Early Look: 2026 NFL Draft Running Back Prospects

Aidan Weingartner
Early Look: 2026 NFL Draft Running Back Prospects

Welcome to our Early Look: 2026 NFL Draft Running Back Prospects article series, where we will examine the running back position between now and after the NFL Draft in order to examine which ones you should be targeting in your Fantasy Football leagues.

The 2026 Senior Bowl is right around the corner, which means that prospect season is heating up SIGNIFICANTLY now. Whether they will actually be at the Senior Bowl or not, I am going to give you the 10 most notable RB prospects that you NEED TO KNOW for the 2026 NFL Draft, in no particular order.

Please keep in mind that after the Combine ends, we will be going over advanced data points/metrics and specific film takeaways for each player, so right now, think of this as more of a general overview for this incoming RB class at this early stage of the pre-draft process.

Demond Claiborne, Wake Forest

Demond Claiborne is an interesting prospect in this draft class. He’s not talked about as one of the top RBs in this draft class, but in my opinion, he should be. Claiborne was literally THE OFFENSE at Wake Forest over the last few years, so we know that he can handle a big workload and be a bellcow type back in the NFL in the right situation. He’s not going to give you anything in the receiving game, unfortunately, but he’s one of the most reliable and consistent backs in this entire draft class, I’d say. He THRIVES in short yardage situations and knows how to move the chains immediately.

Demond Claiborne isn’t going to blow you away athletically per se, but he is someone that I foresee rising in this pre-draft process over the next few months, and someone that could definitely surprise people with the level of draft capital that he gets come April.

Emmett Johnson, Nebraska

I LOVE Emmett Johnson. He is absolutely one of “My Guys” in this 2026 NFL Draft class. Johnson has progressively gotten better each year at Nebraska, and in 2025 he EXPLODED for easily his best year yet. I’m not sure if Emmett Johnson will ever be a true bellcow back in the NFL, just because I’m not quite sure how he projects as a pure runner right now at the next level, but he is an absolutely ELECTRIC pass catcher out of the backfield at the RB position.

I’m not saying that Emmett Johnson is this player right off the bat, because that’s very high praise, but in terms of role and what he can provide for an NFL team, I could absolutely see him being a TreVeyon Henderson-type player in the NFL.

Kaytron Allen, Penn State

Kaytron Allen has been dominant throughout his entire college career at Penn State. Plain and simple. Even with how bad and dysfunctional Penn State was in 2025, Allen still rushed for over 1,000 yards, which is extremely impressive given the circumstances. For such a big guy, Allen is surprisingly a great athlete and has good breakaway speed for his size. But where he really thrives is down by the goal line, as he has a bowling ball mentality down there, and rarely goes down on first contact. Somebody’s going to get a steal with Kaytron Allen come April.

Nicholas Singleton, Penn State

If Nicholas Simgleton had come out last year, he would’ve been one of the top RBs drafted. But he decided to go back to school, and well…things went south. He got extremely outshone by Kaytron Allen and was pretty inefficient on the ground overall. Singleton is a very good and explosive athlete, but that’s about it, I’m afraid. He has terrible vision as a ball carrier, and it just takes him too long to get going once he has the ball. To me, Nicholas Singleton’s path to success in the NFL is becoming a low-volume, change-of-pace receiving back, but even that might take a couple of years to get anywhere, unfortunately.

Jonah Coleman, Washington

Washington had a down year overall as a team this season, but Jonah Coleman still impressed through all of it. Jonah Coleman isn’t necessarily going to blow you away athletically ever, or maybe not even close to it, but he has a compact, low-center-of-gravity bowling ball type build, so NFL teams will love him in those short-yardage and goal-line situations. Coleman is also a very underrated pass catcher, as well, I feel, so he can chip in there when called upon, too. If you were a fan of Bucky Irving coming out of college a couple of years ago, then you should be a fan of Jonah Coleman this year.

Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame

Jeremiyah Love is a special, special talent, right up there with guys like Bijan Robinson and Ashton Jeanty as one of the best RB prospects that we’ve seen in quite some time. Love is an athletic FREAK. Once he gets out in the open field, forget it. It’s over. Even though Notre Dame didn’t use him as a pass catcher as much as they should’ve, Love has all the makings of an elite pass catcher at the next level. Jeremiyah Love is an absolutely ELITE talent, and as electric as they come.

Jadarian Price, Notre Dame

If Jadarian Price didn’t have to share a backfield with an elite prospect in Jeremiyah Love at Notre Dame, he would be getting a lot more national attention as a legit prospect, more than he is right now. I’m not sure that Price will ever be a true bellcow RB1 type at the next level, but he’s going to be one heck of an RB2 for an NFL team, and can fill in here and there as a team’s RB1 in the right situation when needed. Good luck getting Price down on the ground on first contact, because it’s nearly IMPOSSIBLE.

He may not be the most swift or nimble on his feet, but Jadarian Price is as physical and bruising of a back as they come, and will get a great level of draft capital come April.

Jam Miller, Alabama

Alabama struggled mightily to run the ball this season, and Jam Miller was unfortunately a big part of that struggle. I just don’t view Miller as much of a prospect right now, because he has a very limited skill set, if you ask me. Miller isn’t really that good of an athlete; he gives you literally nothing as a receiver and struggles with vision once he gets the ball at the line of scrimmage. Jam Miller is a pretty physical back and good enough in certain short-yardage situations, but that’s about it, unfortunately.

In my opinion, Jam Miller’s path to an NFL role is as a late-round special teams guy, then MAYBE he can get a chance on offense for an NFL team two or three years from now.

Mike Washington Jr., Arkansas

Not many people know about Mike Washington Jr. right now, but as we get closer and closer to the draft this year, he’s going to rise up boards significantly if you ask me. For a guy that possesses such a big build and seems on paper that he’s just a physical, bowling ball type back, Washington has LEGIT breakaway speed once he gets going in space. You’re always going to be wary of a journeyman late-stage breakout type player like this (didn’t total over 1,000 rushing yards until 2025), but I REALLY liked what I saw from Mike Washington Jr. at Arkansas this season.

This is a player who probably won’t get any better than early Day 3 draft capital, but because of that, he is THE hidden gem in this draft class at the RB position.

Le’Veon Moss, Texas A&M

Texas A&M deployed a bit of a committee at the RB position this season, and to me, Le’Veon Moss looked the best out of everybody by far. Moss is going to start out as a late-round dart throw special teams guy in the NFL, and could potentially develop as a decent enough RB2 for a franchise a couple of years down the line. Le’Veon Moss gives you literally nothing as a pass catcher, unfortunately, but he does basically everything else at a pretty consistent level.

Moss doesn’t do any one thing at a high level, but he does everything at a good level. A good but not great prospect, if you will. Think of a Kyle Monangai-type player, with not as much upside, obviously.

Thanks for checking out our first part in our Early Look: 2026 NFL Draft Running Back Prospects article series. For more 2026 NFL Draft Prospect article content, click here. Stay tuned throughout the lead-up to the NFL Draft, and after, to find out prospect/rookie running backs you should target for your fantasy football teams in the future.

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