Top-10 Handcuff Running Back Rankings For The Fantasy Playoffs
Stash Handcuff Running Backs For The Fantasy Playoffs
There is a right way and wrong way to construct your bench for the fantasy playoffs. On last week’s episode of Title Run where I talked about how to build a strong starting lineup for the stretch run, I said that depth is the most overrated thing in fantasy football. And that is 100% true. But that doesn’t mean you should be neglecting your bench.
What I mean by saying depth is overrated, is that I don’t need or want “backup” quarterbacks or “backup” wide receivers, or “backup” tight ends on my roster. I have no use for that outside of super deep leagues or leagues that don’t have a waiver wire. However, there is absolutely value to be had by constructing a strong bench. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Rather than stashing players that are so easily replaceable on the waiver wire, I want handcuff running backs. I want the guys with contingent upside.
That’s why, once we get to the second half of the fantasy football season, I am completely shedding these fringe players. I’m talking guys like Xavier Leggette, Jalen McMillan, Keenan Allen, Tyler Lockett, Dalton Schultz, Pat Freiermuth, Aaron Rodgers, etc. Guys I’m not starting, I have no plans to ever start, and if I ran into a situation where I needed to start someone like that, I can easily find an equal value on the waiver wire for free. There is ZERO upside in keeping a Tyler Lockett on my bench. There are 30 Tyler Locketts available on the waiver wire in almost every league. So instead, I am dropping the Tyler Locketts of the world and filling my bench with as many handcuff running backs as I can find.
And you might say: “Well, I can’t start any of these handcuff running backs right now, so why would I keep them on my roster?” Say, Blake Corum for example. Blake Corum has absolutely zero value to any starting lineup right now. But what happens if Kyren Williams were to sustain an injury? All of a sudden, Blake Corum is the waiver wire add of the week. Everyone in your league is running to the wire to bid on him. Essentially, whoever has the most FAAB left is going to get him. He’d be a 100% FAAB guy. He’d be a full-blown bell-cow in an offense that puts a lot on the plate of its top running back, and provides a ton of touchdown opportunities.
Blake Corum would be the league winner of all league winners. Tyler Lockett, on the other hand, is always going to be Tyler Lockett. He gives us zero contingent upside whatsoever. You’ll never win your league because Tyler Lockett was there to save the day. Even if you lose one of your starting wide receivers and need to plug in Tyler Lockett for 12 points. Great, but I can find 12 points on the waiver wire 8 days a week for free. Just look at Nick Westbrook-Ikhine or Marquez Valdes-Scantling last week, for example. Or Jerry Jeudy. Or Elijah Moore. These are just a few examples of how easy it is to find usable weeks from wide receivers on the waiver wire.
And when I talk about handcuff running backs, I don’t just mean the handcuffs to the running backs on your roster. I’m talking about all handcuffs. I don’t need to roster Kyren Williams to benefit from Blake Corum. I don’t need to roster James Conner to benefit from Trey Benson. We’ve already seen this strategy pay off in such a huge way this season. Look at Tyrone Tracy, for example. He was either stashed or picked up off the waiver wire when Devin Singletary went down. Now he’s winning people leagues. Jordan Mason same thing. Sure, he’s back to the bench now, but he was winning weeks for teams for 2 months when he was the guy with Christian McCaffrey out.
Some handcuff running back is going to step forward and be the reason why someone wins your league this year. I promise you that. So why wait and hope that you can get that guy off your waiver wire? Stash as many of them as you can now, so you’re ready for when that time comes. Because that time will come.
Losers are reactive, champions are proactive.
Top-10 Handcuff Running Backs
These are the priority stashes with the greatest upside. One of these guys could end up being the reason you win your fantasy championship.
10. Braelon Allen
- Handcuff to Breece Hall
- Would be higher if the Jets offense wasn’t so dysfunctional
- Flashed some upside early in the season
- Would be the bell-cow if Hall were to go down (15-20 touches per game)
- Doesn’t have the receiving upside that Hall does, but is a serviceable receiver out of the backfield
- Big-bodied back who would do well at the goal line
- Would be a weekly top-24 RB
- NYJ have the second-easiest schedule for RBs during the fantasy playoffs:
- JAC
- LAR
- BUF
9. Jonathon Brooks
- Jonathon Brooks is set to make his NFL debut in Week 12
- But it will not be the debut many had anticipated
- Chuba Hubbard has a stranglehold on the RB1 job in Carolina
- So that makes Brooks the backup and one of the handcuffs we need to stash
- Brooks has an all-purpose skill set
- and he was very productive in his one season as the starter at Texas (before the ACL injury)
- He’s ultra talented and would be higher on this list if it weren’t for the injury and the bad offense
- Fantasy playoffs schedule:
- DAL
- ARI
- TB
8. Kareem Hunt
- Kareem Hunt will revert back to the bench with Isiah Pacheco returning in Week 12
- Hunt may maintain a split for a couple weeks, but by the fantasy playoffs he’ll be a pure handcuff
- We couldn’t ask for much more from a handcuff RB:
- RB16 in PPG (15.2)
- Finished inside the top-24 RBs 5 times in 7 games
- He’s been inefficient, not explosive, and somewhat TD dependent
- Otherwise he’s be higher on the list
7. Zach Charbonnet
- We got to see Charbonnet with Kenneth Walker out earlier in the season
- He assumed a full bell-cow role
- Weeks 2 & 3:
- 91.4% of the snaps
- 16 carries/game
- 4.5 targets/game
- 5 RZ carries
- 3 TDs
- Scored as the RB8 and RB7 (21.8 PPG)
- He’s a big back with an all-purpose skill set
- In a quality offense that produces a lot of RB touchdowns
6. Trey Benson
- Trey Benson is a 216 lb RB with 4.39 speed and an all-purpose skill set
- He’s an aggressive runner who doesn’t go down easy
- And is a big-play waiting to happen
- James Conner is a ticking time bomb
- Never stayed healthy for a full season (only played more than 13 games once in his career)
- In the case of a Conner injury, Benson would immediately slide in as the no. 1 RB in ARI
- Weekly RB2 in fantasy football with RB1 upside
- He would take the lion’s share of the carries and red zone work while Emari Demercado maintains his two-minute and passing downs role
- ARI has the 3rd easiest fantasy playoffs schedule for RBs:
- NE
- CAR
- LAR
5. Jordan Mason
- Mason would be No. 1 on this list if it weren’t for the emergence of Isaac Guerendo
- Unfortunately, Guerendo has muddied the Christian McCaffrey contingency plan
- I still think it would favor Mason, but it’s more likely to be a split than the bell-cow situation that we saw in the first 9 weeks
- Still, Mason was highly productive in place of CMC:
- He was RB10 in PPG Weeks 1-7 (before the shoulder injuries)
- 14.5 PPG
- 18 carries/gm
- 107.6 total yards/gm
- Top-10 in
- Yards Per Touch
- Evaded tackles/touch
- Runs of 15+ yards
4. Roschon Johnson
- Thomas Brown is a Roschon Johnson truther
- When Brown took over playcalling in Wk11:
- Roschon Johnson played a season-high 42% of the snaps
- Carries the ball 10 times
- When Brown took over playcalling in Wk11:
- Johnson has been a favorite of mine since he came out of Texas last year
- 220 lb RB who is elite in pass protection and can catch passes (what’s not to love about that!?)
- If Swift were to go down, Johnson would be a full-blown bell-cow who would get all the:
- Between the tackles work
- Red zone work
- And passing downs work
- He’d be doing what Chase Brown is doing right now in CIN
3. Tyler Allgeier
- Allgeier is a really good running back
- That’s why there have been moments this season where it’s been frustrating how much he’s been on the field vs Bijan
- We saw in 2022 (pre-Bijan):
- Allegeier averaged about 5 yards per carry
- On 210 carries
- 1,000+ yards
- He would be the bell-cow in the case of a Bijan injury
- Weekly top-12 fantasy RB
- ATL has the 5th easiest schedule for RBs during the fantasy playoffs:
- LV
- NYG
- WAS
- Allgeier would be a league-winner
2. Blake Corum
- Blake Corum was my no. 2 handcuff RB coming into the season
- He still maintains the same massive upside that he did then
- If anything happens to Blake Corum, he would be the league winner of all league winners
- And Kyren Williams is a major injury risk
- He’s 195 lbs
- He’s gotten a massive workload for two-straight seasons
- There are weeks where he has taken 99% of the snaps!
- If Williams goes down,
- Blake Corum becomes the full-blown bell-cow in the Rams offense
- He would assume the full Kyren Williams role
- We know Sean McVay prefers to ride one RB
- That has continued this year:
- Multiple times the TV broadcasters have told us McVay has said to them that he wants to mix Corum in more
- But McVay can’t help himself and has continued to force feed touches to his RB1
- That would be Corum if he became the guy
- And Corum can handle the workload (he did it at Michigan)
- He’s also bigger, stronger, and more explosive than Kyren Williams so he may even be more productive (and less TD dependent)
1. Ray Davis
- We’ve seen it already with Ray Davis:
- When James Cook missed Week 6 vs NYJ:
- Davis took 20 carries
- Caught 3 passes
- 152 total yards
- 18.2 fantasy points
- That was without a touchdown (Cook has scored 11, so there are plenty of RB TDs available in this offense)
- And Davis is an exceptional receiver out of the backfield, so I’d expect a significant role in that area as well
- Ty Johnson would maintain his current role (as we saw in Wk6)
- Davis would be a weekly top-12 RB with league-winner upside
The Full List of Handcuff Stashes
- Ray Davis
- Blake Corum
- Tyler Allgeier
- Roschon Johnson
- Jordan Mason
- Trey Benson
- Zach Charbonnet
- Kareem Hunt
- Jonathon Brooks
- Braelon Allen
- Jaylen Wright
- Dameon Pierce
- Tank Bigsby
- Isaac Guerendo
- Keaton Mitchell
- Cam Akers
- Kenneth Gainwell
- Khalil Herbert
- Gus Edwards
- Tyjae Spears
More than a handcuff:
- Bucky Irving
- Jaylen Warren
- Raheem Mostert
- Justice Hill
RANKINGS | WEEKLY | DYNASTY | ROS
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