Fantasy football handcuffs, for the uninitiated, are essentially backup players who are poised to take over for a team’s starter in the event of an injury. This approach, considered an insurance policy, helps you mitigate the risk of losing valuable points due to unexpected injuries. This strategy has been a popular move on draft day, where fantasy managers stash the backups of the prominent running backs they’ve drafted.
The focus on running back handcuffs has gained more significance in recent years. The NFL has gradually shifted away from bellcow running backs while leaning more on running back committees, making these handcuffs even more valuable because they might end up being more than a backup. They might be a 1B starter with a semi-prominent role already.
Here is a look at our updated Fantasy Football Handcuff Report, with some recent player notes breaking down some of the developing situations.
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Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuffs
Starter/Suspended: Alvin Kamara (RB – NO)
Alvin Kamara had a year to forget in 2022 with QB/TE Taysom Hill seeing an increased role as a backfield rusher in the Saints offense. Hill earned more touches inside the 10-yard line (8 vs. 12) which limited Kamara to just two rushing TDs. AK41’s receiving usage also fell off a cliff toward the end of the year. From Weeks 13-18, Kamara never caught more than two passes. His target share fell from 22% to 11%. The days of him being a game-breaker as a receiver seem to be long gone as he has seen his pass-catching numbers fall off drastically compared to his first four years in the NFL when he was averaging nearly 90 receptions per year. The overall lack of TDs and receiving was heightened more so when Kamara’s poor rushing efficiency failed to make up for his loss in other production. The Saints running back ended the year second-worst in the rushing EPA (-41). Before the schedule eased up over the last four games, Kamara had just two games with 65 rushing yards. He still managed to finish as the RB15 in points per game (12.8), which might need to be his new fantasy expectation when he plays in 2023. He is going to miss the first three games of the year with a suspension, regulating his fantasy stats to backend RB2/high-end RB3 status amid a three-headed Saints RB room.
Starter/Handcuff: Jamaal Williams (RB – NO)
How does a running back finish as the RB12 while catching only 12 passes? Touchdowns. That’s exactly how the season played out for Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams. He took on the role as the Lions’ goal-line back, carrying the ball a league-high 41 times inside the 10-yard line for 13 rushing TDs. Williams would finish the year with a league-high 17 rushing TDs – not too far off his 16.4 expected touchdowns.
Touchdown regression pundits will shout to the heavens that Williams cannot duplicate his 2022 success and his new landing spot in New Orleans confirms this. He signed for 3 years, $12 million, $8 million guaranteed but will now compete for red-zone touches with both Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill. Kamara totaled just eight carries inside the 10-yard line last season with Hill chipping in 12. But Kamara’s3-game suspension will boost Williams’ early-season fantasy value for zero-RB drafters as the Saints offense has never shied away from featuring the likes of Latavius Murray or Mark Ingram when AK41 has missed time in the past.
Handcuff: Kendre Miller (RB – NO)
Kendre Miller spent his first two seasons in a two-way platoon with Zach Evans before the latter transferred to Mississippi. Miller flashed talent in limited sample size, leading the FBS in yards after contact per attempt (5.06) in 2021. But with Evans gone in 2022, Miller was thrust into the RB1 role for the Horned Frogs, where he posted a career-high 23 percent dominator rating. The bell cow rushed for nearly 1400 yards at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds (identical to Bijan Robinson), and his size is enticing in addition to the efficiency he displayed on a per-play basis at the college level. Miller’s career of 3.14 yards per play ranks fourth best in the class. He’s explosive with the ball in his hands, as indicated by his 21 rushes of 15-plus yards last year (tied for the fifth-highest in the class).
Per Sports Info Solutions, Miller also posted the 4th-lowest bust run rate (percentage of plays that resulted in EPA below -1) and finished first in his class in broken tackles per 100 touches (18).
Miller did not test at all during the pre-draft process (recovering from post-season knee surgery), but that didn’t stop the New Orleans Saints from investing a third-round pick in him during the 2023 NFL Draft. Miller is an ideal home-run hitter and 1-2 punch fit with veteran Jamaal Williams with Alvin Kamara slated to miss the first three weeks of the regular season. Thus, he needs to be drafted aggressively in all formats and stashed on benches. His explosiveness will be on full display – especially in comparison to the plodding Williams – and that will get him noticed by his NFL coaches and other fantasy managers.
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