Fantasy Football Backfield Outlook: NFC North Edition

Let's continue breaking down fantasy football backfields by going over the NFC North teams.

We opened this series on Tuesday by looking at AFC North teams. Check back in the days to come for the other division breakdowns!

Fantasy football average draft position data can be found on FantasySP in the leadup to the 2026 NFL season! Conduct your fantasy football mock drafts through FantasySP too - you can now customize the scoring settings to tailor to your fantasy leagues!

Bears

We'll start with the Bears, who won the division title last season.

They go into the 2026 season with the same core of running backs. D'Andre Swift leads the charge, with younger RBs (Kyle Monangai and Roschon Johnson) as the top backups.

It was Swift who tallied 223 rushing attempts to lead the team in 2025. He ran for 1,087 yards and nine touchdowns, while also catching 34 of his 48 targets for an additional 299 yards and a score.

Monangai was also pretty involved, getting 169 rushing attempts and 18 receptions. He ran for 783 yards and five scores, while going for 164 receiving yards and a touchdown across his 30 targets.

Johnson was barely involved across his seven games played. He had two touches totaling seven yards.

Swift appears to be leading the backfield right now, but I expect Monangai to have a big say in things too - they might actually split the backfield work pretty evenly.

Swift is going at pick 55.57 on average, which I think is a fair spot to take him after last season. It is a bit early if you also believe this will be more of a split backfield in 2026.

Monangai is going at pick 89.29 on average. Thinking the backfield could be split pretty evenly, Monangai offers some great value at that pick.

Johnson would only be a big-time fantasy asset if one of the top-two backs was injured. Only stash Johnson in super deep leagues at this point.

I like Swift over Monangai for now, but it's actually pretty close in my eyes. I only view each guy as a flex-level starting option to kick off the 2026 season. If they split the backfield pretty evenly, both will be better deep-league starting options, while being depth options in standard leagues.

Packers

The Packers' backfield looks a bit different in 2026, but Josh Jacobs is still leading the charge. 

Chris Brooks, MarShawn Lloyd and Pierre Strong Jr. are some of the top backups for now.

Jacobs led the team with 234 rushing attempts in 2025 - he did that across 15 games. He rushed for 929 yards and 13 touchdowns, while adding 282 receiving yards and a touchdown over 36 grabs and 44 targets.

Brooks was the third RB in terms of rushing attempts, and he only got 27. He had 13 catches as well, so his 197 total yards across 40 touches were solid marks in 17 contests.

Lloyd had another season devastated by injuries, and didn't even get in one regular season game. He's played in one regular season game since he was drafted in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Strong was with the Packers for a part of the 2025 season, but has not recorded a rushing attempt or reception since the 2024 season in Cleveland. I mention Strong because he'd be RB3 in Green Bay if Lloyd is dealing with injuries again.

It should come as no surprise that Jacobs is going to dominate the Packers' backfield, and he's a pretty good fantasy asset as a result. He's going around pick 33 right now, and could easily outperform that draft slot if he stays healthy. He had a down 2025 in a lot of respects, so if he bounces back, you could have a big-time draft steal on your hands.

Getting Jacobs as a fantasy RB2 would be a stellar thing, and he has RB1 upside for sure. Be targeting him in round 3 or 4, and jump at the chance if he falls past that ADP.

No other Packers' running backs appear on the ADP list. Brooks appears to be RB2 for the team for now, but Lloyd would be my guess as to who the backup touches in the backfield would go to. All the backups in Green Bay are just deep-league options unless Jacobs is out.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Packers brought in an outside RB to shore up that position a bit, so be looking out for that.

Lions

The Lions' backfield is going to be a bit different as well in 2025, but the same guy is leading the way.

Of course, the stud fantasy back in Detroit is Jahmyr Gibbs. Isiah Pacheco is the new top backup, with Sione Vaki being the third back on the depth chart.

Gibbs got 243 rushing attempts in 2025, and that number could go up in 2026. He rushed for 1,223 yards and 13 scores. Gibbs added 616 receiving yards and five touchdowns across 77 receptions and 94 targets. That combined production makes him an elite running back, and fantasy asset too.

Pacheco joins the Lions after a four-year run with Kansas City to open his NFL career. He had some solid seasons, but has dealt with injuries in each of the past three years, and now might be a backup RB for the remainder of his career.

Pacheco played in 13 games in 2025, rushing for 462 yards and a score across 118 attempts. He had 101 receiving yards and a touchdown across 19 catches and 26 targets.

Vaki got in 11 games last season, but only had one offensive touch - a 4-yard rush. He has seven rushing attempts and three receptions across his first 27 NFL games.

Gibbs is going to power the Lions' backfield if he's healthy all season. He's the top player taken in fantasy drafts, and there's a lot of reason to be making that move. Between his running and receiving numbers, I expect Gibbs to go off in 2026. 

Take him with confidence early in a fantasy draft. He shouldn't drop past pick No. 2 - with Bijan Robinson being the only player considered before Gibbs.

Pacheco is sitting near pick 149 on average so far. He's dealing with an MCL injury right now, and that could drop that mark. That's very late in standard redraft leagues, and most of the time, he's not being picked at all. He could be a deep-league stash option, but I don't see him producing enough if Gibbs stays healthy in 2026.

Vaki is just a stash option in really deep leagues. He likely wouldn't factor in much even if Gibbs or Pacheco were down with injuries.

Vikings

The Vikings' backfield is also very similar to the one they used in 2025, and it's tough to guess who will lead the way.

Aaron Jones Sr. is still around, and Jordan Mason is another back who could lead the way. Zavier Scott and rookie Demond Claiborne are some additional options.

Mason led the backfield with 159 rushing attempts last season, but that was across 16 games. Jones had 132 attempts in 12 games. Scott got 32 attempts across 16 games played.

Mason rushed for 758 yards and six touchdowns, while adding 51 receiving yards on 14 catches and 16 targets. Jones rushed for 548 yards and two touchdowns, while having 199 receiving yards and a score over 28 grabs and 41 targets. Scott had 114 rushing yards and 98 receiving yards, plus a score, over 14 catches and 16 targets.

I see Jones and Mason splitting the backfield again in 2026. If one of those guys gets injured, the other will be the lead back, and then Scott or Claiborne (a sixth-round pick) could get the secondary touches in the backfield.

Mason (pick 110.57 on average) and Jones (113) are going within three picks of each other right now. I feel that's pretty solid value on each back, even if they end up splitting the workload. View both guys as better starting options in deeper leagues, while being standard league depth options, or occasional flex-level options in favorable matchups.

You can skip Scott and Claiborne outside of really deep leagues. Claiborne has a bit of dynasty value as a rookie as well, and maybe in time, he could emerge as the team's lead back - I just don't see that happening in 2026 unless there's injuries ahead of him on the depth chart.