Fortunately, we had a week without much movement in backfields across the league. All of the workhorse running backs stayed healthy, and outside of a few spots, there isn’t anything big to report. As always, I will take a spin around the league to check in on a few backfields before ranking the handcuffs.
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Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings
- Los Angeles Chargers – I leaned the wrong direction with Hassan Haskins as Kimani Vidal was the lead back for the Chargers. He won’t run for 100 yards every week, but he looks like a safe bet for 15+ touches moving forward.
- Chicago Bears – D’Andre Swift got the post-bye bump for the Bears with a big game Monday night. The other piece of information is that Kyle Monangai looks like the handcuff here. I will be ranking him inside the top-15.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Rachaad White had a 78% snap share and handled 20 touches. The Bucs did get Sean Tucker involved a bit more (six carries for 25 yards and a touchdown), but when Bucky Irving is back, I think White may still have Flex viability.
- Cincinnati Bengals – Samaje Perine played 47% of the snaps Sunday, eating into Chase Brown‘s workload. Perine is seeing a lot of third-down work and might be worth stashing at some point in the coming weeks.
- Tennessee Titans – Tyjae Spears out-snapped Tony Pollard, although Pollard handled more touches. Spears is probably worth an add if you need a fourth running back, but the Titans are really bad offensively.
- Arizona Cardinals – Bam Knight and Michael Carter split the workload for Arizona. I don’t know that either one is more than a dart throw Flex play while Trey Benson is out.
- New Orleans Saints – The news that Alvin Kamara won’t be traded throws some cold water on Kendre Miller‘s outlook. I think Miller is still worth a stash if you have room.
- Pittsburgh Steelers – Kaleb Johnson logged around 20% of the snaps and touches, eating into Kenneth Gainwell‘s role. I don’t know that Johnson is worth rostering, but he is certainly worth keeping an eye on. It should be noted that Mike Tomlin continues to mention him during his weekly press conferences.
- Jacksonville Jaguars – Bhayshul Tuten is losing snaps to LeQuint Allen. I don’t know if recommending dropping him is the right move because he would be popular if Travis Etienne gets hurt. Trouble is, with bye weeks, you may need the roster spot.
- Los Angeles Rams – Blake Corum played 24% of the snaps and had five carries, so his stay in the doghouse was short. He is the primary backup to Kyren Williams, making him valuable.
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
Given the Bengals play Thursday night, I would be stashing Samaje Perine for sure. I may even give a speculative add to Kaleb Johnson, although a lot would need to fall into place there.
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Jason Kamlowsky is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @JasonKamlowsky.
