One of the biggest mistakes that a fantasy football player can make is taking things to the extreme. A common strategy in fantasy football is to “handcuff” running backs. To handcuff means to draft both the starting running back and his backup or both running backs that will share playing time if you cannot determine who will win the job. Many fantasy football players will handcuff a running back to his backup for all thirty-two situations. I am a lot more like Midnight Run, the 1988 classic where Charles Grodin is handcuffed for just about the entire movie. A bounty hunter, Jack Walsh (Deniro), is hired to find the mob’s accountant, Jonathan “The Duke” Mardukas (Grodin). Walsh needs to get The Duke from New York to Los Angeles while avoiding the mob, FBI and a rival bounty hunter.
So, why this movie? No one could find The Duke until Walsh did and it is important to find the right guy to handcuff. This year is a lot different than in previous years, as there are significant talents playing back up positions, making it necessary to handcuff more often. As a result, we are recommending that you attempt to handcuff in seventeen of the thirty-two situations.
“I’ve known you for all of two minutes & already I don’t like you.”
Here are some guidelines when determining whether to handcuff:
1. The starter is your RB1 or RB2
2. Both players are good like D’Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, so they will be worth playing at FLEX should the other get hurt
3. The Handcuff is defined
4. The Handcuff is better than other RBs you could get off the waiver wire
5. The Handcuff is better than the starter, so take the handcuff only
6. The team system will provide for good identification of the starter
7. The team system will allow any RB to succeed in that system
8. When in doubt, get the running back with the most talent
So let’s light this candle. Below is the chart that describes the handcuffs and what to do in each situation. Sometimes in a running back by committee (RBBC) situation, you draft both players. So here are the best tips I can give you…
Jonathan Mardukas: All you’re leaving is two dollars?
Jack Walsh: That’s fifteen percent.
Jonathan Mardukas: No, that’s thirteen percent!
RK | Team | Starter | Backup | Cuff | Skinny |
1 | Chiefs | J Charles | K Davis | Yes | Jamaal Charles had 12 touchdowns on the ground and 7 more in the air. He is one of the most talented backs in the game. If you lose him, you need to back him up with the talented Knile Davis. |
2 | Ravens | R Rice | B Pierce | Yes | Now that the suspension is only two games, we can all exhale. However, Pierce is good and Rice declining. |
3 | Eagles | L McCoy | D Sproles | Yes | McCoy will be a first four pick. Sproles represents an opportunity in this offense to be productive every week. No downside to getting the both and Sproles should be handcuffed if possible. |
4 | Raiders | MJD | D McFadden | Yes | One of the most interesting tandems. Either one could be the featured back. Either one could excel. Also neither one could get it going as MJD could be close to the end and Run DMC could get hurt. |
5 | Lions | R Bush | J Bell | Yes | Simply put, draft them both. Joe Lombardi will make sure that the backs catch a lot of passes out of the backfield. Both guys have great hands. |
6 | Bills | CJ Spiller | F Jackson | Yes | Spiller is explosive, but injury prone. Fred Jackson was a top 10 running back last season. Need to have them both. |
7 | Texans | A Foster | J Grimes | Yes | O'Brien has said that he plans to make Foster get the ball in space like Kevin Faulk and Danny Woodhead in his New England offenses. Foster will be huge and if hurt Jonathan Grimes will be an RB3. |
8 | Dolphins | L Miller | K Moreno | Yes | Lamar Miller has more talent and likely wins the job. Moreno is good insurance. |
9 | Browns | B Tate | T West | Yes | Tate is the most over hyped running back. West has talent, so if you invest in Tate at his overvalued spot, you had better get West. |
10 | Steelers | L Bell | L Blount | Yes | We have seen both backs being used in a number of different ways. There may be some surprises here and it is important to hedge a bit especially if Bell was your first round pick. |
11 | 49ers | F Gore | C Hyde | Yes | Gore is the guy. He was a steady tough runner all year long with 1128 yards and 9 touchdowns. Hyde has been impressive. |
12 | Titans | B Sankey | S Greene | Yes | This year Sankey is the most touted rookie running back. Shone Greene is a real plodder, Sankey will get his chance. He is a rookie so invest wisely and handcuff to keep the value. |
13 | Chargers | R Mathews | D Woodhead | Yes | If you a brave enough or crazy enough to think that Ryan Mathews will stay healthy because he did in one season, then you better get Woodhead too. |
14 | Bucs | D Martin | Bobby Rainey | Yes | Doug Martin is hard to trust for health reasons. Mike James and Bobby Rainey filled in well for him. If Doug Martin falls to you with your 3rd round pick, invest in his backup in round 10. |
15 | Seahawks | M Lynch | C Michael | Yes | No one is worried about Lynch's talent. No one has more hype around them than Christine Michael so you may have to go a round early in order to handcuff. |
16 | Redskins | A Morris | R Helu | Yes | With Jay Gruden calling the shots, we see more opportunity for Morris in the passing game. If his hands continue to be made of stone, expect Helu to be the 3rd down back which hurts Morris. Handcuff in order. |
17 | Bears | M Forte | K Carey | Yes | Matt Forte has been the most reliable player in the first round for a couple of years. Ka'Deem Carey is considered one of the best rookie running backs. Protecting Forte should come cheap as no one expects him to get hurt. |
18 | Panthers | D Williams | J Stewart | Yes | Stay away from the both unless you are getting Williams as your RB4 and Stewart as your RB5. Let's face it, you are not playing either unless the other one gets hurt. |
19 | Broncos | M Ball | R Hillman | Yes | Just about everyone I talk to says that this is Montee Ball's season. Denver had a prolific offense last season and Knowshawn Moreno was brilliant, but this is his first chance at this and if he cannot pick up the blitz for Manning, he will find himself out of the lineup. Too risky. Add to that the apendectomy where any surgery can have problems coming back, I am nervous. |
20 | Cardinals | A Ellington | S Taylor | No | The hype train has picked up Ellington. With Bruce Arians saying that he would have 25-30 touches and BOOM…every hard core fantasy football player put him on their sleeper list. Puhhhlease. He had no more than 17 in any game last year and averaged less than 13. Draft neither. |
21 | Jets | C Johnson | C Ivory | No | Ivory was effective last season. Love explosiveness of CJ2K with a lot to prove so he should be your only pick here but only if you get value. |
22 | Bengals | G Bernard | J Hill | No | Gio has shown explosiveness and if he can handle the pounding, he can be relied upon. If he gets hurt, look elsewhere for value as these guys are plodders. |
23 | Packers | E Lacy | J Starks | No | Starks had one good week when he was the starter. Lacy is for real, but was dinged up last year. Use the roster spot for a running back with more upside. |
24 | Saints | P Thomas | M Ingram | No | Most depth charts have this the other way around, but Thomas catches so many passes in this offense that I cannot have him behind Ingram. Hear a lot of people who draft Ingram saying "this is his last chance." Why does he get any more chances? Pass. |
25 | Rams | Z Stacy | Cunningham/Mason | Zac Stacy took over the starting job in week 5 and still managed 973 yards and 7 touchdowns. Brian Schottenheimer announced that there will be an open competition for carries. Stacy has already won that with Mason not looking great. | |
26 | Patriots | S Vareen | S Ridley | No | Vareen explosive when on the field. Ridley too inconsistent to bother with. Like Vareen if he can stay healthy. |
27 | Colts | T Richardson | A Bradshaw | No | Honestly, you want as little to do with these two giant question marks. There are more sure things and certainly players with more upside than these two. Draft neither player. |
28 | Jaguars | T Gerhardt | J Toddman | No | The hype train hit early and often for Toby Gerhardt whose RAC (run after contact) is a league leading 3.1 yards last season. No passing attack means that there will be eight men in the box to stop him. Draft neither player. Watching Denard Robinson has been fun, but when the season arrives, he will not be worth it either. |
29 | Cowboys | D Murray | L Dunbar | No | Murray is the feature back and we know he has a hard time staying on the field. Dunbar is set to be a change of pace back. When they become the full-time back, it is never good. If Murray gets hurt, they will simply throw more. |
30 | Giants | R Jennings | A Williams | No | Coughlin loves to run the ball. Jennings is good. As Oakland's number one last year for weeks 10-12 he averaged more than 100 yards rushing. Williams was great in the first pre-season games, but no need to handcuff here. |
31 | Vikings | A Peterson | M Asiata | No | Adrian Peterson has been dinged up recently and in certain matchups it would be good to play his backup should he be hurt, but to use a pre-season roster spot like that seems to be like wearing two bullet proof vests. |
32 | Falcons | S Jackson | D Freeman | No | S-Jax was hurt last year. JaQuizz is tiny. Devonta Freeman is so talented. The reason there is a "No" here is because if you draft the risky Steven Jackson, which guy will you handcuff with? Better off drafting ONLY Freeman late to take one roster spot and take a shot on the "T" in SMART. |
So why do you care about this crap? Because everything matters when you are drafting. Knowing when NOT to waste a Roster spot on a useless handcuff is as important as knowing when to take a good handcuff to protect your RB1 or RB2. Committing to both members of the team can help you be sure that you can have production from the running back position. Keeping track of all these battles coupled with injuries in the pre-season is critical to the success of your draft. For the online version, we will update this at least once a week during the pre-season so that you can stay up to date on these changing roles. Then like Walsh, you will be first to get your man and you can say…