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Kyle Soppe's Top 5 Fantasy Running Backs for 2026: Bijan Robinson Is the 1.01, and It Isn't Close
Kyle Soppe is taking Bijan Robinson first overall, and he isn’t pretending the decision was hard.
“He’s my 1.01 in all single quarterback formats,” Soppe said on the Hot List. “It’s a tier of two, but for me, it’s pretty clear-cut who number one is.”
Bijan Robinson Leads Kyle Soppe’s Top 5 Fantasy Running Backs for 2026
The tier of two is Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs, and the argument between them is floor versus ceiling. Soppe conceded that Gibbs owns the higher one. “In my opinion, his ceiling is higher than anybody else at the position,” he said of the Lions back, who has cleared 5 yards per carry in all three of his NFL seasons and caught 77 of 94 targets in 2025. David Montgomery is in Houston now. The goal-line work should follow.
What tips the scale is Robinson’s weekly reliability, and the 2025 receipts back it. Robinson led the NFL with 2,298 scrimmage yards, scored 11 times, caught 79 passes and was named first-team All-Pro. Soppe is unbothered by Atlanta’s offensive limitations.
“You know what it didn’t do?” he said. “It didn’t stop my man from gaining almost 2,300 yards and scoring 11 times from scrimmage a season ago. It’s not gonna stop him this year.” Tyler Allgeier, who vultured eight rushing touchdowns last season, left in free agency. “The volume is there, the role is there, the athleticism is there. Everything is there for Bijan Robinson to offer potentially a historic 2026 season.”
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James Cook slots third, and the case is simple. He won the 2025 rushing title with 1,621 yards and 12 scores, the first Bills back to lead the league since O.J. Simpson in 1976. “The floor is just so high in this Buffalo offense,” Soppe said, noting that Cook is the only back in the league with 1,000 rushing yards, 4.5 yards per carry and 30 catches in each of the past three seasons. The Josh Allen touchdown competition doesn’t scare him. “There’s enough food for both of them to eat.”
Christian McCaffrey Lands at RB5 Because of Volume, Not Talent
Ashton Jeanty is the swing. His rookie year was a slog, 975 rushing yards on 266 carries at 3.7 per attempt, and Soppe’s read is that the blocking, not the back, was the problem.
“Nearly 84% of his rushing yards last season came after contact,” he said. “That’s a mess. It’s gonna get better because it can’t get worse.” NFL Next Gen Stats had the number even uglier. Among backs with at least 200 carries, Jeanty gained just 112 yards before contact, second fewest in the league, with 88.5% of his production coming after the hit. Las Vegas finished 3-14, fired Pete Carroll, hired Klint Kubiak and took Fernando Mendoza first overall. Soppe thinks the offense simply cannot be as unwatchable twice.
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Which leaves Christian McCaffrey at RB5, and the ranking is a compliment dressed as a warning. He led the NFL with 413 touches in 2025, piled up 2,126 scrimmage yards and 17 touchdowns, finished as the fantasy RB1 and won Comeback Player of the Year. He also turned 30 in June and has followed his last two monster workloads with seasons of three games and four games.
“For me, this isn’t a question of risk reward,” Soppe said. “It’s how much do you trust yourself to insulate your roster around a guy that could miss time, but also could win you your league.”
MORE HOT LIST: Ranking 2027 NFL Draft Breakout Candidates
That is the whole board in one sentence. Robinson and Gibbs are the safe swings. McCaffrey is the one that asks whether you drafted well after Round 1.
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