9 Must-Draft Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuffs: Who Holds Value If Christian McCaffrey Misses Time?

When you draft a star fantasy running back, in many cases it's important to make sure to handcuff them with their backup running back just in case they miss time. That does not include a secondary option in a two-back system. The best handcuffs will not only full a near full-workload if their starter goes down, but should also have a ton of upside. These are the top handcuff running backs to own for the 2026 fantasy football season.

Brian Robinson Jr, Atlanta Falcons

Robinson looks to be the clear backup for Bijan Robinson, and he will bring more to your fantasy league than causing chaos during your draft because of his name. Not only is he a high-end handcuff, but he could hold some standalone value as well.

Last season in Atlanta, Tyler Allgeier carried the ball 143 times and caught 14 passes, posting over 600 yards from scrimmage and scoring eight touchdowns. While we do not believe that Robinson is as good as Allgeier, if he sees similar volume, he could be more than just a handcuff at times during the season. Nevertheless, he will be a distant backup enough to Bijan to be considered a true handcuff.

Jordan James, San Francisco 49ers

There isn't a running back in the league more important to handcuff than Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. Not only does he have a long injury history coming off a massive workload, but the 49ers starting running back is a valuable role no matter who is back there.

James is projected to be the handcuff. However, this is a backfield to monitor throughout the offseason, because Kaelon Black and Isaac Guerendo could end up winning the backup job.

Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens

Hill will be the pass-catching back in Baltimore, so he does hold some standalone value. We all know that Derrick Henry is going to see a ton of carries like he always does, but while he seems super human, he is now 32 years old. At some point he has to breakdown.

While we aren't betting it will be this year, it's better to be safe than sorry. Hill would have a ton of upside if Henry were to miss any time. We would expect him to handle both the passing downs and goal-line work.

Samaje Perine, Cincinnati Bengals

Perine is the true handcuff to Chase Brown. While he gets enough work to be a nuisance for Brown owners, he doesn't hold enough value on his own to start. Nevertheless, we have seen in the past, if Brown misses any time, Perine becomes a bell-cow back in a high-octane Bengals' offense.

DJ Giddens, Indianapolis Colts

We haven't seen much out of Giddens in the NFL, so he does come with some risk. Nonetheless, he looks to be a true handcuff to Jonathan Taylor in a run-heavy offense.

Taylor does have a history of missing time. In his six year career, only twice has he played a full slate of games. Giddens would have massive upside if Taylor were to miss any games this season.

Mike Washington Jr, Las Vegas Raiders

The rookie ended up finding an unfortunate landing spot in the 2026 NFL Draft behind Ashton Jeanty. Washington is not going to take Jeanty's job and we don't know if he'll have much of a workload at all if Jeanty his healthy. With that said, if Jeanty were to miss any time, Washington could step into a bell-cow role Even in a bad offense he would hold plenty of fantasy value.

Tank Bigsby, Philadelphia Eagles

Bigsby is projected to be the handcuff for Saquon Barkley. If Barkley were to go down, Bigsby would be the starter to one of the most run-heavy offenses in the league. That is enough to make him a must-own handcuff.

Chris Brooks, Green Bay Packers

Josh Jacobs looks to be aging, declining, and has dealt with some serious offseason issues. While it looks like his legal issues won't impact his season, it's still something to consider.

He is still just 28 years old, but he has a lot of tread on the tire. With so much working against him this season, and Emanuel Wilson gone, Brooks could be a premier handcuff in Green Bay.

Isiah Pacheco, Detroit Lions

Pacheco is interesting because he could end up having a significant role in this offense similarly to what we saw from David Montgomery last season. We aren't counting on that though.

We believe that Jahmyr Gibbs is going to see the vast majority of the touches this season. More than he's ever seen in the past. However, if he does miss any time, Pacheco would step right into that role.

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