Handcuffing ranks among the most overrated and incorrectly utilized strategies in fantasy football.
OK, maybe that wasn't the best way to lead an article about handcuffs.
Let's try this again: Handcuffing can be a valuable tool in fantasy football, if you do it correctly.
That's better.
In a nutshell, some backups are very good players, while others are not. In the event of an injury, some would be positioned for a clear path to a large share of touches, while others would see only a slight uptick in work. Most of your opponents will be thinking about handcuffs only at running back, so you can gain an advantage by selecting those at other positions as well.
When considering handcuffs, the best game plan is to select players with high ceilings should the player ahead of them on the depth chart miss time. For example, should Ezekiel Elliott get hurt (or suspended, due to recent developments), Darren McFadden would take on a workhorse role in Dallas. If Jay Ajayi goes down, however, the likes of Damien Williams and Kenyan Drake would split backfield duties. If you were the guy or gal who picked Ajayi, don't cross McFadden off your list in favor of upgrading Drake or Williams. Pick the guy who can win you a league championship, not a player barely worth flex consideration.
Below are 10 handcuff situations worth monitoring in the mid-to-late rounds of your draft. The fantasy value of each will skyrocket if the teammate above him on the depth chart is injured. You'll notice that I ignored players who will be drafted too early to be considered value picks (e.g. Derrick Henry, Tevin Coleman, Adrian Peterson). As the likes of Ben Tate and Christine Michael have shown in past years, Henry and Coleman are prime examples of handcuffing gone wrong. You should be focusing on maximizing your starting lineup early and taking high-ceiling fliers later.
For updated handcuff information and advice throughout the season, be sure to check out our fantasy depth charts: QB | RB | WR | TE
Beat your league mates to the punch by stashing these players on your bench.
Kareem Hunt, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
Likely to be a midround pick, Hunt borders on "too expensive" for a handcuff, but there are a few reasons he makes the cut. For starters, similar to Coleman in Atlanta, Hunt is positioned for an offensive role even with Spencer Ware healthy. In fact, ESPN Chiefs reporter Adam Teicher recently predicted that Hunt would lead the team's backfield in both rushing and receiving as a rookie. That's certainly a bold prediction, but at a minimum it shows that Hunt will undoubtedly be in for a huge workload in the event of a Ware injury. Hunt is an extremely elusive back who can contribute on all three downs. Over the years, Andy Reid has made heavy use of, and had tons of success with, versatile backs -- LeSean McCoy, Brian Westbrook, Jamaal Charles -- and Hunt is positioned to follow in their footsteps.
Malcolm Mitchell, WR, New England Patriots
Remember this guy? New England's 2016 fourth-round pick struggled with knee and hamstring injuries as a rookie, but emerged onto the fantasy scene down the stretch. He ended up with 401 yards and four touchdowns on 32 receptions, but was on the field for more than half of the team's pass plays in only five regular-season games. Following a 70-yard performance in the Super Bowl, Mitchell was poised for a 2017 breakout, but New England's trade for Brandin Cooks has derailed his short-term outlook. Mitchell is unlikely to see the field much with Cooks, Julian Edelman, Chris Hogan, Rob Gronkowski, James White and Dwayne Allen among those in the mix for targets. Of course, that is until one or more of these players go down with an injury (a common theme in recent years). Mitchell won't sport much fantasy appeal early on this season, but the 24-year-old will end up in the WR3/flex mix should circumstances allow him a return to a near-every-down role.
Darren McFadden, RB, Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys' tailback depth chart is as follows: Ezekiel Elliott, McFadden, Alfred Morris and Jahad Thomas. Thomas is an undrafted rookie and Morris seems unlikely to make the team after he was a healthy scratch down the stretch last season. That leaves 29-year-old McFadden positioned for a massive offensive role behind Dallas' terrific line in the event of an Elliott injury or suspension. And yet, McFadden and his high ceiling can be had in the late rounds of most early drafts. You may recall that McFadden played the lead-back role in Dallas during the second half of 2015 and racked up 1,417 yards on 279 touches for the season. After taking over as the team's feature back in Week 7, McFadden averaged 20.9 touches per game and was fantasy's No. 6 running back the rest of the way.
Sterling Shepard, WR, New York Giants
Similar to Mitchell, Shepard is a second-year receiver who saw his fantasy prospects take a big hit when his team acquired high-pedigree competition during the offseason. The Giants, of course, added Brandon Marshall to the wide receiver room and also selected de facto wideout Evan Engram with their first-round draft pick. Shepard was on the field for a whopping 98 percent of the Giants' pass plays as a rookie and that allowed him an 18 percent target share. The second-round pick was lucky in the touchdown department (8 TD, 5.1 OTD), but his catch total ranked 11th among rookie wide receivers over the past decade. Shepard will still see a ton of snaps in Ben McAdoo's three-WR-heavy scheme, but his targets will take a hit with Engram and especially Marshall in the mix. Marshall is now 33 years old and has missed four games due to injury in the past three years. If he or Odell Beckham Jr. misses time with an injury, Shepard will return to the flex discussion with the possibility of a big breakout in his second season.
James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers
Le'Veon Bell is the Steelers' clear-cut workhorse, but he has missed 17 games over four seasons due to suspension and injury. That includes 14 games the past two years. DeAngelo Williams is gone, which leaves Conner, the team's 2017 third-round pick out of Pitt, positioned as Bell's primary backup. During the 11 games Bell was out or left early in 2015, Williams scored on 11 of 226 touches and registered 30 more fantasy points than any other running back. During the four games Bell missed last season, Williams scored on five of 106 touches and was fantasy's top-scoring back by 13 points. In the event of another Bell injury/suspension, Conner's competition for backfield touches would be the likes of journeymen Fitzgerald Toussaint and Knile Davis. Conner is big (6-foot-1, 233 lbs.) and tough, but lacks speed and wouldn't be nearly as involved as Bell in the passing game. Nonetheless, he'd be positioned for a massive offensive role in one of the league's best and running back-friendly offenses.
Carlos Henderson, WR, Denver Broncos
The Broncos selected Henderson in the third round of April's draft after a super-productive final season at Louisiana Tech, where he posted 1,668 yards and 21 touchdowns on 96 offensive touches. Henderson is fast and versatile with the ability to work as a receiver, ball carrier and returner. Last season, Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders combined to handle 52 percent of Denver's targets. The team did little to add depth during the offseason, which positions Henderson as the favorite for the No. 3 wide receiver gig. If 29-year-old Thomas or 30-year-old Sanders were to miss time, Henderson would vault into a near-every-down role and generous target share. Henderson won't be drafted in most leagues, so he's a name to consider late or, at the very least, for your watch list.
Thomas Rawls, RB, Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks signed Eddie Lacy to lead their backfield and, although I'm certainly a Lacy apologist, savvy fantasy owners need to be ready in the event that he doesn't work out. There are many reasons why that could happen: injury, a dip in effectiveness at age 27, or Rawls could simply overtake him. It's easy to forget following an injury-plagued 2016 campaign, but Rawls was nothing short of dominant in 156 touches in 2015. He averaged a league-high 5.6 yards per carry, including 2.7 after contact (third best). The 24-year-old is expected to open 2017 fighting for carries behind Lacy and second-year passing-down specialist C.J. Prosise. That won't allow much fantasy production early on, but if Rawls finds himself back atop the depth chart, he'll return to the RB2 mix. He'll cost you no more than a late-round pick.
Dwayne Allen, TE, New England Patriots
Allen hasn't performed at a high level since his rookie season back in 2012, but he certainly has some handcuff appeal following his move to New England to work as injury-plagued Rob Gronkowski's backup. Gronkowski has missed 24 regular-season games during the past five seasons, including at least one each year. That's allowed the likes of Martellus Bennett, Tim Wright and Scott Chandler to find their way onto the fantasy radar. Allen has had injury troubles of his own (23 missed games, including at least two in each of the past four seasons) and has accrued 81 receptions, 930 yards and 16 touchdowns during that four-year span. Allen isn't special as a receiver and hasn't blocked well in years, but there's no doubt he'll be positioned for TE1 production in New England's high-scoring offense if Gronkowski were to miss more time.
Jonathan Williams, RB, Buffalo Bills
The Bills selected Williams with a fifth-round pick during the 2016 draft. The Arkansas product was limited to 28 touches as a rookie, but finds himself positioned for a much larger role in his second season. The Patriots signed Mike Gillislee away, leaving 31-year-old fullback Mike Tolbert as Williams' primary competition for the team's No. 2 tailback gig behind LeSean McCoy. McCoy is now 29 years old and has missed at least one game during five of his eight NFL seasons. That includes six missed games in the past two years. Gillislee scored nine touchdowns on 110 touches in relief of McCoy last season, and although that unsustainable touchdown rate isn't going to transfer to Williams, the role as McCoy's handcuff likely will. Williams is well worth a late flier in a Bills offense likely to lean heavily on the run in Sean McDermott's first year as head coach.
D'Onta Foreman, RB, Houston Texans
Foreman, who turned 21 years old in April before being taken in the third round of the NFL draft, has limitations as a receiver and blocker, but is a highly intriguing power runner. He racked up 2,028 yards and 15 touchdowns on 323 carries at Texas last season. Foreman lost yards on 8.7 percent of those carries, which was best among all backs who went on to be drafted. The big man joins a Houston franchise that spent big money on Lamar Miller last offseason, but lacked depth at the position. Should Miller struggle with injuries or effectiveness (he wasn't very good last year), Foreman would be the favorite for lead-back duties over Alfred Blue, Akeem Hunt and Tyler Ervin. Add Houston's high-volume, run-heavy offense to the mix and Foreman has plenty of late-round appeal. This, of course, assumes he avoids suspension following his arrest in mid-July.
Deep-league handcuff targets: Seahawks WR Paul Richardson, Packers RBs Jamaal Williams and Aaron Jones, Cardinals RB Andre Ellington, Cowboys TE Rico Gathers, Colts TE Erik Swoope, Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, Colts RB Marlon Mack, Chargers RB Branden Oliver, Giants RB Wayne Gallman, Eagles RB Donnel Pumphrey, Eagles TE Trey Burton, Buccaneers WR Chris Godwin, Titans TE Jonnu Smith, Redskins TE Vernon Davis