Juice Up Your Backfield with Our Unique RB Handcuff Rankings
Nailing the Best RB Handcuffs Can Supercharge Your Fantasy Season
RB fantasy production is incredibly volume-driven. A backup RB can often produce 80%, 90%, or even 100% of the starter’s fantasy points on the same workload. (Shoutout to the “RBs don’t matter” crowd.)
That makes the best RB handcuffs a powerful way to boost your fantasy squad.
How Do We Find the Best RB Handcuffs in 2026?
This is not your typical article on the best RB handcuffs. We’re not ranking backups by gut feel. We’re using a more methodical approach to find the best handcuffs for your draft.
Let’s start with what makes a top handcuff:
- He’s talented
- He’s the clear No. 2 RB on his team
- He plays in a strong offense
- He’s backing up a high-risk starter
We’ll score each handcuff from 1-10 in each category, then average those scores to build the handcuff rankings.
NOTE
These rankings focus strictly on handcuff upside, not standalone value. For rankings that consider both standalone value and handcuff upside in your league, get this custom fantasy football cheatsheet.
Best RB Handcuffs, Ranked 1-32
| Rank | Player | Team | Talent | Depth Chart | Offense | Starter Risk | Handcuff Score |
| 1 | Blake Corum | LAR | 9.5 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 8.4 |
| 2 | Kyle Monangai | CHI | 8 | 9.5 | 8 | 6 | 7.9 |
| 3 | Woody Marks | HOU | 7 | 10 | 5 | 7.5 | 7.4 |
| t-4 | Chris Rodriguez | JAC | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7.5 | 7.1 |
| t-4 | Ray Davis | BUF | 7 | 8 | 10 | 3.5 | 7.1 |
| t-6 | Kaelon Black | SF | 6 | 6.5 | 8 | 7 | 6.9 |
| t-6 | Rachaad White | WAS | 7 | 7.5 | 6 | 7 | 6.9 |
| t-6 | Emmett Johnson | KC | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7 | 5.5 | 6.9 |
| t-9 | Keaton Mitchell | LAC | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6.8 |
| t-9 | Tank Bigsby | PHI | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 6.8 |
| 11 | Mike Washington | LV | 7.5 | 9.5 | 2 | 7.5 | 6.6 |
| 12 | Malik Davis | DAL | 5.5 | 6.5 | 9 | 5 | 6.5 |
| 13 | Aaron Jones | MIN | 5.5 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 6.4 |
| 14 | Tyjae Spears | TEN | 8 | 7.5 | 3 | 6.5 | 6.3 |
| t-15 | Tyler Allgeier | ARI | 8 | 9.5 | 1 | 6 | 6.1 |
| t-15 | Brian Robinson | ATL | 8 | 10 | 3 | 3.5 | 6.1 |
| t-15 | Justice Hill | BAL | 5.5 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 6.1 |
| t-18 | Chris Brooks | GB | 3.5 | 3 | 8 | 9.5 | 6.0 |
| t-18 | Jonah Coleman * | DEN | 7.5 | 5.5 | 5 | 6 | 6.0 |
| t-18 | Samaje Perine | CIN | 3.5 | 6.5 | 9 | 5 | 6.0 |
| 21 | Tyrone Tracy | NYG | 7 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 5.8 |
| 22 | Sean Tucker * | TB | 5.5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 5.4 |
| 23 | Braelon Allen | NYJ | 7 | 7.5 | 1 | 5.5 | 5.3 |
| t-24 | George Holani * | SEA | 3 | 3.5 | 8 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| t-24 | Dylan Sampson | CLE | 6.5 | 7 | 1 | 5.5 | 5.0 |
| t-24 | Alvin Kamara | NO | 5.5 | 6.5 | 4 | 4 | 5.0 |
| 27 | Seth McGowan | IND | 3.5 | 6 | 6 | 3.5 | 4.8 |
| 28 | Jacob Saylors | DET | 3 | 2 | 10 | 3.5 | 4.6 |
| 29 | Eli Heidenreich * | PIT | 5 | 3.5 | 4 | 3 | 3.9 |
| 30 | Corey Kiner * | NE | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 3.5 |
| t-31 | Jaylen Wright | MIA | 4 | 1.5 | 2 | 6 | 3.4 |
| t-31 | A.J. Dillon * | CAR | 3.5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3.4 |
Note: Players marked with a * are third on their team's depth chart behind a committee. This has been factored into their Depth Chart and Starter Risk scores.
Top 5 Handcuffs For 2026
1. Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Corum earns our highest Talent score among handcuff RBs after an excellent 2025 season. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and ranked top 12 among 51 qualifying RBs in both rush yards over expected per attempt and missed tackles forced per attempt.
The environment helps, too: The Rams led the league in total yards and points last season, and this year’s team has the league’s highest implied total at 26.5 points per game.
If Kyren Williams misses time this season, Corum would command the vast majority of the backfield work and land inside RB1 territory in our weekly rankings.
2. Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
No projection needed here. When D’Andre Swift missed Week 9 last year, Monangai played 74% of Chicago’s offensive snaps and turned 29 touches into 198 total yards and an RB3 finish in PPR points, despite not scoring a TD.
That huge game came against a porous Bengals defense. But Monangai’s usage in an always-efficient Ben Johnson running game would make him a locked-in fantasy RB1 if Swift misses time again this season.
Monangai is currently sidelined with a hyperextended knee that might cost him the start of the season. But it shouldn't impact his handcuff value much beyond that.
3. Woody Marks, Houston Texans
Marks isn’t as talented as the two guys above him in these rankings. He’s a capable pass-catcher, but he wasn’t impressive on the ground in college or as a rookie last year.
That said, Marks proved he can handle volume last season, getting the rock 15+ times in eight games. He averaged 13.1 PPR points in those outings, which would have ranked 20th among RBs.
That might be his ceiling, but a David Montgomery absence this season would still leave Marks with a bankable role for a Texans team that wants to lean on its defense and running game.
T-4. Chris Rodriguez, Jacksonville Jaguars
Rodriguez sits behind an unproven lead back in Bhayshul Tuten, who’s also a Medium Risk on our Injury Predictor.
That gives Rodriguez plenty of handcuff upside in a Jaguars offense that was excellent in HC Liam Coen’s debut, finishing sixth in points and 11th in total yards.
Rodriguez has been an effective runner through three NFL seasons, averaging 4.6 yards per carry and leading all 69 qualifying RBs with 3.0 yards after contact per attempt over the last two years.
The downside is that Rodriguez has totaled just 6 catches as a pro and would likely lose passing-down work to LeQuint Allen if Tuten misses time this year. That’d likely keep him from ascending beyond RB2 territory, but he’d still be a valuable fantasy asset.
T-4. Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
Davis has already proven his handcuff value.
When James Cook missed Week 6 in 2024, Davis took 20 carries for 97 yards and caught all 3 of his targets for 55 more. He finished RB12 in PPR points, despite not scoring a TD.
Cook also went off for 174 total yards and a score in last year's regular-season finale, when Cook played just 2 snaps in a meaningless game for Buffalo.
Davis would cede passing-down work to Ty Johnson in the event of a Cook injury. But he's a talented runner who would control early-down and goal-line work for a Bills offense implied for the second-most points per game.
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