2026 Dynasty Risers and Fallers at Running Back

Aidan Weingartner
2026 Dynasty Risers and Fallers at Running Back

Welcome to our 2026 Dynasty Risers and Fallers at Running Back breakdown!

Today, we continue on with the Dynasty Risers and Fallers series here at Fantasy In Frames for you all in 2026, and examine the Running Back position. As you know, the NFL is always a rapidly changing environment, and factors such as trades, coaching/scheme changes, and overall offensive stability greatly reshape the Dynasty Fantasy Football landscape from year to year, in more ways than one. With that being said, let’s look at some players that are trending up and down in these formats at the RB position, shall we?

Riser: Chase Brown, Cincinnati Bengals

Everyone seems excited, to an extent, about a player like Chase Brown, but I don’t think people realize just how TRULY GREAT he can be going forward. The only reason there is a slight hesitation right now is that Brown is a free agent next offseason… but the moment he gets that long-term deal from Cincinnati (which he very likely will at this point)… the perception here will flip almost IMMEDIATELY. So you need to get ahead of it before it’s too late and before the massive rush from everybody comes.

In the simplest terms, it comes down to this: Chase Brown is in an elite, extremely high-powered offense with Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins at WR, which opens up a LOT of free rushing lanes for an RB like him. This is also a backfield where the RB2 just does not matter, as it consists of Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks. That’s literally it. This is a TRUE bellcow if I’ve ever seen one.

The young RB has more than justified that elite volume and usage, as amongst RBs who totaled at least 100 carries last season, he finished 11th in rushing success rate, had the 12th-lowest stuff rate, and finished 14th in MTF/att. He also ranked 10th in yards after contact/att on top of all that. Most importantly though, for PPR purposes, this is an elite receiving back as well. Amongst all RBs that saw at least 30 targets in 2025, he finished 6th in target share, 16th in TPRR, 6th in receiving TDs, and 2nd in endzone targets. 11th in first-read share and 6th in MTF/rec are pretty great as well.

These are all top-notch numbers for an RB who has continued to ascend in a big way year over year, and one that is in line for a big payday relatively soon as well.

Riser: Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears

I am someone who has always been down on D’Andre Swift, so naturally, I am pretty bullish on Kyle Monangai going forward. Monangai was a seventh-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, but by all accounts he was much more talented than that, and he just happened to fall because that RB class was so stacked. As the season went on last year, Ben Johnson started to trust the rookie more and more, with the rookie playing 41% of snaps overall.

This is a player who isn’t overly dynamic or athletic, but he still finished 24th in Explosive Run Rate, 21st in Rushing Success Rate, and had the 7th lowest stuff rate. Also, despite not being a very elusive back, he ranked 20th in yards after contact/att and 17th in yards before contact/att (among RBs with at least 100 carries last season).

The biggest reason as to why I am so confident in Monangai future right now is the fact that D’Andre Swift is a free agent next offseason, and if the second year back can build off of 2025 and take another step forward, then he could be the clear RB1 in Chicago in 2027 and beyond with Swift no longer in the picture at that point.

There is a big debate right now over who to invest in long-term among Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, and Rome Odunze. Instead of sorting through all of that, why not just invest in the running game? Investing in a very high-powered, ascending offense is always a smart idea, and Kyle Monangai is the cheapest access point to it right now for the future.

Faller: RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos

While RJ Harvey popped up a few times as a rookie in 2025, he is on VERY thin ice going forward, if you ask me. I personally don’t hyperfixate on age in Dynasty like so many other people do, but one position that I DO key in on it for is RB, because those players already have a shorter shelf life in the league anyway due to factors like touch volume, higher injury risk, and natural wear and tear over time.

Harvey is already 25 years old and has an extensive injury history between both college and the NFL, most recently undergoing surgery for a torn labrum just a couple of weeks ago. It’s not like he’s the biggest back in the world either, so that alone is a concern.

We’ll talk about the Denver backfield as a whole in a minute, but let’s first touch on what the player did (or didn’t in this case) do last season as a rookie. Among 49 qualifying RBs in 2025, Harvey ranked 42nd in Explosive Run Rate, 43rd in Success Rate, 44th in Yards After Contact/att, and 47th in Yards Before Contact/att. Plus, to cap it all off, he had the FOURTH HIGHEST stuff rate as well. For a supposed “dynamic and athletic runner” coming out of college, these are all VERY lackluster numbers to say the least.

Now, shifting over to the Broncos’ backfield as a whole… It’s a mess. First and foremost, J.K. Dobbins was brought back on a two-year deal back in March. If this were just a one-year throwaway deal, I wouldn’t care… but it’s not… It’s a significant multi-year commitment, by RB standards, at least. That’s not all, though. RJ Harvey’s fantasy value derives from his pass-catching ability, but the problem is…Jonah Coleman is also a very accomplished and talented pass catcher. Between Sean Payton‘s desire to use a committee at RB and Harvey being completely disappointing as a rookie in basically every area we care about, this is absolutely a player I am staying away from going forward.

Faller: Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders

The Jacory Croskey-Merritt hype got deafening last summer, and if you ask me, it got to be too much. I get that Croskey-Merritt is a top-level athlete at RB… but that’s about it. He averaged just 47.4 rushing yards/game last season, and amongst all RBs that received at least 100 carries in 2025, he ranked 27th in MTF/att.

The Washington Commanders offense isn’t very conducive to RBs either, as Jayden Daniels isn’t a QB who likes to check the ball down at all, and Crosskey-Merritt only had 9 receptions as a rookie anyway. If I’m going to invest in an RB in this backfield, I’m going to take Rachaad White, who has the CLEAR pass-catcher role here, and then Kaytron Allen way farther down the board. That leaves JCM as the odd man out here for the future, if you ask me. Everyone says that Kaytron Allen doesn’t have much to stand on as just a sixth-round pick…but then they fail to say the same for JCM as just a seventh-round pick. It’s baffling, honestly.

Thanks for reading my 2026 Dynasty Risers and Fallers at Running Back article. Stay tuned for my next installment of 2026 Risers & Fallers, where I’ll be discussing Wide Receivers. To see our Dynasty Rankings here at FIF, click here.

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