While it is the NFL offseason, it is never too early to be thinking about the upcoming fantasy football season. With the new league year beginning on March 12, players are going to be switching teams this offseason, which means you need to get a jump start on the 2025 fantasy football season.
At the running back position, Jahmyr Gibbs took home top honors as the overall RB1, the second top-10 finish of his young career. Putting up career numbers across the board, including a career-best 1,412 rushing yards, Gibbs was the lifeblood of the Detroit Lions' high-powered offensive attack.
Let’s jump into this position and see what our 2025 way-too-early outlook for the QB position predicts. Will Gibbs repeat as QB1, will a veteran option jump into the top spot, or will a youngster make a surprising climb up the list?
2026 Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks
1. Bijan Robinson | Atlanta Falcons
2025 Rank: RB2
Bijan Robinson finds himself atop the 2026 running back rankings, as his ceiling and potential in the new-look ATL offense are incredibly juicy. With Kevin Stefanski now taking over as the Atlanta Falcons' head coach, his run-heavy mantra means Robinson is in store for another massive workload.
Questions at the quarterback position will likely turn the Falcons into a run-heavy offense as well, as Michael Penix Jr. hasn’t done enough to cement himself as the starter quite yet. Look for Robinson to cross the 300-carry threshold in 2026, and it is realistic for him to surpass the 80-catch mark for the first time in his career as well.
2. Jahmyr Gibbs | Detroit Lions
RB3
The trade of David Montgomery opens up a lot of goal-line carries for the Detroit Lions’ offense, carries that will immediately be funneled to Jahmyr Gibbs. Already one of the best backs in the NFL, Gibbs will likely only have to contend with a mid-round rookie or a free-agent signee for backfield work, which means that Gibbs will get a great shot at building off his RB3 finish last season.
Dan Campbell and new offensive coordinator Drew Petzing will combine to coach the offense this season, and that pairing will need to do its best to continue to heavily incorporate Gibbs into the offense. They look to be comfortable with moving on from Montgomery, which means that they will likely look to increase Gibbs’ workload next year, coming off a 380-touch season.
3. James Cook | Buffalo Bills
RB6
The elevation of Joe Brady from offensive coordinator to head coach is great news for James Cook, just like it is great news for the fantasy football stock of QB Josh Allen. Brady loves to heavily lean on Cook, as Cook is coming off the best season of his young career.
Cook rushed for 1,621 yards last season, setting career marks in yards and carries (309); the receiving game workload for Cook does need to improve if he wants to be the overall RB3 next season, as topping out at 44 receptions for a season just isn’t enough.
4. De’Von Achane | Miami Dolphins
RB5
The departure of Mike McDaniel will be tough for De’Von Achane to acclimate to, as offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik will now be tasked with utilizing the dual-threat runner. The tenure for Slowik as HOU’s offensive coordinator went from stellar to jobless very quickly, and his inconsistencies make it tough to pinpoint how the MIA offense will look in 2026.
However, the Dolphins’ offense does not have much talent, outside of Achane and wideout Jaylen Waddle, especially after the release of Tyreek Hill, so look for Achane to command another massive workload in 2026. Achane has finished as the back-to-back RB5 in consecutive seasons, so you can expect another 900-rushing-yard, 500-receiving-yard season for the Texas A&M product.
5. Omarion Hampton | Los Angeles Chargers
RB35
It was an up-and-down rookie season for Omarion Hampton, but the addition of McDaniel as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Chargers is super exciting. Having started the year sharing touches with Najee Harris, Hampton took over the starting role when Harris got hurt, showing signs of why the Chargers drafted him so highly last April.
Expect Hampton to be featured more in the passing game under McDaniel’s tutelage, as his molding of Achane into the top-flight RB that he is is a perfect blueprint for what Hampton can turn into. While it might be a slow-ish start to the year as the offense irons out the kinks, Hampton is in line for a massive bump in his workload.
6. Jonathan Taylor | Indianapolis Colts
RB4
Jonathan Taylor had a very strong 2025 season, rushing for 18 touchdowns and finishing as the overall RB4 on the season. Having slowed down after Indy’s Week 11 bye, Taylor will look to put together a full season in 2026, one that could see yet another different QB handing him the ball.
While all signs point to Daniel Jones returning to the Indianapolis Colts, Taylor will once again be asked to lead a middling offense that heavily relies on the run game. Having set a career mark with 46 receptions last year, Taylor showed growth in an area of need in his game, something that will help keep his RB1 ceiling locked in, even if he takes a few steps back.
7. Christian McCaffrey | San Francisco 49ers
RB1
The 2025 NFL season was finally a normal one for Christian McCaffrey, as he regained the top spot among all running backs in fantasy football. Reclaiming the overall RB1 spot for the third time in his career, McCaffrey saw his highest touch totals in both carries and receptions during his five-year tenure with San Francisco.
The reason that CMC fell six spots to the RB7 spot for 2026 is that a repeat performance for a running back about to turn 30 is tough to predict, especially coming off a 413-touch season and a full, 17-game slate. The Niners' offense revolves around McCaffrey, and he should experience yet another RB1 season, but projecting him to lead all RBs yet again is a tough ask.
8. Chase Brown | Cincinnati Bengals
RB7
It was the tale of two halves for Chase Brown last season, as the Cincinnati Bengals’ running back looked like two different RBs in 2025. Having only scored three touchdowns across the first nine weeks, Brown came out of CIN’s Week 10 bye hot, scoring eight times and racking up five games of 20+ touches.
Reliant on the full-season health of Joe Burrow, Brown’s 2026 role should become more consistent, hopefully turning into a full season of RB1 production. As a part of one of the better offenses for fantasy football, look for Brown to fall near the back of the RB1 group next season.
9. Saquon Barkley | Philadelphia Eagles
RB14
It was a big step backwards for Saquon Barkley in his second season with the Philadelphia Eagles, as he ran for 865 fewer yards this past season than in 2024. While the entire Eagles offense took a step back, Barkley being healthy for 16 games on back-to-back seasons is definitely promising.
New offensive coordinator Sean Mannion will be installing a new scheme, an unproven one since this is Mannion’s first shot at running an NFL offense as a coordinator. Plenty of question marks still remain as to how things will look, but with the uncertainties surrounding the passing game for the Eagles, Barkley will likely command yet another massive workload, giving him RB1 standing based on volume alone.
10. Jeremiyah Love | Rookie
N/A
The lone rookie on this list is Jeremiyah Love, the Notre Dame prospect who will likely be the first running back off the board in April’s NFL Draft. In a weaker draft class for backs, Love is the clear frontrunner, as the Fighting Irish product is being considered as high as the top five in this year’s draft.
65 seconds of Jeremiyah Love spin movespic.twitter.com/wHeFthNtAI
— Fantasy Life (@MBFantasyLife) March 3, 2026
Love is a perfect blend of finesse and physicality, speed and athleticism, all bundled into one prospect that checks most boxes. His time with Notre Dame provided plenty of highlight moments, including when Love utilized his favorite move, the spin move. Look for Love to have a better rookie season than 2025 darling Ashton Jeanty, especially if he lands on a team like the Kansas City Chiefs.
