Joe Arpasi
June 15, 2026
The most important part of the early rounds of your fantasy drafts is to build a solid and reliable core of players. You’re looking for high fantasy floors with low levels of risk. These are the players you’ll count on to carry your CFF team from week to week. Below Joe Arpasi reviews the players he’s willing to hang his hat on and call them “My Guy” for the 2026 season.
Honorable Mentions
BYU: LJ Martin
244.0 Fantasy Points In 2025
Martin’s presence was felt from the instant he stepped on the BYU campus. He became the RB1 as a freshman and ran for 109 carries, 518 yards and 4 TD’s. He sustained a shoulder injury that season which lingered into his sophomore year. That injury limited him to 138 carries for 723 yards and 7 TD’s. Last season he reached the potential that many saw in him, rushing the ball 236 times for 1305 yards and 12 TD’s. Late last season his shoulder injury flared up again so he underwent surgery to correct it this winter and sat out of spring camp. Offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick has only had one RB in his coaching history that’s been more productive than Martin was in 2025. In In 2021 Tyler Allgeier scored 332 fantasy points on 276 carries for 1601 yards and 23 TD’s.
Duke: Nate Sheppard
236.3 Fantasy Points In 2025
As a true freshman Sheppard worked his way into the RB rotation at the start of last season. By the time late September arrived he captured the starting job and never looked back. He finished the season with 200 carries for 1132 yards and 11 TD’s on the ground to go with 47 targets for 37 receptions, 286 yards and 1 TD in the air. With no competition to his workload in 2026 he looks to improve upon his freshman numbers. Offensive coordinator Jonathan Brewer likes to lean on a workhorse RB1. In his two seasons at Duke he’s averaging 206.5 carries to his top back. With a passing game that is rebuilding you could expect to offense to lean into Sheppard during the first half of the season.
Florida: Jadan Baugh
214.5 Fantasy Points In 2025
Baugh’s talents were seen right away when he arrived at Florida as a freshman, earning him 133 carries for 673 yards and 7 TD’s. Last season he led the team in rushing with a 220 carry workload for 1170 yards and 8 TD’s. The coaching staff changed this offseason and in comes new offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner. The most carries he gave his RB’s at Georgia Tech was 174, while the QB that season saw 120 carries. I see that trend being broken this season as the offense will be breaking in a new QB and Baugh is the most talented player on the field. I anticipate more carries being given to Baugh at the expense of the QB’s rushing workload.
Minnesota: Darius Taylor
132.5 Fantasy Points In 2025
Over the last three seasons Taylor has been the starting RB for the Gophers, and he’s dealt with injuries. He missed 7 games his freshman year, only 1 game as a sophomore, and 3 games last season. Those lost games have impacted Taylor’s workload and fantasy value. That sophomore season was the only time he received 200 carries and scored 200+ fantasy points. This offseason he hired a personal chef and changed his conditioning routine to get his body in better shape and avoid injuries in the fall. The coaches will look to put Taylor at the heart of the offense in 2026 which means he should be inline to receive 200+ carries and 50+ targets.
UTSA: Will Henderson
157.3 Fantasy Points In 2025
In Henderson’s first season at UTSA he only carried the ball 14 times but averaged 6.7 yards/carry. Last season he increased his yards/carry to 6.9 on a 125 carry workload. He was the top back up to starter Robert Henry but still managed to score 20+ fantasy points in three games. Henry has departed and Henderson will become the bell cow for this offense in 2026. The only time that head coach Jeff Traylor has given his top back more than 160 carries was in 2021. That season Sincere McCormick scored 267.3 fantasy points on 298 carries for 1479 yards and 15 TD’s. I don’t see Henderson getting that large of a workload but 180 carries would be a reasonable floor.
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