Lineup Fantasy Football Show - Top 12 Running Backs for Fantasy Football in 2026

Episode Date: February 12, 2026

We break down our Top 12 Running Backs for the 2026 Fantasy Football Season! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NFL season is over, but if you're sicko like us, the fantasy football season is just beginning. Welcome into the lineup football show. I'm Mitch Anderson. I'm Justin Mello. And we are going to be breaking down our top 12 running backs, our way too early top 12 running backs of the 2026 fantasy football season. But before we do, make sure drop a like, drop a comment and hit that subscribe button and be notified every time we drop a brand new episode. Without further ado, let's jump in at number one. He was both of our number one pick. I think this one was. so easy and so obvious. We don't need to spend that much time on it. It's Bijon Robinson. I'll start on Bejon. The number one stat that I've brought up a few times on the show, he was a league leading 18.52% of championship rosters. The talent has been obvious for years.

I believe this was his third season and like this was just the breakout. We saw the volume, we saw the efficiency, we saw like the home run hitting plays. There was a bit of a Tyler L.G. Your problem, but you can talk to that in a minute. I personally have Bejohn at my 101 overall. I know we're a little bit misaligned on that. But he is just one of those guys that you draft Bejohn Robinson and you just get so excited for Sundays.

You get so excited to watch your number one pick play. And that sounds like silly because you should feel that way about like every guy that you pick in the top round. But like, I don't think that's always the case. I think Bijan has that certain quality that just makes him so electric. Yeah, I won't spend too much time on him either because I think you hit on most of what I wanted to talk about. And it's just, we don't have to convince you all to draft Bejan Robinson. I think we all know how good he is.

Let me give you my soliloquy about why you should draft Bejan Robinson. Number one sleeper of the 2026 season, Bejohn Robinson. Yeah, he's incredible. he's not my 1.1, but he is most certainly my top running back right now, and I wouldn't blame you for a second drafting him 1.1. Super talented. He's proven at the last three years. I think Stefansky is probably a good thing for this offense.

I'm actually kind of excited about that. Tyler Al Jir, you mentioned, said to become a free agent. He might stay with the Falcons. Even if he does, I don't care. Bejohn's still my top running back. So if he goes, it's even better. One pick is, can Bejohn go higher? somehow if Tyler Al Jir isn't there.

Is he like zero on the ranking somehow? Like he's like an absolute, I'm doing anything for the first overall pick if Tyler Al Jir isn't there. I would probably bump him up to my first overall pick. I have Jumar chase there now, but yeah, we don't have to harp on it, but of course, Bejohn is both of our number one running backs.

We can move on then to number two, a real sleeper, Jumeer Gibbs. number two on both of our Yeah, I know. Little name, he's kind of the one beat of David Montgomery. He's number two on both of our boards, though. I think there's an argument, if you wanted to say he's your 101.

Like, I don't think there's a guy in the league that has the weak winning upside that Jemir Gibbs has. And we saw it, what do you have, three separate, three touchdown weeks last year? And, like, he's just, his ability to go nuclear is, like, completely unmatched. And most of the time, us and the fantasy community would mention, like, there's another running back in the back field.

And it's kind of funny that like both him and Bijan deal with that with Alger and Montgomery. But like you kind of said with Bejohn, like, I don't care. Like he's there, sure, and he's going to take some work away. But he's just that good. And I think the Lions will put together a much stronger season. And if that offense is going to improve, like Jumeer Gibbs is going to be the centerpiece of it. Him and Alman Ra. Yeah.

And the usage keeps going up. They keep phasing Montgomery, not phasing him out, but he's becoming less and less involved. I think that's a little fair. Yeah, I think it's a little fair say they're phasing him out. Right. And Montgomery's getting older. Gibbs is really in his prime, super talented, elite offensive line, passing game production in addition to the running game. And yeah, high, high ceiling week to week. Big boom potential.

We've seen it so many times. easily for me, Bijan and Gibbs are my one and two. I feel very comfortable with that when you combine both floor and ceiling. I can't wait for Jemir Gibbs to score like four touchdowns, 45 fantasy points in week two

and Dan Campbell to be like, we got to get David Montgomery more touches. I feel like I just have that alarm set on my phone for the underdog notification that they just tweeted out Dan Campbell, David Montgomery needs to get more involved. I feel like I saw it 10 times last season. Oh, what's going to have?

happen is you're right. We're going to have a huge Gibbs week, maybe two big Gibbs weeks, and then it's going to be the David Montgomery game, where David Montgomery goes like 11 carries for 34 yards and three touchdowns and fantasy owners are going to be crying.

Yeah, yeah, it's like one of those games it's like not even fun to watch. It's like the points just all went to the wrong place. All right, let's get into our number three. I think number three is where things actually start getting interesting and we can have a real conversation. It feels wrong to feel so uneasy about Christian McCaffrey at number three.

And you feel like a little bit of an idiot because like it's just deja vu. Like do we not just have this conversation like exactly a year ago? It's different obviously because that was coming off of an injury riddled year and this is coming off of such a phenomenal year. But we did our mock draft episode a week or two ago and I made a point to say that I draft CD Lamb over Christian McCaffrey. And I want to re-emphasize that and like double down that I think. chasing last year's performance from an aging running back with a little bit of an injury history

feels like so risky to me. On the flip side, if you want to take Christian McCaffrey first overall, I couldn't be mad at it. Top scorer in fantasy last year, if you want to take him at the 101, I get it. But I just think that Bijon and Gibbs have like a much safer floor than Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey will always have the highest ceiling in fantasy football for running backs. Yeah, I think we are super, super, super lung. here. If you aren't a coward and

do you want the upside, take him first overall, I wouldn't blame you at all. I don't know that I'm that brave. I feel like a weak man here. I'm glad you said that because that was a crazy way of calling me a coward a minute ago. We're both cowards, you know? Yeah. It takes one to no one. But I seriously

wouldn't blame you for taking him first overall. He has won me championships. He has beat me in championships in many fantasy games. Like, he is a game changer league winner. he had 102 receptions and 17 total touchdowns this past season. He's a wide receiver at running back. Preposterous.

Yeah. Absolutely preposterous. If you told me he played 17 games again next year. Hell, if you told me he played 15 games, I'd consider taking him first overall. He is that kind of player. But you're right. There are reasons for concerns. The injury history feels like a coin flip every year whether or not he'll get hurt.

I try to tell myself there's no such thing. his injury luck. It could happen to anyone. And I believe that. But I also just can't move my mind away from the fact that it so frequently happens with McCaffrey. He's getting older, too. He's going to be 30 next year. And if they can't figure out that like electrical plant, oh, true. I love that McCaffrey actually believes that too. Yeah. I think the whole team believes it. I think they started to believe it. Yeah. Their ownership might need to do something. It's- I loved the quote that it was like, was it John Lynch was like, we looked into it. Like, what does that mean?

What do you mean you looked into it? I have no idea. Team field trip. I hope they spent disgusting amount of money on some like private investigator to do like a full-fledged analysis and investigation. I have no idea, though. Also worth noting with McCaffrey, though, just to be, just to really emphasize why there is additional risk as well on top of everything we've talked about. The efficiency already was not there. Yeah, that's a great point. He was super good in fantasy and in real life. I mean, he was an incredible player for many reasons,

but efficiency wasn't one of those reasons. It was volume and passing game involvement, and especially how they utilized him in the red zone, just basically any time they got inside the five, it felt like a McAfree touchdown was inevitable. But he was not efficient on the ground. So that scares me a lot. Unlike Bejohn, and Gibbs who we talked about, super, super efficient, not McCaffrey. So at age 30 with an injury history, that's where the risk really feels.

Little icky makes me a little worry taking them early. Yeah, I completely agree. And like you look at, it was like so often last season that like his like receiving line would be like 70 yards and his rushing line would be like 52. And it's just, it's so hard to like you said, like when you're looking at volume and I mentioned it a couple of minutes ago, like chasing that volume and just hoping the 30-year-old running back gets that level of usage again.

It's tough for me to click the button, but if you aren't a coward like us, anywhere in this top range is like okay for Christian McCaffrey. And also, like, we have met three. I don't think he should go any lower than this. If there is a running back that gets taken before Christian McCaffrey and their name isn't Bejan Robinson or Jemir Gibbs, take it and run like you just rob the bank. 100%. Yeah. Even though I'm a coward, I'm clicking that button. If I don't like any of the receivers on the board and the top two guys are gone, easily, I'm clicking that button on McCaffrey.

Yeah. And in all time, can't wait to watch him on Sunday's guy. Christian McAfree, just electric. So fun. So fun. All right. Let's move on. We're at our number four running back. We got Kyle Pitts. We got Jonathan Taylor. My number four, your number five. We, Kyle, all right, no, I'm actually talking about Kyle Pitts now. back star talent hits. He might be able to, honestly. Imagine him in the backfield instead of Alger. Please know. We talked about this in one of our first episodes, actually,

with Jonathan Taylor about being a potential candidate for aggression just because of the usage and the QB situation, which is obviously the more talked about thing. Most touches in the NFL this year, Jonathan Taylor, I believe I'd have to recheck that stat now if that includes postseason. It does not. Okay, yeah, James. We'll get to that guy later.

Yeah. Okay. All right. But you can't deny the talent. You can't deny the role. Jonathan Taylor is like firmly an elite running back in the NFL. And like as you're looking at these, we just talked about first round guys that you want to feel really good about. I would feel really good leaving my first round of the draft with Jonathan Taylor as my RB1. And that's all you can really ask for in these like top five guys. Yeah, I, like you mentioned, have him at five. I'm not as excited about him. Obviously, I have him as a top five running back, so I think he's very good. I think this year he cemented his status as an elite running back. I think there were a few years people weren't really putting him in those conversations. He proved this year. Like, he is still an elite running back.

But his usage of this year does scare me. We didn't see him get to like the crazy like 400. touches like Siquon. Yeah. But he did touch the ball a lot. That's a little scary. I think what's more scary for me, though, is I just don't know what to expect out of the softens next year.

He was phenomenal with Daniel Jones when this offense was cooking. Down the stretch, Jonathan Taylor really kind of faded, at least compared to what he was doing early in the season. I don't know who's going to be starting at quarterback, week one for the Colts next year, with Daniel Jones still rehabbing. And even if he is back and available, it's still

Daniel Jones coming off one good season and a serious injury like all of that kind of scares me but I still do think Jonathan Taylor has a relatively safe floor he'll get usage

he's super talented so I still think he's a relatively safe pick I just and not super excited about him like the first three guys we talked about I would agree with that point

I would say that there's like a big tear break after McCaffrey here and like yes And then we talk about But like it gets a little murky In the running back situation

From this point Definitely definitely I definitely have a little more confidence So you kind of feel like it's just gonna be like Joe Flacco Week 1 Or just like some like That would not inspire any confidence Weird bridge quarterback like situation

Maybe Philip Rivers again That would be bad What's gonna happen with Anthony Richardson We don't have to get into that Totally right now But I mean you got a guy You drafted top five Anthony Richardson is going to be like healing up and like playing with like a slingshot over the off season like take out his other eye.

I just, I'm done with Anthony Richardson. I don't, he doesn't require any more of my brain power. I saw a tweet one time about, I think it was Joe Milton that he is, he would be the best ever out of a sport that doesn't exist yet. That's Anthony Richardson is fully in that category. He would be the greatest of all time at something, just not football. We'll find it one day. But yeah, conversations about Anthony Richardson and the NFL have run their course.

Let's move on to number five. This is a little bit of a flip-flop what we just had, a guy that you're much higher on than me. So I'll let you start on him. Yeah, Devin, a Chan. And I have him at four. I have them a few spots higher than you. You have them at seven, I believe.

I will admit, though, this is the most interesting guy to me. This early in the off season, I could see me moving him down five, six spots by draft season. I could see me moving him up a spot. Maybe not up a spot. He won't crack the top three. But he's a really interesting case because he is electric.

Electric doesn't even actually begin to describe who he is as a player. Super fun to watch. Incredible player. The speed is unbelievable. And it's not just a one-trick pony with the speed. I mean, he's a complete running back. He is so talented. He averaged over 5.5 yards per carry on his career so far.

And he has 145 receptions over the last two seasons. He was pro football focus's number one highest graded running back last season in 2025. Wow. The talent is undeniable. And it feels to me the reason I have him at four is it's like, how could I not have him at four with everything I just said? Like that's how good of a player we're talking about. With that said, I will admit.

There are a lot of things that scare me. And I think the biggest, which I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's true, is Mike McDaniel getting fired and Tua probably not being their week one starter. We don't know that for sure, but I don't think he'll be there. Those two things scare me a lot because Mike McDaniel, great play caller. Maybe he didn't work out as head coach, but great play caller. And loved, loved, loved giving a chan the ball in the run game, the passing game,

getting creative, putting that receiver, motion, a little push passes. He was the focal point of the offense with McDaniel, who was a super creative play caller. I don't know that I love that a new regime is coming in here, a new play caller. And also, Tua, when you look at a Chan splits with and without Tua,

say what you want about Tua. I know he's not a great quarterback, maybe not the franchise guy you want. He loved a Chan. He threw down to Chan the ball so much. He was his favorite receiver. So both those guys being gone, that scares me with a chan. But I'm guessing that's probably where your brain is going, putting him at seven as opposed to four.

That's entirely my argument. Right. I had him at seven. Mike McDaniel gone to a being replaced by potentially an NFL caliber quarterback or something called a Quinn Ewers. We'll see what happens. How much Tua loves to target and dump it off to him is like the absence of that is what scares me because this isn't. like the Christian McCaffer situation, like he is still very efficient.

So like that gives me some like confidence and why I still have him in my top seven. And, but I just don't know if the volume and usage is going to be there the same way it is or if they're going to be scheming up the same kind of looks for him. What I will say is you,

we're in opposite situations where you have them at four and it feels like depending on what happens, you have some room to move him down. And I have them at seven and depending on what happens, I definitely have some room to move him up because I do.

think this like five through seven range in our rankings is like pretty murky and like you could even stretch it up to jonathan taylor and say four through seven is a little bit like a little bit liquid right now and like moving around oh 100%. i mean i have a chan above jonathan taylor right now and like i said i could move him down um it is definitely a tier that's murky but right now for me at least it's just a bet on the talent i think he is one of the elite talents in the NFL and his skill set especially lends itself well to fantasy football. So that's why I have them as high as I do. I completely get it.

Let's move on to number six, a guy that I'm so fired up about that I cannot stop talking about, that I hate that I keep saying on a podcast that all of our leaguemates listen to. But Ashton Genty is my guy. I think after this year, Ash and Genty is going to be firmly

in that top three conversation with Gibbs and Bijon. I talked about it a lot already, but like I believe he was like third to last in qualified running backs in yards before contact and seventh in yards after contact like the Raiders offensive line was giving him no help all year

and he was still phenomenal. We know he's talented. We saw him at Boise State. What was the quote when he was like in a game of tackle football you should draft the guy they can't tackle? Like that's Ashton Gentie. And we're bringing in Fernando Mendoza

we're bringing in a new regime in the coaching staff with the play callers. We're hopefully shoring up the offensive line a little bit. Like, Ashen Gentie's situation quite literally could not get worse. I will come on here and I will eat a literal crow. I will order a crow from wherever they sell it and I will eat it on camera if Fernando Mendoza is worse than Gino Smith. It is literally impossible.

I will go on the black market and I will buy a crow to eat. I'm absolutely going to save that clip. I want you to know that. Yeah, we should cut that out for social. Yeah, that one's hitting social. But I agree. It cannot get worse for Genti. It truly cannot get worse.

They had the 30th rank offensive line and run blocking. You mentioned he still was seventh in yards after contact this year in the NFL. There is no denying the talent. We saw the homerun hitting ability. He's still entering his prime and the situation can't get worse.

He seems like a super obvious breakout candidate to me. It's just so obvious he's going to break out. this season. 100%. I just, I, there's no situation in the NFL

that is so obvious to me that it's going to get better. And like, what did Genty finish last year? I think he was like, R.B. like, 11 or so. Like, it wasn't, it felt so bad because you drafted him so high. Like, it wasn't that he was like bad. No, and it was inconsistent to, like, he had,

I forget who they were playing. It was probably week 11, 12, something like that. had a huge game and then he had some dud weeks but one thing we didn't talk about either is clint kubiak i think helps this offense a ton we just saw what he did with ken walker and this playoff yeah absolutely imagine what he's got to do with ashen genty 100 i'm like sorry i have to look up right now where did uh ashen genti finish he was the rb he was the rb 11 yeah yeah right on then right in the head in a situation that is going to get better by literally all accounts I think the RB6 price tag right now is like so, so good.

Yeah, I agree. I think the only thing holding me back for moving them up to four or five is I still just am not super bullish on the Raiders and running backs on good teams. If he was on even just a decent team, he would easily be my RB4 right now. Like very easily, I'd have him above a Chan and Taylor if he was on a decent like playoff caliber team. Yeah. I think he is the number one candidate of I haven't seen it yet, but I know I'm going to see it

in terms of production. That's a good way to put it, definitely. For number seven, we are going to go on to the guy that we have seen it and we keep seeing it, and yet everybody thinks we're just not going to see it. And that's James Cook. I actually have James Cook

ranked above Ash and Genty. You have him one below, five and seven. James Cook is the touchdown demon. He is just, If Josh Allen didn't exist, I think James Cook would score 40 touchdowns this season. Without offensive line, maybe. Yeah, like, if we didn't have Josh Allen touch pushing and, like, jumping over the line and the goal line, like, James Cook would have like 10 more touchdowns a year.

I'll let you get into it because I saw you added in the dock first, but like, same argument as Jonathan Taylor if you do want to go with a downside for usage. But for me, the touchdown upside is just too good to pass up. and an elite offense. I know I just made the joke, but like, with Josh Allen, you want a running back attached to Josh Allen. Yes.

Well, actually, that probably wouldn't be very good. They couldn't run as fast if he was attached to him. Like a conjoined twin situation. No, I actually feel guilty having him at 7 because I think, I mean, we talked about it last year.

Like, people were so scared about this touchdown regression to the point where it was over-compensated and it was like fully baked into the 80s. P and people were still scared to click that button. And then we all look like idiots for not taking them higher. So I feel guilty having them even as low as seven. I think he's an incredible talent.

Hand up, I'll admit. I actually didn't love James Cook as a prospect. And I will, I've already eaten Crow on that one. Like, I've already, I've already, uh, let me know where you got it. Yeah. I'll send you the link so you know. But I will fully admit, like James Cook is incredible.

Great offensive line. Great offense. Great quarterback. Great play caller. Who's still there now is the head. coach. So all that there, I feel a little guilty putting him at seven. It's just I like, it's not that I'm, I feel bearish on James Cook. It's just those other guys we've already talked about. I like a little bit more. And that's really what it comes down to. And then the usage,

like you mentioned, that is what ultimately scares me the most if I am building a case against him, not that I'm out on him by any means. But he did lead the NFL and carries at 348 if you include the postseason. Obviously, they got to the division around. So he played a few weeks later. into the season and some other guys that didn't make the playoffs. That's where there's a little concern. Again, we talked about it with Jonathan Taylor. It's not like he hit like that 400 mark where it was like, you know, we've seen with Sequan a couple years ago and Jacobs a couple years before that.

So he's still, it's still not super concerning usage, but he did lead the NFL and carries and that always should make you pause for a second and say like, okay, could he be banged up going to next year? could we see a little bit of regression? Yeah, for sure. This, like, range is so interesting because we talk about, like, the upsides and downsides to these guys,

and it's like, we still like all of these players. Like, I would still be excited to have all these players, but you do have to kind of, like, split hairs here. And I think if you're going to make the biggest argument against him, it is the usage thing. And, like, talk about a guy also with, like, injury history, like, nothing. I feel like I can't think at a time James Cook has ever missed a game. No, he's been.

been very healthy. Availability is the best ability. So yeah, you were absolutely right too. And you said, like, even though we're like splitting hairs and talking about the downside of these players, we do like them all. We don't have Amari and Hampton in our top 12, spoiler alert. So we do like all of these guys. Yeah. We'll do our bottom 12 at number one, Amari and Hampton. And one other thing I'll say about James Cook, and this comes from the hindsight episode when we talked about lessons learned with this usage stuff is like for running backs. It's not always an injury thing. Like we saw it with Sequin this year.

Saquan played 17 games. It can be an efficiency thing. Like tread on the tires and being banged up and like, this is a lot of wear and tear. I know on the Ringer Fantasy Football podcast, they've mentioned this like that we should change the word touches to like tackles. Like they've been tackled 400 times. It feels a lot different than touches.

But it's true. It's like this is how. many times they have been like hit in a season and so um i'm very high on james cook he's my rb five but if you want to look for concerns that is one all right let's talk about the real usage demon saquan barclay at number eight i have him all the way down at 10 you add him at eight uh i think there's a chance i changed my tune here and rank him higher by the summer but for me he's a guy i was already out on last year who had a brutal year on a brutal offense and is now turning 29 today actually while we're recording.

Happy birthday, Sequin while I trash on him. Saquan is like one of the most like generationally talented running backs to ever enter the NFL in my opinion. But I think it's also okay to say that like the prime is gone. And like this Eagles offense will be better. Like it can't get much worse. It can't get as broken. But another hindsight lesson we've learned is like when players at a certain age

and they start to fall off, very rare that they just pick it back up. Like Christian McCaffrey was such an outlier this year. Yeah. Yeah, I am a little bit more optimistic, but I fully understand concerns. Like there is a very real world that he has passed his prime and we see the 2025 version of Sequin Barkley in 26.

So I understand the risk and that's why I have them as low as I do at eight. Otherwise, I'd have them higher. And I know you have them at 10, but I do see a world where it's a big bounce back year for a few different reasons. One being, I think the Eagles early playoff exit is really good for Sequin for next year. He'll be able to rest up a little bit. Hopefully we'll go into next year feeling a little bit better than he did going into this year. And one player I think about a lot that I think demonstrates Sequon's upside is

24 Josh Deggubbs, who by the way is a great running back. I don't think he's close to the talent of Sequin. Like you mentioned Sequin, generational talent. So in 2022, Josh Jacobs hit that 400 carry martin or 400 touches, 400 tackles. Four hundred tackles, thank you. 400 tackles. And he was irrelevant in 2023 the next year because of the tread on those tires. He actually did miss some time when he was playing.

He wasn't effective. But then in 2024, he was great. It took one year. It was kind of like, we talk about like guys taking a couple years after injury. Sometimes it might take a couple years after getting 400 plus touches. So I think Sequin could do the same thing. Kind of this year maybe it was a little bit of a rest year. Not a rest year.

I mean, I know he played. He wasn't hurt. But hopefully with his usage being down next year, he'll be good to go. Also, we've talked about this on the show. Complete football malpractice on the offensive coaching staff, the offensive play calling. And 225. Has no place in the NFL after that. They were the worst run offense

from a play calling perspective. I think in the NFL, when you factor in how much talent they had at really every position and they so couldn't move the ball. It can't be worse. I'm not convinced on Sean Mannion by any means their new offensive coordinator.

I don't know how that's going to work. But it can't be worse, or at least, like, I have to imagine it has to be better with the play calling. So that gives me a little bit of hope. Also, one small thing, it's not super significant. But if the tush-bush gets banned, which I think it will,

that's going to open up touchdowns for Sequan. I don't think that's insignificant, if we're being honest. I think that opens up at least three or four, which if you think about adding like 18 or 24 points to someone's like fantasy finish, like that is significant. Yeah, and it feels like the Eagles are somehow always on the one or two yard line. Those are going to be Seacuan touchdown. if the push push push is banned.

I like maybe move him up a spot if it is. Yeah. And that's how much I read into that. Because also if you are suggesting that the offense gets better, like there should be more, like think back to like the 2024 goal line opportunities versus like last year where I don't know, the Eagles were in the red zone like once a game it felt like. And then they would kick a field goal. Like, but yeah, I agree.

I think there's. he's a guy I'm going to be monitoring over the offseason because I feel like it's possible. I'm maybe a little emotional and moving him down. Even though I didn't have him in any leagues, I like weirdly felt burnt by him. I think just because you want to see a guy like that succeed so much and it sucks to just watch him be so inefficient.

Yeah, this year was definitely painful. And I am kind of the opposite. I have a soft spot for him, even though I feel like he continuously just destroys me. I feel like I've dropped him every year he gets hurt. And then the years he's healthy. he just beats me in like championships and semi-final games. But I still root for him.

I still, I still miss a Kwan fan. And I actually do think there's hope, although admittedly there is definitely downside. And there's a floor that's a little bit scary as well. For sure. Definitely, definitely a scary floor kind of situation with Saquan.

I mean, we saw it this year. Yeah. A year younger. Let's jump into number nine. He's eight on my list, 10 on yours. And that's Bucky Irving. I'm firmly in the camera.

that Bucky Irving wasn't entirely healthy last year, even when he came back. You have his yards for carry down on the dock, 3.4. He hit 5.4 his rookie year. I think that it's similar to the Brock Bowers of it all, where I just kind of want to throw away the tape on this, burn the tape, on the sophomore season, and there was health issues,

and I'd rather look to that rookie season as, like, the template for what I want to see. and Bucky Irving is just like a sensational running back talent. He might not have Rashad White next year. I think the Bucks offense is going to be better. I think they just like, I don't know what happened in the middle of the year. I feel like they just like lost steam and things just kind of like fell apart. I don't think that's going to happen again this year.

I think we're going to see a stronger Bucks offense. And I think that's going to have to go through Bucky Irving. So he's in that tier though, I think, where like, I'm definitely not taking Bucky Irving as like a first rounder. I think where did we take him in our mock draft around like 18, 19? Yeah, somewhere around there. He's where I start to not feel as like great about my RB1. But I still, if you drafted Bucky Irving as an RB1

and you had grabbed like a wide receiver one first, like I think you should feel pretty good. He was a fourth round pick, which I thought was the case. The only reason I bring that up is we've talked about on the show late round running backs who look good as rookies and then sort of tail off. That's the downside here. That's what scares me. And I have him at 10, obviously lower than you.

Still, I have him as a top 10 running back. So I'm not out on Bucky by any means. I think there's a lot of upside there. I do trust the tape from his rookie year more than a sophomore year. But it's still in my mind. Like that 3.4 yards per carry you mentioned, he was not involved in the passing game as much as you'd like to see with Rashad White really taking a lot of that workover.

Sean Tucker we've talked about in this podcast. Anytime they gave him a meaningful workload was great. Barry Sanders. He was Barry Sanders. Anytime John Tucker gets in. So that all scares me. Like, is Bucky really good? Is he actually a true workhorse?

Rashad White is going to hit free agency. He could leave. I think there's a good chance he does leave, given just the Buccaneers have the depth already at the position that they can afford that loss. So that could be good for Bucky. I do believe in the talent. The day three pick thing does scare me after a down second year. That's why I'm a little bit more out on him.

I guess one other good thing for him is no offensive play caller in Zach Robinson, who is somebody I do believe in as a play caller, especially, I mean, I think almost any offensive play caller could be good with Bijon Robinson. Right. But with that said, he was very good with B. Robinson and Atlanta as their play caller under Rahe Morris last year. So there is hope for Bucky. I do think he's a good player.

I talk about these day three running backs on drafted running backs who start falling off after the rookie year and how I don't trust them. I don't really put Bucky Irving in that category, but I still have that thought. Like it still does cross my mind. That is a very fair point. I feel like Bucky and A-Chann are probably where we differ the most in how we view these guys.

It'll be interesting. I feel really good about Bucky, though. And so I think this is going to be one of those ones that we're just on opposite sides of as we draft throughout the summer. Yeah, that's fair. I love that. Also, the Rashad White of it all is going to be really interesting because I might have to reconsider.

I kind of feel like he's gone in my head. And like, if he does stay, like, that does affect it for sure. It should affect it because he's going to be involved if he's there. Yeah. All right, at number 10, we mentioned him earlier in the episode. He's my number 11, your number nine, and that's Josh Jacobs. Josh Jacobs feels like the most boring pick you can make in the first two rounds of your draft, which almost always means it's one of the best picks you can make. Josh Jacobs is just like a straight up good running back. The fun factors is what's missing. We talked about the like, who am I going to be fired up to watch on Sunday? It's not Josh Jacobs,

spoiler, unless you're a Packers fan then I guess maybe, but like he maybe inspires the least amount of excitement in me to watch a player in these first two rounds. But again, that's like why he's getting pushed down. You grab Josh Jacobs

and you can feel like, I feel more secure in Josh Jacobs as a floor than Bucky Irving. Even though I have him so much lower, I just, he's missing that like upside explosiveness and that's why like we play to win in fans football and I'm drafting Bucky Irving a little bit higher.

I think that's a fine take. Like, upside is king in fantasy. But if you want a little bit of a safe floor in your home league, maybe you got, you know, your first round pick, you went with a riskier receiver or something. You just want a safe running back. Josh Jacobs is a great pick. Maybe you play with some sickos that do ridiculous punishments every year, something like that. Yeah.

I don't know anyone like that. I don't know anyone either. Not me. Certainly not me. But he, I mean, he's a safe pick. He has over the last two years with the Packers, 30 total touchdowns, almost 2,900 scrimmage yards in just two years. It doesn't feel like it because it's not the most exciting pick. It's boring, like you said.

But it's good. It's safe. It's a high floor pick. He's not going to be the art, be one. But barring major injury or something like that, he's going to be a top 15 running back. Like, I would bet my life. If he plays even 14 games, he's a top 15. running back without question.

So the floor makes me feel pretty good about putting him in the top 10. Yeah. And his role is just incredible. He's a good, efficient running back. Like, I completely agree. Man, I'm almost talking myself into wanting to move him up. But I think he's perfect where we have him right now. I think if things shift, he is like throughout the offseason, how we view these running

backs, like he's a major candidate to move up on this list. Yeah. And I'm glad you mentioned too, like good running. back good offense. We talked about it with like Gentie, for example. The only concern is bad team, bad offense. The Packers are going to be really good next year. They're going to have a good offense. That's something you want. And a good defense, which like, that's the worst thing in the world for fantasy wide receivers. It's the best thing in the world for fantasy running back, specifically ones that do the majority of their work on the ground. Yep, game script. That's another good point. So,

damn, are we talking ourselves into putting Josh Jacobs up? Move Bejohn down. Josh Jacobs, RB one. Let's move on to number 11, a guy that I could see myself dropping throughout the summer. He's my number 10, you're number 11, that's Derek Henry. What a tough guy to rank, huh? Derek Henry is the literal Michael Scott,

Snip Snap in my brain last season of just being like, is he bad, is he good? Like the angel on my shoulders, like he's Derek Henry, and the devil's like, he's 32 years old, and he looks bad. It's what's so confusing thing about Derek Henry is how bad he is in short yardage situations.

Like you see like this big like really tough back and you're like, oh, he's just going to be able to plow through for a yard. Unless he can like get his motor going, he just gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage every time now. Yeah. I actually think he's kind of been like that his whole career. I think it really came to the forefront this year. But you're right.

Like he's not good in short yardage because he's somebody who needs to get. He needs to accelerate. He needs to get going. Once he hits the hole and if he hits it at full speed, you're S-O-L as a defender. But if you can get him behind the line of scrimmage before he really gets going, he hasn't been good in the goal line.

I want to take back what I said earlier about a Chan being the toughest guy to rank. It's actually Derek Henry. I think it is too. I have him at 11, just outside the top 10. And similar to a Chan who he talked about, you can make a strong, compelling case for him being phenomenal next year.

and a strong, compelling case for him being a league loser next year, like the guy who single-handedly costs you your league. And, yeah, he just feels so much to me, like a guy that I want to, like, play on a week-by-week basis in, like, DFS. Like, I don't want a season of Derek Henry anymore. Yeah, especially in a home league, it's tough. Like, if you're just, like, drafting with your buddies, like, you're going to be ripping your hair out if things do go wrong.

Whereas best ball, you can just, kind of draft it, forget about it, and hope he does have the boom season. But I'm conflicted because starting my research for next year, like the sick oh I am before the Super Bowl is even played, I was expecting to see all the advanced metrics show clear signs of decline for Derek Henry, who's going to be going into his 32-year-old season. Like that's, yeah, that's Cliff territory for a running back. That's a huge red flag. That 32 is like ancient for running back. That's scary. coming off his most disappointing season since his rookie contract.

It seemed like over potentially or at least that it was heading in that direction. But when you actually look, he averaged over five yards per carry in 2025. Did not feel like that. That is pretty insane. At all. Over five yards per carry.

And I think a lot of the struggles were the offense as a whole. I mean, look at week one against Buffalo. Like, he, gouged him. And that was like maybe the only game Lamar was fully healthy the whole year. And then he missed time, which the offense with Cooper Rush was unwatchable. And even with Snoop Huntley wasn't very good. So I think the offense could move as a whole that hurt Derek Henry a ton. Even when Lamar came back, he was, he was just bad. I mean, Lamar was straight up bad when he came back. He was hurt. And I think if he goes in the next year

healthy, the offense as a whole get going, new play caller, Declan Doyle, comes from the Ben Johnson coaching tree, so that could be good. Derek Henry could end up being a steal. I think a lot of us, myself included, sort of talked ourselves into the narrative that he's hitting the decline. He might just still be King Henry, and you get a healthy Ravens team, good offensive play caller,

Lamar's back in the mix, all of a sudden, Derek Henry's the RB4 next year. I hate that you're talking me into it a little bit, because, like, I had a note about the offense as a whole bouncing back, and I do think that's going to happen. I would not want Derek Henry as my running back one.

That's what I'll say. If you're going to try stack running backs early and like you go and you grab like, let's say you grab a Gibbs early and then Derek Henry's there on the way back. Okay. I can talk myself into it. He just scares me. I think the floor, the floor is lava because you could get burned really bad drafting Derek Henry this year. The good thing is the price tag is a lot lower than last year, but you make a lot of

compelling points. The five yards of carry is like, yeah, like he does still have it to some extent. You just, it's hard to have watched last year and get excited about drafting Derek Henry. I agree. And I did draft him in the league we're in together, which is why I am especially scared to. I probably won't do it again in like our home league because I don't have the balls. But, hey, if you're out there, you're listening, you buy the upside, you got bigger balls in me, pulled the trigger on it, wouldn't blame you. I'll probably be drafting them in some best ball lineups. I was going to say, I want to mix them that upside. The real argument you've given me is that I should be paying more attention to him in best ball. Yes.

Because there it's like whatever, you lose a $10, $5 ticket, who cares versus like a home league where he just burns you for an entire season. Yeah, that's sort of my thought. That's my mentality on Derek Henry. Super high upside, super low downside. mix him in. Yeah, mix him in. I couldn't agree more. Let's get into our last guy. I don't know if either one of us is all that excited to talk about him,

but let's talk Chase Brown. This just kind of felt like you need to rank him inside the top 12. But I don't know if he's staring me down at this spot if I'm clicking the button. It's really, to me, Chase Brown is a bet on the Bengals' offense returning to form, because we kind of got to see the Bengals offense at the end of the year with all their main players. And, like, Chase Brown looked great when he's got T. Higgins and Jamar Chase out there taking attention away from him. But there was also a lot of last year where, like, anybody who drafted Chase Brown was, like, miserable. Yeah, I was fully out on Chase Brown going into 2026 halfway through the 2025 season.

Yeah, yeah. he felt like one of those like Lee Ron running backs in. Granted for him, it was year three in 2025, but year two kind of felt like his rookie year because it was the first year he was the starter and the super revolt.

I just didn't believe in the talent. He was kind of looking like a bust and fantasy. And then it was like the Rick and Mourney meme like, son of a bitch I'm in. Like as soon as the back half of the year and he was scoring so many touchdowns and the offense was moving. Like you mentioned like Joe

Burrow was back and both receivers were playing. I'm just not a believer in the talent still, to be honest. I'm not either. I don't think he's a bad running back. I think he's a starting caliber running back in the NFL, which is impressive given the draft capital. Like, he's proven he's good. Of the 12 guys we've talked about today, I would very easily say he is the least talented

of all 12. Yes, I could not agree more. 100%. I don't think he is that caliber of athlete, but you nailed it. when you said, like, it's an investment in this offense. If they can finally stay healthy and keep Joe Burrow upright and keep the receivers healthy to keep the sticks moving, Chase Brown should get workhorse treatment.

We'll see if they draft someone or bring someone else in a free agency. But otherwise, current state. Which is the case with everyone we've talked about. Like, if some big circumstantial thing changes over the off season, of course this shakes up. But as it stands now, yes, as it stands now, he is a beautiful opportunity and a beautiful offense. 12 feels right.

You know? It feels right. Fringe R.B.1. Yeah. Dependent on your league, RB1. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's all I got on Chase Brown.

I think he's another guy I'm going to be monitoring and I think he's got the potential to move up if things shake around. But like right now, he had to be an RB1 on our list, but I don't feel great about it. Yeah, I think we're both in the same boat there.

All right. Well, that was our top 12 running back. way too early for the 2020-26 fantasy football season. Let us know down below if you have any agreements, disagreements with our list, and then we will catch you guys next time for our top 12 wide receivers on Monday.