Some might consider him too highly ranked to be a “breakout,” but in many circles he’s still talked about as a boring player or a low-end RB1. In reality, Brown has earned the 5th-most expected fantasy PPG among all RBs over the past two seasons (17.4)—with the Weeks 13-18 sample from last season providing the cleanest picture of what a healthy Bengals offense unlocks for Brown. In that six-game stretch where Joe Burrow was healthy and the o-line was semi-functioning, Brown averaged 22.3 fantasy PPG (RB2) and his 11.8 receiving fantasy PPG ranked behind only Christian McCaffrey’s 13.9, per Fantasy Points’ Kyle Menton.

Across six full games as the clear lead back, Hampton averaged 15.3 PPR PPG, a pace that would have comfortably placed him inside the RB1 conversation over a full 17-game slate, per ClutchPoints’ Garrett Kerman. But where Hampton will benefit most this year is through the hiring of OC Mike McDaniel. McDaniel spent four seasons as the Dolphins' head coach running an offense that ranked 8th in both passing and total offense, where we saw De’Von Achane become a superstar both on the ground and through the air. Hampton has already flashed the exact receiving efficiency McDaniel loves, catching 91.% of his targets as a rookie, nearly identical to Achane's 89.% catch rate in his 2nd McDaniel season. He could explode in this scheme.

Judkins is a workhorse. His 18.3 touches per game (11th-most league-wide) as a rookie projects for 311 total touches over a full 17-game season. And in just 14 games played in 2025, Judkins commanded 64.0% of the red zone and 61.1% of the goal line carries, per FTN Fantasy’s Colin McTamany. The floor is solid and the talent is elite… we just need the Browns’ offense to at least be close to average for a true breakout to happen here. Is that too much to ask? (Probably).

HC Liam Coen ranks 7th in backfield expected fantasy PPG among all playcallers over the past three seasons, largely thanks his screen game—Travis Etienne averaged 2.5 fantasy PPG on designed targets alone last year, while the trio of Bucky Irving, Chris Godwin, and Rachaad White feasted on them in 2024 under Coen, per Fantasy Points’ Ryan Heath. Chris Rodriguez doesn’t have a pass-catching profile, and LeQuint Allen is typically a 3rd down pass-blocking specialist (all Jaguars RBs combined for just 50 receiving yards on 3rd and 4th down last year, while 90% of Irving’s targets as a rookie came on 1st and 2nd down in 2024, and he averaged 22.5 fantasy PPG while leading the NFL in designed targets per game down the stretch). Tuten was already the team’s goal line back last season, and, per Coachspeak Index, Coen has talked about expanding Tuten’s role in the pass and screen game this year. If that comes to fruition, he’ll smash at his current ADP.

Bill was an above average runner last season, finishing 15th in YPC (4.6), 12th in rushing yards over expected per attempt (0.79), and 7th in yards per contact per attempt (2.34). He simply broke tackles and created more yardage than was blocked for him. The most important part, though, is that those marks easily topped his new teammate Rachaad White, who ranked 27th in yards per carry (4.25), 44th in RYOE per attempt (-0.22), and 35th in YAC per attempt (2.95), per Draft Sharks. Where he lacks proven production is in the receiving game, but per Fantasy Life’s Zain Dhanani, reports out of camp suggest JCM’s being trusted on passing downs and is being given every shot to be a feature back. If that happens, he has low-end RB1 upside.

This feels like low-hanging fruit, but it’s our duty to advise you that CMC enters this season after logging a career-high 448 touches in 2025 (including the playoffs). He had 403 touches in 2019 and 417 in 2023, then went on to played in just three games in 2020 and four in 2024, per Colin McTamany. McCaffrey just turned 30, and it’s more reasonable than ever to question whether he’s capable of leading your fantasy football team to a championship in 2026.

“He's 28 years old with 2,109 career touches, and there is also some uncertainty hanging over him as he deals with several off-field legal issues. On the field, his efficiency slipped last season, with his yards per carry dropping to 4.0. Jacobs also faded following a left knee injury and knee contusion last season, going from 21.1 touches and 19.6 fantasy PPG in his first nine games to 14.6 touches and 11.3 PPG over his final five.” — ESPN’s Eric Moody

Among the 30 RBs with at least 40 carries through Week 4, Irving ranked 25th in yards per carry, 21st in explosive run rate, and ceded the goal line work to Rachaad White. His numbers after returning for the final six games didn’t do anything to stir any optimism, either—among the 49 RBs with at least 100 carries in 2026, Irving ranked 37th in explosive-run rate and dead last in yards per carry, per QB List’s Jay Felicio.

His ceiling his tantalizing—Henderson exploded for 27.5 half-PPR points in Week 10 (RB4), 29.8 points in Week 11 (RB3) and 29.1 points in Week 15 (RB3) last season. However, two of those games came with Rhamondre Stevenson out, and he’s the biggest road block here. Barring injury, it’s likely Henderson will be stuck behind the boring, yet productive, vet. Despite being touted as a strong pass-blocker, Henderson ranked 66th in PFF pass-blocking grade, while Stevenson was 12th. The veteran was clearly more trusted, with 112 pass-blocking snaps to Henderson’s 48, per FantasyPros’ Josh Shepardson, and will likely continue to operate as the primary ballcarrier as well.

Hubbard fell apart to an RB40 finish in fantasy PPG last season, ranking dead last among 49 qualifying backs in both missed tackle rate and explosive run rate with zero explosive runs all season. His yards per carry dropped from 4.8 the previous year to 3.8, per The Big Lead’s Matt De Lima. Don’t let Rico Dowdle leaving for Pittsburgh get you excited for Hubbard—he’s the typical dead-zone back profile. Plus, his backup could be a little frisky this year (more on Jonathon Brooks later).

This might be a tad high for a sleeper, but it’s important to note that Swift finished 15th among RBs in PPR points per game last year and ranked 18th in expected fantasy PPG, per Draft Shark’s Shane Hallam. But the reason it feels he could reach another level this season is HC Ben Johnson’s track record at the position—here are his offenses' ranks in total RB PPR points:

If the Bears’ offense can get close to Johnson’s Lions from the past, that could mean major upside for Swift. And sure, Kyle Monangai will have a role, but even after he became a thing from Week 7 on last year, Swift remained a reliable fantasy starter, ranking 17th in PPR PPG and 18th in expected PPG among RBs the rest of the way.

Corum averaged double-digit carries for the final 11 games of 2025, producing at a pace that maps to 179 carries for 911 yards and 7.7 TDs for a full season, per Yahoo’s Scott Pianowski. There’s a realistic possibility this backfield will be a 60-40 split, which would give Corum standalone value from the jump. And if anything were to happen to Kyren Williams, Corum is set to smash.

As pointed out by Ryan Heath, HC Dave Canales has always led a backfield meritocracy, with Chuba Hubbard (in 2024) and Rico Dowdle (in 2025) taking over as lead backs mid-season after outplaying the other higher-paid backs on the roster. That could happen with Brooks this season, as Hubbard is one of the league’s least-efficient pass-catchers at the position (his 5.1 career yards per target ranks 62nd among 76 active RBs with 50+ career targets, per Draft Sharks), while Brooks was a more productive receiver in his final year at Texas than Bijan Robinson was the season before. Give me the talented pass-catching backs that are behind fragile starters all day.

Since entering the league in 2023, Mitchell has ranked 11th in rushing fantasy points over expectation, 9th in explosive rush rate (% of carries going for 15+ yards), and has the highest yards before contact per attempt among all rushers with 25+ attempts over the past two seasons, per RotoBaller’s Corbin Young. And while many knock his ability to carry a workload, Mitchell did have 197 touches in 2021 and 228 in 2022 while at East Carolina. Mike McDaniel made headlines for putting up a "Wanted" poster with Mitchell's picture on it before free agency, so there’s a chance we see he and Omarion Hampton form a tandem similar to the one McDaniel’s 2023 Dolphins had with Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane.

Lloyd has talent. Across his three collegiate season, he averaged 5.6 YPC, including 7.1 in 2023, when 15.7% of his carries went for 15+ yards, the highest rate of any RB in the 2024 draft class, per Young. Let’s also not forget that he ran a 4.46 40-yard dash at 220 lbs, earning an 86th percentile Speed Score, and has been doing backflips at training camp. With Josh Jacobs currently sidelined due to a groin injury (and still not out of the woods yet on his off-field situation), Lloyd is a screaming value.