2026
2026 season · RB · #43 · 1st season
CJ Donaldson
Age 22 · 6'1" · 230 lb · Ohio State; West Virginia · Undrafted (2026). Listed RB3 on the 3WR 1TE depth chart. Snap share 26% across 7 games.
- How goodDonaldson has -4.1 EPA on 23 touches; percentiles arrive once he reaches 30 touches.
- Where it comes fromThe biggest share comes after the catch (+1.0).
- Fantasy1.0 standard points a game, RB82 of 107.1.3 half-PPR points a game, RB81 of 107.1.6 PPR points a game, RB81 of 107.
- How he's usedCJ gets a fingerprint once he reaches 30 touches; the bars show his shares so far without a league percentile.
- LatelyTouches are steady: 4 a game over his last three against 3.3 for the season.
- This weekWeek 8 is the bye.
How good is hehis line against the league at his position
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yards per carry | 4.8 | |||
| Rush EPA per carry | -0.13 | |||
| EPA per targetreceiving, 5+ targets | -0.31 | |||
| Broken tacklesper touch | 0% | |||
| Explosive rate10+ run, 20+ catch per touch | 9% |
| Stat | Value | Rank | League | Pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touches per game | 3.3 | |||
| Receiving sharetargets per touch | 26% | |||
| Yards per touch | 4.0 | |||
| Success rate | 43% | |||
| Total EPA | -4.1 |
Graded once he reaches 30 touches. 70 backs qualify so far.
Donaldson scores 1.0 standard points a game, RB82 of 107 RBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.2 and 2.0; 0 boom weeks (12+) and 7 busts (under 5). Next up, in Week 9, the Browns allow the 16th-most standard points to RBs, 17.6 a game.
Donaldson scores 1.3 half-PPR points a game, RB81 of 107 RBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.3 and 2.4; 0 boom weeks (16+) and 7 busts (under 6.5). Next up, in Week 9, the Browns allow the 16th-fewest half-PPR points to RBs, 19.3 a game.
Donaldson scores 1.6 PPR points a game, RB81 of 107 RBs with enough games. Most weeks land between 0.3 and 2.8; 0 boom weeks (20+) and 7 busts (under 8). Next up, in Week 9, the Browns allow the 16th-fewest PPR points to RBs, 21.1 a game.
How this is measured
Fantasy points are nflverse's standard and full-PPR scoring (6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown, 4 for a passing touchdown, minus 2 for an interception or a lost fumble); half PPR is the average of the two. Ranks are points a game among players at his position with at least half the most games played. Most weeks is his 20th to 80th percentile game. Bars are green on a boom week and red on a bust; the dashed line is the starter line, the points a game of the RB24 in a 12-team league. The format you pick is remembered on this device.
How he's usedhis fingerprint, where the ball finds him and when
CJ gets a fingerprint once he reaches 30 touches; the bars show his shares so far without a league percentile.
How this is measured
Every trait is a share of his own touches, so volume does not move it. The marker is him among the league's qualifying backs; the dashed line is the median. Styles are not grades: a high or low percentile is a description, not a verdict. Play action, screen, RPO, motion and blitz flags come from FTN charting and read low in a week it has not published.
Donaldson has -4.1 EPA on 23 touches; percentiles arrive once he reaches 30 touches. The biggest share comes after the catch (+1.0).
How this is measured
Every carry and target this season, split by what happened. Catches divide at the catch: the yards in the air and what came after. Runs are per carry, the receiving parts per target. The percentile is him among the qualifying backs, higher is better, so a cost smaller than most ranks high. The parts add up to the totals above; the career strip counts seasons with at least 30 touches.
On the field
By depth of target
Who he works withthe connection, and the rest of the huddle
By depth
Week by weekthe shape of his season, the game log and the defenses behind it
The game
vs BrownsCaesars Superdome
NO −2.5 · O/U 43.5
His history
First meeting this season
His status
Week 8 is the bye. A soft matchup: the Browns rank 27th vs the run, allowing -0.02 EPA per designed carry. He has averaged 5 yards a game against bottom-10 defenses this season.
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Snap | Car | Yds | TD | Tgt | Rec | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at DET L 30-3112th D | 12th vs the run | 17% | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | -0.4 | |
| 2 | at BAL W 24-1722nd D | 22nd vs the run | 29% | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +0.4 | |
| 3 | vs LV L 27-3524th D | 24th vs the run | 16% | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | +0.5 | |
| 4 | vs ATL L 24-4514th D | 14th vs the run | 38% | 3 | 18 | 2 | 2 | +0.3 | |
| 5 | vs MIN L 13-2310th D | 10th vs the run | 42% | 4 | 13 | 1 | 1 | -2.3 | |
| 6 | at NYG W 34-2721st D | 21st vs the run | 33% | 6 | 39 | 1 | 0 | -2.6 | |
| 7 | vs PIT L 10-165th D | 5th vs the run | 7% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | |
| 8 | Bye week | ||||||||
| 9 | vs CLESun Nov 8 · next up | ||||||||
| 10 | vs CARSun Nov 15 | ||||||||
| 11 | at CHISun Nov 22 | ||||||||
| 12 | at CINSun Nov 29 | ||||||||
| 13 | vs GBSun Dec 6 | ||||||||
| 14 | at CARSun Dec 13 | ||||||||
| 15 | at TBSun Dec 20 | ||||||||
| 16 | vs ARISun Dec 27 | ||||||||
| 17 | at ATLSun Jan 3 | ||||||||
| 18 | vs TBSun Jan 10 | ||||||||
| 7 games | 26% | 17 | 81 | 0 | 6 | 4 | -4.1 |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | YPC | EPA/car | EPA/tgt | 10+ | Brk tkl | Snap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at DET L 30-3112th D | 12th vs the run | 2.0 | +0.46 | -0.64 | 17% | ||
| 2 | at BAL W 24-1722nd D | 22nd vs the run | 2.0 | +0.36 | - | 29% | ||
| 3 | vs LV L 27-3524th D | 24th vs the run | 5.0 | +0.46 | - | 16% | ||
| 4 | vs ATL L 24-4514th D | 14th vs the run | 6.0 | +0.22 | -0.19 | 38% | ||
| 5 | vs MIN L 13-2310th D | 10th vs the run | 3.3 | -0.59 | +0.08 | 42% | ||
| 6 | at NYG W 34-2721st D | 21st vs the run | 6.5 | -0.38 | -0.30 | 2 | 33% | |
| 7 | vs PIT L 10-165th D | 5th vs the run | - | - | - | 7% | ||
| 8 | Bye week | |||||||
| 9 | vs CLESun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | vs CARSun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | at CHISun Nov 22 | |||||||
| 12 | at CINSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | vs GBSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at CARSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | at TBSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | vs ARISun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | at ATLSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | vs TBSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 7 games | 4.8 | -0.13 | -0.31 | 2 | 26% |
| Wk | Opponent | Defense | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Rec | Rec yds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at DET L 30-3112th D | 12th vs the run | 2 | 4 | 2.0 | 1 | -2 | |
| 2 | at BAL W 24-1722nd D | 22nd vs the run | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | vs LV L 27-3524th D | 24th vs the run | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | vs ATL L 24-4514th D | 14th vs the run | 3 | 18 | 6.0 | 2 | 5 | |
| 5 | vs MIN L 13-2310th D | 10th vs the run | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 1 | 7 | |
| 6 | at NYG W 34-2721st D | 21st vs the run | 6 | 39 | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | |
| 7 | vs PIT L 10-165th D | 5th vs the run | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Bye week | |||||||
| 9 | vs CLESun Nov 8 · next up | |||||||
| 10 | vs CARSun Nov 15 | |||||||
| 11 | at CHISun Nov 22 | |||||||
| 12 | at CINSun Nov 29 | |||||||
| 13 | vs GBSun Dec 6 | |||||||
| 14 | at CARSun Dec 13 | |||||||
| 15 | at TBSun Dec 20 | |||||||
| 16 | vs ARISun Dec 27 | |||||||
| 17 | at ATLSun Jan 3 | |||||||
| 18 | vs TBSun Jan 10 | |||||||
| 7 games | 17 | 81 | 4.8 | 0 | 4 | 10 |
Touches are steady: 4 a game over his last three against 3.3 for the season. 7 straight games below a starter's median in touches. Week 7 was his season low in yards. EPA / touch is falling too: -0.40 over the last three.
How this is measured
Bars are his week. The shaded band is the league's middle half at his position, every qualifying player-game this season, and the dashed line is its median. The solid line is his trailing three games. An × on the baseline is a game his team played without him; a dotted tick is the bye.
He has faced the 13th-toughest slate vs the run: his opponents rank 15.4 of 32 on average (league middle 16.6). Ahead: 3 of his next 10 are top-10 vs the run and 3 are bottom-10, starting with the Browns (27th) in Week 9.
The slate · played solid, ahead dashed
His line by defense faced
| Defenses | G | Touches/g | Yds/g | EPA/touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ranked 1 to 10Top-10 defenses | 2 | 2.5 | 10 | -0.46 |
| 11 to 22Middle | 4 | 4.3 | 17 | -0.14 |
| 23 to 32Bottom-10 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | +0.46 |
| All games | 7 | 3.3 | 13 | -0.18 |
Yards against the rank of the defense
His production barely moves with the opponent (r = 0.20); it has traveled.
Careerseason by season, back to his rookie year
First season: 6 games in, 91 scrimmage yards, a 17-game pace of 258.
| Season | Team | G | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Tgt | Rec | Rec yds | EPA/touch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | NO | 6 | 17 | 81 | 4.8 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 10 | -0.18 |
| Career | 1 tm | 6 | 17 | 81 | 4.8 | 0 | 6 | 4 | 10 | -0.18 |
How this is measured
Regular season only, from nflverse weekly stats back to 1999. This season is partial and drawn hollow; the pace is his per-game rate over 17 games. Bold cells are career highs.
Intel & playsthe report, his best snaps, his teammates
- Depth chart
- RB3 · 3WR 1TE
- Injury report
- Shoulder, full participation in practice
- Red zone touches
- …
- Third down
- …
- Explosive plays
- …
- Drops
- 1 on 6 targets
- Broken tackles
- 0
- Passer rating when targeted
- 67.7
- Play action
- …
- Contested
- …
| Player | Touches | Yds | EPA |
|---|---|---|---|
 Chris OlaveWR | 71 | 636 · 2 TD | +37.5 |
 Kendre MillerRB | 70 | 196 · 2 TD | -20.4 |
 Alvin KamaraRB | 68 | 258 · 3 TD | -6.6 |
 Devaughn VeleWR | 48 | 348 · 3 TD | +22.1 |
 Travis EtienneRB | 43 | 179 | -0.6 |
 Juwan JohnsonTE | 37 | 255 · 3 TD | +7.5 |
 Tyler ShoughQB | 24 | 111 · 2 TD | +8.0 |
 Bryce LanceWR | 22 | 78 · 1 TD | -13.1 |