Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images
Identifying some of the most valuable backup running backs in fantasy football, including Blake Corum.
A running back “handcuff” is a second or third-string backup whose fantasy football value is directly tied to another player, thus being handcuffed. Every starting running back has a backup to keep an eye on in case of injury, but there are a handful of running back depth charts where you might want to invest earlier in a given backup.
Here are three handcuffs in backfield situations that stand out.
Ever since the Todd Gurley heydays, the Rams are one of those teams you can’t help but monitor. Coach Sean McVay runs a fast-paced, high-scoring offense that doesn’t substitute often, partly to avoid showing tendencies.
That’s resulted in some huge workload and fantasy numbers from backs, and Kyren Williams is the latest beneficiary. He played 141 offensive snaps as a 2022 fifth-round rookie before jumping to 678 offensive snaps in 2023 and securing 1,144 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground. Williams led the league in rushing yards per game (95.3) and trailed only Christian McCaffrey in fantasy points per game (19.9 in half-PPR) en route to All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.
The bad news is Williams missed five games due to various injuries and was held out of OTAs with another. At 5’ 9” and 194 lbs, he’ll continue to have a high health risk if Los Angeles wants to give him over 200 touches per season. That’s why L.A. selected Blake Corum with the 83rd pick of the NFL Draft.
Corum, Michigan’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns and the national championship Offensive MVP, checks all the boxes in the skills department. His tool set is admittedly mild — he ran a 4.53-second 40-yard dash at 205 pounds — but the thing is, so is Williams’s, who ran the 40 in 4.65 seconds.
“You know for me,” McVay said soon after Corum (5’ 8”) was drafted, “One of the things that jumped off is there’s a lot of traits that reminded me of Kyren Williams.” He went on to praise Williams before shifting to Corum, but this backfield situation is much more of a 1A:1B type than a rigid order. It could even flip-flop during the season, especially if Williams gets banged up again.
Corum will immediately get full drives in McVay’s offense because the Rams don’t want to overburden Williams. We’ve seen how much this scheme can raise a back’s effectiveness (think C.J. Anderson). I don’t mean to diminish Williams’ accomplishments, but I struggle to reason why the well-rounded Corum wouldn’t be as productive, if not more so.
Like all handcuffs, Corum will have a path to dramatically outperform his ADP if his backfield mate sustains an injury. What makes him more appealing than other backups — other than the obvious McVay boost — is his realistic chance to take a lead role simply by being the best running back on the team.
Half-PPR ADP: 163 – RB50
Speaking of players who are sneakily the best backs on their teams…
I kid, I kid. Bijan Robinson is the best player on the Falcons, and Tyler Allgeier won’t be a needle mover in fantasy so long as Robinson is active.
That said, Allgeier will have “a big role” according to offensive coordinator Zac Robinson. Atlanta’s new brass certainly hasn’t been shy to hype Bijan Robinson this offseason, but they haven’t forgotten about the franchise’s rushing rookie record holder, either.
Allgeier “has been assured he will get plenty of carries under the new coaching staff,” a league source told The Athletic. According to Falcons on SI, the staff “instructed Allgeier to grow in the passing game, from catching and running routes to blocking.”
It’s interesting that the team might want to use him more in the passing game, considering its louder promises of feeding Robinson in open space. Even more exciting is that any strides Allgeier has in that role will make him something he’s already good at — not an area where he had to improve. The third-year pro led all backs in yards per route run last year, per PFF, though he finished with 22 targets to Robinson’s 83.
If Allgeier picks up more work in the passing game — and maintains a relevant role in scoring territory (he ranked 23rd in red zone carries last year) — he can be a viable fantasy option despite playing behind a superior back.
Half-PPR ADP: 187 – RB56
A bet on Dameon Pierce is more on the team than the individual. The Texans project as one of the NFL’s highest-scoring offenses, and they traded for Joe Mixon to lead its backfield after Pierce’s disappointing second season. The latter may not have much of a role barring a Mixon injury.
However, there’s hope that Pierce can improve his play, which would make him a valuable handcuff. Pierce is a natural power rusher with a bowling ball build. When offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik implemented a wide zone scheme, which asks its backs to make decisive cuts, Pierce was slow to adjust.
“My head was in a thousand places at one time,” he told KPRC 2, “and that’s not efficient. You can’t play fast … So, a lot of the cobwebs and all that are gone. I’m more precise and more sharp, cleaner.”
Coaches and teammates also commented on Pierce’s development in training camp. Again, he shouldn’t be expected to threaten a healthy Mixon, but there are worse ideas than buying low on an improving player in a juggernaut offense.
