The RB Handcuff, a very interesting fantasy player that has perceived value were anything to go wrong with the player that is ahead of them. We have seen backs explode when given the opportunity and prove that they were a talented option that was buried on a depth chart and we have seen RBs that are nothing special get a ton of work and produce for fantasy. It is tough to determine who a handcuff truly is especially in today’s NFL. Teams are using more than 1 back on a regular basis now and the true workhorse back is a rarity which is why they are so valuable in drafts. There are a ton of factors going into what makes a handcuff so I am going to run through the list of players that I do not think fully qualify. Handcuffs are players that will see a massive workload increase in the RB in front of them were to go down. They are also players that do not have a ton, if any, standalone value weekly as long as the starter is on the field. I will run through the list of names that are not Handcuffs in my personal opinion first and then I will go through and rank the 14 RB’s that I see as true handcuffs giving you a quick reason why on each. Let’s get started!

Players who do not Qualify as Handcuffs:

Let’s go through the list of players that I have as non-qualifying handcuffs. These players have a semblance of weekly starting value and a lot of them are being taken in the middle rounds of drafts so in my opinion they do not truly qualify. They could also be parts of committees and may not get a massive workload increase if the player ahead of them were to go down. A lot of these players are also the pass catching specialists on their teams and as we saw last year with a player like Austin Ekeler, they may not get the bulk of the carries and fulfill a similar role to what they already had. Let’s run through the list in no particular order.

Frank Gore Buffalo Bills

Kalen Ballage Miami Dolphins

James White New England Patriots

Justice Hill Baltimore Ravens

Giovanni Bernard Cincinnati Bengals

Duke Johnson Cleveland Browns

Jaylen Samuels Pittsburgh Steelers

D’Onta Foreman Houston Texans

Nyheim Hines Indianapolis Colts

Dion Lewis Tennessee Titans

Royce Freeman Denver Broncos

Austin Ekeler Los Angeles Chargers

Jalen Richard Oakland Raiders

Miles Sanders Philadelphia Eagles

Adrian Peterson and Darrius Guice Washington Redskins

Tarik Cohen Chicago Bears

Latavius Murray New Orleans Saints

Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Darrell Henderson Los Angeles Rams

Rashaad Penny Seattle Seahawks

Matt Breida and Jerick McKinnon San Francisco 49ers

All of these players have one of the following factors or more attached to them making them roster depth pieces rather than handcuffs for big name players. They either have weekly standalone fantasy value, the potential to take the majority of carries from the current starter, a pass catching role that presents weekly fantasy flexibility, or they are in to crowded of a backfield to be considered a true handcuff option. With that out of the way lets get into the actual handcuffs.

The Top 14 Handcuffs Ranked:

Devin Singletary Buffalo Bills Carlos Hyde Kansas City Chiefs Damien Harris New England Patriots Alexander Mattison Minnesota Vikings Gus Edwards Baltimore Ravens Justin Jackson Los Angeles Chargers Chase Edmonds Arizona Cardinals C.J. Anderson Detroit Lions Tony Pollard Dallas Cowboys Mike Davis Chicago Bears Malcolm Brown Los Angeles Rams Jamaal Williams Green Bay Packers Ryquell Armstead Jacksonville Jaguars Doug Martin Oakland Raiders

Devin Singletary Buffalo Bills

Singletary may have weekly standalone value in the Bills backfield, but both starter LeSean McCoy and veteran Frank Gore are going to get the majority of the work ahead of him. With that said, Shady is not the player that he once was and Singletary is the perfect replacement back for him. He is on the smaller side, but he is quick and shifty like McCoy and he has good pass catching ability which is what the Bills will likely use him for to start out. If McCoy goes down he could be used as a workhorse with Gore only really threatening his goal line work. He could be an RB2 if he were to replace McCoy and while your spending a super late pick on Shady this year, it may not be a bad choice to pick up Singletary as well.

Carlos Hyde Kansas City Chiefs

Carlos Hyde is not going have much weekly value while Damien Williams is on the field, but he is kind of the true definition of a handcuff. Were anything to happen to Williams, Hyde would step right into one of the best roles for fantasy football. Being the starting RB for an Andy Reid lead offense would make Hyde easily and RB2 for fantasy and he will have a high ceiling with the high powered Chiefs. Williams stepped into the same role last season and if you would have asked fantasy analysts a year ago who the better RB was between the 2 I would bet almost all of them would have said Hyde.

Damien Harris New England Patriots

Damien Harris was a great get by the Patriots and unlike some, I believe that he isn’t going to effect Sony Michel that much. He will rotate in occasionally, but he is the true handcuff for Michel that the Patriots needed. They saw that Michel dealt with injury last season and while they know how good the back is, they decided to get an insurance police on him in the form of Harris. This gives them the ability to cut ties with veteran Rex Burkhead as well so Harris was more a pick that makes sense for the Patriots. He was not taken to replace Michel or take a tone of work from him he was drafted to be the next man up on a team that suffers a lot of injuries at the RB position.

Alexander Mattison Minnesota Vikings

Mattison isn’t a particularly special talent, but he has one of the next best contributing factors going for him in terms of fantasy relevance. Dalvin Cook has dealt with injuries over his first few seasons and with Latavius Murray out of the way someone has to step up as the potential replacement for him. Mattison is ranked this high due to Cook’s injury history and he will step into a very favorable role were Cook to go down once again. Latavius Murray had great weeks last season replacing Cook so Mattison is a must own in my opinion for those drafting Cook as high as he is going this year.

Gus Edwards Baltimore Ravens