Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings: Week 6 (2025)

Vidal played 12-of-20 snaps and took all three carries inside the 10-yard line. It should be noted, however, that he was playing with the backups late in the game. Sunday was a small sample, but his usage as an early-down/short-yardage back is likely how the Chargers will deploy him, albeit in small doses. Vidal is a 2024 6th Round pick out of Troy, where he rushed for over 4,000 yards in his career, so he was productive in college, and he has 30 NFL carries for 98 yards in his career.

Haskins played eight of 20 snaps and was in on three of five 3rd Down snaps. He was on the sideline once the starters were pulled, so those numbers are skewed a bit. Haskins does have a history with Jim Harbaugh, playing for him at Michigan, which will work in his favor. Haskins is in his third year in the league and his second with the Chargers after they claimed him off waivers last preseason. He has rushed 65 times for 197 yards in 37 career games.

As for how this will shake out, I don’t know that anyone can say for sure. I think a lot of fantasy managers will look at Vidal’s snap count and usage inside the 10-yard line and prioritize him on waivers. Personally, I am leaning the other way and will look to add Haskins as I think Harbaugh will go with the running back he is more familiar with. This is entirely me guessing, however, and I don’t know that I am fully confident in either back at this point. The Chargers could also bring someone in this week, so be sure to stay on top of that as you get closer to your waiver run either tonight or tomorrow.

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Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings

Here are notes on 10 other backfield situations across the league:

1. Los Angeles Rams –Blake Corum‘s fumble Thursday night landed him in Sean McVay’s doghouse. The good news is that Kyren Williams handled all of the backfield opportunities after it happened, so Corum should still be in a good spot as the primary handcuff there.
2. New England Patriots – I wrote this last week about TreVeyon Henderson: “The TreVeyon Henderson breakout will need to wait as the Patriots are content using three running backs.” That situation has now changed in a big way as Antonio Gibson is out for the year with a torn ACL. Henderson played 63% of the snaps after Gibson went down, which may signal that he is on the cusp of having the role we hoped. In the event he is available, he needs to be picked up.
3. Carolina Panthers – I wrote this article last week, before it was determined that Rico Dowdle would be starting for an injured Chubba Hubbard. I had listed Dowdle a couple of times earlier in the season, but leaving him off last week was a big miss for me. If you were quick enough to add Dowdle once it was announced that he would start, congratulations. He was a weak winner for a lot of people.
4. Kansas City Chiefs – Brashard Smith flopped Monday night, playing just 9% of the snaps. He can safely be ignored in most leagues.
5. Arizona Cardinals – Emari Demarcado blew a big opportunity to get more touches Sunday, dropping the football before crossing into the end zone on a long touchdown run. He lost work to Bam Knight after the fumble. It does look like Michael Carter is the running back to have in Arizona while Trey Benson is out.
6. Las Vegas Raiders – Raheem Mostert has emerged as the clear RB2 in Las Vegas. That said, be careful with his snap share number from Sunday; Ashton Jeanty played 90% of the snaps in the first half and was in for most of the third quarter before being pulled. Mostert is a strong handcuff for Jeanty owners, however.
7. Houston Texans – Woody Marks did not have a great runout Sunday in terms of game script. However, he out-snapped Nick Chubb and was getting work inside the 5-yard line, but the Texans used Chubb and a few backups to salt the game away late. Don’t give up on Marks as I strongly believe he’s got an RB2 ceiling.
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Rachaad White played 81% of the snaps and scored two touchdowns on 18 touches Sunday. Tampa Bay seems perfectly content to use White as the feature back while Bucky Irving is out. Sean Tucker should be on the radar, although he would only gain relevance if White were to get injured.
9. Tennessee Titans – Tyjae Spears made his 2025 debut, getting limited work for the Titans. They will probably ease him back into things, but the Tennessee offense did show signs of life for the first time on Sunday. Tony Pollard has been durable throughout his career, but Spears will see his role increase as the season progresses.
10. Dallas Cowboys – Jaydon Blue was active Sunday with Miles Sanders being out. I think whoever the Dallas running back is will be productive and Blue has a far higher ceiling than Sanders. He is someone who is on the fringe but is noteworthy for his potential role and profile.

Tier 1: Should be rostered across all formats.

Tier 2: Less priority than Tier 1, but still worth a stash.

Tier 3: Best of the rest.

Thursday Handcuff Stash