Fantasy Football Breakouts: Five Running Back Sleepers For 2026

March 15, 2026

Joey takes an early look at five NFL running backs will have breakout seasons in 2026. His top RBs who are sneaky RB1 candidates in 2026 for fantasy football.

Every season, there are running backs who come out of nowhere and break out. In 2024, running backs like De'Von Achane, Chase Brown, Chuba Hubbard, and Bucky Irving all had breakout campaigns. In 2025, unexpected breakout running backs included Kenneth Gainwell, Javonte Williams, and even RJ Harvey.

In this article, we will dive into five running backs who have the potential to break out in 2026. These running backs will take their games to the next level this upcoming season and become fantasy superstars. These are early fantasy football running back breakouts for the 2026 campaign.

So, let's dive into the five running backs set to explode this year.

Cam Skattebo, New York Giants

New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo showed a ton of promise in his first NFL season. He totaled 617 yards from scrimmage, totaled seven touchdowns, and eventually overtook Tyrone Tracy Jr. for the starting running back spot. Then, Skattebo suffered a season-ending ankle injury in Week 8, effectively ending his rookie campaign.

Even though Tracy is still in New York and Skattebo is coming off a gruesome injury, he will be one of the best picks in fantasy football drafts this summer. He is clearly the most talented running back on this roster, and everyone saw that last year. The former Arizona State star ranked top 10 among all running backs in yards created per touch (3.84), production premium, and fantasy points per opportunity (0.96) in 2025.

Cam Skattebo is the type of RB coaches love.....built like a tank, never goes down on first contact.

If the Giants commit to him as a true three-down back, the fantasy production will follow.

Volume is king in dynasty. Someone to trade for. pic.twitter.com/WhVI9CBOum

— Moody (@EricNMoody) February 27, 2026

Assuming the Giants don't select Jeremiyah Love with the fifth overall pick, Skattebo has the potential to emerge as a reliable fantasy running back. He scored in double figures in PPR formats in seven of his eight games in his rookie season and should be fully healthy for the start of Training Camp in July. The 24-year-old should take off this year.

Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings

Last offseason, the Minnesota Vikings traded for Jordan Mason and then signed him to a two-year deal. In his first year with the Vikings, Mason posted solid numbers. He ran 159 times for 758 yards (4.77 yards per carry) and six touchdowns. His best performance of the season came in a Week 3 game against the Bengals, in which he ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 23.6 PPR fantasy point day.

After that solid season, there is a real chance that Mason takes his game to the next level. He ranked top 15 among all running backs in true yards per carry (4.6), juke rate (24.9%), and explosive rating (111.3) last year. The Georgia Tech product also had nine breakaway runs across his 159 carries during the 2025 season. Mason is a hard runner who comes into the 2026 campaign with a career 5.1 yards per carry.

He should see more opportunities on the ground this season, and his biggest competition for touches is a 31-year-old running back in Aaron Jones Sr. Jones staying with the Vikings shouldn't scare fantasy managers away from selecting Mason in drafts. The veteran has missed multiple games due to injuries in two of the past three seasons. Mason is simply the best pure runner in Minnesota.

Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty had a solid rookie season. He ran for 975 yards and five touchdowns while also catching 55 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns in the receiving game. However, Jeanty was one of the bigger fantasy football busts last year. The former Boise State superstar finished as the RB13 in half-PPR formats and scored in single digits in seven different games.

Despite that subpar season, Jeanty should be in for a breakout campaign in 2026. The big thing for his fantasy value is that he remains a workhorse back in this Las Vegas offense. The situation around him has also improved from last season. The Raiders are expected to take quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, and the team recently signed center Tyler Linderbaum to a massive deal.

ASHTON JEANTY 64-YARD TD

CHIvsLV on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXnxV pic.twitter.com/J8oxtln7IA

— NFL (@NFL) September 28, 2025

Things are definitely pointing up for Jeanty heading into Year 2. He is now paired up with one of the best young offensive minds in the game in Klint Kubiak, and Jeanty has all the talent to finish as a top-5 fantasy RB in 2026. The 22-year-old ranked top-7 at the position in evaded tackles (89), juke rate (27.7%), and yards created (1,122) last year. There is real upside here for the Raiders running back in what should be an improved offense.

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

An ankle injury held back Los Angeles Chargers running back Omarion Hampton from breaking out as a rookie. Hampton fractured his left ankle in Week 5, which caused him to miss seven games in the middle of the season, and then he injured his other ankle in a Week 17 game against the Houston Texans. Those two injuries prevented Hampton from finishing with strong numbers in his first year.

When Hampton was healthy, though, managers could see his fantasy upside. He rushed for 545 yards and four touchdowns while averaging 15.1 PPR fantasy points per game across his nine contests. With Hampton now fully healthy and the Chargers' offensive line back to full strength in 2026, the North Carolina product is set for a breakout campaign.

There is really a lot to love about Hampton entering Year 2. His biggest competition for touches right now is Kimani Vidal and Keaton Mitchell, and the 22-year-old has plenty of potential in the receiving game. The Chargers running back caught 32 passes across his nine games played last year. Therefore, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Hampton finish as an RB1 this upcoming season. The breakout is real for him in 2026.

Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars

One of the biggest winners of the offseason so far is Jacksonville Jaguars running back Bhayshul Tuten. When Tuten entered his rookie campaign last year, he faced an uphill battle to see consistent snaps in Jacksonville's offense. He was behind both Tank Bigsby and Travis Etienne Jr. on the depth chart. One year later, neither Bigsby nor Etienne is still with the team.

The Jaguars traded away Bigsby one week into the 2025 season, and Etienne signed a massive four-year, $52 million deal with the New Orleans Saints in free agency. That leaves Tuten as the only running back remaining in this backfield. He immediately asserts to the top of the running back depth chart and is coming off a solid rookie season in 2025.

Tuten ran for 307 yards and five touchdowns across 15 games for the Jaguars last season. The best game of his rookie campaign came in a Week 11 contest against the Chargers, where he ran for 74 yards and one touchdown en route to a 13.4 PPR fantasy point day. Fantasy managers could expect more of those types of performances in 2026 with Etienne now gone.

Tuten for another Jaguars TD

TENvsJAX on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/ilyNaSdims

— NFL (@NFL) January 4, 2026

The 24-year-old speedster is in line for an expanded role in this Jacksonville offense. The only threats to Tuten's workload are LeQuint Allen Jr. and the recently signed Chris Rodriguez Jr. Rodriguez came on strong toward the end of the 2025 season with the Commanders, but Tuten's explosiveness will keep him on the field more. That gives him the potential to break out in a big way this year.

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