Fantasy Football Roundtable: 6 sleeper RBs our Yahoo analysts are prioritizing in 2026 drafts

Running back is a position that can make or break your fantasy football team each season. Whether it's due to injuries, a decreased role or emerging players on the depth chart, RBs can rise and fall at any given moment. While it's important to prioritize the position early in your draft, it's also not one to ignore later on. Yahoo analysts Hayden Winks, Joel Smyth, Josh Norris, Justin Boone, Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski give you their favorite RB sleeper for 2026.

Mike McDaniel curated the most explosive rushing offense of the decade with a bad OL and QB. We'll see what he can do with better OT and QB play this year, but there's a lot of reason to be excited about Mitchell fitting into the mix. McDaniel put Mitchell on a "WANTED" poster this free agency, as his pure speed is built for this perimeter and misdirection scheme. Mitchell is the RB1 in rush yards over expected (+47%), RB1 in EPA per carry (+0.12) and RB2 in YPC (6.3) among RBs with 100+ carries since 2023. Huge efficiency numbers are the expectation, not the ceiling. If he eats into Omarion Hampton's workload, Mitchell could sneak into the flex radar. If Hampton misses time, Mitchell would be very fun. I've enjoyed watching Mitchell be experimented with as a receiver, too. They've been sending him on wheel routes and swing passes throughout camp and the preseason. Let's just hope the injury he's currently dealing with isn't serious. — Hayden Winks

Going off the board around 78th pick, Rhamondre Stevenson may not be the typical sleeper of a young player about to rise on the scene, but he is an underdrafted player who can produce once again. Fantasy football ends in Week 17, but the most important football comes afterwards. From Week 18 to the end of the playoffs, Stevenson averaged 16.1 half-PPR PPG on a struggling offense. There hasn't been much TreVeyon Henderson has done better than Stevenson. Not only is Stevenson more efficient, but was one of the most efficient runners in the NFL, while being one of the best pass blockers at the position, reliable in the red zone and hasn't fumbled in 13 straight games. New England trusts him too much to take him off the field for the important plays, yet the threat of Henderson opens the door to drafting a team's RB1 on a top offense in Round 7. — Joel Smyth

Do I think it's probable that Mike Washington Jr. turns this backfield into a 50-50 split? No. Do I think it's possible? Yes, and no one else seems to be discussing this outcome. We still know very little about Ashton Jeanty's prayer circle-inducing ankle sprain. If it limits him in the opening few games of the season, Washington will have a larger role to showcase his immense talent. His explosiveness and underrated vision/footwork at the line of scrimmage has been on full display during the preseason. And if that continues to pop up against the Dolphins in Week 1, the Raiders' easiest opponent in the opening seven games, Jeanty's 84% market share of the team's backfield touches could be cut down to 65% — an outcome that would have seemed surprising a few weeks ago. In short, I believe Washington is too good to limit to five touches per game. And if Jeanty misses extended time at all this season, you are staring at a top-18 weekly running back in rankings. — Josh Norris

You rarely get an opportunity to select an NFL starting running back in the ninth round or later, but Croskey-Merritt is still going off the board in that range. While his ADP was suppressed earlier in the offseason by the uncertainty around Rachaad White's role in the Commanders' offense, several beat writers have made it clear that JCM answered the challenge from coaches to step up in the passing game and will get the first shot at leading this backfield. Fantasy managers will remember his contributions well, since he was the RB10 in fppg during the fantasy playoffs, topping 95 yards on two occasions and scoring four touchdowns over that stretch.

The 25-year-old is also a good fit in new offensive coordinator David Blough's scheme, which should feature more zone runs. Among 65 qualified backs last year, Croskey-Merritt finished eighth in zone yards per carry and 13th in success rate on zone runs, per Fantasy Points. Though the injury to star tackle Laremy Tunsil adds uncertainty to Washington's offensive outlook, the Commanders RBs will have the benefit of the sixth-easiest fantasy schedule . Even with White working in on passing downs, Croskey-Merritt is the type of explosive ball carrier who can deliver week-winning fantasy performances. — Justin Boone

The more I've looked at this Vikings offense, the more I buy the narrative that the team will really commit to the run game. They've given lip service to it before; this year it's for real. Minnesota hired Frank Smith to come over from the vaunted Dolphins run game to refurbish their own ground attack. It was sorely needed. The Vikings also added some heavy bodies to the mix this year, such as fullback Max Bredeson and power slot receiver Jauan Jennings. There are more "in the box" blockers than in the previous version of this offense.

Quarterback Kyler Murray is only with the team on a one-year deal, and there's been talk about him being heavily used as a designed runner. That can open up lanes for the backs. Jordan Mason is the best bet to severely outkick his ADP of the group, as the competition is an aging Aaron Jones Sr. and a sub-190-pound rookie in Demond Claiborne.

Last year, the Dolphins, where Smith came from as the offensive coordinator, ranked 12th in zone rushing rate but second in yards per carry on gap runs, as they integrated those in Mike McDaniel's usual bread and butter to hunt for explosive plays. In 2025, Mason ranked 19th in success rate on zone runs and second on gap runs (minimum 100 rush attempts), per Fantasy Points Data. There's some "fell for it again" risk with Mason but he's a sensible sleeper bet going outside the top-100 picks. — Matt Harmon

Kyren Williams remains the featured back in Los Angeles, no changes there. But make room for Corum in the Circle of Trust. Corum averaged double-digit carries for the final 11 games of 2025, producing at a pace that maps to 179-911-7.7 for a full season. The Rams could turn this backfield into a 60-40 split for the fresh season, which would give Corum standalone value from the jump. And if Williams gets hurt or hits any kind of slump, Corum looms as a possible ADP smash. The summer market was split on Corum's fantasy value, which is why he's still available just inside Pick 100 in Yahoo leagues. I want Corum on all of my rosters. — Scott Pianowski

The Playbook is powered by some of fantasy football's most-trusted analysts: Justin Boone (the top-ranked in-season ranker of 2025), Matt Harmon, Josh Norris, Joel Smyth, Scott Pianowski and Hayden Winks. This isn't one analyst's opinion. It's a consensus of the sharpest minds in fantasy football, featuring advice you can rely on.

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