Jamey Eisenberg's Fantasy Football Running Back Tiers 2.0: A round-by-round plan for how to draft RBs in 2026
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- Bijan Robinson tops Eisenberg's Round 1 plans after a 2025 stat line of 287 carries for 1,478 yards and 7 touchdowns, plus 79 catches for 820 yards and 4 touchdowns on 103 targets; Eisenberg says he plans to draft Robinson No. 2 overall in all leagues.
- Jahmyr Gibbs anchors Tier 1 following David Montgomery's departure, with Eisenberg noting Gibbs averaged 29.1 half-PPR points across three games Montgomery missed in 2024 with a knee injury.
- The 'avoid RBs' draft trend is reversing, per the source: 21 NFL teams averaged at least 26 rushing attempts per game in 2025, up from 17 in 2021, supporting Eisenberg's preferred Hero-RB strategy (one RB in the first two or three rounds, then mid-round RB targets).
- James Cook led the NFL in rushing with 1,621 yards in 2025, but Eisenberg flags that every rushing champion since 2020 (Derrick Henry, Taylor, Josh Jacobs, McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley) saw rushing yards drop by at least 848 the following season.
- Christian McCaffrey logged 450 total touches in 19 games and turned 30 in June — red flags Eisenberg acknowledges — yet he still slots McCaffrey into the back half of Round 1 as a calculated gamble.
- Josh Jacobs falls to Tier 4 (Round 3) with major off-field and health concerns: arrested in May on five charges related to an alleged domestic situation and currently dealing with a groin injury in training camp.
- Derrick Henry at age 32 has averaged 316 carries for 1,758 yards and 16 touchdowns across two Baltimore seasons with 'no signs of slowing down,' per Eisenberg, though new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle and the loss of Tyler Linderbaum create uncertainty.
Why it matters: Eisenberg's blueprint directly contests the dominant 'Zero-RB' fantasy orthodoxy by pointing to a concrete league-wide stat — 21 teams averaged at least 26 rushing attempts per game in 2025 vs. 17 in 2021 — giving fantasy managers empirical cover to prioritize RBs early. Drafters face real risk in Tier 3-4 where Josh Jacobs's legal situation and a groin injury, plus Breece Hall's career-worst 11.1 half-PPR season, cloud projections.
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