The 2026 NFL Draft is still several months away, but this is the ideal time of year to get caught up on the prospects who will make an impact on the fantasy football landscape for redraft and dynasty leagues.
With the main fantasy season complete, I’ve had time to go over game tape, collegiate production, interviews and more in order to project what this incoming crop of rookies will become at the next level.
Advertisement
We’ll get more precise athletic testing numbers to work with at the NFL Combine in late February, before eventually finding out how NFL front offices value this class when draft day arrives in April.
Consider this a starting point in the pre-draft process, while understanding that landing spots will have an important impact on the fantasy value of each player. Once we know which organization they’ll be joining, it’ll reveal a larger part of the puzzle in terms of their opportunity, coaching, scheme and team culture.
For now, we’ll continue this series by focusing on the incoming running backs who have the best chance to become fantasy-relevant in the NFL.
Prospect Fantasy Outlooks
Advertisement
Potential to be elite
-
Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame
Quarterback, tight end and running back all have a very clear top talent at each position this year — with little room for debate.
Love might be a tier or two below the truly elite RB prospects from past years like Bijan Robinson or Saquon Barkley, but he is the total package and a player who’s going to be an impact NFL starter right away.
The 20-year-old has the size, skill and athleticism to be a three-down workhorse at the next level. He displays good vision and patience, letting blocks develop in front of him, while also having the breakaway straight-line speed necessary to create big plays. I don’t know if we’ll see his spin move as often in the pros, but it was an effective move for him in college.
Advertisement
He’s also a comfortable pass-catcher (56 receptions over the last two seasons) who’s dangerous out in space.
Operating behind an elite Notre Dame offensive line certainly helped his production, but Love has shown more than enough to warrant being selected in the first round of April’s draft. He might even hear his name called in the top 15.
Fantasy Outlook: In a weaker year for fantasy prospects, Love will be a highly coveted asset and the unquestioned 1.01 in dynasty rookie drafts. You can also expect him to go off the board in redraft leagues as a second-round pick who might sneak into the first depending on his landing spot.
In a draft class filled with prospects who will need to develop in order to emerge as meaningful fantasy starters, Love is a set-it-and-forget-it RB1 with a path to being a high-end producer.
Advertisement
Dynasty rookie value (Superflex): 1.01
Stars in the making
-
Jonah Coleman, Washington
-
Nicholas Singleton, Penn State
While Coleman and Singleton aren’t quite as polished as Love, they both profile as NFL starters and potentially strong fantasy options.
Coleman stands out as an effective and efficient collegiate back who dealt with injuries that lowered his production this season. He deserves more hype, though. The 22-year-old is a smooth runner who has excellent short-area quickness and good power in his 5-foot-9, 228-pound frame.
Picture a pinball-style ball carrier with outstanding vision and quick feet, who’s a quality pass-catcher and never fumbles. Is that something you might be interested in?
Advertisement
Singleton is equally impressive and may also come with an injury discount after fracturing his foot during Senior Bowl week. The injury comes with a four-month recovery, so that rules out the NFL Combine and his Pro Day, meaning you won’t hear as much about him in the lead-up to the draft.
However, prior to the injury, Singleton made a strong case to be considered as a potential three-down starter in the pros. He combines fluid movement and good vision with serious burst through the line. His speed is more in the straight-line variety, but he’s very quick once he gets going and can be a surprisingly explosive big-play threat for his size.
While Singleton is a capable pass-catcher, he’s not as quick in short areas, which makes him less dynamic in the receiving game. But he’s a strong pass protector, which should help keep him on the field — as long as he can stay healthy.
Advertisement
Fantasy Outlook: There’s a lot of uncertainty about who the second back should be in this class behind Love. I originally had Singleton in that spot until he got hurt in January. Now, Coleman has been elevated since I expect the injury will impact Singleton’s pre-draft process and draft capital.
Regardless, both players are exciting prospects who could turn into fantasy RB2 options in the near future.
If you’re picking in the back half of the first round, these are two names you should be targeting.
Dynasty rookie value (Superflex): Mid-to-late first round
Talented with question marks
-
Jadarian Price, Notre Dame
-
Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas
-
Kaytron Allen, Penn State
This is a fun group to discuss because I can understand anyone who wants to bang the table for these four backs as upside prospects, even though they all have their flaws.
Advertisement
Price lacks a complete résumé and the kind of production you normally want to see from an incoming rookie back, because he played behind Love at Notre Dame. We also have to factor in the efficiency boost that came from their dominant offensive line.
Even so, it’s hard not to like Price’s physical style, which often led to broken tackles and at least a few extra yards on most plays. Though he wasn’t asked to be a pass-catcher very often, his hands seem up to the task of being used in that area moving forward.
Johnson is a smaller back who will likely be splitting touches in his future backfield, but he’s a versatile weapon who does a good job of generating bigger plays by bouncing outside once he reaches the second level. He also has good contact balance for his size.
My concerns with Johnson stem from him lacking a truly elite skill in any specific area. He also has fast feet that sometimes leave him spinning his wheels in place while he’s trying to find a lane. While he’s entertaining to watch, I worry about his fantasy ceiling.
Advertisement
Washington is a hot name after a solid performance during Senior Bowl week. He’s a very impressive runner with an ideal size at 6-foot-1 and 228 pounds and more than enough juice to power that frame.
His straight-line acceleration and shiftiness in space allow him to steer clear of oncoming tacklers and generate some big plays. He’s also not scared to take defenders with him en route to picking up more yards. As long as he can clean up his ball security issues, Washington has the potential to be a mid-round steal who materializes into a legitimate three-down NFL starter.
Some people might be surprised by Allen being listed so far down in this column, but I’m struggling to see his upside. He’s a bigger back who moves a little clunky at times and doesn’t have the same creativity with the ball in his hands that other players above him possess.
Advertisement
Allen profiles as a punishing runner who can be a durable early-down grinder in a committee. That can lead to a good career, but from a fantasy perspective, it’s limiting.
Fantasy Outlook: Even with the noted concerns around the backs in this section, they’re all worth considering for fantasy. Just understand that this running back class isn’t as strong or deep as some of the ones we’ve seen in recent years.
Landing spot will go a long way to determining how we should value these four in redraft formats, but keep them in mind as late-round targets for now.
In dynasty rookie drafts, the board will dry up quickly in the late first and into the second this year. Placing your chips on intriguing backs who could develop in the right situation is a smart approach in that range.
Advertisement
Dynasty rookie value (Superflex): Late first-to-second round
Don’t overlook them
-
Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest
The further we go down this list, the more difficult it becomes to find prospects who will pan out as significant fantasy contributors.
Claiborne has the traits of an eventual committee back due to his size (5-foot-10, 195 pounds). He has quick feet, lightning speed when he finds a crease, excellent contact balance for a smaller runner and strong pass-catching skills.
Unfortunately, he can sometimes be too hesitant in his decision-making, lacks power in multiple areas and needs work as a blocker.
Meanwhile, Randall is a versatile threat whose role in the NFL will really depend on the team that drafts him. He’s more of a raw power back with excellent pass-catching skills after converting to running back from receiver. We’ve seen that move work for other ball carriers in the past, but it’s difficult to project success without knowing the offense he’ll be playing in.
Advertisement
Randall does have a big frame that can make him a goal-line hammer, despite his often upright running style. And his history as a receiver makes him very dangerous when deployed outside the backfield. He’s just a long shot given his profile and limited production as a running back. It won’t shock me if he ends up being a better real-life player than a fantasy asset.
Fantasy Outlook: The vast majority of running backs who make it onto an NFL roster have the ability to produce when given the opportunity and Claiborne and Randall are no different. However, they aren’t foundation backs that an organization will build its offense around, which caps their fantasy ceilings.
They can still be values in the middle rounds of your dynasty rookie drafts, especially in PPR formats.
Advertisement
Dynasty rookie value (Superflex): third-to-fourth round
Prospect Fantasy Outlooks
