RB Rooms & Roles

[Mike FF Today]

Here's a different view of RB depth charts, going more in-depth with specific roles for each RB.

Let me know if any of this makes sense or if you have suggestions. I could/should add some context for why players are placed in certain spots in the table. 

8/21: Updated the table and I've got notes roughly half the teams. Should have notes on every team by early next week.

[nobody]

I like that a lot.  Very very helpful.

Probably need to add a scrub column so we can correctly allocate tre benson.  Dude is so useless they grabbed two guys to play ahead of him and still have conner just to make sure he never sees the field ever.  

[gridiron whirlwinds]

Great stuff!

[Mike FF Today]

I added a few notes about specific teams and a brief Handcuff definition. 

[WhiteWonder]

Why are there only 5 highlighted RB1's?  If dark green = workhorse role, I would think 5+ more would earn that distinction. Henry, Cook, J. Williams, Jacobs, Brown, Hall

[Mike FF Today]

58 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

Why are there only 5 highlighted RB1's?  If dark green = workhorse role, I would think 5+ more would earn that distinction. Henry, Cook, J. Williams, Jacobs, Brown, Hall

Good question. I'm probably being too stingy with the "workhorse" label.

Henry: He's interesting because he ranked 17th among RBs last year in snap percentage (54.7%) well behind McCaffrey, Taylor, Bijan, Jeanty who were all above 77.6%. However, was 5th in RB touches (322) which fits the label regardless if his snap count is low.

Cook: See Henry. Lowish snap rate, high touch count but workhorse worthy.

Josh Jacobs: He's on the fence for me. Too many questions marks right now and not sold his role is gong to be the same in 2026 IF Lloyd becomes a thing.

I could see Judkins and Montgomery also getting solid green treatment soon.

[WhiteWonder]

9 minutes ago, Mike FF Today said:

Good question. I'm probably being too stingy with the "workhorse" label.

Henry: He's interesting because he ranked 17th among RBs last year in snap percentage (54.7%) well behind McCaffrey, Taylor, Bijan, Jeanty who were all above 77.6%. However, was 5th in RB touches (322) which fits the label regardless if his snap count is low.

Cook: See Henry. Lowish snap rate, high touch count but workhorse worthy.

Josh Jacobs: He's on the fence for me. Too many questions marks right now and not sold his role is gong to be the same in 2026 IF Lloyd becomes a thing.

I could see Judkins and Montgomery also getting solid green treatment soon.

i was definitely looking more at touches (combined carries and receptions) and felt like Cook and Henry were obvious workhorse guys. Javonte too. Jacobs, had he played 17, would have been up there over 300 combined.  Hall I see having an increased workload over 2025 with the deal he got and he was already at 279 total touches. 

Achane is another who I think will be fed.  15 less touches than Gibbs in 2025. 

[TBayXXXVII]

20 hours ago, WhiteWonder said:

i was definitely looking more at touches (combined carries and receptions) and felt like Cook and Henry were obvious workhorse guys. Javonte too. Jacobs, had he played 17, would have been up there over 300 combined.  Hall I see having an increased workload over 2025 with the deal he got and he was already at 279 total touches. 

Achane is another who I think will be fed.  15 less touches than Gibbs in 2025. 

Achane is one that scares me.  The Dolphins have no QB's that need to be game planned special for, nor receivers.  As someone who has a relative who's a lifelong Dolphins fan, I'm told their OLine stinks and judging by PFF's pre-season rankings of putting the Dolphins OLine at #25, I'm inclined to think that Achane is going to have a rough season.

[WhiteWonder]

27 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

Achane is one that scares me.  The Dolphins have no QB's that need to be game planned special for, nor receivers.  As someone who has a relative who's a lifelong Dolphins fan, I'm told their OLine stinks and judging by PFF's pre-season rankings of putting the Dolphins OLine at #25, I'm inclined to think that Achane is going to have a rough season.

This is rational but I would still expect him to be a workhorse in terms of total touches

[GobbleDog]

Dobbins is certainly #1... easy to assume Harvey is number 2 like last yr, but I have a sneaky feeling if he gets injured again Coleman might take over the lead considering how dreadful Harvey was at it. 

As for goal line, Harvey had several goal line attempts even while Dobbins was still healthy (though Dobbins had more red-zone touches).  Now there's Coleman who outweighs both of them at 220 lbs.  Who knows.?. 

The mile-high headache.  

[RareN64Dream]

4 minutes ago, GobbleDog said:

Dobbins is certainly #1... easy to assume Harvey is number 2 like last yr, but I have a sneaky feeling if he gets injured again Coleman might take over the lead considering how dreadful Harvey was at it. 

As for goal line, Harvey had several goal line attempts even while Dobbins was still healthy (though Dobbins had more red-zone touches).  Now there's Coleman who outweighs both of them at 220 lbs.  Who knows.?. 

The mile-high headache.  

I wonder if they will keep Badie and McLaughlin at RB. Or just 1. Or none of them. If they keep none of them, I could see Coleman being involved pretty heavily.

[Mike FF Today]

Pushed a little update highlighting some of the injured guys and a couple comments on the SF RBs.

[TBayXXXVII]

3 hours ago, WhiteWonder said:

This is rational but I would still expect him to be a workhorse in terms of total touches

Agreed.  Kinda.  I think that will be the game plan, but I also think the game plan will be in the trash halfway through the 2nd Qtr when the score is 23-0.  For that reason, I wouldn't want him as my RB1.  He's going off the boards as a mid-R2 pick, RB10.  I see him as a late 3rd, early 4th RB2.  That said, the positive spin could be that he might get 7 receptions a game.  If he's rushing for 50 yards, but getting 7 catches for 50 yards, I'm not going to be all that upset.

[GobbleDog]

16 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

Agreed.  Kinda.  I think that will be the game plan, but I also think the game plan will be in the trash halfway through the 2nd Qtr when the score is 23-0.  For that reason, I wouldn't want him as my RB1.  He's going off the boards as a mid-R2 pick, RB10.  I see him as a late 3rd, early 4th RB2.  That said, the positive spin could be that he might get 7 receptions a game.  If he's rushing for 50 yards, but getting 7 catches for 50 yards, I'm not going to be all that upset.

Every year there's a couple players the fantasy world is completely divided on. This year Achane is one of 'em. 

I'm a Fish fan, but I'm in the pessimistic camp. A few Rbs on bad teams have done ok several times before, but none of them played on a team with only 40% of the salary cap. It's never happened before. The Dolphins might not win a single game. As such, I wouldn't expect much scoring.

In recent years I wasn't a fan of Achane mainly because of his size / injury concerns - obviously that didn't come to fruition, but he hasn't grown any bigger (and now has some millage on him). Between the atrocious state of the team and my lingering injury concerns, there's no way I'd draft him at adp... which btw according FantasyPros isn't Rb 10, but Rb 7 (ppr) going late 1st.  My guess is if Achane stays healthy and with his talent, he'll finish around the Rb 15-20 range. That would be disastrous for anyone taking him 1st rd. 

[weepaws]

Mmm I disagree 15- range,  I think if Achane stays healthy he's a top ten rb. 

[GobbleDog]

5 hours ago, weepaws said:

Mmm I disagree 15- range,  I think if Achane stays healthy he's a top ten rb. 

Like I said, people are totally split on Achane.  Either good value, or a landmine waiting to be stepped on.

[WhiteWonder]

17 hours ago, TBayXXXVII said:

Agreed.  Kinda.  I think that will be the game plan, but I also think the game plan will be in the trash halfway through the 2nd Qtr when the score is 23-0.  For that reason, I wouldn't want him as my RB1.  He's going off the boards as a mid-R2 pick, RB10.  I see him as a late 3rd, early 4th RB2.  That said, the positive spin could be that he might get 7 receptions a game.  If he's rushing for 50 yards, but getting 7 catches for 50 yards, I'm not going to be all that upset.

When the score is 23-0 are you thinking they are pulling him off the field... to save him? I don't see a team doing that with any RB really. I would think the game plan changes to pass heavy, where Achane can still thrive, especially on dump offs and check downs if the line really is that bad. 

So yes, I view him as a late 1st/early 2nd back in PPR formats because I have a feeling he will gobble up receptions. 

[GobbleDog]

4 minutes ago, WhiteWonder said:

I have a feeling he will gobble up receptions. 

Check-down Tua and offensive schemer McDaniel are gone. But even if Achane does somehow finish with career high receptions, it's gonna take a lot more than that to justify his adp. 

Gainwell had 73 receptions along with 8 total Tds last yr.  Finished Rb 31 ppg. 

[TBayXXXVII]

1 minute ago, WhiteWonder said:

When the score is 23-0 are you thinking they are pulling him off the field... to save him? I don't see a team doing that with any RB really. I would think the game plan changes to pass heavy, where Achane can still thrive, especially on dump offs and check downs if the line really is that bad. 

So yes, I view him as a late 1st/early 2nd back in PPR formats because I have a feeling he will gobble up receptions. 

I don't think they'll pull him, I just think his touches will drop.  They're going to throw more and do it with a bad QB who's throwing to bad WR's.  It's going to lead to shorter drives and less offensive plays by the team.  Less plays + less rushing = less touches for Achane.  I think they're going to be like Raiders or Browns were last year.

I don't think the volume will be there.  I don't think the TD's will be there.  I think he's going to have to get 120 receptions this year, to be an RB1.  I'm not going to bank on that.

[TBayXXXVII]

6 minutes ago, GobbleDog said:

Check-down Tua and offensive schemer McDaniel are gone. But even if Achane does somehow finish with career high receptions, it's gonna take a lot more than that to justify his adp. 

Gainwell had 73 receptions along with 8 total Tds last yr.  Finished Rb 31 ppg. 

31?  According to fantasydata.com, he averaged 13.0 ppg.  That was good enough for RB20.

That's probably what Achane will need though.  Gainwell only had 114 carries.  Gotta figure Achane will get at least 14 per game, that's double what Gainwell got.

[GobbleDog]

12 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

31?  According to fantasydata.com, he averaged 13.0 ppg.  That was good enough for RB20.

That's probably what Achane will need though.  Gainwell only had 114 carries.  Gotta figure Achane will get at least 14 per game, that's double what Gainwell got.

Oops, thought I had point-per-rec on. I did not - should've realized because Rb 31 didn't look right. Gainwell was Rb 20 with 13.0 ppg like ya said.

True, he only had 114 carries and Achane will certainly have more, but I don't know the Fish will want to run him into the ground this yr. Especially later in the season when all hope is lost, except for a top draft pick. Also worry about limited scoring and not to mention health - 5'9" off a huge workload. 

[TBayXXXVII]

2 hours ago, GobbleDog said:

Oops, thought I had point-per-rec on. I did not - should've realized because Rb 31 didn't look right. Gainwell was Rb 20 with 13.0 ppg like ya said.

True, he only had 114 carries and Achane will certainly have more, but I don't know the Fish will want to run him into the ground this yr. Especially later in the season when all hope is lost, except for a top draft pick. Also worry about limited scoring and not to mention health - 5'9" off a huge workload. 

LOL, yeah, that'll do it.

 

Personally, I just don't think the volume will be there.  I think they're going to be as bad as the Jets, Browns, and Raiders last year.  Hall was RB21 in ppg, Jeanty 16.  I think somewhere in that range is about right... between 16 and 20.  So, a solid RB2.

[Ray_T]

3 hours ago, TBayXXXVII said:

I don't think they'll pull him, I just think his touches will drop.  They're going to throw more and do it with a bad QB who's throwing to bad WR's.  It's going to lead to shorter drives and less offensive plays by the team.  Less plays + less rushing = less touches for Achane.  I think they're going to be like Raiders or Browns were last year.

I don't think the volume will be there.  I don't think the TD's will be there.  I think he's going to have to get 120 receptions this year, to be an RB1.  I'm not going to bank on that.

100%   love the logic.

[weepaws]

They won't be pulling him, he's going to get plenty of work, and with his big play ability, he's a rb1

[TBayXXXVII]

13 minutes ago, weepaws said:

They won't be pulling him, he's going to get plenty of work, and with his big play ability, he's a rb1

This isn't the issue.  The issue is, how much work will be available?  I don't think that amount will be there because I think the offense will be significantly worse than last year.  I think they'll rank 32nd (if possible, worse ), in number of plays run, in 2026.

[GobbleDog]

25 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

This isn't the issue.  The issue is, how much work will be available?  I don't think that amount will be there because I think the offense will be significantly worse than last year.  I think they'll rank 32nd (if possible, worse ), in number of plays run, in 2026.

Interesting way of looking at it. 

Last yr the bottom five teams in terms of fewest offensive plays: PIT, PHI, NO, WAS, TB. The highest any of those Rbs finished ... Saquon Rb 14 (ppg), the rest were pretty low. 

Conversely the top five teams with the most offensive plays: LAR, DAL, NE, BUF, DET.  Gibbs Rb 2, Cook Rb 6, K Williams Rb 8, J Williams Rb 10.  Only the Pats faltered with Rhamondre at Rb 21, due to rbbc. 

[TBayXXXVII]

33 minutes ago, GobbleDog said:

Interesting way of looking at it. 

Last yr the bottom five teams in terms of fewest offensive plays: PIT, PHI, NO, WAS, TB. The highest any of those Rbs finished ... Saquon Rb 14 (ppg), the rest were pretty low. 

Conversely the top five teams with the most offensive plays: LAR, DAL, NE, BUF, DET.  Gibbs Rb 2, Cook Rb 6, K Williams Rb 8, J Williams Rb 10.  Only the Pats faltered with Rhamondre at Rb 21, due to rbbc. 

Fewer plays generally means less yards.  Less yards generally means less points.  If the team isn't moving the ball much and they're not scoring points, it's going to be hard for any player to generate fantasy value.  It's not 1:1. but as you noted, the odds are stacked against you.  To be honest though, I'm guessing that play efficiency is probably a better guage that total number of plays.

[GobbleDog]

22 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

To be honest though, I'm guessing that play efficiency is probably a better guage that total number of plays.

The bottom five least efficient (success rate/play) teams: LV, CLE, TEN, NYJ, MIN. The highest any of those Rbs finished ... Jeanty Rb 16, Hall was Rb 20. The rest... no bueno. 

The top five were nearly identical to previous five I mentioned, except Detroit was 6th. 

[TBayXXXVII]

9 minutes ago, GobbleDog said:

The bottom five least efficient (success rate/play) teams: LV, CLE, TEN, NYJ, MIN. The highest any of those Rbs finished ... Jeanty Rb 16, Hall was Rb 20. The rest... no bueno. 

The top five were nearly identical to previous five I mentioned, except Detroit was 6th. 

I used https://www.teamrankings.com/ to get the number of yards per play and https://fantasydata.com/ to get the PPR points scored.  Here's what I got...

Rank	Team	Yd/Pl	Highest RB	Rank	Team	Rank
1	LA Rams	6.1	15.5	11	385.5	13
2	Detroit	6	21.6	3	533.8	2
3	Dallas	5.9	15.2	12	367.5	16
4	Buffalo	5.9	17.8	6	460.6	4
5	New England	5.8	12.8	21	417.4	8
6	Seattle	5.8	11.3	25	388.1	12
7	Baltimore	5.8	16.4	8	424.3	7
8	Indianapolis	5.8	21.3	4	398.2	10
9	Chicago	5.7	14.3	17	375.3	14
10	Green Bay	5.6	15.8	10	364.3	18
11	San Francisco	5.5	24.5	1	536.1	1
12	Washington	5.5	8.3	32	305	24
13	Atlanta	5.4	21.8	2	493.8	3
14	Miami	5.4	20.2	5	425.1	6
15	Cincinnati	5.3	16.6	7	360.5	19
16	Jacksonville	5.3	14.9	14	367.3	17
17	NY Giants	5.2	16	9	397.3	11
18	Denver	5.2	12.2	23	405	9
19	Arizona	5.2	11.1	26	318.9	22
20	Philadelphia	5.2	14.5	15	303.6	25
21	Pittsburgh	5.2	13.6	19	438.4	5
22	Kansas City	5.1	8.6	31	296	28
23	Tampa Bay	5.1	13.8	18	372.9	15
24	LA Chargers	5.1	15.1	13	279.3	30
25	Houston	5.1	9.4	29	293.2	29
26	Carolina	5	12.7	22	341.7	20
27	New Orleans	5	9.2	30	242.1	32
28	Minnesota	4.9	9.9	28	302.4	26
29	NY Jets	4.4	13	20	317.2	23
30	Las Vegas	4.4	14.4	16	274.5	31
31	Tennessee	4.4	10.9	27	297.5	27
32	Cleveland	4.3	12.1	24	338.4	21

 

It's clear that if your team in the bottom third of the league in yards per play, the RB is most likely not going to be all that good.  But, you always have to take into account situation.  Seattle, for example, Walker and Charbonnet pretty much split carries, so it makes sense that being the #6 team in yards per play, neither rank higher than 25th.  But, you can see, as a team, they were a RB1 tandom.  Same with New England.  But that type of thing is something you know, heading into the draft.

[GobbleDog]

46 minutes ago, TBayXXXVII said:

It's clear that if your team in the bottom third of the league in yards per play, the RB is most likely not going to be all that good.  

The Dolphins aren't gonna be bottom 1/3, more likely dead last or near it. No NFL team has ever entered a season with 60% of their cap in dead money. If that wasn't bad enough, Miami has the 2nd hardest schedule. 

I'm a Fish fan and my biggest fear is we don't win a single game this year. Don't even care if costs the #1 pick, I don't want the winless title ever connected to the Dolphins - the only team to hold the undefeated record. Sadly, it's a distinct possibility. 

As such I'm desperately rooting for Achane and hope my dire prediction is way off, but fantasy wise... I wouldn't draft him.

[TBayXXXVII]

3 hours ago, GobbleDog said:

The Dolphins aren't gonna be bottom 1/3, more likely dead last or near it. No NFL team has ever entered a season with 60% of their cap in dead money. If that wasn't bad enough, Miami has the 2nd hardest schedule. 

I'm a Fish fan and my biggest fear is we don't win a single game this year. Don't even care if costs the #1 pick, I don't want the winless title ever connected to the Dolphins - the only team to hold the undefeated record. Sadly, it's a distinct possibility. 

As such I'm desperately rooting for Achane and hope my dire prediction is way off, but fantasy wise... I wouldn't draft him.

LOL,I was being kind.

 

Also, mainly speaking in generalities and not really specific to Miami.

[weepaws]

11 hours ago, TBayXXXVII said:

This isn't the issue.  The issue is, how much work will be available?  I don't think that amount will be there because I think the offense will be significantly worse than last year.  I think they'll rank 32nd (if possible, worse ), in number of plays run, in 2026.

If he gets plenty of work, then there is plenty of work available 

[Mike FF Today]

Updated the table with a lot of Red! Added notes for 6 more teams.

[JagFan]

All this Achane discussion and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone mention the new QB that will vulture plenty of carries inside the 10 yard line as well everywhere else on the field.  Achane is a low end RB2 at best this year.

[weepaws]

 His ff points probably will drop a little, because they don't have Hill or Waddle, that's going to hurt, teams should be able to stack the box more.  

[Drogon]

Alot of 3 and outs this season for Dolphins offense.

[Mike FF Today]

Good note here from 49ers beat reporter Matt Barrows and the backup RB battle...

 

[jrokh]

 

 

[weepaws]

Chargers were hit hard last season with injuries to the oline, now it begins again, their center is now out for your season. 

[Super Cubs]

Thanks Mike this is really good