Fantasy Football: 3 running back sleepers for 2026

• Jordan Mason commands a top-tier efficiency baseline: Mason secures a powerful contingent upside profile in Minnesota, anchoring his fantasy floor with an elite 91.3 rushing grade that ranks 10th among all qualified NFL backs over the past four seasons.

• Keaton Mitchell aligns with a premium offensive archetype: Reunited with new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel in Los Angeles, Mitchell profiles as a direct statistical match to the high-speed role previously carved out by De'Von Achane.

• Dylan Sampson locks down high-end receiving flexibility: Sampson flashed an explosive pass-catching ceiling during his rookie campaign, trailing only Bijan Robinson at the position with a spectacular 1.86 yards per route run.

Regardless of whether a fantasy manager employs a Zero-RB, Hero-RB or Robust-RB strategy, it makes sense to target at least one late-round running back with a realistic path to a starting role. By the 11th round, most of the league's projected starters are long gone, but every season a handful of overlooked backs emerge as league-winning values. Last year, Javonte Williams, Rico Dowdle and Kenneth Gainwell were all available in the late rounds and went on to finish among the top 20 fantasy running backs.

The goal isn't necessarily to find a Week 1 starter. It's to identify players whose roles could expand dramatically if circumstances break their way.

Below are three running backs currently being drafted in the 11th round or later who have the potential to become weekly must-start fantasy options in 2026.

Mason has been one of the NFL's most efficient running backs since entering the league in 2022. His 91.3 rushing grade over the past four seasons ranks 10th among all running backs. He has averaged 5.1 yards per carry, 3.4 yards after contact per carry and a first down or touchdown on 26.6% of his runs, all ranking third among the 56 running backs with at least 300 carries. He is also the only running back in that group with a positive grade on more than half of his carries.

That efficiency has translated to fantasy success whenever he's been given a lead-back role. Mason ranked as the RB10 in PPR leagues over the first seven weeks of 2024 while Christian McCaffrey was sidelined, and he averaged 14.5 PPR points per game across four starts for Minnesota last season, 16th among running backs during that stretch.

Mason and Aaron Jones return to the Vikings in 2026, where they are expected to continue splitting backfield duties, with Mason handling more early-down work and Jones seeing most passing situations. However, Jones has missed at least five games in two of the last three seasons and, at 31 years old, is the second-oldest running back expected to make a 53-man roster. The odds are good that Mason will spend at least part of the season as Minnesota‘s primary running back.