2026 Zero-RB Targets

This article will be updated at least weekly (if not more often) based on changing ADPs, news, and our projections.

Every year, at least one or two late-round running backs emerge from the ashes to win leagues for their fantasy managers. These league winners come in all shapes and sizes; some are veteran pass catchers who fall into a larger role, while others are ascending rookies who burst onto the scene over the second half of the season. Some of these RBs will flash in Week 1, while others may barely see the field until a midseason injury to a backfield mate thrusts them into the spotlight.

Identifying which cheap RBs will crush their ADPs is easier said than done, but it’s often the difference between winning your league — and, for these huge best ball tournaments, winning a whole bunch of money — and walking away with nothing. With best ball teams specifically, we want to mix and match archetypes, especially if you’re embracing a full-on zero-RB build. That means if you draft a rookie, you need to make sure you’re covered early in the season so that you aren’t losing points at RB as those rookies fight to earn more touches.

With that in mind, let’s dig into some of the late-round RBs we like the most right now. For this article, we’ll look at backs with an ADP in the middle rounds or later currently. The round each player is listed in is the round in which we would actually draft that player (because there are some players we like, but only if they slide slightly past ADP).

ROUND 8

Rico Dowdle (ADP 87.7) – The Steelers hired Mike McCarthy as their new head coach, and he wasted little time reuniting with Dowdle, who ran for 1,079 yards under McCarthy in Dallas in 2024. Dowdle had a hot-and-cold 2025, but still topped the millennium mark in rushing yards thanks to a superhuman midseason stretch. He’ll team up with Jaylen Warren, who will presumably handle pass-catching duties while Dowdle takes the bulk of the carries. Both backs have high-level contingent upside if the other misses time, and Dowdle is the cheaper of the two.

Kyle Monangai (ADP 92.0) – Monangai forced essentially a 60/40 rushing split with D’Andre Swift last season, and the Bears return both running backs in what looks like one of the league’s most rapidly ascending offenses. Ben Johnson is a schematic wizard, and Chicago could be one of the highest-scoring offenses in football if Caleb Williams gets a little bit more consistent. Monangai matched Swift with 10 carries inside the 5-yard line last year, and he has elite contingent upside if Swift misses time.