Top 10 Running Back Prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft
Last Updated: August 31, 2026 | Source: Consensus rankings from 9 outletsThe 2026 running back class is led by Jadan Baugh, Kewan Lacy, Ahmad Hardy. Here's a breakdown of the top 10 prospects at the position, with scouting reports, measurables, and projected draft range.
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1. Jadan Baugh — Florida
Consensus Rank: #26 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6'1", 231 lbsJadan Baugh is a big, physical, three-down back who broke out for Florida as an underclassman and enters 2026 as one of the most talked-about runners in the 2027 class. He is the first Gator to rush for 1,000 yards as an underclassman since Emmitt Smith in 1988, and he did it running roughshod through the SEC as a 19-year-old. At roughly 6'1" and 230 pounds, he carries a true lead-back frame, but he does not run like a plodder.
Strengths: Elite contact balance, runs through arm tackles and drags piles for hidden yardage ... Forced 65 missed tackles in 2025 with 767-plus yards after contact behind a poor offensive line ... Top-tier vision, patience, and creativity, prods for lanes then explodes through the crease Concerns: Lacks true breakaway long speed, a ramp-up back who accelerates gradually rather than explosively ... Average burst from second to third level limits his home-run potential NFL Comparison: Najee Harris (big-back frame with patient downhill style) Full scouting report for Jadan Baugh →---
2. Kewan Lacy —
Ole Miss
Consensus Rank: #30 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 5'11", 210 lbsKewan Lacy is the engine of the Ole Miss offense and one of the most productive backs in the country after transferring in from Missouri. In his first season in Oxford he led the FBS in carries and finished third in the FBS with 1,567 rushing yards, matching a single-season school record. The headline is the touchdown column: 24 rushing scores, an Ole Miss single-season record and the SEC lead.
Strengths: Elite scoring nose, 24 rushing touchdowns in 2025 set an Ole Miss single-season record ... Bell-cow durability, led the FBS in carries and never missed a game across fifteen contests ... Outstanding contact balance and finish, over 1,000 yards after contact during the playoff run Concerns: Receiving is the broken half of his game, five drops in 2025 on modest usage ... Route tree is still a stub with limited feel out of the backfield NFL Comparison: Arian Foster (Locked On NFL Draft podcast comp for build and three-down potential) Full scouting report for Kewan Lacy →---
3. Ahmad Hardy — Missouri
Consensus Rank: #40 overall | Projection: Second round | Measurables: 5'10", 210 lbsAhmad Hardy has rocketed up 2027 draft boards after arguably the best FBS running back season of 2025, and some evaluators have gone as far as comparing his prospect profile to Ashton Jeanty. A junior transfer from Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy detonated Eli Drinkwitz's offense at Missouri, finishing second nationally with 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns at a robust 6. 4 yards per carry on 256 carries across 13 games.
Strengths: Elite contact balance with exceptional lower-body drive to break initial tackles ... Prototypical 210-pound high-mass frame optimized for interior contact volume ... Proven SEC workhorse who translated Group of Five efficiency into 1649 yards and 16 TDs as a transfer Concerns: Recovering from May 2026 gunshot wound to upper leg requiring surgery with unclear return timeline ... Lower-body explosion and lateral burst response to rehab is the entire pre-draft question NFL Comparison: Ashton Jeanty (similar contact balance and finishing power in a compact frame) Full scouting report for Ahmad Hardy →---
4. Mark Fletcher Jr —
Miami
Consensus Rank: #78 overall | Projection: Day 2-3 Full scouting report for Mark Fletcher Jr →---
5. Isaac Brown — Louisville
Consensus Rank: #80 overall | Projection: Day 2 | Measurables: 5'9", 190 lbsPer-touch production was never the question with Isaac Brown. A Miami-area product out of Homestead and a three-star recruit, he rewrote the Louisville record book as a true freshman, becoming the first first-year player in program history to rush for over 1,000 yards and taking ACC Rookie of the Year honors in 2024. A leg injury against Virginia Tech cut his 2025 in half, but he still ran 100 times for 878 yards and seven touchdowns across nine games at 8.
Strengths: Averaged 8.8 yards a carry in 2025 with breakaway runs in half his games ... 201 yards on 14 carries against Boston College ... first true freshman in Louisville history to rush for 1,000 yards, and the 2024 ACC Rookie of the Year Concerns: Leg injury against Virginia Tech wiped out half his 2025 season and clouds the medical file ... smallest-frame profile in the room at 5-9, 190, so he is a space player not an inside grinder NFL Comparison: De'Von Achane home-run speed on a small frame Full scouting report for Isaac Brown →---
6. Nate Frazier —
Georgia
Consensus Rank: #80 overall | Projection: Day 2 | Measurables: 5-10, 210 lbsFrazier is the early headliner of the 2027 running back class, a Compton, CA product who arrived in Athens out of Mater Dei as a consensus four-star and one of the top backs nationally, and the track speed is real (a personal-best 10. 58 in the 100 meters as a high school junior). He grades as the top running back in the class, and scouts have floated him as a 2026 Heisman contender, so the buzz is legitimate.
Strengths: Track-verified long speed (10.58 100m) that turns creases into long touchdowns ... reaches top gear within two or three strides with sudden, clean acceleration ... true home-run threat who can score from any spot on the field Concerns: Ball security was a real problem with five fumbles across his first two college seasons ... still developing patience and the ability to set up second-level blocks NFL Comparison: J.K. Dobbins (explosive Big Ten back with three-down upside and durability questions) Full scouting report for Nate Frazier →---
7. Justice Haynes —
Georgia Tech
Consensus Rank: #115 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 5'11", 210 lbs, 4.49s 40Justice Haynes is a compact, explosive downhill runner and one of the most intriguing transfer journeys in recent college football history. The son of former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Verron Haynes, he arrived in college football as a 5-star recruit and one of the top running backs nationally in the 2023 class out of Buford High School in Georgia, where he amassed 7,574 career rushing yards and 95 touchdowns. After two seasons at Alabama in a crowded backfield, Haynes transferred to Michigan for the 2025 season and immediately became one of the most productive backs in the country, leading the Big Ten in rushing yards and recording six 100-yard games, the most in the FBS, before a foot injury requiring surgery cut his season short.
Strengths: Top-end breakaway speed that is rarely caught from behind in open space ... posted five-plus runs of 50 or more yards in six games at Michigan in 2025 ... compact, dense 5-foot-11 frame generates elite contact balance through traffic, routinely shedding arm tackles and maintaining momentum at the second level Concerns: Limited route tree as a receiver ... functions primarily on check-downs and shallow routes rather than as a downfield target, restricting third-down value NFL Comparison: Chase Brown - similar compact frame, home-run speed, early-down profile that must develop in the passing game to earn a full-time role Full scouting report for Justice Haynes →---
8. LJ Martin — BYU
Consensus Rank: #115 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'2", 225 lbs, 4.46s 40LJ Martin is a 6-foot-2, 225-pound downhill running back from BYU who has established himself as one of the more intriguing power-back prospects in the 2027 class. A four-star recruit out of Canutillo High School in El Paso, Texas, Martin arrived in Provo with over 6,100 career high school rushing yards and grew steadily from a limited true freshman role into the unquestioned feature back for the Cougars. In 2025, he posted 238 carries for 1,299 yards and 12 rushing touchdowns at 5.
Strengths: Yards after contact at 84th percentile among FBS qualifiers (893 yards, 3.75 per attempt in 2025) ... elite patience and vision in zone/gap schemes, deliberate pressing maximizes running lanes ... physical finisher who falls forward and breaks arm tackles consistently Concerns: Lacks elite top-end speed and closing burst ... pursuit angles catch him on designed home-run plays down the sideline NFL Comparison: Tyler Allgeier (shared BYU lineage, similar power-and-vision downhill style, mid-round value) Full scouting report for LJ Martin →---
9. Harlem Berry — LSU
Consensus Rank: #121 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 5'11", 190 lbs Full scouting report for Harlem Berry →---
10. Bo Jackson — Ohio State
Consensus Rank: #124 overall | Projection: Day 3 | Measurables: 6'0", 217 lbs Full scouting report for Bo Jackson →---