Dynasty managers who want to win their league shouldn’t go dormant this time of year.
This is the perfect time to be sending out trade offers and attempting to improve your team before everyone else tunes back in and notices how much the landscape has changed.
With that in mind, who are the top RBs that you need to be going out and attempting to acquire right now in your dynasty fantasy football league?
Top 7 Dynasty RB Trade Targets
Omarion Hampton (RB – Los Angeles Chargers)
There are players that are true buy lows in fantasy football, but I’ll concede that Omarion Hampton doesn’t fit into that category.
While he didn’t play a full season last year, it’s not like he dramatically underperformed expectations to the point where he’s going to be able to available via trade in your league for cheap.
However, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t worth still trying to go out and acquire.
Last season, according to NextGen Stats, Omarion Hampton was contacted behind the line of scrimmage on 52.4% of his carries, the 3rd-highest rate in the NFL (min. 100 carries) and was also stuffed for a loss or no gain on 24.2% carries (4th-highest).
Yet, the rookie forced a missed tackle on 29.8% of his rushes, the 4th-highest among the same group of players.
The offensive ecosystem in LA collapsed last year with Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater both going down with season-ending injuries.
Additionally, the interior of the line was about as abysmal of play as you’ll find out there. And the play calling provided no answers to the problems they were facing.
Still, he was able to showcase his talent time and time again.
The Chargers brought in Mike McDaniel this offseason and we’ve seen how his offense can be an absolute goldmine for fantasy football in the past.
You’re going to have to pay up, maybe a solid veteran RB plus a late 1st this year, but there’s a strong chance that Hampton works his way up into the top tier of dynasty RBs by the end of the 2026 NFL season.
Chase Brown (RB – Cincinnati Bengals)
Did you know that Chase Brown didn’t finish outside of the top 20 RBs in Half PPR scoring formats after Week 5, despite playing every single game?
It wasn’t a smooth start to the year, which engrained itself in some people’s minds and affected their view of the talented RB, but after Week 5, Brown was a consistent option for your fantasy lineup.
There’s a possibility that the perception of him in your league is leaning more towards the beginning part of last season versus where it was by the end of the year. Each league will be different.
But if there’s a sliver of a window for me to take someone like Kyren Williams or Josh Jacobs and get Brown, I’m willing to make that move in a heartbeat.
David Montgomery (RB – Houston Texans)
David Montgomery started to take a strong backseat to Jahmyr Gibbs this past season in Detroit. After averaging 13.2 carries per game in 2024, Montgomery saw his workload decrease to just 9.2 rushes/game this past year as Gibbs emerged as the top option in the Lions’ backfield.
Instead of waiting around to see his opportunity vanish even more in 2026, Montgomery requested a move and was shipped off to Houston earlier this offseason.
The veteran RB – who is still just 28 years old – landed in a spot that desperately needed a steady, workhorse option that can help keep this offense on track and he should be given more carries than he can handle this next season.
Trading for him in dynasty is truly leaning into the two-to-three year window we discuss when playing this format. He’s not going to be someone you’re relying on as a cornerstone of your roster in 2028 and beyond…
But if you are a contending roster, Montgomery’s a fantastic addition as a RB2 in your lineup that will have some weeks where he pushes himself into the Top 12 at the position. He should easily see 15+ touches each week and we know that he has a knack for finding the end zone routinely.
He’s RB26 in my dynasty rankings right now and he’s lower than that in the latest consensus updates.
Rico Dowdle (RB – Pittsburgh Steelers)
Just like Montgomery, Rico Dowdle isn’t going to be a key piece of your dynasty roster in three years. He has a short shelf life for dynasty purposes.
With that being said, Dowdle could wind up being an extremely steady and solid presence on your roster in 2026 and, potentially, 2027.
He signed a sizable enough contract in free agency with the Pittsburgh Steelers to signal that he should be their lead option on the ground this season. Kenneth Gainwell’s out of town and Jaylen Warren has always profiled more as a pass-catching back than a three-down workhorse.
With Mike McCarthy coming into town as the Head Coach, plus his familiarity with Dowdle from their time together in Dallas, the RB should have no shortage of opportunities on the ground this season.
The upside depends on whether or not Aaron Rodgers returns to the club in 2026, but he’ll provide a high enough floor to be a valuable RB2/RB3 depth piece for contending dynasty rosters.
If you can take someone like Kyle Monangai – who may not be a long-term starting option for the Bears – and flip him for Dowdle, I’d make that move.
Ray Davis (RB – Buffalo Bills)
A new year, another opportunity for me to tout buying Ray Davis in your dynasty league…
If you’ve followed my work over the past couple of years, you know that I’m a big fan of Davis and his running style. If he had landed essentially anywhere else, I believe he would have carved out a more significant role for himself in the NFL by this point.
The reason for buying him though is that he falls into a category of high-end insurance RB that is incredibly valuable in dynasty fantasy football.
Add in the fact that James Cook has now gone through four NFL seasons – at just 190 pounds – and missed barely any time…odds signal that that’s not going to be the case every single year.
We can’t predict injuries. We shouldn’t wish injuries upon any player.
But for dynasty managers, we have to plan ahead. And fortune favors the prepared in this format.
Davis is barely valued across the dynasty landscape. Go scoop him up now for cheap before he gets an opportunity and truly capitalizes on it, sending his value skyrocketing.
Tank Bigsby (RB – Philadelphia Eagles)
This isn’t an urgent “go buy now” call. Tank Bigsby’s in the same sort of camp as Davis – mentioned above – as a high-end insurance RB, but he’s also a little bit more unique in that his situation could change dramatically in 2027.
Bigsby was traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Philadelphia Eagles as a cheap backup option for Howie Roseman to add, but he very well could be highly coveted on the open market this next offseason as one of the top options at the position.
He impressed when he had the opportunity in 2024, but a new coaching change made him expendable in Jacksonville. When he did get the opportunity to touch the ball in Philly, he caught everyone’s attention again with his contact balance and big-play ability.
He’s unlikely to get a ton of work this next season – aside from a Saquon Barkley injury – but he’ll be a trade target for me ahead of my dynasty trade deadline as his situation could change for the better by this time next year.
Isiah Pacheco (RB – Detroit Lions)
Do you want a player that you can go acquire in dynasty for absolutely nothing?
Dynasty managers are completely burnt out on Isiah Pacheco. And it’s understandable.
He hasn’t looked the same since his leg injury and if Kareem Hunt is stealing work away from him at this stage of his career, he likely doesn’t have much left to offer.
Except, the Detroit Lions traded away Montgomery and intentionally went out and brought in Pacheco as an inexpensive backup option to play behind Gibbs.
Pacheco’s not going to take work away from Gibbs. However, he is the next man up in this Lions backfield for the time being and he’s one injury away from seeing substantial opportunity in a good offense.
The 2026 NFL Draft doesn’t boast many RBs that could come in and instantly step into the RB2 role for the Lions. And Detroit has enough other holes to fill on their roster that they’re unlikely to view RB2 as a priority for them to fill on Day 2 of the Draft.
There’s a very realistic possibility that the RB2 for a solid NFL offense could be had for a third or fourth round pick in this year’s rookie draft in your league. And that’s worth sending out a trade offer for me to see how everything plays out.
