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There is no position more important to nail in fantasy football than the running backs. If you can hit on a sleeper running back who exceeds his value, it is fantasy gold and can go a long way in helping you lock up a fantasy championship. These are some of the most valuable sleeper running backs in fantasy football this season.
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2026 Running Back Sleepers
Kenneth Gainwell, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gainwell went to Pittsburgh last season and turned that backfield on its head. Jaylen Warren was looking like he was close to a locked-in bell-cow back until Gainwell showed up, showed out, and outperformed him just about every time he saw an opportunity until he became undeniable and created a full split backfield.
He will look to do the same thing in Tampa Bay this season with Bucky Irving. We have already seen that the Bucs like to utilize multiple backs, and Gainwell is an outstanding pass-catching option. He can carve out an extremely valuable role with the Buccaneers this season.
Rachaad White, Washington Commanders
White is the player that Gainwell is replacing in Tampa, and White may have found an even better landing spot. This backfield is going to be split between White and Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and White will likely get almost all of the passing-down work.
It’s not a lock that White isn’t the better runner as well. We’d expect JCM to handle the majority of the early-down work, but that’s not a sure thing. The goal-line work is also potentially up in the air. As of now, we are viewing White as a traditional passing-down back, which gives him plenty of value; nevertheless, he could surpass Bill in other areas as well.
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
We are projecting Mason to be the starting back in an excellent Vikings’ offense. Aaron Jones is washed. Jones is now on the wrong side of 30, coming off an injury-plagued season in which he was limited to just 12 games, and he averaged a career-low 4.2 yards per carry.
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Mason is just 27 years old and has a career average of 5.1 yards per carry. He is going to take over this backfield and should handle the vast majority of the carries between the tackles and the goal-line work. In many drafts, you can still get Mason after Jones, and Mason is the much better option of the two, even at an equal cost, let alone a discounted one.
Isiah Pacheco, Detroit Lions
Pacheco is not only a high-end handcuff for Jahmyr Gibbs, but he is also an interesting option to potentially have standalone value. During Gibbs’ entire stint in Detroit, he has been in some sort of backfield split with David Montgomery. Fantasy owners are assuming the Montgomery trade means a massive workload incoming for Gibbs. However, Pacheco could just step into the role Monty served last season, and hold standalone value of his own.
Keaton Mitchell, Los Angeles Chargers
Mitchell is an electric running back who fits the Mike McDaniel system perfectly. Durability has been an issue, so we don’t expect a ton of volume from Mitchell. Nonetheless, he has the kind of big-play upside that allows him to put up fantasy points in bunches and become a valuable flex option this season in Los Angeles.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy Football Running Back Sleepers: Kenneth Gainwell’s Value Could Be Bad News For Bucky Irving.
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This story was originally published July 20, 2026 at 8:32 AM.