Guillotine Leagues™ Draft Strategy: Travis Etienne Highlights RB2 Targets For 2026

If there's one position where you don't want to be weak in Guillotine Leagues™, it's running back. And deciding when to select an RB2 can help you build a draft strategy that maximizes upside elsewhere without sacrificing the RB room.

Here are three RB2 targets for 2026 Guillotine Leagues™ at various price points, making them attainable for a number of early-round builds.

*Note that GuillotineLeagues.com allows you to create private leagues with up to 18 competitors—the bigger the league, the earlier you should draft these RB2s.

RB2 Targets For 2026 Guillotine Leagues™ Drafts

Travis Etienne | RB | NO

Guillotine Leagues™ ADP: 36.6

Fantasy managers have been slow to accept Travis Etienne as a legitimate RB1 for fantasy purposes, leaving his Guillotine Leagues™ ADP squarely in the mid-RB2 tier. That's great for those of us looking to lock down our RB2 at the 3-4 turn.

All Etienne has done since earning a full-time role is finish top-10 in two out of four seasons, including an overall RB3 finish just three years ago. At 27 years old, the former first-round pick is squarely in his prime and walking into potentially the best situation of his career. New Orleans guaranteed $28 million over the first two years of Etienne's four-year deal, making him the 11th-highest-paid running back in the league on a per-year basis.

Former star RB Alvin Kamara clearly declined last season, opening the door for a significant early-down workload for Etienne. Then Kamara went down with a sprained MCL, offering up the Saints' lucrative receiving role to a player well-versed in such endeavors. During Etienne's career year in 2023, the 5-foot-10, 215-pound back hauled in 58 of 73 targets for 476 yards en route to 16.6 PPR points per game. Last year, Jacksonville tossed Etienne a 10% target share, leading to six receiving scores and propping up a 14.9 PPR PPG season (RB14).

With Kamara out of the way, Etienne represents one of the more reliable every-down RB situations in the league as part of an ascending Saints offense.

D'Andre Swift | RB | Bears

Guillotine Leagues™ ADP: 43.8

D'Andre Swift has earned some fantasy love in recent weeks as drafters put aside their frustrations with the journeyman for a chance at a cheap share of Ben Johnson's high-octane offense.

Swift has never posted an RB1 finish through six seasons, but the 27-year-old has been remarkably consistent, posting PPR fantasy finishes between RB15 and RB21 every year of his career. He's managed to continue producing despite donning three different uniforms during this stretch.

Drafted with the third pick of the second round in 2020, Swift came into the league with massive hype as a three-down workhorse who excelled as a pass catcher. That has largely held true, and Detroit unleashed him through the air during his sophomore season to the tune of 62 catches on 78 targets for 452 yards. That was the first time Swift finished as the RB15, and he did the same thing last season on considerably less receiving volume (34 receptions for 299 yards).

Despite the emergence of rookie seventh-rounder Kyle Monangai last year, Swift maintained his roles as the short-yardage back and preferred pass catcher. Monangai was unlikely to siphon any additional work from Swift, and the second-year man is now week-to-week with a hyperextended knee. Swift could be looking at full-on, bell-cow status for Week 1, and Guillotine League managers who snag him at his current price tag will enjoy the workload that ensues.

David Montgomery | RB | Texans

Guillotine Leagues™ ADP: 39.4

Left for dead after superstar Jahmyr Gibbs dusted him last season, David Montgomery received a new lease on life with a trade to the Houston Texans. Prior to his disappointing RB27 finish last season, Monty posted RB17 and RB18 finishes in Detroit as part of the Lions' thunder-and-lightning/Sonic-and-Knuckles one-two punch.

At 29 years old, the clock is ticking for the 5-foot-11, 230-pound grinder, but Houston is an ideal landing spot for one final fantasy hurrah. Monty scored 25 touchdowns in 28 games for Detroit from 2023-24—few backs in the league could steal goal-line work from this guy. Passing-down back Woody Marks had every opportunity to prove himself as more than a third-down option for Houston last season but made little out of a significant workload as a rookie. There are talks that the team views Montgomery as a three-down back, suggesting a career-high in receiving work could be on the horizon.

Either way, the Texans are set to heavily utilize the ground game opposite one of the league's best defenses. It would be shocking if the team asks C.J. Stroud to be much more than a game manager after the former No. 2 overall pick's development plateaued in recent years. Houston also lost promising WR2 Jayden Higgins for the season after an ACL tear this week.

In Guillotine Leagues™, Montgomery is an excellent value as the 20th back off the board with a bankable early-season workload and plenty of season-long upside.

Players Mentioned in this Article

TravisEtienne
RBNO
PPG
14.1
Proj
203.0
D'AndreSwift
RBCHI
PPG
13.1
Proj
177.7
DavidMontgomery
RBHOU
PPG
8.9
Proj
180.8

Published Aug 23, 2026, 4:00 AM ET