One of the most common questions in both redraft and dynasty fantasy football formats is whether it’s worth handcuffing your running backs. The answer? It depends. Factors like league format, roster size, backfield situations and individual player outlooks all come into play.
In this article, I’ll break down when handcuffing running backs is a smart move and when you’re better off avoiding the strategy altogether.
- Fantasy Football Draft Kit
- 2025 Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football ADP
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Handcuff Tips & Strategies
Redraft Leagues
In redraft leagues, whether handcuffing makes sense depends heavily on roster size. In shallower formats (say, starting 8-9 players with 6-8 bench spots), it’s usually not a great strategy. With only 14-17 total roster spots, using one on a backup running back means passing up other skill players with legitimate upside who could crack your starting lineup. In these leagues, I’d only consider handcuffing truly elite backs like Christian McCaffrey or Bijan Robinson. If grabbing someone like Isaac Guerendo or Tyler Allgeier in the final round helps you sleep better at night, go for it, but don’t overvalue insurance at the cost of upside.
Another key point: If the backfield behind your starter is ambiguous, don’t bother trying to handcuff. Not only would you need your starter to get injured, but you’d also have to correctly guess who the true No. 2 RB is and hope they inherit a full workload. That’s a lot of ifs. Take Saquon Barkley, for example. While Will Shipley is technically next in line, there’s no guarantee he would step into a bell-cow role. The Eagles would likely shift to a committee approach with Shipley, A.J. Dillon, and potentially a third back sharing the touches. In these situations, you’re better off targeting high-upside players from other teams rather than trying to insure an unclear situation.
That brings me to my final point for redraft, though it also applies in dynasty, don’t shy away from drafting a handcuff running back on a team you don’t roster the starter. If you believe in the contingent upside, that player could become a league winner if the starter goes down. In redraft, you also gain leverage. You can plug in that breakout running back yourself or trade him to the manager who lost the starter and is desperate for stability. Sometimes, the best insurance policy is the one you sell for a profit.
Dynasty Leagues
Dynasty leagues often come with much deeper rosters (sometimes 30 spots or more), making handcuffing running backs a more viable strategy. With extra bench space, you’re not sacrificing nearly as much upside when stashing backups. As long as you’re not reaching in a startup draft or overpaying in a trade, it’s a perfectly reasonable approach. In dynasty, I tend to target rookie backups or young, ascending players with room to grow.
I’m also more willing to take chances on ambiguous backfields where a rookie hasn’t carved out a role yet but has the potential to climb the depth chart. A few names that fit this mold in 2025 include Jarquez Hunter, DJ Giddens and Jacory Croskey-Merritt. All three have the skillsets to emerge as high-end backup options and could offer immediate value if the starter in front of them misses time.
Handcuff Running Back Targets
One of my favorite handcuff running backs in both redraft and dynasty is Zach Charbonnet. In the six games Kenneth Walker missed in 2024, Charbonnet averaged 19.2 PPR points per game, which would have ranked him as the RB5 last season. When Walker is out, we know Charbonnet can be a league winner. In dynasty, there’s always a chance he earns a starting role down the road.
Another handcuff running back (if you’d like to classify him as such) to target in both redraft and dynasty is Jaylen Warren. With Pittsburgh drafting Kaleb Johnson, it appears Warren may be headed right back to that No. 2 RB role. But there’s no guarantee Johnson is an effective NFL starting back. Even if he is, we’ve seen Warren average 10 PPR points per game in a season as the “backup” before. That’s enough production to feel good about placing him into your Flex spot in bye weeks.
We’ve yet to see Warren as a true lead back, since Najee Harris is a tank and never misses games, but in the event Johnson gets hurt or fails to impress, Warren should have RB1 upside. He’s an efficient rusher, and in an Arthur Smith-led offense, we know he’d have plenty of opportunity.
Thanks for checking out my article. If you have any dynasty, redraft or devy-related questions, I’m always available on X @jim_DFF. Feel free to send me a DM and let’s talk some fantasy football.
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