The 2024 NFL season is set to kick off tomorrow, and that also marks the start of a new fantasy football season.
Each year, several running backs emerge as key “handcuff” players in fantasy football. A handcuff running back is a player who is expected to take over if his team’s starting running back is injured or unavailable to play.
If you draft a star running back, you probably want to roster his backup. The best handcuff running backs are players who also have standalone value regardless of the starter’s status.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a quick list of the 12 most important handcuff running backs to roster in fantasy football this season. Let’s get to it!
1. RB Tyler Allgeier (Bijan Robinson): Allgeier already has a 1,000-yard season under his belt from before Robinson arrived, and he totaled 876 yards from scrimmage and scored five touchdowns playing with Robinson in 2023.
2. RB Trey Benson (James Conner): Conner has never played a full 16- or 17-game season in his career and the Cardinals just used a third-round pick to add Benson. If you draft Conner, make sure you target Benson as well.
3. RB Blake Corum (Kyren Williams): Williams has missed time in each of the last two seasons and Corum, a third-round pick, could have standalone value as a rotational back in L.A.’s offense.
4. RB Jordan Mason (Christian McCaffrey): You don’t want to risk losing CMC and not having his backup on your roster. Isaac Guerendo is also worth rostering in dynasty leagues and monitoring in re-draft leagues.
5. RB Jaylen Wright (De’Von Achane/Raheem Mostert): Mostert is 32 and Achane missed six games last season. Miami’s fourth-round pick, Wright, is the next man up.
6. RB David Montgomery (Jahmyr Gibbs): Montgomery already has standalone value, but his stock will skyrocket if anything happens to Gibbs.
7. RB Ty Chandler (Aaron Jones): Jones will turn 30 this season and Chandler was productive when given opportunities last fall.
8. RB Braelon Allen (Breece Hall): Hall could be one of the best RBs in fantasy this year and Allen, a fourth-round pick, is expected to be his backup.
9. RB Jerome Ford (Nick Chubb): Ford isn’t a true “handcuff” because he’s set to start at least the first four games of the season. Chubb is being drafted above Ford, though, so if you’re one of the managers doing that, make sure you pick up Ford as well.
10. RB Trey Sermon (Jonathan Taylor): Taylor is another contender to be one of the top RBs this year and Sermon, a former third-round pick, is his backup.
11. RB Bucky Irving (Rachaad White): White is yet to miss a game in the NFL, but Irving is worth stashing after he rushed for 1,180 yards and totaled 56 receptions at Oregon last fall.
12. RB Ray Davis (James Cook): Davis, a fourth-round pick, appears to be the RB2 in Buffalo behind Cook.
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