Breaking Down the AFC West Backfields for 2026 Fantasy Football

Let's continue breaking down fantasy football backfields by going over the AFC West teams!

We already went over the AFC North and NFC North, and will cover the other divisions in stories to come, so keep checking back for those!

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!

Broncos

Denver will roll with a pretty similar backfield in 2026.

J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey are the lead backs, with rookie Jonah Coleman and Jaleel McLaughlin as additional options.

Dobbins led the Denver running game with 772 rushing yards and four touchdowns across 153 attempts last season. He also had 37 receiving yards on 11 receptions and 14 targets across 10 games played.

Harvey got in 17 games, rushing for 540 yards and seven scores, while adding in 356 receiving yards and five touchdowns across 47 grabs and 58 targets.

McLaughlin was a part of eight contests. He rushed for 187 yards and a score over 37 attempts, while catching four of his six targets for 27 yards. 

Coleman was a fourth-round pick this offseason, so there's some decent expectations with him going into 2026. We'll see if he can carve out a role at some point.

Dobbins appears to be the leader in the backfield, but with his injury history, most like Harvey more. On the ADP list, it's Harvey leading the way, going at pick 73.14 on average. Dobbins is at pick 90.29 on average.

I too like Harvey over Dobbins, but am treating both guys as depth fantasy backs, not every-week starters in standard leagues. They are fine options in deeper leagues, especially at those ADPs.

I like Coleman as the third back, and with Dobbins' injury woes, the rookie could become a decent fantasy asset in time. He's one to stash in deeper leagues, especially if you can get him late in a standard league, or in a deeper league.

I don't see McLaughlin factoring in a bunch, but he could have some value if a couple backs ahead of him are injured this coming year.

Chargers

The Chargers' backfield looks a bit different going into 2026 than it did in 2025.

Omarion Hampton is now the clear lead back. Keaton Mitchell was added in free agency, and Kimani Vidal and Jaret Patterson are additional options.

Vidal was the leader last season with 643 rushing yards, but that's because he got in 13 games. He had 155 rushing attempts and three scores, plus 136 receiving yards and a touchdown across 16 receptions and 22 targets.

Hampton only played nine games, and he rushed for 545 yards and four touchdowns across 124 attempts in that span. He had 192 receiving yards and a score over 32 grabs and 35 targets as well.

Patterson finished with 159 rushing yards and a score over 41 attempts, plus had eight receiving yards across three grabs and four targets in his six games played.

Mitchell was with Baltimore the past three years, which spans his NFL career. He has played in 26 games, with 13 of those coming last year. Mitchell had 341 rushing yards and a score across 59 attempts, plus 63 receiving yards over nine receptions and 12 targets.

Hampton is the lead back for 2025, but with his injury woes last year, it makes others in the backfield a bit appealing, at least. Hampton sits at pick 15 on average so far. Mitchell is at pick 149.71 on average, with Vidal at pick 184.29.

I too like Hampton to lead the way, and if he stays healthy, he could even be a draft steal from that ADP. He's risky though, so make sure you stack RBs if you draft Hampton early.

I don't mind drafting Mitchell late in a standard league knowing that Hampton hasn't made it through a season yet, and that the Chargers could be careful with him in 2026. He's just a depth option probably, and won't be a flex-level option unless he's producing weekly.

Vidal is a stash option in deeper leagues in case Hampton or Mitchell get hurt. Again, you likely won't be able to start Vidal unless there's injuries ahead of him, but he's not a bad RB to stash.

I don't see Patterson factoring in at all unless injuries ravish the Chargers' backfield. Only stash him in super deep leagues, or if he changes teams before the season.

Chiefs

The Kansas City backfield has a new look for 2026.

Gone are Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt, and Kenneth Walker is now in town to lead the charge. Emari Demercado was another free agent addition, and will be joined by Brashard Smith and rookie Emmett Johnson as secondary options.

Walker has been with Seattle his whole career, most recently winning the Super Bowl last season. He played in all 17 regular season games, rushing for 1,027 yards and five touchdowns over 221 carries. He also had 282 yards on 31 receptions and 36 targets.

Demercado was with Arizona for the first three years of his career. He's played in 40 total games, but totaled just 819 rushing yards and three scores across 126 attempts so far. Demercado has 50 receptions for 324 yards and a touchdown across 70 targets.

Smith didn't do much in his rookie year in 2025. Across 17 games, he got just 44 rushing attempts, going for 151 yards and no scores. Smith had 25 receptions for 172 yards and a touchdown across 35 targets though.

Johnson was a fifth-round pick, so he could carve out a notable offensive role in time. The two backs ahead of him on the depth chart are probably not locked in, and with some of Walker's injury woes, maybe there's hope for Johnson to emerge as the lead back in time.

Walker is expected to be the workhorse back, so him going near pick 19 so far makes sense. He could star, but I don't love him as an RB1, and would probably need to stack up RBs after him to feel good about that position going into 2026.

Johnson is next off draft boards, going at pick 177.71 on average. He's not worth a roster spot in standard leagues to start the year, but he's stashable in deeper redraft leagues and dynasty setups.

Demercado surprisingly isn't on the ADP list at all, and Smith is well into the 200s. I think Demercado is worth stashing in some deeper redraft leagues, in case Walker deals with injuries.

The KC backfield is easy to assess for now, but if Walker gets injured, then things could become a mess, but we'll help you navigate things if that ever happens.

Raiders

The Raiders' backfield is another pretty easy one to assess right now.

Ashton Jeanty will power the backfield, and likely be a workhorse in his second NFL season. Rookie Mike Washington Jr. is the top backup at this point, with Dylan Laube as another depth option.

In his rookie year, Jeanty soaked up 266 of the team's 369 rushing attempts. He rushed for 975 yards and five touchdowns, while adding 346 yards and five touchdowns across 55 catches and 73 targets.

Washington was a fourth-round pick this offseason, and he was brought in for RB depth, or in case Jeanty were ever injured. 

Laube played in 17 games last season, but had just 27 total yards over 11 touches. He's likely not going to be featured too much offensively, and the team might add outside RB help if Jeanty or Washington were both out of the picture.

Jeanty is rightfully going early in fantasy drafts, but at pick 9.14 on average, I think he's going a touch too early. I like him better in round 2, not late in round 1. I expect good things out of Jeanty, but we just haven't seen it yet, and it doesn't leave much room to exceed expectations, so I don't love his draft value at that ADP.

Washington is not going until pick 192.14 on average. He's likely to get a few touches a game, but it'd likely take an injury to Jeanty to make him startable in any format. He's not a bad RB to stash in deeper leagues, and especially dynasty leagues, but I'm not seeing huge things out of him right now.

Again, Laube is not worth stashing in many leagues, as I think Las Vegas would acquire more RB help if Jeanty or Washington were ever out, meaning Laube won't have much run as a lead back ever.