FFT Express - RB CHAOS! Sorting Out 10 Messiest RB Rooms! (05/12 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today Express – Episode Summary

Episode Title: RB CHAOS! Sorting Out 10 Messiest RB Rooms!
Date: May 12, 2026
Host/Analysts: Adam Aizer (Host), Dave Richard (Lead Analyst), and others
Theme: Breaking down the NFL's 10 messiest running back situations for 2026 fantasy football.

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Episode Overview

This fast-paced episode dives into the most complicated running back situations (“messy backfields”) across the NFL and assesses which backfields are landmines for fantasy managers. Adam Aizer and Dave Richard analyze each team, debate depth charts, project fantasy value, and attempt—often with plenty of humor—to rank the "messiness" of each backfield for upcoming drafts.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Arizona Cardinals

• Core Players: Jeremiah Love, James Conner, Tyler Algier
• Analysis: Dave is bullish on rookie Jeremiah Love, citing the new offensive scheme's pedigree and Love’s talent.
  • Quote: “I think Jeremiah Love will run away with the job in Arizona and I think it'll be great for fantasy.” (02:29 – Dave)
• Mess Level: Low. Dave argues this will become a one-man show soon.

2. Washington Commanders

• Core Players: Jaquor Croskey-Merritt, Rashad White, Katron Allen
• Analysis: The hosts poke fun at earlier misstatements about the roster but agree it's hard to trust anyone here early in drafts. Rashad White likely leads passing downs; Croskey-Merritt gets early down work, but Allen could emerge.
  • Quote: “There are backfields where you kind of want to get the last player and you just draft them late.” (03:29 – Dave)
• Mess Level: High. Dave would avoid any in the first 75 picks.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

• Core Players: Chris Rodriguez, Tuton, Quinn Allen
• Analysis: Uncertainty but less than Washington’s situation. Dave likes Tuton’s athleticism, projects him for more work than Rodriguez, but sees a multi-man split.
• Mess Level: Moderate. Passing downs Allen; early-down split between Rodriguez and Tuton.

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Core Players: Bucky Irving, Kenneth Gainwell, Rashad White (moved here in error earlier)
• Analysis: Bucky Irving’s role is uncertain (may cede goal line and passing downs). Adam sees a committee; Dave prefers other rookie RBs like Jeremiah Love in drafts.
  • Quote: “Irving…not necessarily a great fantasy pick. I'd rather have Jeremiah Love, and I don't think that's too controversial.” (05:50 – Dave)
• Mess Level: Between Jacksonville and the Rams.

5. Los Angeles Rams

• Core Players: Kyren Williams, Blake Corum
• Analysis: Two-man race hinges on Williams’ ball security. Dave sees Corum as a threat, depressing Williams’ RB1 potential.
  • Quote: “I disagree with Kyron Williams as a top 12 fantasy running back, though, because of Blake Corum and because Corum can take some serious work away.” (07:42 – Dave)
• Mess Level: Low/moderate. More defined than other backfields.

6. Seattle Seahawks

• Core Players: Zach Charbonnet, Jadarian Price, Emmanuel Wilson
• Analysis: Charbonnet’s workload and health in question; possible committee with new scheme influences. “Mess potential” is high but not league-worst.
• Mess Level: Middle of the pack.

7. Denver Broncos

• Core Players: JK Dobbins, RJ Harvey, Jonah Coleman
• Analysis: Dobbins likely to lead…if healthy. Dave foresees splitting of games among the group, avoid for fantasy safety.
  • Quote: “Don't be surprised if we get four good games out of RJ Harvey, four good games out of JK Dobbins, and three good games out of Jonah Coleman in Denver.” (11:15 – Dave)
• Mess Level: Avoid unless desperate.

8. Minnesota Vikings

• Core Players: Jordan Mason, rookie RB
• Analysis: Could go either way, Mason predicted to lead. Nothing certain.

9. New England Patriots

• Core Players: Travion Henderson, Rhamondre Stevenson
• Analysis: Not a typical bell-cow scenario. Henderson should be drafted first but not excited about him as a top-40 pick.
  • Quote: “Henderson's going to get drafted first, but I don't know if he should be like a top 40 pick.” (10:28 – Dave)
• Mess Level: Above average, but not the worst.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers

• Core Players: Jalen Warren, Enrico Dowdle
• Analysis: Warren preferred for PPR; Dowdle could be early-down spoiler.
  • Quote: “He's usually every year he's at least usable, but he's gotta be that way in full PPR and probably in half PPR, but non-PPR, I'd say Dowdle.” (12:17 – Dave)
• Mess Level: Deep-league or format-dependent value.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Adam, on keeping the backfield mess rankings straight:
  “There's no way I'm not going to screw this up.” (08:11)
• Dave, on draft strategy for messy backfields:
  “There are backfields where you kind of want to get the last player and you just draft them late, take the chance that they'll end up being the best player.” (03:29)
• Dave, on Denver’s volatility:
  “Four good games out of RJ Harvey, four good games out of JK Dobbins, and three good games out of Jonah Coleman.” (11:15)
• On Warren vs. Gainwell in PIT:
  “Way higher…Targets a game.” (12:56)
• Adam, on the futility of clear rankings:
  “This is really impossible.” (10:52)

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Team Messiness Rankings (At 11:02)

1. Washington Commanders (Messiest)
2. Jacksonville Jaguars
3. New England Patriots
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
6. Los Angeles Rams
7. Arizona Cardinals (Least messy so far)

• Denver, Minnesota, and Pittsburgh discussed as mostly avoidable for clear fantasy value.

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Final Takeaways (13:00–13:21)

• Uncertainty prevails in most of these RB rooms; tread lightly in drafts.
• In “messy” backfields, consider late-round stashes or handcuffs.
• Avoid over-drafting “committee backfields” and monitor camp news for emerging clarity.
• “Thanks for watching and listening. We'll talk to you tomorrow on Fantasy Football Today.” (13:22 – Adam)

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For Listeners

This episode is a must-listen if you want to avoid early RB draft traps or find value late by targeting dark horses in chaotic depth charts. Save this cheat sheet for your fantasy drafts!

Transcript

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[D]

I love Jeremiah Love and I think his talent's going to push him well to the top of this. I think it's going to push James Conner into a broom closet and Tyler Algier into a limited role. One of the things I love about their new head coach Mike Lafleur is that he spent seven years with Kyle Shanahan. He was basically his right hand man. Three more years with Sean McVeigh, I got a feeling he knows what it takes to develop a good run game. He was also the OC for Breeze hall his rookie year. Breeze hall averaged 16.4 PPR points per game on just 14.1 touches per game, but he did have 4.4 targets per game. Hoping that Jeremiah Love can be there. I don't think that this is going to be nearly as big of a mess as people are making it out to be. I think Jeremiah Love will run away with the job in Arizona and I think it'll be great for fantasy.

[C]

Washington is a little messy. They have Jackson Smith and Jigba, Rashad White. They drafted Katron Allen in the sixth round.

[D]

Jackson, Smith and Jigba. Breaking news I need to know about here. You've been hitting the head with an ironing board a little bit too much. That's a call back to Monday's episode of fft. It's Jaquor Crosky. Merit. Wrong. Hyphenated name. Adam Scott Azer. And, and then you mentioned it. Rashad White. K. Tron Allen. Amazing. I, I, I, I do not want you to edit this out, but you're right. This is a messy backfield. I, I feel like we, we talk about this every year. There are backfields where you kind of want to get the last player and you just draft them late, take the chance that they'll end up being the best player. I think the season starts with Crosby Merritt being the running downs back and Rashad White being the passing downs back. And if crossing merits messes up, we'll see more of Katron Allen, maybe even a little bit more of Rashad White. But I don't want to take any of these guys with a pick in the first like 75 picks on draft day.

[C]

Jacksonville.

[D]

I would also say that, I would say that Washington's backfield is messier than Arizona's too.

[C]

Okay. And Jacksonville, Smith and Jigba.

[D]

Dave. Jacksonville. I'm, I'm, I know that the reports say that Chris Rodriguez is going to be the guy that gets like a little bit more work. I mentioned this on the show on Monday. Just when I think about Chris Rodriguez, he was inactive for three games with the Commanders last year, had 10 or fewer carries in seven other games. He was dumped by the Commanders and they could have kept him. I know this is a different team and a coach that knows him. I don't know if that necessarily means that he's going to be great there. I think Tuton has the better athletic profile. I think he'll get more opportunities. I don't think he's Going to run away with it the same way that Jeremiah Love is going to run away with it in Arizona. But I think he'll be the best running back in Jacksonville. Not as big of a mess as Washington. Still a little bit more of a mess than Arizona because I do think Quinn Allen, who no one talks about in fantasy for good reason, I don't think he's going to get enough touches, but he's going to be the passing downs back for them this year, which means Tutin, Rodriguez, they're going to split. Rushing downs work. My money's on Tootin getting much more than Rodriguez.

[C]

All right, let's talk about Tampa Bay, because Bucky Irving is a third round pick in a lot of drafts and he might not be the goal line back and he might not be the passing downs back. So Tampa Bay is a little messy.

[D]

I think this year the role played by Rashad White will be played by Kenneth Gainwell, and I think Gainwell earned that last year in Pittsburgh. It doesn't mean he's going to be as productive. I don't think he will be. You certainly won't see the same type of target volume. And it really just comes down to how effective Bucky Irving can be. Can he stay on the field? Can he. Can he overcome issues if. If he doesn't get the same type of workload? He had a huge workload to begin last season, 22 and a half touches per game in his first four. And that bore out with great fantasy production. We're talking about 18 plus PPR points per game, but that's a small sample size. I think the Bucs are going to try and take some work off of his plate. I think that's what Gainwell was added for, and I think it's going to make Buck Irving. Okay. Not necessarily a great fantasy pick. I'd rather have Jeremiah Love, and I don't think that's too controversial. But they're both going to be picked probably within a dozen selections of each other.

[C]

I think they're going to be very close to each other. And yeah, Love will probably go first, but Bucky, man. Yeah, he's an interesting one. All right, we're going to take a break. We got six more teams to talk about. We'll go a little faster with these next ones and then we'll try to rank them all. But so far, Arizona. So is Tampa Bay messier than Arizona?

[D]

No. Yes, they are messier than Arizona, messier than Washington? No.

[C]

Jacksonville?

[D]

I'm gonna say no.

[C]

Okay, so that means it's Right now it's Washington, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Arizona.

[D]

Are you keeping track of this? Because I'm not.

[C]

I am. Yeah.

[D]

Great.

[C]

In terms of messiness. All right, we'll be right back on Fantasy Football Today Express, brought to you by Apple Card.

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[C]

We kind of. It's two man game. least we know that. But you know, there was a report that could be close to 5050 quick thoughts on the Rams.

[D]

I still think Kyron will be the main guy. He's gonna have to fumble a couple more times before Blake Corum becomes the main guy. I disagree with Kyron Williams As a top 12 fantasy running back, though, because of Blake Corum and because Corum can take some serious work away from Kyron.

[C]

Okay, I think this is the least messy. You think, right?

[D]

I think we have a pretty clear understanding of what it can be. But I, I think I'd still put them behind Arizona. That's just me because I don't know, I don't think. I think Jeremiah Love will render that backfield a non mess.

[C]

Okay. Okay. So Arizona's still 10 for me.

[D]

Arizona is still at the bottom of your mesometer, but you can put the Rams right next to them.

[C]

There's no way I'm not going to screw this up. None. Seattle

[D]

it I feel like there's mess potential, like major mess potential because there's. First of all, we're talking about this in May. Who knows what this is going to look like come August. I don't think Charbonnet plays more than half the year. I don't think he'll be particularly effective in the half of year that he plays. So it really comes down to whether or not Jadarian Price or Emmanuel Wilson or both end up being really good as the running back in Seattle. It's a great offensive line, great offensive scheme. They're changing it up a little bit. Might be a little bit more Shanahany. Although last year was pretty Shanahany to begin with. I'm going to say it's a mess. Probably like right in the middle of the rankings not as bad as Washington, but worse than Tampa.

[C]

Okay, worse than Tampa. All right, so that means Washington six, seven. All right, all right, I got it. So right now it's Washington 5th. Well, we still don't have one through four. Washington's the messiest, followed by Jacksonville, Seattle, Tampa Bay, the Rams and Arizona. That's what we've got.

[D]

I'm good with that. I'm good with that.

[C]

That's one through six. I guess right now we're gonna add four more teams. Got Denver. Let's just wrap it up. Denver, Minnesota, New England and Pittsburgh. Of those four, which is the messiest backfield? Denver, Minnesota, New England, Pittsburgh.

[D]

I think New England kind of wins by default because those we'd love to have the one guy who's a stud. And we saw Ramadre as that guy at the end of the year and the only time we saw Travion Henderson as that guy was when Ramondre was out and when they were both on the field. I think they were lucky to average even like 11 PPR points per game. So that's a real PETA and I'm hoping that Travion Henderson can. Can step it up. But I went and looked at the track record of second year running backs under Josh McDaniels and there was only one guy that averaged more than 14 PPR points per game. So. And it was no Sean Moreno, and he didn't even play the full season. So I'm a little bit nervous about reaching for Travion Henderson. I. I feel like all four of those backfields are ones that I'd prefer to avoid.

[C]

Who. Which Patriots running back should be drafted first?

[D]

Henderson's going to get drafted first, but I don't know if he should be like a top 40 pick.

[C]

All right. Is New England messier than Washington?

[D]

No.

[C]

Messier than Jacksonville? Close, but no messier than Seattle? Close, but no messier than Tampa Bay.

[D]

Let's put them there. Tampa Bay is less messy.

[C]

Okay. This is really impossible.

[D]

You want to just bag it?

[C]

Here's our top seven.

[D]

1.

[C]

Washington.

[B]

2.

[C]

Jacksonville. 3. New England. 4. Seattle. 5. Buccaneers, 6 Rams, 7. Cardinals.

[D]

And don't be surprised if we get four good games out of RJ Harvey, four good games out of JK Dobbins, and three good games out of Jonah Coleman in Denver.

[C]

I, I think Denver. I, you know, I feel like I know what Denver is going to be. Dobbin's gonna lead them in carries while he's healthy, but I'm hoping it's a little more even split because hard Because RJ Harvey had almost no work when Dobbins was healthy. He's like five touches a game. Minnesota could go either way. And then you got a rookie there too. But I think, you know, it's between the two guys. I'm guessing, I'm guessing Jordan Mason leads the team in carries. What do you think?

[D]

Yeah, that's another backfield I think I want to avoid.

[C]

Yeah. And Pittsburgh I like. I mean, Jalen Warren is probably the only one I'm drafting.

[D]

And yeah, I like your theory with Warren. Like, who's taking over that Kenneth Gainwell role? Him? Not doubtful.

[C]

I think so. Yeah, I think so too. Little doubt on that. But yeah, that's one where I look. I look at maybe a steel there in Jalen Warren. He's. He's usually every year he's at least

[D]

usable, but he's got to be that way in full PPR and probably in half PPR, but non PPR. I. I'd say Dowdle. And you don't discount Mike McCarthy knowing what he's got. Enrico Dowdle, because he's the one that brought him into the league and he's the one that gave him his opportunity in Dallas, that big year that he had in Dallas. Big being a relative term in this case. He knows what he's got in Dowdle, and I wouldn't be surprised if the very first carry of the 2026 season goes to him.

[C]

No, but you know what's interesting is that toward the end of last year, Gainwell and Warren. I don't have the exact splits, but I think Warren was still out carrying Gainwell, but in full er. We were ranking Gainwell higher.

[D]

Way higher.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Targets a game.

[C]

Yeah. And it might change with Pittman there now, but Aaron Rodgers just loves throwing to his running backs and, you know, on first, second and third down. So if Warren is playing a pass catching role, he could, he could either. He could get out carried by Dowdle and still be more valuable.

[D]

It's true. 5.1 targets per game. Mistake on game.

[C]

Well, last year.

[D]

Wrap this thing up.

[C]

Yeah, I know. We're done.

[D]

Wrap this up.

[C]

Thanks. Thanks for watching and listening. We'll talk to you tomorrow on Fantasy Football Today,

[B]

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