Fantasy Football: 3 Running Backs to Draft (2026)

When preparing for your fantasy football drafts, knowing which players to target and which to avoid is important. The amount of information available can be overwhelming, so a great way to condense the data and determine players to draft and others to leave for your leaguemates is to use our expert consensus fantasy football rankings compared to fantasy football average draft position (ADP). In this way, you can identify players the experts are willing to reach for at ADP and others they are not drafting until much later than average. Fantasy football expert Derek Brown shares three running backs he’s targeting in all of his drafts.

2026 Fantasy Football Draft Advice: Running Backs to Target

Here are three running backs DBro loves to target in his fantasy football drafts.

Javonte Williams (DAL)

Last year, Javonte Williams was a massive surprise in fantasy, to everyone, including me. I was very bullish about his 2025 outlook, but I was hoping at best for a volume-driven RB2 residing in an explosive offense. Well, Williams crushed even my expectations as the RB11 in fantasy points per game, finishing with a career high 1,201 rushing yards and 13 total touchdowns. Among 49 qualifying backs, he ranked 16th in explosive run rate and third in yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). His season was also a tale of two halves as he faded some down the back half of the year. In Weeks 1-8, he averaged 18.5 touches, 90.7 total yards, and scored nine total touchdowns as the RB8 in fantasy points per game. In Weeks 9-17, he averaged 17.4 touches, 76.5 total yards, and scored only four total touchdowns as the RB25 in fantasy points per game. Much of his fantasy stock drop was related to the fall in touchdown production, which can be simple variance. His deeper analytics back up that his play didn’t fall off on a per-touch efficency standpoint. In Weeks 1-8, he had a 4.8% explosive run rate with an 11% missed tackle rate and 3.52 yards after contact per attempt. That yards after contact per attempt mark is otherworldly. In Weeks 8-17, he posted a 5.5% explosive run rate with a 13% missed tackle rate and 2.33 yards after contact per attempt. He improved his marks down the stretch in two of those three categories. If Williams can post production as he did over the first half of the 2025 season for an entire year, he is a locked-in top ten back with top-five upside. At his floor, he looks like a low-end RB1 or top 15 fantasy back.

Omarion Hampton (LAC)

Last year, Omarion Hampton‘s rookie season was derailed by an ankle injury in Week 5. When he came back, he wasn’t close to 100% healthy and had only one game with over a 55% snap rate. Any games after Week 4 last year, I’m just tossing in the trash because that wasn’t the “real” Hampton. In 2025, in Weeks 1-4, Hampton averaged 17 touches and 95 total yards as the RB13 in fantasy points per game. In that small sample of games, he posted a 7.4% explosive run rate, a 19% missed tackle rate, and 2.54 yards after contact per attempt (per Fantasy Points Data). If he had kept up that pace the entire year in those three categories, he would have ranked fourth, tenth, and eighth in those categories (minimum 100 carries). Those are impressive numbers and speak to his talent and upside in 2026 as Mike McDaniel’s possible bellcow. Hampton also contributed through the air in his first four NFL games with a 10.1% target share, 27.5 receiving yards per game, and 1.12 yards per route run. McDaniel is sure to get Hampton involved through the air after designing offenses of the last three seasons that have ranked third, third, and seventh in target share to the running back position. Yes, I know that Hampton isn’t De’Von Achane, but this is still a feather in Hampton’s cap. Hampton should be a rock-solid RB1 with massive upside in 2026.

Kenneth Walker III (KC)

Kenneth Walker arrives in Kansas City as the Chiefs’ new lead back. Walker had a disappointing season in 2025 from a fantasy standpoint as the RB28 in fantasy points per game, but it’s easy to see why it unfolded that way. Walker had to split the passing game usage with Zach Charbonnet, and he was shown the cold shoulder by Seattle in the red zone. Last year, Walker had a 31.9% route share versus Charbonnet’s 34.7% route share (per Fantasy Points Data). In the games that Charbonnet was active, Walker saw only 34.8% of the running back red zone rushing work (30 red zone carries versus Charbonnet’s 51). With a lucrative contract signed and delivered for Walker, I don’t see him missing out on the high usage boat in 2026. Talent isn’t the problem for Walker; it was just the way that Seattle deployed him. Last year, Walker ranked second in explosive run rate, first in missed tackle rate, ninth in yards per route run, and 12th in first downs per route run. He was a per-touch efficiency marvel. I don’t foresee him being a true bellcow with Kansas City, and I don’t want that because he has dealt with injury issues in the past. With his salivating mix of talent and efficiency, Walker should be an explosive RB1 in 2026.

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