James Cook, De’Von Achane & More: AFC East Fantasy Football Backfield Outlook

Let's pick the fantasy football backfield breakdowns back up by going over the teams in the AFC East.

We already have gone over the AFC North, NFC North, AFC West, NFC West, AFC South and NFC South. Check back soon for the NFC East breakdown!

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!

Patriots

New England opens the 2026 NFL season with the same two backs leading the way.

Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson are the top backs for the Pats. Rookie Jam Miller, Lan Larison, JaMycal Hasty and Hassan Haskins are some other backs on the roster.

Henderson ended up leading the Pats in his rookie season, getting 180 carries over 17 games. He rushed for 911 yards and nine touchdowns, while adding in 221 receiving yards and a score across 35 catches and 42 targets.

Stevenson logged 130 carries over 14 regular season games. He tallied 603 yards and seven scores, plus had 345 receiving yards and two touchdowns across 32 receptions and 37 targets.

Larison hasn't played in an NFL regular season game yet. He was signed by the team back in May of 2025. Miller was a seventh-round pick, so he doesn't have huge expectations going into his rookie year.

Hasty last played in a regular season game in 2024. He has played in 56 games since he made the NFL in 2020, and has 854 scrimmage yards and six total touchdowns to his name.

Haskins played with the Chargers the past two years, getting in 29 combined games. Over 44 NFL regular season games since 2022, Haskins has 348 scrimmage yards and three scores.

Stevenson and Henderson should power the backfield if they are healthy in 2026. Expect both backs to be involved, just like they were a season ago.

If it's indeed a split backfield, that takes fantasy value away from each guy. Right now, Henderson's ADP is 66.75. Stevenson is at pick 94.25 on average.

Both are better deep-league fantasy assets, but on a good offense, both could also be flex-level options in standard leagues. I think Henderson has the highest upside, so I also like taking him first. I think he's a fine pick around that ADP.

As for Stevenson, he too offers some fantasy value near that ADP. He's one to draft, especially if you are a bit thin at RB at that point of the draft.

Bills

Things are pretty simple in Buffalo, where James Cook will dominate the backfield.

He had 309 of the team's 547 rushing attempts a season ago. If you take away Josh Allen's 112 attempts, you can really see that Cook dominated the RB workload.

Cook rushed for 1,621 yards and 12 scores over his 309 carries. He added 291 receiving yards and two touchdowns across 33 receptions and 40 targets.

Ty Johnson, Ray Davis and Frank Gore Jr. are the backup running backs on the roster for now.

Davis had 58 rushing attempts over 17 games played last season, accumulating 275 rushing yards, but failing to score. He caught 10 of his 13 targets for 86 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson also played in 17 games, rushing for 200 yards and three scores on 50 attempts. He had 263 receiving yards and two touchdowns over his 24 catches and 33 targets.

Gore hasn't played in the regular season, but did appear in two postseason games for Buffalo last season. He only played four offensive snaps, getting his other 10 snaps on special teams.

Cook is going to dominate things again in 2026. His ADP of 11.25 shows you how highly he's viewed in the fantasy football world. I like him beginning at the end of round 1, and he shouldn't fall past pick 15. Be excited to land him as an RB1, and ecstatic if you land him as an RB2.

Davis is the next-drafted Buffalo back, but not going until pick 224.5 on average. He and Johnson are just deep-league fantasy stashes, and likely won't be more than that unless Cook is injured/out. Don't roster any Buffalo back beside Cook in standard leagues.

Dolphins

Things are also easy to assess in Miami, where De'Von Achane is going to dominate the backfield.

Across 16 regular season games a season ago, Achane had 238 rushing attempts - Miami had 432 rushing attempts overall. Achane rushed for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns. He caught 67 of his 85 targets for 488 yards and four more scores.

Jaylen Wright is the team's top backup it appears, and Ollie Gordon II is another RB option.

Wright only appeared in 10 games a season ago, rushing 70 times for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He caught five of his nine targets for 44 yards.

Gordon got in 17 games, getting 70 carries as well. He rushed for 199 yards and three scores, plus caught seven of his nine targets for 32 yards and another touchdown.

When healthy, Achane is going to dominate the backfield for Miami. In PPR leagues, he's especially valuable in the fantasy football world.

His ADP is 16 right now in PPR leagues, while being at pick 9.75 in standard leagues. I'd start considering him near the end of round 1 as well, but prefer to draft him early in the second round. Like Cook, Achane shouldn't fall past pick 15 in any fantasy drafts.

Wright is the next Miami back being drafted, but not until pick 214.25 on average. He's stashable in deeper leagues to start the season, but could maybe carve out enough of an offensive role on a Miami offense deprived of talent to sneak into some standard leagues.

The backfield will belong to Achane though, so he's the one and only Miami back to be utilizing/rostering in standard leagues. Everyone else is a secondary option if Achane stays healthy.

Jets

Things are pretty straightforward for the Jets' backfield, but a groin injury to lead back Breece Hall makes things a bit complicated. 

Hall is expected to be ready for the regular season opener, so hopefully he keeps trending in that direction and doesn't miss any games. It does make him a bit more risky to take/roster in fantasy leagues going into the 2026 season though.

Over 16 games, Hall dominated the 2025 backfield by receiving 243 of the 456 overall rushing attempts. He ran for 1,065 yards and four touchdowns, plus had 350 receiving yards and a touchdown across 36 receptions and 48 targets.

Braelon Allen is the top reserve back, with Isaiah Davis and Kene Nwangwu as additional options.

Allen only played four games last season. He rushed 18 times for 76 yards and a touchdown, while catching two of his three targets for 17 yards.

Davis functioned as the lead back with Allen out with an injury. Over 16 games, Davis had 236 rushing yards and a touchdown across 43 rushing attempts, plus 186 receiving yards on 21 receptions and 28 targets.

Nwangwu appeared in 12 games last season. He had just 13 touches, all rushing attempts. Nwangwu had 49 rushing yards, and failed to catch his only target.

Hall should lead the backfield in 2026, but his early-season injury makes Allen a bit more appealing. Davis could also carve out a role if Hall were to ever miss any games.

Hall's ADP of 30.5 is fair given his 2025 stats and early-season injury. It might help you land him after that pick, which makes him an even better value pick. I'm good drafting Hall in round 4 though, but as your RB2 at best - do not take him as your top option, because you are asking for trouble then.

Allen is going around pick 162.75, so he's not in most standard leagues. He's not a terrible pick given Hall's early injury, and the status of the Jets overall, but I also prefer him only in deeper leagues, as he'd just ride the bench any week Hall was healthy. Be ready to add Allen if Hall is ever going to miss regular season games.

Davis is another stashable option in deeper leagues, and he might top out as a deep-league option unless Allen and Hall are both out with injuries. Nwangwu is only rosterable in the deepest fantasy leagues out there, and likely won't ever be startable, unless disaster strikes in the Jets' backfield.