Fantasy football prep is not only just about finding the sleepers way further down the ADP board, or understanding which players to avoid at their current cost.
It’s also about identifying who the players could be that could take a massive step forward in their production, at every level of the draft board!
With that in mind, here are the top RB breakouts to target in your fantasy football draft when you come up on the clock.
Interested in reading our full list of fantasy football breakouts? Click here.
2026 Fantasy Football Breakout Running Backs
Cam Skattebo, RB, New York Giants
This needs to be prefaced by saying that we do not know yet – at the time of writing – where New York Giants RB Cam Skattebo is in his recovery from a right ankle open dislocation, fractured fibula, and ruptured ligament that he suffered in Week 8 last season.
As of last reports, all signs were optimistic that Skattebo would be able to make it back onto the field early on in the year and be at full go, but we certainly need to hold that optimism with open hands.
If Skattebo does play the majority of the season in 2026 though, he stands a very good chance of being a star for fantasy football purposes.
Tyrone Tracy Jr. got injured in Week 3 and missed some time, which opened the door for Skattebo to step fully into the RB1 role. During that time frame, from Weeks 3-8, Skattebo was the RB3 in all of fantasy football.
We never got to fully see what the rest of the year would have looked like, but Tracy did return to the field in Week 7 and did play a role in the backfield, but certainly a backup one.
Now, heading into 2026, John Harbaugh is in town and has shown that he will lean heavily on the ground game if it’s working, particularly with one RB in Derrick Henry. Additionally, Matt Nagy is the offensive coordinator and he also has leaned heavily on RBs in his coaching stints like with Jordan Howard and David Montgomery.
Skattebo profiles exactly as the type of RB that Harbaugh and Nagy have used heavily in the past: a player that can withstand a ridiculous workload and be a factor in the short-area ground game.
Add in the investments in the offensive line that New York has made this offseason and we could be looking at a monstrous season from Skattebo, provided that he’s fully healthy.
Jacory Croskey-Merritt, RB, Washington Commanders
The expectations for Jacory Croskey-Merritt got dramatically out of control last fantasy draft season.
After being a 7th round NFL Draft pick, JCM’s draft stock rose to a point that he was being drafted at – or beyond – his ceiling due to the opportunity that was in front of him in this Washington backfield.
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And yet, while he didn’t end the season as a top 15 RB for fantasy purposes, he was still very effective and efficient with his workload, especially when you consider his NFL Draft investment.
“Bill” rumbled for 805 yards and eight touchdowns on 175 carries in 2025 for a 4.6 yards per carry average to pair with a 53.7% rushing success rate. All while having a backup QB in for the majority of the season that wasn’t able to help back defenses out of the box routinely.
Volume was the main issue standing in his way from truly taking another massive step forward, as Chris Rodriguez Jr. stepped into a larger role in the offense, but he was the RB28 in Half PPR scoring formats from Weeks 1-17 when it was all said and done.
And now, going into 2026, Rodriguez is now playing elsewhere and there’s very little standing in Croskey-Merritt’s way to inheriting a massive workload this season.
Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Rachaad White was brought in this offseason in free agency on a one-year, $2,000,000 deal. At that investment, there’s not even a guarantee that he makes the roster at the end of the preseason.
The only other significant threat to touches in this backfield is a sixth-round rookie out of Penn State, Kaytron Allen. Based on my film evaluation of Allen, he’s a goal-line and short-yardage back that wouldn’t be a true option to steal touches away from JCM.
The hype got a little bit away from everyone last season and, since he didn’t live up to those unrealistic expectations, fantasy managers are scared off on drafting him this year.
Take advantage of that. He could be an incredible value in fantasy drafts this season.
Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
There aren’t a ton of ancillary statistics that we can point to for signaling that Rodriguez Jr. is set for a massive breakout in 2026.
He shared the backfield with JCM last season in Washington and was efficient with his work around the goal line (posting 13 rush attempts for 20 yards and five touchdowns inside the five-yard line), but there weren’t many games where he was the true lead option.
And yet, that didn’t stop Jacksonville Jaguars HC Liam Coen from bringing Rodriguez in on a hefty free-agent deal worth $10,000,000 over two years.
Coen was the offensive coordinator at Kentucky when Rodriguez was there and Coen clearly values exactly what the veteran RB can bring to the table. He’s been vocal in his praise of him this offseason and there’s a very strong chance that he winds up being the starting RB for this offense in 2026.
Bhayshul Tuten is also going to be a factor in this backfield, certainly, but based on my evaluation of him, he’s better as a change-of-pace option that can occasionally break long runs versus a true workhorse back.
With the Jaguars ranking second in the entire league last year in terms of red zone trips per game (4.0), there’s a strong possibility that Rodriguez Jr. is the main option for this team in that part of the field.
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And, if that’s the case, touchdowns could be a routine occurrence for the former Commanders RB. His ADP right now is certainly worth taking the chance on.
