The NFL preseason is a wrap and with 53-man rosters being finalized, fantasy football draft season is in full swing. Given the nature of the position, some of the league’s top running backs are bound to go down at some point during the season and that makes their backups or “handcuffs” that much more important in fantasy leagues.
We already went over some of the top handcuffs for the upcoming season and now we’ll take a stab at slotting them into tiers of importance. Let’s dive in.
David Montgomery, Detroit Lions
Montgomery is hands down the most valuable handcuff option in the league this season even though he technically doesn’t fit the definition of a traditional handcuff. The “Sonic and Knuckles” tandem of him and Jahmyr Gibbs share the workload out of the Lions backfield and while Gibbs’ skills as a pass-catcher made him the top fantasy RB in PPR leagues last season, Monty was a top-20 fantasy back in his own right. The bruising back delivered 775 yards and 12 touchdowns in 14 games and could’ve possibly joined Gibbs in the top-10 had he not missed three contests with an MCL injury.
Pairing Montgomery and Gibbs would cost fantasy managers two of their earlier picks, but it would be a worthwhile investment considering that you could simply stack them in your starting lineup and reap the rewards. And if Gibbs were to go down, Montgomery would simply slide right in as the top tailback.
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Charbonnet enters the season as Kenneth Walker III’s backup in Seattle but could possibly see his role change at some point during the year. The third-year player is coming off an impressive campaign where he finished as a top-25 fantasy back in all scoring formats, clocking 569 rushing yards, 340 receiving yards, and nine total touchdowns. Meanwhile, Walker has dealt with injuries during his time with the Seahawks and a foot injury has nagged at him all throughout training camp. It would not be a shock to see Charbonnet eventually eclipse him as RB1 this season.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets
Entering his second season, Allen stands to benefit from a brand new coaching staff with former Detroit Lions passing-game coordinator Tanner Engstrand coming over as OC. The Lions’ offense was one of the deadliest attacks in the entire league last season thanks in large part to the aforementioned duo of Montgomery an Gibbs. It was a classic two-back setup where the 230-pound Montgomery would handle business between the tackles as a bruiser while the speedier Gibbs could be used as a weapon in the passing game. Both finished as top-20 fantasy running backs in PPR leagues and the vision in New York is for Allen and Breece Hall to replicate that dynamic.
Even with this dynamic, Hall is still considered the starter for the Jets heading into the regular season. But given Allen’s impressive showing in training camp and persistent trade speculation, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the handcuff become the top guy by season’s end.
Kaleb Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
Jaylen Warren will begin the season as Pittsburgh’s starting tailing but if preseason trends are an indicator, it won’t be long before the rookie Johnson leapfrogs him. At 6’1”, 224-pounds, Johnson has the build of a typical “bruiser” back, but is actually more known for his patience in finding the right running lanes according to scouts like NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein. With veteran Najee Harris departing this offseason, the Iowa product could fill the role of being their workhorse while Warren gets passing-down back duties. Again, Johnson will enter the season as a handcuff, but that may not be the case for very long and you could potentially have a steal on your hands.
Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars
There is still speculation that the Jags could trade either Bigsby or Travis Etienne ahead of their Week 1 opener against the Carolina Panthers. If things stay static however, then the team will retain a formidable 1-2 punch in a revamped offense under new head coach Liam Coen. Bigsby ended up outperforming Etienne during the Jags’ miserable 4-13 campaign last season, running for 766 yards on 4.6 yards per carry and seven touchdowns. This combined with a disappointing year for Etienne led to the aforementioned trade rumors all throughout training camp, but it appears that Etienne will retain his starter role should the new staff stay the course with this roster. However, Bigsby is bound to get plenty of touches as a backup and could potentially rip the starting job at some point.
Najee Harris, Los Angeles Chargers
Harris signed a one-year deal with the Chargers in the offseason and is expected to split carries with rookie Omarion Hampton this season. His offseason eye injury opened the door for Hampton to get starter reps throughout training camp and the expectation is for the first-year back to eventually cement himself as RB1 in L.A. Still, Harris is trending towards being ready for Week 1 and given the team’s run-heavy philosophy under offensive coordinator Greg Roman, the veteran should get enough carries to present himself as a viable handcuff option throughout the season.
Jordan Mason, Minnesota Vikings
Mason became extremely important for the San Francisco 49ers in the absence of Christian McCaffrey last season, piling up 789 yards and three touchdowns on the year. He has now taken his talents to the NFC North, where he will be Aaron Jones’ handcuff in Minnesota. Jones is about to turn 31 this December and head coach Kevin O’Connell has already described the pairing as a 1A/1B situation. This has the potential to turn into a situation where an upstart usurps the aging veteran, so keep tabs on Mason in your drafts.
TreVeyon Henderson, New England Patriots
Patriots training camp was filled with buzz surrounding Henderson and franchise legend Julian Edelman even suggested that the second-round pick will end up being the steal of the 2025 NFL Draft. The Ohio State housed a 100-yard kick return to open the the preseason and has been making plays explosive plays all throughout training camp. Don’t get too hasty though as he’ll most likely start the season as Rhamondre Stevenson’s backup and Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels will pick and choose the spots to deploy his rookie weapon. Still, you can see the potential and Henderson wouldn’t be a bad option to have on standby.
Will Shipley, Philadelphia Eagles
Shipley turned some heads during training camp and he is expected to serve as the backup running back for the reigning Super Bowl champions this season. The Clemson product had very limited playing time as a rookie last season and that’s understandable given his spot on the depth chart and Saquon Barkley’s workload. Given that Barkley registered over 480 touches between the regular season and the playoffs combined last year, the team will most likely alleviate some of that burden by giving extra touches to Shipley. And if the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year were to go down with an injury, the second-year back suddenly becomes a top handcuff for fantasy managers.
Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
Benson only got a smattering of touches as a rookie for the Cardinals last season, ultimately registering 63 carries for 291 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Bulking up in the offseason, the now second-year running back is poised for even more carries in 2025 an will be James’ Conner’s handcuff in Arizona. While Conner is coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, he just turned 30 and has dealt with injuries almost every year of his career. Benson is an ideal insurance policy in case the veteran were to miss time.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
Brian Robinson Jr./Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
RJ Harvey, Denver Broncos
Zamir White, Las Vegas Raiders
Cam Skattebo, New York Giants
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers
This group of handcuffs who sit squarely behind entrenched starters, but can be trusted to step up big if one of them were to get hurt. Allgeier has managed to carve out back-to-back 600+ yard rushing seasons even while backing up the heavily used Bijan Robinson and Davis proved that he could serve as a proper fill-in for James Cook last season. And given Christian McCaffrey’s age and injury history, it would be a wise investment for managers to secure a roster spot for either Robinson or Guerendo.
Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens
Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
Dylan Sampson, Cleveland Browns
Jaylen Wright/Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins
Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs
Jacorey Croskey-Merritt, Washington Commanders
This could be considered the “sleeper” group of handcuffs, late-round/waiver wire pickups that can heavily outperform expectations if given the opportunity. The Bears have question marks behind starter D’Andre Swift and considering how Ben Johnson deployed is backs Detroit, the fast-rising rookie Monangai has a chance to carve out a role for himself. And with the Commanders shipping out the aforementioned Robinson to San Francisco, JCM could get plenty of work as a rookie.
