Yes, the 2026 NFL Draft is going to change plenty of things. Yes, it is only the beginning of April. Still, dynasty fantasy football leagues never sleep, plus best ball draft lobbies are open.
Meaning whatever flavor of fantasy football you prefer, right now, you could be planning for the 2026 fantasy football season. With that in mind, here are four must-have running backs who have a chance to provide a great return on investment (ROI) in 2026.
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Must-Have Fantasy Football Running Backs
Omarion Hampton (RB – LAC)
Admittedly, you won’t be buying low on Omarion Hampton with everyone and your grandma aware that the Chargers haven’t brought back Najee Harris (yet). With the infusion of Mike McDaniel as the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator, this could be a nuclear outcome for Hampton. But there are reasons to treat this still as a situation worth buying into. Starting with McDaniel, it’s hard to underestimate his potential influence on the offense.
Miami ranked third in yards per carry in 2025 (4.7) and tied for first in 2023 (5.0). It’s fair to point out that in 2024, they ranked 28th (4.0), but on the whole, McDaniel got the best out of the Dolphins’ rushing game. The Chargers will also get back two huge additions on the offensive line in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt, who were missed and resulted in the Chargers ranking 30th in Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) offensive line rankings for 2025.
Alt was graded as the fifth-best left tackle in the league before his injury. If both are even 80% of the players they were, they will be an upgrade on what the Chargers dealt with by the end of the season. Not to mention that Bradley Bozeman, who has the worst centre in the league, has now retired and been replaced by Tyler Biadasz. Hampton only played in nine games, but averaged a respectable 81 scrimmage yards per game and scored five touchdowns.
Extrapolation is a dangerous game, but that pace is a total of 1,392 yards and 9.4 touchdowns, which would have put him in a similar range to Josh Jacobs and D’Andre Swift, who both finished as top-15 running backs. Keaton Mitchell and Kimani Vidal will have the potential to see the field and be useful role players, but McDaniel was never afraid to give De’Von Achane 16-20 touches per game. If we’re betting on ceiling outcomes, Hampton has a ton of upside.
Breece Hall (RB – NYJ)
It never feels good drafting a player on the New York Jets, but the lack of enthusiasm might have gone too far for Breece Hall, who currently is the RB16 on Underdog and has dropped to RB12 on KeepTradeCut.com.
Despite yet another season of absolute misery and despair for the Jets, Hall is coming off his first 1,000-yard season (1,065) and caught 36 receptions for the third straight season. The 36 receptions marked Hall’s lowest total since his rookie season was cut short by injury.
The addition of Geno Smith might not feel like it’s going to rescue this offense, but it should be an upgrade on Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor.
What's your confidence level in Breece Hall? pic.twitter.com/94aIp27N6O
— FantasyPros (@FantasyPros) March 23, 2026
Smith collapsed under pressure in Las Vegas. He was tied for the most sacked quarterback (55) in the league, while also leading the league in interceptions and ranking 25th in yards per attempt. He did rank 14th in accurate throw rate, though, showing that when given time, he was doing a reasonable job.
The Jets’ offensive line was solid, ranking 22nd, according to PFF, and that was without starting guard Alijah Vera-Tucker, who will be healthy for 2026. Outside of Hall, it’s still only Garrett Wilson earning meaningful touches. Sooner or later, positive touchdown regression will see Hall score more than five rushing touchdowns in a season for the first time.
David Montgomery (RB – HOU)
Simply put, Woody Marks isn’t good enough to stop this from being David Montgomery’s backfield. Marks was a fourth-round pick and did better than expected, given he was thrust into a bigger role than people thought he’d have. However, he isn’t a complete player, and as the season went on, you could see why the Texans planned on having Joe Mixon and Nick Chubb also be part of the rotation.
Marks ranked 48th among 49 running backs with 100+ attempts when it came to yards per carry (3.59). He was also tied for 48th in missed tackles forced per attempt and ranked 37th in yards after contact per attempt. Meanwhile, David Montgomery is a better pass-catcher, is a better goal-line back and is also a better rusher between the tackles.
The only advantage Marks has is age, and we can nullify that, given the Texans gave up offensive lineman Juice Scruggs, a 2026 fourth-round pick and a 2027 seventh-round pick to make sure Montgomery was their lead back. The Texans still have a ways to go to rebuild their offensive line, and C.J. Stroud will need to show some good quarterback play for the first time since his rookie season, but Montgomery is a glaring value right now.
J.K. Dobbins (RB – DEN)
The moment J.K. Dobbins signed with the Broncos, every single Denver beat reporter and team official anointed him the lead back. The Broncos seemed to be in the mix for Kenneth Walker III and Travis Etienne before ultimately settling on re-signing Dobbins. But the drumbeat remains strong with Sean Payton quoted this week as saying, “re-signing Dobbins was a priority above all others.”
RB J.K. Dobbins (foot) is "fully healthy," per GM George Paton.
HC Sean Payton says re-signing Dobbins "was a priority… above all others."
"He brings ten players along with him." pic.twitter.com/ulQz8WqBWA
— SleeperNFL (@SleeperNFL) March 31, 2026
Of course, coaches lie frequently, but when healthy, this backfield belonged to Dobbins. In the 10 games Dobbins was healthy, he averaged 15.3 rushes per game, which was 10 more than RJ Harvey.
Yet, in redraft and best ball average draft position (ADP), Harvey goes 45 spots ahead of Dobbins. Of course, there’s a health risk associated with Dobbins, but let’s not forget he only got hurt because of a hip-drop tackle. He is healthy for organized team activities (OTA).
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