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Updated Wild Card NFL playoffs fantasy football running back rankings for PPR scoring (2026). Set winning lineups with our Wild Card weekend rankings for fantasy football.
If you're still itching to play fantasy football during the NFL playoffs, we have you covered! We're back with our Wild Card Weekend fantasy football PPR running back rankings for 2026 to help. Where do key chain-movers at RBs like Travis Etienne Jr., Kyren Williams, Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, D'Andre Swift, Woody Marks, and more stand, among all others? Navigate the table below to find out.
Our running back fantasy football rankings for Wild Card Weekend are put together by Nick Mariano. Below the rankings, you will also find key fantasy football outlooks from our RotoBaller staff, as well as the "Who to Start?" tool. Also, be sure to check our fantasy football news for this week. There are always key injuries and developments to keep track of, so check back throughout the week for updates.
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Wild Card Round PPR Running Back Rankings for Fantasy Football
| RB Tier |
RB Rank |
Player Name |
Pos. | Overall Rank |
| 1 | 1 | Christian McCaffrey | RB | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | James Cook III | RB | 4 |
| 2 | 3 | Travis Etienne Jr. | RB | 5 |
| 2 | 4 | Kyren Williams | RB | 6 |
| 2 | 5 | Saquon Barkley | RB | 8 |
| 2 | 6 | Jaylen Warren | RB | 10 |
| 3 | 7 | Kenneth Gainwell | RB | 11 |
| 3 | 8 | Josh Jacobs | RB | 13 |
| 3 | 9 | TreVeyon Henderson | RB | 14 |
| 3 | 10 | Woody Marks | RB | 15 |
| 3 | 11 | D'Andre Swift | RB | 16 |
| 3 | 12 | Rico Dowdle | RB | 23 |
| 3 | 13 | Rhamondre Stevenson | RB | 26 |
| 3 | 14 | Kyle Monangai | RB | 28 |
| 3 | 15 | Blake Corum | RB | 31 |
| 4 | 16 | Kimani Vidal | RB | 37 |
| 4 | 17 | Emanuel Wilson | RB | 39 |
| 4 | 18 | Chuba Hubbard | RB | 44 |
| 5 | 19 | Tank Bigsby | RB | 46 |
| 5 | 20 | Bhayshul Tuten | RB | 51 |
| 5 | 21 | Jawhar Jordan | RB | 54 |
| 5 | 22 | Ty Johnson | RB | 55 |
| 5 | 23 | Ray Davis | RB | 57 |
| 5 | 24 | Brian Robinson Jr. | RB | 58 |
| 5 | 25 | Kyle Juszczyk | RB | 66 |
| 6 | 26 | Chris Brooks | RB | 67 |
| 6 | 27 | Jaret Patterson | RB | 68 |
| 6 | 28 | Ronnie Rivers | RB | 78 |
| 6 | 29 | Hassan Haskins | RB | 80 |
| 7 | 30 | Dare Ogunbowale | RB | 82 |
| 7 | 31 | Will Shipley | RB | 83 |
| 7 | 32 | Nick Chubb | RB | 84 |
| 7 | 33 | LeQuint Allen Jr. | RB | 85 |
| 8 | 34 | D'Ernest Johnson | RB | 89 |
| 8 | 35 | A.J. Dillon | RB | 91 |
| 8 | 36 | Jarquez Hunter | RB | 92 |
| 8 | 37 | Kaleb Johnson | RB | 94 |
| 8 | 38 | Trevor Etienne | RB | 97 |
| 8 | 39 | DeeJay Dallas | RB | 99 |
Wild Card Weekend Running Back Outlooks for Fantasy Football
Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers rookie running back Omarion Hampton (ankle), who will reportedly carry a questionable tag into Sunday night's Wild-Card matchup with the Patriots, told reporters on Friday that he plans to play. Along with most of the team's starters, Hampton sat out of the team's Week 18 loss to the Broncos, but he did not practice in the week leading up to that game, and he has been listed as a DNP for the first two practices heading into Wild Card Weekend. Managers participating in fantasy playoff leagues will need to monitor Friday's injury report to see if Hampton can log at least a limited session.
The Patriots' run defense struggled down the stretch after a dominant start to the season, but with Milton Williams (ankle) back in the lineup following a five-game absence, the team held Miami to 2.5 yards per carry in a dominant Week 18 showing. With leading tackler Robert Spillane also expected to be available for the playoffs, Hampton could face tough sledding in his first career playoff game.
TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
The Boston Herald's Doug Kyed did not see New England Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson at Friday's practice. It's unclear why Henderson was not on the practice field, but it will be a situation that we will monitor closely going into the weekend. If the rookie RB's status is in question going into Sunday night's Wild-Card playoff game against the visiting Los Angeles Chargers, it would open up a much bigger role for fellow backfield mate Rhamondre Stevenson and make him a surefire RB1 for fantasy football playoff lineups.
The 23-year-old Henderson had 13 carries for 53 yards and two touchdowns in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the Miami Dolphins, and he finished his rookie year in the NFL by averaging 11.2 half-PPR points, ranking him 23rd among all RBs. He's one of the most explosive young backs in the league, so it would be a key loss for New England if he's unable to play this weekend.
Ty Johnson, Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said on the radio that running back Ty Johnson will practice on Friday, and the team will see how he does, according to Joe Buscaglia of The Athletic. Johnson tweaked his ankle in the Week 18 regular-season finale against the New York Jets and was unable to practice on Wednesday or Thursday. It's good news that the 28-year-old is back on the field on Friday, but he'll likely at least carry a questionable designation into Sunday's Wild-Card playoff tilt against the hosting Jacksonville Jaguars.
Johnson had two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving) in the Week 18 win on 15 touches, but it came with the Bills resting starting RB James Cook. If Johnson can play this weekend, he'll likely operate as the RB3 in Buffalo's backfield and won't be a recommended sleeper play in fantasy at the RB position.
Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers running back Emanuel Wilson has had a nice 2025 season, rushing for 496 yards on 125 attempts (3.97 YPC) and scoring three touchdowns across 17 games. His involvement in the Packers offense increased this season, as he has played a complementary role to starter Josh Jacobs, and he has also filled in for Jacobs a handful of times throughout the 2025 season, providing fantasy managers with a plug-and-play RB2 option during those weeks.
With the Packers resting their starters in Week 18, and Jacobs coming out and saying on Wednesday that "this is the best he's felt in six weeks," after dealing with a knee injury for the majority of the second half of the season, it appears likely that the Packers will lean on the veteran in this situation. This would make it difficult to justify rostering Wilson in fantasy playoff leagues as anything more than a bench spot should Jacobs get hurt, and Wilson would step in.
Who Should I Start Tool
Not sure who to start? Check out the Who Should I Start tool:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to start...
Who Should I Start? Who Should I Sit? Some common Wild Card fantasy football lineup decisions are regarding players like Travis Etienne Jr., Kyren Williams, Jaylen Warren, Kenneth Gainwell, D'Andre Swift, Woody Marks. But not to worry, we are here to help make these decisions and build winning lineups.
Wild Card Player Decisions. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups for Wild Card Weekend. Our free Who Should I Start? tool will help make your fantasy football lineup decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to start... all free! Get your winning lineups set, and make the right decisions.
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 Start? button to see who the recommended starts are based on weekly fantasy football matchups.
Improvements For Who Should I Start? You may have noticed, we've added lots of great features for you to give you as much information as possible to win your fantasy football matchups each week. You'll see NFL player tiles with headshots and bye weeks, enhanced search results with data to compare, and a slick new interface. We hope you enjoy!
How It Works. Each week, our RotoBaller staff puts together their weekly fantasy football rankings and projections based on their research. 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. If someone is out for the week, they will not appear in the search results.
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 Wild Card Searches. Curious to see some tough lineup decisions for Wild Card Weekend (2026)? Below you will find a list of some popular Who Should I Start? searches that RotoBaller readers are looking at this week. Click any of the links to see the result and recommendation.
Popular Wild Card Searches - Start/Sit Player Comparisons
Below are some popular Wild Card searches and comparisons from our 'Who To Start' tool:
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