RB Rooms To Monitor Ahead of 2026 Fantasy Football
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by the NFL Draft Guide ...
With the dust settling on free agency, there are teams set to compete in 2026 and others who still have gaping roster concerns. Today, we're focusing on the running back rooms, something sacred in fantasy that you always want to try and get right. How concerned should we be with some of these backfields? Well, I'm sorry Seahawks fans … if Najee Harris is coming to save you, we should be VERY concerned.
Seahawks current RBs: Zach Charbonnet, Emanuel Wilson, George Holani
Kenneth Walker is no longer in the picture for Seattle, and that means an explosive part of this backfield is gone. Zach Charbonnet is recovering from a torn ACL suffered in the playoffs and will likely miss a chunk of the 2026 season, so where do we turn?
There's no doubt Seattle is high on George Holani and also signed a power runner in Emanuel Wilson to help, but it doesn't seem like enough. I'd expect the Seahawks to look toward the draft (even if they only have four picks this year). If they called me on draft night, I'd tell them to go get Mike Washington Jr. from Arkansas—check out his Rookie Super Model profile from Dwain McFarland.
Commanders RBs: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Rachaad White, Jerome Ford
Let's all say it together now … YUCK! Sorry to the big boss, Matthew Berry. Anyways, sometimes we like to lean into ambiguous backfields—ambiguity creates opportunity. Currently on Underdog, Croskey-Merrit is the RB42, White is the RB40 and Ford is off the board at RB81. There is a chance that Jeremiyah Love falls to the Commanders with the No. 7 overall pick, but if they don't add to this backfield, White does seem intriguing.
White played with Jayden Daniels for two years at ASU (forks up), and so familiarity is something to consider. White also has the experience as both a runner and pass catcher—according to ESPN, he's one of two players in Buccaneers history to notch double-digits in career rushing touchdowns (14) and receiving touchdowns (11). For now, White seems like the leader, as uncomfortable as you may be pressing draft.
Vikings RBs: Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason
Aaron Jones agreed to a revised contract for the 2026 season and will be turning 32 in December. I fully believed in a Jordan Mason takeover last season, and while he had the opportunities, the fantasy points didn't come. Mason is still a non-factor in the passing game, and in 2025, he played only 41% of the snaps. Under Kevin O'Connell, the Vikings' running backs have locked down a 14% target share. I'm paying attention to see if they add any young running backs in the draft. Otherwise, I'm trying to steer clear in early drafts. Mason is the RB38 on Underdog, while Jones is close behind at RB43.
Cardinals RBs: James Conner, Tyler Allgeier, Trey Benson, Bam Knight
This does look like a crowded mess, but for Arizona, I'm willing to take stabs at Tyler Allgeier. James Conner reworked the final year of his contract to stay in Arizona for 2026, but I think that says more about the lack of trust in Trey Benson. People forget that Allgeier averaged 9.3 fantasy points per game before Bijan Robinson came onto the scene. I'm not worried about an aging Conner and can see Allgeier leading this backfield sooner rather than later.
The Fantasy Life NFL Draft Guide is a living, breathing draft hub with live updates as we head into the NFL Draft. Inside you'll find Matthew Freedman's Big Board, expert NFL mock drafts across the Fantasy Life team, Dwain McFarland's Rookie Super Modeland non-stop insights to get you ready for the NFL Draft.
Around these parts, it's never too early to start prepping for the fantasy football season, especially when you have the opportunity to get a leg up on your leaguemates. To help with exactly that, Kendall Valenzuela, Dwain McFarland and Ian Hartitz all offered up their favorite QB sleeper for early 2026 fantasy football drafts.
Kendall: Jordan Love is going to be the quarterback I wait for in drafts in 2026. It doesn't look like we're going to get a Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye type of late-round quarterback that we're pounding the table for, but Love might be the closest guy for me. In 15 regular-season starts in 2025, Love completed 66.3% of his passes for 3,381 yards, 23 touchdown passes and six interceptions. He finished as the QB16 in overall fantasy points last year, averaging 16.5 fantasy points per game.
The idea of Love being my sleeper quarterback hinges upon the team getting a little more away from the ground game and focusing on Love's arm and the receivers around him. He attempted only 439 passes in 2025, the seventh-fewest in the NFL. Romeo Doubs (who led all of the Packers’ wide receivers in total snaps in 2025) is out of the picture, and a lot will be asked of Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson and Matthew Golden this season. The Packers are still going to run the ball and rotate their receivers, but Love could be the quarterback who drastically outperforms his ADP in 2026 if they give him more of a runway.
If you really want to get down and dirty—we’re talking about the true degenerate stuff that would make your neighbors scared to see you outside the house while they take their post-dinner constitutional stroll around the block—then you gotta get involved in the NFL Draft betting market.
Some sportsbooks have already released markets for the draft, and there are a few that stand out to me.
Let's set aside that Simpson and Orlovsky have the same agent. I take Orlovsky at his word.
But Simpson is No. 35 in the NFL Mock Draft Database consensus big board and No. 38 on my big board. He's No. 27 at Grinding the Mocks, and 52% of recent sharp mocks have him, but he's not in Round 1 of my recent mock.
Big picture: All this data suggests that he's a borderline guy for Round 1.
I think No. 16 to the Jets is the earliest he can go—but the Jets are clearly not building for this year. As I note in my recent QB situations breakdown, the Jets are playing for 2027.
Framed differently: If the Jets liked Simpson well enough to take him at No. 16, then they just would take him at No. 2. And they probably wouldn't have traded for veteran Geno Smith.
Similarly, if the Cardinals liked Simpson well enough to trade back into Round 1 to take him (they have No. 34 near the top of Round 2), then they simply would take him at No. 3—and they wouldn't have signed veteran Gardner Minshew.
The Browns won't take him at No. 6. That's simply too high—and this specific front office has already invested too much in the QB position to be able to get away with that pick. And the Brown won't take him at No. 24 … because if they invest a first-rounder in him and he fails, then the entire front office could get fired.
The Dolphins won't take him at Nos. 11 and 30. They just signed Malik Willis.
The Rams won't take him at No. 13. They're trying to maximize their odds of winning the Super Bowl this year, and investing a first-rounder in a backup is a poor way of going all-in.
The Steelers might consider Simpson at No. 21 … but I expect veteran Aaron Rodgers to re-sign with the team eventually, and does the team (and HC Mike McCarthy) really want to put a rookie behind Rodgers for his final season? I'm skeptical.
But the top of Round 2? Yes, that's the spot where I could see the Jets taking him at No. 33, Cardinals at No. 34 and Browns at No. 39.
To me, Simpson looks like a classic Round 2 QB. There are legitimate reasons to like him. He was a five-star recruit entering college, and in his final season—his first as a starter—he was a good passer (3,567 yards, 28 TDs, five INTs on a 64.5% completion rate).
But he has significant issues as a prospect. He's not big (6-1, 211 pounds). He had just 15 starts in college. He did little as a runner this past season (93 yards). And his play fell off in the second half of 2025 (6.5 AY/A in Games 8-15 vs. 10.3 in Games 1-7).
He might go in Round 1 … but he shouldn't.
Either way, I think it's maybe a 50/50 prop—but the market's pricing under 1.5 QBs in Round 1 as if it has only a 37.0% chance of happening. I like those odds.
