Running Back Handcuff Chart and Draft Targets

Jul 28, 2020

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Handcuffing in fantasy football has fallen in and back out of favor in previous seasons and there are very valid arguments to be made on both sides of the handcuff debate. Finding that your late-round pick can slide right into a full workload after an injury is a thing of beauty, but oftentimes we’re not even sure if we’re holding the actual handcuff on a specific team. Because of that uncertainty, we can be stuck holding the bag when we’ve wasted a roster spot on a player only to have his teammate take hold of the starting job after the man in front of them suffers an injury.

Nonetheless, it’s important to have a broad understanding of each team’s depth chart —even if you’re not planning on drafting the backup, or, hopeful handcuff. Knowing who is a likely handcuff in a good situation will give you a leg up when you’re attacking the waiver wire, or even when you’re looking for a bargain play in DFS.

Finding fruitful handcuffing situations is especially important if you have spent high draft capital on the running back position; since these running backs have such a high workload, running backs taken in the first five rounds of the draft tend to be the most injury-prone group of players amongst all fantasy positions.

One last thing before we dig in on handcuffing possibilities for the upcoming 2020 season (which could be even more important while drafting our teams during a pandemic), make sure you have an appropriately deep roster and/or a lot of bench slots. This year more than any other, your commissioner should be making sure that there is plenty of wiggle room for team-building while we remain unsure how many players will be affected by the virus we’re currently dealing with. And, if they haven’t expanded rosters yet, then simply ask them.

Continue reading for a look at the projected starter and handcuff for all 32 teams. Justin later dives into a whopping 8 situations where it could be worthwhile to handcuff!