Dynasty Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: Bhayshul Tuten and Jacory Croskey-Merritt could be risers

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I am not one to point fingers, but if you are looking to place blame for the lack of excitement about the 2026 rookie class you can start with the running back position. In first update of my running back rankings since the 2026 NFL Draft, I only have two rookies inside of my top 40, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. In a Supeflex league with tight end premium scoring, those are the only two backs I would take with a top 20 pick in a rookie draft. This is a far cry from year ago when running backs accounted for half of Round 1 of rookie drafts.

This lack of fresh talent coming into the league has really harmed the depth of the position in Dynasty. That is only going to get worse as older backs fall off in 2026. It has also made me far more interested in some of those 2025 rookies who weren't first round picks. Bhayshul Tuten, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Kyle Monangai, Dylan Sampson, and Woody Marks all rank higher than my RB3 in the 2026 class (Mike Washington Jr.).

I had Jacob Gibbs on Fantasy Football Today Dynasty to break down our thoughts on the 2026 class. We talked about the dearth of running backs in the 2026 class, but there are still a few guys we have hope for. Check it out here:

The first takeaway I would offer is that if you have a 2026 second that you were hoping to use to strengthen in your running back room, I would see if you could trade it for Tuten, Croskey-Merritt, or Monangai. Yes, even an early second-round pick. The case for Monangai is pretty simple; he was a flexworthy player as a rookie and could see a larger share of the work in his second year. At the very least, he is more likely to help a contender this year than almost anyone you can draft in Round 2.