The first of the running back dominoes has fallen. Javonte Williams is staying in Dallas on a three-year deal that assures he will be the starting running back at the beginning of the 2026 season. This is a big win for Williams, but you don’t see a lot of movement in his Dynasty ranking below because it is also pretty much what I expect. Williams is still a low-end RB2 with high-end RB2 upside. The truth his that Williams’ value did increase, but he is at the top of a tier and still behind Saquon Barkley and RJ Harvey who are at the bottom of the tier above him. But there are several free agent backs around him that could pass him in either direction in the coming month.
Breece Hall seems likely to stay in New York with the Jets, as much as we are all hoping he won’t. He remains my highest ranked free agent running back, at RB11, but the idea of him being stuck in New York for one more year does not make that ranking as appetizing. He’s still just 24 years old and has posted at least 1,300 yards from scrimmage each of the past three years, but the Jets’ lack of touchdowns has held down Hall’s upside. I don’t really expect that to improve much in 2026, but if they could sign a veteran QB who is more willing to dump the ball off to his backs, that would be a help.
Check out my way-too-early look at running back projections for 2026 here.
Travis Etienne and Kenneth Walker III are the other two top-20 Dynasty backs who don’t have a team yet. So far all we have to go on with them is rumors and rumors of rumors. If you believe those, Walker won’t be tagged by Seattle and Etienne would like to go to Kansas City. Uncertainty keeps these two backs just behind Williams for now, but a good landing spot could propel either of them in front of him. I’d also be happy with either of them returning to their former team, particularly if Zach Charbonnet misses extended time in Seattle next year.
Earlier in February I had Dave Kluge from Footballguys on Fantasy Football Today Dynasty to discuss the state of the running back position in Dynasty. Check it out:
Of course there are many other backs who could see wild swings in their value in the next month. Rico Dowdle, Isiah Pacheco, Rachaad White, Kenneth Gainwell, and Tyler Allgeier are just a few of them. While I am not sure any of them get starting jobs next year, they could absolutely torpedo a back that we are currently hoping will be a workhorse.
As for the rookies, I have pretty low expectations for this class and won’t be adding any of them to my Dynasty rankings until after the 2026 NFL Draft. Expect Jeremiyah Love to crack my top seven and don’t expect any other rookies to crack my top 20, barring a surprise during the draft.
Here are my updated Dynasty running back rankings:
