Murphy’s law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. That feels like a morbid way to start an article about something as harmless as fantasy football, but it’s something to think about when drafting your team. Taking a bell-cow running back early in your draft is a widely accepted great idea, but what happens when he gets hurt?
This is where drafting his handcuff comes into play. If you’re unfamiliar with the term handcuff in fantasy football, it’s the backup running back on a team that will amass the value of the starter if they go down with an injury or suffer some other unforeseen circumstance. Having a backup plan is important, and drafting your starters’ handcuff is normally a pretty solid backup plan. Keep reading for a ranking of the AFC North running back handcuffs.
1. Cleveland Browns
Kareem Hunt (or D’Ernest Johnson)
Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb are more Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy than Batman and Robin. They split time and both have defined roles in the offense. Hunt will be drafted by a fantasy GM regardless of if he/she drafted Nick Chubb, so it’s hard to consider him as a traditional handcuff.
Hunt finished as the RB10 in 2020 and that was without really taking advantage of having the backfield to himself for four games. Even with Chubb healthy, Hunt is guaranteed to be on the field on third downs and has a solid receiving floor. Hunt will be drafted with a top-50 pick in all formats, but if either Chubb or Hunt go down, keep an eye on D’Ernest Johnson.
2. Baltimore Ravens
Gus Edwards
The Ravens run the ball more than any other team in the league and Gus Edwards stands to benefit from that this season. In 2020 the Ravens had a four-headed rushing attack with Lamar Jackson, JK Dobbins, Mark Ingram, and Edwards. Even with all of that competition, Edwards ran for 723 yards and six touchdowns, finishing as the RB35 in half-PPR fantasy football formats.
In 2021 Mark Ingram is in Houston, which frees up more carries for both Dobbins and Edwards. The brunt of Edwards’ production last season came when Ingram was out of the lineup, which makes it easy to predict a bump for him this year. Dobbins is the clear starter, but Edwards has low-end RB2/FLEX potential even if Dobbins plays a full season. Edwards should be rostered everywhere.
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3. Pittsburgh Steelers
Benny Snell
Benny Snell failed to take advantage of a massive opportunity in 2020. The starter, James Conner, missed a large chunk of time, and Snell didn’t do much to replace him. Partially that is Snell’s fault, but the Steelers running game stunk last year.
The Steelers were 32nd out of 32 teams in both total rushing yards and yards per carry. Offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s attack revolved around short passes instead of a dominant run game. The Steelers were tied for 30th in yards per passing attempt, showing their lack of desire to push the ball downfield in the passing game.
Pittsburgh used a first-round pick on Najee Harris with the thought that he would help bolster their rushing attack, but in my opinion, the problems run deeper than lacking a skilled running back. If Harris misses time, Snell will walk into a massive workload, but I don’t see him providing anything more than low-end RB3 numbers if he has the backfield to himself. Benny Snell should only be on rosters if Najee Harris misses time.
4. Cincinnati Bengals
Samaje Perine
Samaje Perine finished 2020 with 301 rushing yards and three touchdowns, with 33% of his rushing yards and 67% of his touchdowns coming in one game against the hapless Texans defense.
If Joe Mixon goes down, I expect the Bengals to lean even more on the right arm of Joe Burrow. Burrow was on pace to attempt 646 passes, which would have led the league by 20 over Matt Ryan. All signs point to Burrow being close to 100% after his catastrophic knee injury, and that means he should come out guns blazing.
Joe Mixon is an uber-talented running back and should see a massive workload. If (when) he goes down with an injury, Perine should see a massive workload, but I expect maybe only 40% of the production that the Bengals would get from Mixon. Perine’s fantasy football outlook is similar to Snell’s – only roster him if Mixon goes down.
