It hasn’t been a smooth start to Rachaad White’s career. He went from being the new hotness to old news pretty quickly. Then, he stumbled back into the RB1 role and did enough to earn himself a spot in the Washington Commanders’ RB rotation. In a backfield that should be a pure meritocracy, does White actually possess the most upside for fantasy football?
Should You Draft Rachaad White in Fantasy Football?
White came on slowly as a rookie playing behind Leonard Fournette in Tampa Bay. However, by the end of the season, he carved out a nice role in that backfield.
It was 2023 when White…shined? I’m not sure how to properly phrase it. He was awesome for fantasy and one of the best picks you could’ve made, posting 15.8 fantasy points per game and finishing as an RB1. But it wasn’t pretty.
White served as the Bucs’ lead back because they didn’t have a choice. His 75.3% opportunity share was seventh in the league. He only averaged 3.6 yards per carry and had just six rushes of 15+ yards all season. But volume is king and White volumed his way to an RB1 season.
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In 2024, White opened the season as the clear lead back, but his efficiency issues quickly grew stale. Rookie Bucky Irving quickly took his job, resulting in White regressing to 12.5 PPG. Ironically, he was actually a more efficient runner, posting a career best 4.3 yards per carry.
Last season, White was an afterthought in fantasy drafts with Irving as the clear bellcow. But as fate would have it, Irving hurt his foot and shoulder four weeks into the season, which thrust White back into the RB1 role. He once again volumed his way to productive weeks.
In total, White posted 8.4 PPG last season, which was still a positive return on investment relative to where he was drafted due to his performance in the games Irving missed.
As critical as I’ve been of White, he does have one thing he is very good at: pass catching. White is one of the best receiving backs in the league. For some reason, his ability to make defenders miss is buffed when the ball is thrown to him as opposed to handed off. I can’t explain it, but the numbers don’t lie.
After playing out his rookie contract and seeing how he was used in Tampa Bay, White chose to move on. He saw Washington as a location where he could potentially be the RB1. With his primary competition a 2025 seventh-round pick and a rookie Day 3 back, could White end up seeing the majority of the touches in 2026?
White’s Redraft Fantasy Football Value
There is nothing exciting about White or the way he accumulates fantasy points. He’s never going to rip off a 50-yard touchdown or score points in chunks. He is the fantasy running back version of death by 1,000 cuts.
I think the Commanders want Jacory Croskey-Merritt to be their lead runner, with White playing the role he did behind Irving in 2024. In a perfect world, it’s JCM on early downs and the goal line with White on passing downs.
If it plays out like that, I still think White could return value at his RB38 ADP. The Commanders don’t really have a clear second option in the passing game behind Terry McLaurin. White has a 64-reception season on his resume already. He could definitely catch 50+ balls this year.
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Now for the upside case. We saw last season that Croskey-Merritt couldn’t run away with the RB1 job when it was handed to him. It got so bad that Chris Rodriguez actually took the job. Were it not for a flukey Week 17 illness that gave JCM another chance, we may not even be talking about the sophomore back as anyone of note this year at all.
What if JCM struggles again? White is a known commodity and certainly more trusted than Kaytron Allen should Croskey-Merritt falter. If he doesn’t progress, it would not be the least bit surprising if White found himself handling 15+ opportunities per game.
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I am very bullish on the Commanders bouncing back this season with presumably a healthy McLaurin and Jayden Daniels. A 250-touch season for White would make him a screaming value at an RB3 price tag.
I have White ranked as my RB34. He’s not exciting, but he is someone I am aggressively targeting this season as long as his price remains this low. He is the perfect RB3 or even RB4 on robust running back teams that possesses the ideal combination of floor and upside.
White’s Dynasty Fantasy Football Value
As interested as I am in White this year, dynasty is a different story. 2026 feels like a perfect confluence of events that could mirror 2023, when White’s team had no choice but to feed him touches. We know it’s not Washington’s ideal plan, just like it wasn’t Tampa Bay’s plan back then. Thus, it stands to reason that regardless of how this year plays out, White won’t enter the 2027 season in a prominent role.
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White will be 28 years old by the end of this season. He’s currently on a one-year contract that isn’t all that lucrative. Chances are he will be with a different team in 2027 and, at best, he’ll be signed to play the same passing-down role the Commanders hope they only need him to play.
Due to the long-term concerns, White is down at RB53 in our consensus dynasty rankings. If I’m correct about White overperforming this season, it should create a selling opportunity either during this year for rebuilding teams or after the season for contending teams.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.