Dylan Sampson barely registered in fantasy football as a rookie, finishing with a forgettable 5.8 points per game. Look beneath that quiet stat line, though, and you will find one of the most efficient young backs in the entire league.
His draft price has not come close to catching up with what the analytics say about him. Should fantasy managers be scooping up Sampson in 2026?
Should You Draft Dylan Sampson in Fantasy Football?
Sampson entered the league as a fourth-round pick out of Tennessee in 2025, though his college résumé was far more impressive than that draft slot implies. He won SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2024 after rushing for 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns. That is elite production against the best competition college football has to offer.
On the surface, his rookie numbers were ugly. Sampson averaged a miserable 2.7 yards per carry and never found the end zone on the ground. The context changes everything, however. Cleveland fielded one of the worst offensive lines in the sport last season, and no running back was going to look good operating behind it.
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What Sampson accomplished in spite of that environment is the real story. He led every running back in the league in yards per route run at 2.02. Sampson also paced the entire NFL in yards created per touch at 4.87. Those are not the numbers of a replaceable rotational piece. They are the fingerprints of a legitimately talented back who happened to be underused in a broken offense.
The receiving ability is his true separator. Sampson hauled in 33 passes as a rookie on an 8.7% target share and looked completely natural as a weapon out of the backfield. A back who can create on his own and win as a receiver has a very clear path to fantasy relevance.
Sampson’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
The opportunity in front of Sampson is better than his ADP indicates. He enters 2026 as the clear No. 2 back behind Quinshon Judkins, and the passing-down role is wide open. Cleveland let veteran Jerome Ford walk in free agency and did not draft a running back, leaving the third-down job there for Sampson to seize.
Everything about the situation fits his skill set. New head coach Todd Monken has a track record of featuring pass-catching backs, dating back to his run as the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive coordinator. The Browns also project to trail in a lot of games with a shaky quarterback room and a roster still early in a rebuild. Negative game scripts funnel work to the passing-down back. Sampson’s 8.7% target share from a year ago should climb as a result.
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Here is where the value becomes obvious. Standalone RB3 production is a realistic outcome at an RB54 ADP, which is already a bargain. The ceiling is what makes it exciting. Judkins is coming off a dislocated ankle and a fractured fibula, and he averaged just 3.6 yards per carry as a rookie. Should anything happen to him, Sampson steps into weekly RB2 territory in a hurry.
I genuinely do not understand why the market is this low on Sampson. My ranking has him at RB44, comfortably ahead of his ADP, and I would happily draft him even higher. A cheap back with a functional floor and a legitimate spike ceiling is exactly the kind of dart worth throwing every single time.
MORE: 2026 Controversial Fantasy Football Running Back Depth Charts: Who To Draft In These Confusing Rooms
Preseason Fantasy RB Rankings
- Bijan Robinson | ATL
- Jahmyr Gibbs | DET
- James Cook III | BUF
- Jonathan Taylor | IND
- Ashton Jeanty | LV
- Christian McCaffrey | SF
- Saquon Barkley | PHI
- Chase Brown | CIN
- De’Von Achane | MIA
- Derrick Henry | BAL
- Kenneth Walker III | KC
- Jeremiyah Love | ARI
- Omarion Hampton | LAC
- Javonte Williams | DAL
- Breece Hall | NYJ
- Kyren Williams | LAR
- D’Andre Swift | CHI
- Travis Etienne Jr. | NO
- Josh Jacobs | GB
- Cam Skattebo | NYG
- David Montgomery | HOU
- Bhayshul Tuten | JAX
- TreVeyon Henderson | NE
- Quinshon Judkins | CLE
- Jaylen Warren | PIT
- Bucky Irving | TB
- Jadarian Price | SEA
- Rhamondre Stevenson | NE
- Chuba Hubbard | CAR
- Kenny Gainwell | TB
- Tony Pollard | TEN
- Jordan Mason | MIN
- Rico Dowdle | PIT
- Jacory Croskey-Merritt | WAS
- Blake Corum | LAR
- RJ Harvey | DEN
- Kyle Monangai | CHI
- Rachaad White | WAS
- Chris Rodriguez Jr. | JAX
- Zach Charbonnet | SEA
- Aaron Jones Sr. | MIN
- Jonathon Brooks | CAR
- J.K. Dobbins | DEN
- Tyler Allgeier | ARI
- Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG
- Isiah Pacheco | DET
- Woody Marks | HOU
- Tyjae Spears | TEN
- Nick Singleton | TEN
- Brian Robinson Jr. | ATL
