2026 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: Comparing Saquon Barkley, Kenneth Walker III and Jeremiyah Love

In fantasy football, 25 to 35 percent of owners usually draft an RB with their first pick. That number has decreased over the years due to teams shifting towards pass-heavys chemes, and using a backfield-by-committee approach. With WRs taking precedent as the most important position in fantasy, RBs are even more valuable than ever before.

There are top-tier RBs for the taking, but once the few select elite are gone, owners may be forced to facilitate a trade or check the waiver wire in order to increase their weekly production output. A good RB1 could be the difference and the individual player to carry your fantasy team. Here are three RBs to consider when looking for a top fantasy option.

Saquon Barkley: Philadelphia Eagles

Many critics talked about Barkley's slight regression from his 2024 campaign when he ran for 2,005 yards and 13 TDs, all career-high totals. Last season appeared to be a fantasy failure, which is absurd knowing that Barkley still cracked the 1,000-yard plateau. The season after his dream fantasy performance, his rushing yards decreased by 865, scored 6 fewer TDs and had 65 fewer rushing attempts. The production remained, but the volume disappeared.

Saquon Barkley (RB7)🟢

- Coming off a down year but let’s not forget about his 2k yard season in 2024
- This guy is still very talented and with AJB gone I expect them to rely on him more
- 3rd easiest RB schedule pic.twitter.com/ipfhfLKuiH
— Walter 👋🤖 (@WalterPicksApp) June 25, 2026

It's difficult for any RB to duplicate Barkley's 2024 totals. He would find it difficult to have another statistical outburst like he did, but it usually benefits from running behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. The stat fantasy owners need to pay attention to is his explosive run rate (percentage of carries resulting in 10-plus yards). An elite explosive run rate is around 12%, and Barkley peaked at 8.7%, which is considered above average. His projection for the upcoming season is around 6% to 7% with at least 20 explosive plays. Barkley gives fantasy owners the safest path to an RB1 finish, and offers the highest floor with RB1 upside.

Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs

Fresh off a Super Bowl appearance where he was named MVP, Kenneth Walker III will serve as the new RB1 for the Chiefs. The team signed him more out of need than just out of a desire to have one of the premier RBs in the NFL. The Chiefs finished dead last in overall team explosive run rate (4.3%). Isiah Pacheco, the Chiefs' lead back a season ago, posted a 0.8% explosive run rate, which was 3rd-worst among qualifying players. The team also had a total of 3 rushes of 20 yards or more for that entire season.

Walker III's presence fixes that problem immediately as he finished last season ranked second in explosive run rate and finished first overall in missed tackle rate. He forced 61 total missed tackles last season with the Seahawks, and hopefully the Chiefs' offensive line can help Walker III sustain his elite level of play. He will have the pleasure of running behind two of the best run blockers in football with Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith. Walker III will provide fantasy owners with league-winning upside and is considered a boom-or-bust RB1.

Jeremiyah Love: Arizona Cardinals

The future looks bright for Love as the Cardinals plan on giving him plenty of opportunities. RBs drafted inside the top-ten over the past 15 years have averaged at least 316 touches in their rookie seasons. The Cardinals' new head coach Mike LaFleur had a similar situation with another rookie RB in Breece Hall when he was the offensive coordinator for the Jets. As a rookie, Hall was averaging over 20 touches a game and was heavily involved in the passing game.

To be high-end fantasy RBs, players must adapt at catching passes out of the backfield and be able to create yards after the catch (YAC). Love is more than capable with his outstanding acceleration and long speed. His 0.25 missed tackles forced per touch at Notre Dame was an indicator that he should make a ton of defenders miss at the next level as he displayed the contact balance and agility needed to make tacklers miss. Love should have no problem leading all rookies in fantasy points by the conclusion of the fantasy season. He possesses all the tools necessary to become the NFL's next fantasy football star with his future upside.

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