else.

There is some touchdown potential here, too, as Ertz had a 21% share of Washington's targets inside the 10-yard line. Deebo Samuel had a 30% share of those targets, too, and you'll notice that Washington is atop the leaderboard in vacated goal line target percentage.

Juwan Johnson, New Orleans Saints (130)

I love the Saints this year. I am a big fan of Tyler Shough and Kellen Moore as a play-caller. The obvious Saint to draft this year is Chris Olave in the third round, but a sneaky way to get some exposure to this New Orleans offense may be through Johnson at the TE position.

After the Rashid Shaheed trade, Juwan Johnson was the TE5 in yards per game and TE8 in receptions per game.

— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) August 20, 2026

Rookie Jordyn Tyson is out for at least the first half of the season, and Alvin Kamara is already dealing with an injury, too. Most of the vacated targets from Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau are probably heading Noah Fant's way, as Fant is now the TE2 behind Johnson. But let's not forget that Johnson earned 102 targets last year! He has a pretty good shot at doing it again this year, and if he can increase his touchdown production (just three in each of the last two seasons), we are looking at a potential big year from him.

Greg Dulcich, Miami Dolphins (132)

Dulcich has seen his ADP increase for several months as the perception was that he could be a potential target monster on a Miami team that is bereft of other weapons in the passing game. But that buzz has cooled down a bit as the Caleb Douglas hype train picks up.

Let's not lose the plot here though, folks. Dulcich is an uber-reliable receiver who earned 33 targets in 10 games last year, and he's the main candidate to soak up the 34 targets that were vacated by Darren Waller's departure, as Dulcich has two unproven rookies behind him on the depth chart. Julian Hill and Tanner Connor combined for another 35 targets from the TE position as well.

The Dolphins will have to pass the ball this year, and they will have to throw it to someone other than DeVon Achane. We saw Malik Willis throw the ball down the field quite often in his first preseason game, too, which is a good sign for Dulcich and the other Miami pass-catchers. But even if Dulcich does have to soak up a lot of shorter throws, he should see more than enough volume for him to be a useable weekly option this year.

Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans (223)

The sleeper of all TE sleepers this year is Gunnar Helm, who finished fourth on the team in targets last year with 55. He and Chig Okonwo combined for a whopping 134 targets as Cam Ward targeted his tight ends more than any other quarterback in 2026.

Gunnar Helm in Monday’s @Titans practice pic.twitter.com/oo2PCA6M5N

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) August 17, 2026

We know Chig is now in Washington, and the Titans replaced him with Daniel Bellinger, who comes over from New York. Both players will be utilized in 12 personnel, but Helm should be the unquestioned starter in one-tight end sets, and he could continue to be a safety blanket for his young quarterback.

There's not a lot of big-play upside with Helm, but he could get enough volume to be useful in PPR formats. He's a solid TE2 this year and deserves to be rostered in standard leagues despite his low ADP!

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