Fantasy football managers need to pay attention to the sleepers, the breakouts, and the busts. But one of the more underrated aspects of constructing a fantasy football roster is knowing which players are worth targeting at the RB position whose value could explode if the starter above them goes down with an injury.
We call these high-level insurance RBs – or handcuffs – that you need to target whether you have the starter above them on their NFL depth chart or not. They carry – pun intended – immense upside if their path to significant volume opens up.
So, with that in mind, let’s talk about the top 10 best handcuff RBs to target in all of fantasy football this season and why they should be on your radar.
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What is a Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff?
It’s important to define what a high-level insurance – or handcuff – RB is before we begin talking about them.
For the purposes of this exercise, a RB handcuff is a player that’s presumably the second option on their NFL team’s depth chart and their teammate is going in the top 30 at the position in the latest Consensus ADP.
This means that a player that is on this list is only going to qualify if they are going outside of the top 30 at the position, but they also have a teammate above them on the depth chart that is inside that territory.
For example, someone like Jordan Mason of the Minnesota Vikings doesn’t make this list because, while he is going well outside of the top 30 cutoff, Aaron Jones is not inside that threshold as he sits with a RB40 Consensus ADP.
The Best Handcuff Running Backs In Fantasy Football
10. Tyler Allgeier, Arizona Cardinals
There was a brief period in time where it looked like Tyler Allgeier was finally going to be off of the list of running back handcuffs to target each year, but that door was slammed shut as soon as the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Jeremiyah Love now steps in as the lead back of this offense and he should see as many touches as possible in year one to justify the acquisition cost of a premium pick.
However, I doubt that Allgeier is going to completely ride the bench. He never fully did that playing behind Bijan Robinson in Atlanta – 15 rushing touchdowns over the last three seasons – and he could be a factor near the goal line again.
If Love were to miss any time though, Allgeier would likely step right into the main ballcarrier role on 1st and 2nd down, while someone like James Conner would be the primary passing downs option.
He currently carries a RB48 price tag in ADP, which means you can get him as your RB4 or RB5 on your roster to stash and hold.
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9. Keaton Mitchell, Los Angeles Chargers
It’s hard to rank Keaton Mitchell in the conversation of best running back handcuffs.
He’s a highly intriguing player in this Los Angeles Chargers offense this season under the coaching of Mike McDaniel, who has had great success with players with Mitchell’s skillset previously – like Raheem Mostert – but he also doesn’t figure to be a true workhorse back.
We need to remember that Mitchell has never seen more than 59 carries – or nine receptions – in a single NFL season up to this point. While he’s flashed his immense potential, he’s also dealt with serious durability concerns and has had problems staying on the field for extended periods of time.
At his size, he doesn’t profile as an option to step right in and inherit the workload of Omarion Hampton if the second-year RB misses time. It’s likely that the Chargers would increase the touches for Kimani Vidal at that point – or potentially even go hunting to the free agent market to keep Mitchell in his highly-specialized role.
Mitchell has immense upside this season as a Flex play that could win you your week in fantasy football with just one explosive run. However, we probably should pump the brakes on him in the handcuff conversation – and especially in the discussion of him outright taking over this backfield.
He currently carries a RB46 price tag in ADP though, which makes him an intriguing option in the middle to later rounds of drafts.
8. Isiah Pacheco, Detroit Lions
It feels like it was a lifetime ago that we were watching Isiah Pacheco rumble for over 1,700 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground over his first two NFL seasons. A critical injury derailed his next two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and he was ultimately allowed to walk in free agency this past offseason.
With a vacancy at the RB2 spot behind Jahmyr Gibbs after trading away David Montgomery though, the Detroit Lions pounced fairly quickly and brought in Pacheco to be the thunder to Gibbs’ lightning.
It’s unlikely that we’ll see Gibbs handle a substantial workload at any point this season as long as Gibbs is healthy. This is the star RB’s backfield and Pacheco’s going to be simply brought in as a change-of-pace or short-yardage option.
However, we have seen what Pacheco’s been able to do in the past and we need to remember that he can be a three-down option. In 2023, Pacheco reeled in 44 of 49 targets and proved that he wasn’t a liability in that facet of the game.
The Lions will most likely bring in another RB to spell Pacheco if Gibbs misses significant time in 2026, but he’s going to be the clear next man up in a good offense. That has value in fantasy football, no matter what he’s done over the past two seasons.
A RB45 price tag in ADP means that fantasy managers aren’t viewing him as a priority target in drafts, but that creates an opportunity for you to swoop in and secure him at a discount as a solid bench stash in the event of an injury.
7. Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers
This is a backfield that I expect to see the ADP’s move a whole lot closer together as we get further into the offseason and training camp begins kicking off.
Chuba Hubbard sits just inside of the top 30 in Consensus ADP, while Jonathon Brooks is down at RB37. As Brooks rips off more highlight reel runs in training camp – like he was doing in OTAs – I wouldn’t be surprised to see these ADPs potentially even flip by the time the season rolls around.
But for now, this is where things sit and Brooks carries immense upside as a handcuff RB heading into 2026. He was a highly-hyped prospect coming into the NFL Draft back in 2024, but after just nine carries Brooks re-tore his ACL and he’s been rehabbing ever since.
Now, he’s fully healthy and he provides something for this backfield that they’ll desperately need alongside a player like Hubbard, who isn’t known for his explosive run ability. Brooks can break off big run after big run, but it’ll be a question of whether or not he can manage a full workload.
He’s different than other players on this list where he actually may simply take over the starting job in his backfield halfway through the season. But for the time being, he remains a high-priority handcuff target that you will have to be concerned about long-term durability with though.
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6. Brian Robinson Jr., Atlanta Falcons
Welcome to one of the most confusing backfields for fantasy football this year: the Atlanta Falcons.
It’s not confusing from the standpoint of knowing who’s the actual RB1, that’s clearly Bijan Robinson, but for fantasy managers having two B. Robinson’s in the same backfield is a draft-day disaster waiting to happen.
In all seriousness, we’ve seen Brian Robinson handle a sizable workload for a NFL offense in the past and be a solid fantasy asset. While he’s certainly not going to hold elite upside if Bijan were to miss substantial time, he would easily be in the top 20 of RB rankings week in and week out due to volume and that holds value.
As a bench stash with a current ADP of RB52 off the board, Robinson’s a great target in the later rounds of your draft that could dramatically outperform that acquisition cost if Bijan goes down with an injury.
5. Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia Eagles
Tank Bigsby is a good NFL running back.
According to my friend Ian Hartitz over on Twitter, Bigsby ranks first among all qualified RBs over the past two seasons in terms of Yards After Contact per Attempt with 3.8.
Additionally, he has a Avoided Tackles per Carry Rate of 27.7%, which is 2nd in the NFL among qualified rushers, and he has an Explosive Rush Rate of 10.8%!
He has his limitations, specifically as a receiver out of the backfield, but he can absolutely go nuclear for fantasy football purposes if the starter above him were to go down with an injury.
In Philadelphia, that player is Saquon Barkley, who is now 29 years old and has nearly 2,200 career touches on his body at this point. It’s quite simply not a guarantee that Saquon makes it through an entire 17-game season, handling over 300+ touches yet again.
Bigsby would step right in to the first and second down role in his absence and produce as a potential top 15 RB immediately, but his ADP is all the way down at RB54 and you can secure him in the final rounds of your draft.
That shouldn’t be the case, he’s a fantastic buy in dynasty leagues right now as he heads into a contract year, and he should be viewed as one of the best handcuff RBs in fantasy this season.
4. Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
It’s a nod to James Cook and how he takes care of himself on and off the football field, but it’s remarkable that he’s handled as large of a workload as he has over the past three seasons and essentially not missed any time.
We’ve been waiting for the Ray Davis selection later on in fantasy drafts to yield some sort of dividend for years now, but Cook continues to defy the odds for a 190-pound RB and remain available, despite seeing over 330 touches this past year.
Each and every year though, just like with Allgeier in Atlanta, I will continue to pound the table for Davis as a high-level insurance RB to target and stash on your bench. He’s an incredibly talented player, he can rip off explosive runs, and he’s a true factor in the receiving game when he gets the targets.
In an offense that’s as prolific as Buffalo’s, Davis has to be one of the top options in this list of handcuff RBs. I’d potentially be ranking him as a top 12 option at the position if Cook finally misses time.
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3. Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers
This one is a bit of a cheeky selection, as Jaylen Warren currently sits at RB30 in the latest Consensus ADP update. And yet, it’s not fully known whether he, or free agent signee Rico Dowdle, are the RB1 in this Mike McCarthy-led offense.
For the purposes of this exercise though, Dowdle qualifies as a handcuff RB and that means he should be viewed towards the top of this list. There’s a very good chance that he outright takes the RB1 role in this offense, he has familiarity with McCarthy from their time together in Dallas, and he showed that he can be a highly-effective option for fantasy football last season.
In Carolina last year, there were three games where Dowdle totaled more than 125 yards on the ground. Two of those were in back to back weeks against Miami and Dallas, where he rumbled for 206 yards and 183 respectively.
He’s a talented runner that works best when he’s given a sizable workload in a game to wear down the defense. Due to the upside that he possesses to take over the backfield completely, he’s a priority target in the handcuff RB conversation.
2. Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
It can’t be overstated how impressive Kyle Monangai was in his rookie season after being a 7th-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Monangai rumbled for 783 yards on 4.6 yards per attempt and had five rushing scores in year one. What’s probably more impressive is that he earned the trust of a coach like Ben Johnson right out of the gate and was a key factor in making this offense go down the stretch.
He showed what he can do when he gets the main opportunity in Week 9 last year when D’Andre Swift was out as he carried the ball 26 times for 176 yards and added on three receptions for 22 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals.
If Swift misses time at all again this year, Monangai’s going to vault up the weekly rankings with the state of this Chicago offense and he’s proven that it’ll be justified to have him in the top 15 conversation.
1. Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Blake Corum fits into a very similar conversation as Monangai, where he’s likely to see enough work week in and week out to be in the Flex conversation…but he would be an absolute star for fantasy purposes if Kyren Williams misses any time.
This Los Angeles Rams offense is going to be unstoppable this season, as long as Matthew Stafford is healthy, and trips into the red zone aren’t even going to be a question.
Williams will be the main option, but Corum has slowly started working his way into a larger and larger role since entering the league by earning the trust of this coaching staff.
If Corum handles 20+ touches a week – in this offense – because Williams has been sidelined, there’s a strong possibility that he’s ranked as a top-five RB in weekly rankings, depending on the matchup. He’s a no-brainer selection here for the best handcuff to target with a RB35 ADP.
