Dylan Sampson, Jonah Coleman among the best late-round RB sleepers
· Yahoo Sports
In the NFL, running back depth charts don’t stay settled for long, and 2026 has already proven that in August. Every time a fantasy football manager gets online, there’s some breaking news likely affecting their roster.
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A misdemeanor case knocked Green Bay’s lead back off the field. Cleveland’s presumptive starter is coming off a fractured fibula. Denver drafted a rookie some evaluators grade above his place on the depth chart. Washington’s backfield picture keeps shifting.
These four names sit outside the top 40 running backs on most boards, and each carries a real path to weekly relevance if the room ahead of them breaks even slightly.
Dylan Sampson has Browns’ passing-down role locked up
Cleveland Browns running back Dylan Sampson (22) attempts to run the ball during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium.Sampson caught 33 passes for 271 yards as a rookie, more than his 165 rushing yards on 98 total touches. He led all backs with at least 30 targets in yards per route run and ranked first in target rate per route run at 28%. Jerome Ford left for Washington in free agency, and Cleveland did not draft a replacement. That role belongs to Sampson alone in 2026.
Quinshon Judkins is the starter. However, he ran a route on just 28% of Cleveland’s pass plays last season. Judkins also drew zero third- or fourth-down targets all year. Sampson had double-digit carries in each of the three games Judkins missed. The counter: Judkins looked close to full speed at OTAs after his ankle injury, and one outlook called him the “unquestioned bellcow” once healthy, capping Sampson’s touch ceiling. Sampson’s ADP ranges from RB49 to RB55.
MORE: Why Quinshon Judkins is 2026’s biggest fantasy football bust
Jonah Coleman is more than a Dobbins handcuff
Denver Broncos running back Jonah Coleman (20) during mini camp at Broncos Park.Coleman goes off the board around RB51 and pick 130 overall, but Denver drafted him because it does not see RJ Harvey as a high-workload back if J.K. Dobbins misses time, which has happened in every one of his NFL seasons. Sean Payton praised Coleman’s football IQ and contact balance, and evaluators believe he can exceed 15 rushing attempts per game if given the chance. Harvey, by contrast, projects into more of a receiving role after scoring 12 total touchdowns as a rookie, seven through the air.
The skepticism is fair. Denver passed on Coleman twice before drafting him in Round 4, and he averaged just 4.9 yards per rush last season, one of the worst marks in his class. But on runs with at least one yard before contact, he averaged 8.1 yards per carry, RB4 among all draft-eligible backs. One outlook called his path “cloudy, but plausible” given how crowded the room is.
MORE: 5 fantasy football running back sleepers to target on draft day
Chris Brooks steps into great opportunity
Green Bay Packers Kyle McCord (18) hands off the ball to Chris Brooks (30) during mandatory minicamp.Green Bay’s backfield changed overnight when Josh Jacobs was placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt List following misdemeanor charges tied to a May arrest. He is barred from practicing or playing with no return timetable, and the Packers responded by trading for Kaleb Johnson the same day. Brooks, who signed a two-year, $4.85 million deal in March, is listed second on Green Bay’s own depth chart, ahead of MarShawn Lloyd.
The skepticism is pointed. Lloyd has just six NFL carries and one game played in two seasons. Brooks also lacks experience. He split time with special teams and never topped 27 carries in a season. One fantasy football analyst who drafted Brooks in the 14th round called him “a reliable and durable power back” at a discount price, while cautioning that nobody should reach for either Packers back as a locked-in starter.
MORE: Josh Jacobs’ exempt-list stint leaves Packers’ backfield without a real answer
Jacory Croskey-Merritt has the early-down job
(NFL) Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (22) runs the ball 16 yards for a touchdown.Croskey-Merritt went from the final running back drafted in 2025 to a rookie who rushed for 805 yards and 8 touchdowns on 175 carries. He ranked well in efficiency metrics, 26th in explosive run rate, 19th in yards after contact per attempt among 49 qualifying backs. Washington reshaped the room this offseason, adding Rachaad White and drafting Kaytron Allen, but Croskey-Merritt is still viewed as the favorite to lead the backfield in the team’s new outside-zone scheme.
The passing game is the gap in his profile. He caught just 9 passes on 13 targets last season, and White projects to take over third-down work. One outlook labeled him “touchdown-or-bust,” preferring White in the same offense. His ADP sits around RB38 to RB40, generally the 8th to 10th round.
MORE: 6 overrated NFL teams most likely to have a worse record in 2026
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