dynasty running backs

New Places, Familiar Faces: 2026 Dynasty Running Backs

All Access, Dynasty / By /

A change of scenery can sometimes breathe some life into a player’s fantasy value. But is the grass greener on the other side? That’s what we’re hoping to find out with several running backs this season. Below, I highlight five familiar faces in new places and discuss how their new situations should impact fantasy football and football betting odds in 2026. 

To access the rest of this article, login or become a member. control room correct size

New Places, Familiar Faces: 2026 Dynasty Running Backs Read More »

Jonathon Brooks

Dynasty Price Check: Jonathon Brooks

Dynasty / By /

Jonathan Brooks, the former second-round pick (46th overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Texas, has been a non-factor so far during his time as a professional. The future star is recovering from his second torn ACL, which occurred during his rookie season. He’s recently been cleared and has been participating in the offseason programs while reportedly feeling 100%. With this, buying low on talented, injured players is a cheat code and has often proven very profitable in Dynasty Fantasy Football. Brooks, with his potential, falls into this category, and he has also received positive comments from Head Coach Dave Canales. In addition, the Carolina Panthers didn’t draft or sign any running backs this offseason. They chose to let veteran Rico Dowdle leave as a free agent, which speaks volumes for what the team thinks of Brooks and leads me to believe he’s in line; if healthy, Brooks can be a potential league winner.

As we fast-forward to training camps about to open up, the Panthers enter the upcoming season with high internal expectations and expect to improve upon their eight-win season in 2025. Brooks has the talent to become a superstar in the NFL as he’s an all-around three-down running back with explosive playmaking ability. The third-year player is still only 23 years old and figures to be the future of the Panthers’ backfield at some point this season. Even though the Panthers have Chuba Hubbard as the RB1 to start the year, he’s entering year two of a four-year, 33.2 million deal. There’s no reason to believe that Brooks still can’t be a big factor in their offense. Running back is the one position in the NFL that can change quickly, and there is a potential out on Hubbard’s contract after 2026. I see no reason why Brooks can’t earn close to an even split with Hubbard and work next to him more as a 1B early in the season instead of as a true number two running back. Then, as things unfold throughout the 2025 NFL season, time will tell when Brooks can fully take over this backfield. But with the season quickly approaching, the question is: should you be buying, selling, or holding Brooks? Let’s dive in.

To access the rest of this article, login or become a member. control room correct size

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Dynasty Price Check: Jonathon Brooks Read More »

Mike Washington Jr.

Mike Washington Jr.: The “Power-Speed” Workhorse

Dynasty, Rookie, Rookie Player Profiles / By /

Running backs come in a lot of shapes, but the ones who last in the NFL usually bring a mix of size, speed, and toughness. Mike Washington Jr. checks those boxes. At 6’1” and around 223 pounds, he looks like the kind of back built to handle a heavy workload. What separates him from most runners his size is the speed. When he hits open space, he can erase angles in a hurry. Washington spent his college career climbing the ladder. He started in the MAC before finishing at Arkansas in the SEC, proving along the way that his game translated against better competition. By the time the 2025 season ended, he had established himself as one of the most productive backs in the conference.

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Mike Washington Jr.: The “Power-Speed” Workhorse Read More »

Buy Tyler Allgeier in Dynasty While You Still Can

Dynasty / By /

In the past, trading Tyler Allgeier in Dynasty was advisable because his value was heavily capped as a backup to Bijan Robinson. He gave us good games here and there, but his upside was always capped. While talented, his limited long-term upside in Atlanta has been capped since the arrival of Bijan. Allgeier is a prime candidate to trade for, offering a second round pick or a package of other assets. In my opinion, this is the time to both acquire or sell him.

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Buy Tyler Allgeier in Dynasty While You Still Can Read More »

Comparing ADP, Dynasty to Redraft: AFC North

Dynasty / By /

A much-overlooked aspect of dynasty is value comparison, or comparing the values of dynasty players to redraft players and seeing which is worth more or less. You might be thinking “well, duh! Of course, older players are worth less in dynasty than redraft!” to which I agree. But what about Daniel Jones (QB – NYJ), who is only 25 years old? Should he be worth more in redraft or dynasty? Or how about Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – DEN), who in redraft has an ADP of WR10, but in dynasty he’s valued as WR6. Which side more appropriately values players? In this series, which will take place over nine parts (one part for each division and a rookie roundup after the draft), I’ll be evaluating every skill position player on every team and giving my thoughts on their value, whether they are overvalued compared to redraft, or undervalued. Usually, the appropriate value will be somewhere in the middle.

Comparing ADP, Dynasty to Redraft: AFC North Read More »

Predicting and Analyzing the 2023 RB Carousel: NFC North

Dynasty / By /

With NFL Free Agency underway, the stacked running back landscape is shifting more than it has in a long time. Over the past few weeks, I’ve gone over my predictions for the running back situations of each team, as well as the corresponding fantasy implications. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the changes that have already happened in NFC North, as well as what still is to come. Check out Part 5 of this series, where I predicted the AFC North. 

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Predicting and Analyzing the 2023 RB Carousel: NFC North Read More »

luke musgrave

Dynasty Prospect Combine Winners

Rookie / By /

It’s combine week! Time for all of our favorite prospects to compete in the underwear olympics. If you talk to different people, you will get different answers on just how meaningful the combine is. NFL scouts look for traits and this helps them determine that on a comparable scale. Here are the biggest winners from this week in Indianapolis and how it effects your preparation for dynasty rookie drafts.

Throughout this article you will see a tool called the Relative Athletic Score. This is a wonderful tool created by Kent Lee Platte to provide an overall size adjusted athleticism score utilizing inputs from combine results. It runs on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest. Give him a follow on Twitter @mathbomb.

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Dynasty Prospect Combine Winners Read More »

Derek Carr to the New Orleans Saints

Dynasty / By /

The morning after the combine, everyone is moving rookie rankings up and down based on the measurements and data collected from the weekend. Little did we know we would get the first domino to fall in the off-season QB market. Derek Carr has signed a 4-year deal with the New Orleans Saints worth $150M and $100M in guarantees. The Saints are again using some strange contract structures to pretend that the salary cap does not exist. That is a discussion for another time though. For now, we dive forward into what Carr to the Saints means in terms of Dynasty Fantasy Football. Before I continue, special thanks to Chris Museezer (@force_fantasty) and Paul Patterson (@fantastyfreezer) for helping with data sources and outlining. I may be the one putting the words on the screen but those guys had already gathered useful data for me before I even turned my computer on today. 

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Derek Carr to the New Orleans Saints Read More »

Where We Went Wrong: Zach Wilson & Jalen Hurts

Dynasty / By /

NFL teams every single year find themselves in one of two camps at this time. Those that have their Quarterback for the future and those that do not. Those that don’t are frequently tasked with drafting a quarterback, one of the most challenging parts of a General Manager’s job in the NFL. Over the years we have had plenty of decisions that get questioned for years to come. Ken O’Brien over Dan Marino or Peyton Manning over Ryan Leaf, the differences these selections make are truly franchise-altering decisions. This process is mimicked often in the Dynasty Football space as we sit and try to evaluate the talent and project how they will perform at the NFL level. Longevity is an important trait of Quarterbacks taken in the first round of our Superflex rookie drafts like NFL teams. We may tend in the Fantasy circles to like mobile Quarterbacks a bit more than the NFL thanks to their rushing floor but mostly want the same things NFL teams want in signal callers. Sometimes we hit, Andrew Luck was exactly what we thought he was coming out of college. Sometimes we miss though. Today’s two cases we will discuss that we as a community were wrong on. 

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Where We Went Wrong: Zach Wilson & Jalen Hurts Read More »

Sam Howell Touchdown

Washington Commanders: Offseason Update

Dynasty / By /

We may have thought this was coming but it is now official, the Commanders have cut Carson Wentz. This coming shortly after former Chiefs offensive coordinator, Eric Bieniemy, joined the team to run their offense means we should see some big changes in dynasty value for some of these players. Let’s not waste time and get right into the trickle-down of these moves.

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Washington Commanders: Offseason Update Read More »

Trey McBride

Overlooked Gems: NFC West Edition

Dynasty / By /

In this continued offseason series, we will break down one player from each NFL team currently being overlooked. At the same time, that player could provide great depth/potential to a deep dynasty league roster. These players are worth picking up if they are in your free agency. They are also players you may want to reconsider keeping if they are fringe roster cut options. I will try to convince you why they are worth a roster spot for now. Of course, the NFL Draft and free agency period could diminish each player’s value, but we need to be making sure we bolster our roster(s) as much as we can. Each week, one division will be broken down, and today is all about the NFC West.

Overlooked Gems: NFC West Edition Read More »

jalin hyatt

Jalin Hyatt: Where Fantasy and Reality Diverge

Rookie / By /

One of the most respected draft experts, Lance Zierlein, set off a Twitter firestorm this week when he placed Jalin Hyatt as his first wide receiver off the board, 12th overall, in his first mock draft.

He states:

“Let me first start off by saying I believe this draft is very similar to the 2016 draft in terms of wideouts. I didn’t see any WR as a true WR1 for a team. Here was how I graded them. Obviously, Mike Thomas ended up being a dude but the rest? Here is how I had it (old scale)”

Jalin Hyatt: Where Fantasy and Reality Diverge Read More »

Xavier Hutchinson

’23 Rookie WR Early Rankings: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Truth

Rookie / By /

The Senior Bowl has come and gone and we move one step further in our off-season process. Thankfully, I’m one step closer in my own rookie evaluations with my first look at the 2023 rookie receiver class. We’ll use film analysis numerical data from the regular season and look at using KPIs based on DFF’s very own Chris Miles. Using the points from his model and tales from the tape, I’ll break down this highly touted rookie class by discussing The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of each prospect.

’23 Rookie WR Early Rankings: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Truth Read More »

velus jones jr

Overlooked Gems: NFC North Edition

Dynasty / By /

In this new fantasy offseason series, we will break down one player from each NFL team who is currently being overlooked. At the same time, that player could provide great depth/potential to a deep dynasty league roster. These players are worth picking up if they are in your free agency. They are also players you may want to reconsider keeping if they are fringe roster cut options. I will be trying to convince you as to why they are worth a roster spot for now. Of course, the NFL Draft and free agency period could diminish each player’s value, but we need to be making sure we bolster our roster(s) as much as we can. Each week, one division will be broken down, and today is all about the NFC North.

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

Overlooked Gems: NFC North Edition Read More »

The Rapid Rise and Fall of Cam Akers: A Modern Tragedy

Dynasty / By /

Think back to yourself two off-seasons ago: Akers is coming off a six-game stretch (including two playoff games) where he averaged 110 total yards on 22 carries (not touches, carries) per game, as well as scoring five TDs. My favorite of these games came against New England when he gashed the 2020 Patriots for 171 yards on 5.9 yards per carry. Watching him glide effortlessly on well-blocked inside and outside zone runs, making defenders miss at the second level and falling forward sometimes seven or eight yards with DBs trying to bring him down. Then his playoff run, where he put up what would’ve been 21.1 PPR points per game against the Seahawks and Packers- nearly willing the Goff-era Rams to another Conference Championship.

Think back to yourself two offseasons ago: Akers is coming off a six-game stretch (including two playoff games) where he averaged 110 total yards on 22 carries (not touches, carries) per game, as well as scoring 5 TDs. My favorite of these games came against New England when he gashed the 2020 Patriots for 171 yards on 5.9 yards per carry. Watching him glide effortlessly on well-blocked inside and outside zone runs, making defenders miss at the second level and falling forward sometimes seven or eight yards with DBs trying to bring him down. Then his playoff run, where he put up what would’ve been 21.1 PPR points per game against the Seahawks and Packers- nearly willing the Goff-era Rams to another Conference Championship.

To access the rest of this post, you must login or purchase a DFF Membership.

The Rapid Rise and Fall of Cam Akers: A Modern Tragedy Read More »