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As we get closer to the start of training camps, NFL teams will continue their ongoing voluntary OTA sessions, capping their offseason programs with mandatory minicamps. While we watch for developments from the ongoing work, I'll be resetting some important battles heading into the summer. Last week, it was Quarterback Battles, Real and Imagined.
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This week, we've been exploring ambiguous backfields to better prepare for our inevitable exposure to them. Today, we'll look at some slightly less ambiguous but still split backfields.
Williams and the Corum Conundrum
The backfield split between Kyren Williams and Blake Corum was a classic "1A and 1B" dynamic last season.
Mostly.
While Williams remained the primary starter and a heavy red-zone weapon, Corum maintained a highly active, consistent role that turned this into a true committee by the end of the year.
In a Week 13 loss to the Panthers, the Rams' running backs combined for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries.
Corum ran for a then-career-high 81 yards and a touchdown on just seven carries, averaging a whopping 11.6 yards per attempt. Meanwhile, Williams, who missed some time with an ankle issue, took 13 carries for 72 yards and a score.
A week later, Corum had a massive breakout against Arizona, where he rushed 12 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
While the big weeks caught our attention, the Rams aimed for a 65-35 split between the two last season.
And that's exactly how the season played out, with Williams getting 259 carries to Corum's 145.
But Williams was trusted with 84.8 percent of the running back receptions (39 catches), completely freezing Corum out of the aerial attack for most of the year, as Corum caught just seven passes.
So, while Williams saw a drop-off in carries per game between 2024 and 2025, he's still the featured tailback. Corum remains a limiting factor.
Are we drafting them right?
Williams, whose Footballguys projection calls for an RB16 finish, is being drafted as RB15 in Round 3. Even in an offense that runs through Matthew Stafford and the passing attack, Williams remains a locked-in starter in all formats.
Corum's Average Draft Position (ADP) is further ahead of his projection. He's being drafted as RB35 in Round 8. While that seems optimistic, the players going after him don't inspire greater confidence, and it's well off his RB41 projection.
A Strong Tandem With a Clear Leader
In 2025, D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai formed one of the league's best running back duos.
It's not a huge surprise.
As Bleacher Report's Moe Moton reminded readers, dating back to his time as the Lions' offensive coordinator, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson has a track record of fielding highly productive ground attacks.
Swift and Monangai will be a dynamic pair again in 2026.
They rushed for 1,870 yards and 14 touchdowns combined last season. Moton believes the Bears' running back tandem could eclipse 2,000 rushing yards this year.
But will the fantasy values change?
Swift found the end zone 10 times and finished as RB14 overall (and 17th in fantasy points per game). The upside is that Swift can produce even more in Johnson's offense than he showed last season. He caught a career-low 34 passes for 299 yards and a touchdown, and when playing for Johnson in 2021, he put up 452 yards and two touchdowns on 62 catches. The Lions targeted him 78 times that season.
ESPN's Mike Clay notes that Monangai was limited to 7.7 fantasy points during the 16 weeks Swift also played, but he showed his insurance value with a 29-touch, 198-yard effort in the one game Swift was sidelined (Week 9).
Are we drafting them right?
Swift continues to play at a high level (he averaged 4.87 yards per carry last season), but Clay believes his role figures to limit him to low-ceiling RB2/flex production. His Footballguys projection is RB21. His ADP is RB23. The fourth-round price tag feels right to me.
Monangai could see a slight boost in usage this season, but that usage and production will be limited as long as Swift is also healthy. Still, the second-year man is currently being drafted as RB32, just ahead of Seattle rookie Jadarian Price and Denver's J.K. Dobbins, both presumptive starters for their teams.
That's rich based on the anticipated role, although Monangai's contingent upside is great.
In Bucky We Trust, But Should We?
In Tampa Bay, Bucky Irving missed seven straight games last season with ankle and shoulder injuries -- Weeks 5 through 12.
He came back in Week 13 and finished with six straight games and five straight starts.
But he wasn't right.
The ankle healed before the shoulder did. Per JoeBucsFan.com, Irving had offseason surgery to repair the shoulder, although the recovery isn't expected to meaningfully impact his offseason prep.
After 1,122 rushing yards as a rookie at 5.4 yards a pop, Irving dropped to 588 yards on 3.4 yards per carry in 2025. The injury explains a lot of that.
But there are changes.
Rachaad White is in Washington. Sean Tucker returns on a restricted tender. Free-agent Kenneth Gainwell joins after an impressive season in Pittsburgh.
And there's a new offensive coordinator.
Incoming playcaller Zac Robinson came from Atlanta, where Tyler Allgeier mixed in behind Bijan Robinson -- to the chagrin of fantasy managers everywhere. As Footballguy Jeff Bell recently noted, Robinson also leans heavily on his backs in the passing game. Atlanta's running backs drew a 23 percent target share last year, fourth in the NFL.
Irving and Gainwell are both excellent receivers.
In 2025, Irving averaged 14.0 fantasy points per game (RB18). Gainwell averaged 13.1 (RB21).
Are we drafting them right?
Irving is being drafted as RB18 in early Round 4. Gainwell is RB36 going in Round 8. The market has Irving pegged. His ADP reflects last year's points-per-game finish and his 2026 Footballguys projection.
The outlook for Gainwell seems a bit optimistic (White finished last year as RB41 on a points-per-game basis). That said, the pass-game overlap is real, and Gainwell's 73-catch output as a Steeler last year surprised us all.