Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings: Week 9 (2025)

We are officially at the halfway point of the NFL season. For fantasy football leagues, teams that are contenders are starting to separate, while teams that have struggled have some difficult decisions to make in the coming weeks. This is somewhat like the dog days of August for baseball because the losses start to hurt more, and you realize that time is a thief. There are only so many weeks that you can make up ground, but don’t ever quit fighting. That last playoff spot is closer than you think.

This week, I am going to rank over 30 handcuffs, so you can make a better decision on which ones to stash who might pop off. I have 15 players ranked in Tier 1 that you can roster as a potential handcuff. Some are probably over 90% rostered, but there are a few you should be able to stash. Before that, here are 10 backfields I am monitoring going into Week 9:

Chicago Bears: Kyle Monangai has played 45% of the snaps in each of his last two games. He is still behind D’Andre Swift, but with the Bears past their bye Week, Monangai is someone who should be on 100% of rosters.
Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati is scoring in bunches, and Samaje Perine is seeing more work on passing downs and inside the 10-yard line. He played 43% of the snaps, going for 100 total yards and a touchdown on 10 touches. He is probably more under-the-radar than he should be.
Denver Broncos: RJ Harvey had eight touches and scored three touchdowns on Sunday, an anomaly in every sense of the word. Even in the blowout, he didn’t see a major uptick in snaps. However, if J.K. Dobbins gets injured, Harvey is going to eat, and I’d bet on him being a low-end RB1 most weeks.
Cleveland Browns: If Quinshon Judkins is out, Dylan Sampson becomes the back to roster. He outsnapped Jerome Ford 25 to 13 and caught five passes for 29 yards on Sunday.
Dallas Cowboys: Javonte Williams is still the featured back for Dallas, but Jaydon Blue is quietly seeing more work. He would be the presumptive lead back if Williams were to miss time.
Philadelphia Eagles: Saquon Barkley was injured on Sunday, though it doesn’t look like he is too worried about missing games. Tank Bigsby played well in his absence, rushing for 104 yards on just nine carries. If looking to add Barkley’s handcuff, I prefer Bigsby over Will Shipley.
New York Giants: Cam Skattebo‘s injury will end his season, which is unfortunate because Skattebo is a fun player to watch. Fire up Tyrone Tracy Jr., who will become the primary running back. Devin Singletary is now the handcuff for the Giants.
New York Jets: The Bengals are a sieve defensively, but the Jets ran wild on Sunday. Breece Hall popped for 133 yards and two touchdowns while Isaiah Davis had 109 total yards on 12 touches (five receptions). I don’t think Hall gets traded, but Davis is another back who isn’t rostered enough. He will be in Tier 1 this week.
Tennessee Titans: Tyjae Spears is running ahead of Tony Pollard, and rightfully so. Pollard looks sluggish, while Spears at least shows some burst on his runs. Tennessee is dreadful offensively, but Spears can be a bye-week filler.
Minnesota Vikings: Aaron Jones was back for the Vikings, leading the way with a 54% snap share. Jordan Mason is back to handcuff status, albeit a strong one. He should be rostered.

Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings

Tier 1: Roster Everywhere

This group is who I would have on a roster in 12-team leagues. They are all in line for a big workload if the “workhorse” back on their team goes down, and none of them are overly PPR dependent. For the most part, they all play in strong offenses as well. That isn’t the biggest piece of my decision-making matrix, but it should count for something.

This list also doesn’t include committee situations in Carolina, Tampa Bay (when Bucky Irving returns) or Tennessee. I would list the handcuffs for those backfields somewhere in the 7-12 range above.

Tier 2: A Tier Below But Still Worth Stashing

All of these running backs have more question marks than the Tier 1 group. Talent, workload, offensive environment and the threat of a committee situation make this group more volatile. They could definitely pop in the right situation. I have them ranked in the order I believe would happen.

Tier 3: Best of the Rest

Covering all my bases, but if you get down to this point, you are probably in trouble. I wish Andy Reid would just hand Brashard Smith the ball more, but he loves Kareem Hunt. Same with Ray Davis in Buffalo.

Thursday Night Football Handcuff Stash

Keaton Mitchell for the Ravens and Ollie Gordon for the Dolphins are both cheap adds ahead of Thursday night. I would probably give a slight lean to Gordon just because Mitchell will need to contend with Justice Hill in the event of a Derrick Henry injury. Gordon would own the Miami backfield and probably be a good bet for 15-18 touches.