4 Running Backs That Are High Injury-Risks, Due to Regress in 2026 Fantasy Football

These running backs have scary injury histories, which make fantasy managers wary of making the draft pick.

Dec 28, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) warms up before a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Injuries are the bane of a running back's existence. Most stars rise to the forefront and then collapse before the age of 30. The running theme has been that the fantasy football RB1 has almost always been age 28 or younger. Christian McCaffrey was the rare exception to that in 2025, becoming RB1 at age 29. Nonetheless, injuries are a factor, especially for players who have carried a ton of balls in their careers.

Entering 2025, we labeled Saquon Barkley as the prime example. Rarely does an NFL player touch the football over 300 times in a season and repeat in top-5 form. Barkley was the poster boy of that take, finishing the year as the RB14. Who might be the regression candidates entering 2026? How about the below...

Christian McCaffrey

The 2025 RB1 is unlikely to repeat his success. He will turn 30, and the 49ers are expected to limit his carries to some extent. Jordan James backs him up as the team drafted Kaelon Black to be their RB3, if not RB2. Isaac Guerendo is a familiar face as the RB4.

The fright is real among fantasy football managers. McCaffrey has fallen to the mid-to-bottom of the first round in ADP. He may plummet further.

Draftsharks.com lists McCaffrey as the highest injury risk among all running backs entering 2026. They project him to miss 2.1 total games, and he has a 78% chance of an injury by year. To date in his career, McCaffrey has endured 10 total injuries. Logically, they will stack up with age.

De'Von Achane

Good luck finding a more injury-prone running back in the NFL. Over 4 seasons, Achane has sustained more than 7 injuries. He is also a high-risk item that touched the ball 305 times in 2025. This year, he now plays for the worst-projected offense in the NFL.

All the Dolphins have this year is Achane, playing behind Malik Willis. They star Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, and Chris Bell, among other lowly wide receivers. Add injury risk and a bad team, and you have a draft prospect worth being scared of.

Aaron Jones

This regression candidate is a matter of mileage over the years rather than mileage since his last oil change. Over Jones' 9-year career, he has elapsed 2,000 total touches. He is 1 of 7 active NFL running backs to have surpassed that number. The other names include: Derrick Henry, Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley, Joe Mixon, and Josh Jacobs.

Catch a theme with the above? They have all mostly dealt with a range of injuries over their careers. McCaffrey is a high-injury risk. So are Mixon and Jacobs.

As for Jones, he is increasingly likely to fall behind Jordan Mason and become the RB2 rather than a duo split. Mind you, the Vikings are very much in question offensively, with the additions of Kyler Murray and Jauan Jennings. Kevin O'Connell is in a seat that is warming.

David Montgomery

Since the start of 2023, Montgomery has endured 5 separate injuries. Over his 7-year career, Montgomery has sustained 9 injuries. While his workload in Detroit wasn't crazy, he ran downhill with a lot of contact.

The Texans may have signed Montgomery to be their RB1, but do not draft him so fast. The team likes Jawhar Jordan as they do Woody Marks. The duo of year No. 2 running backs waits for their chance, and if Montgomery misses extended time, his role could fade quite fast. He is not running behind the Lions' star-studded offensive line.