What is a “handcuff” in fantasy football? It’s the idea of drafting a player’s backup in case the starting player gets hurt. It’s also been a staple of the running back position in fantasy football since the inception of the game. In fact, back in the early 2000s at the pinnacle of the bell cow running back, it was borderline mandatory. Priest Holmes goes down, Larry Johnson goes in the lineup. Those were simpler times.

Now, backfields are not as simple. Ever since the 2010 CBA expanded gameday rosters, we’ve seen all sorts of niche roles and splits develop. The handcuff is still viable, but it’s certainly a bit more messy now. It’s led to the rise of a more popular type of player: the handcuff plus. And now, at both running back AND other positions, I’d like to talk about a third type – one I like to call the “double handcuff” and “double handcuff plus”. Here are the definitions:

  • Handcuff - The direct backup to a player where, if the starter gets hurt, he becomes startable in fantasy immediately.
    • Example: If Russell Wilson gets hurt, Justin Fields immediately has upside in fantasy as a mobile QB. But he has little to no value until then.
  • Handcuff Plus - This player has some standalone value in fantasy, but we would see a big boost in value if there were an injury to the starter.
  • Double Handcuff - This player does not have much standalone value. But if one of MULTIPLE players gets hurt, he now has immediate upside.
    • Example: See below.
  • Double Handcuff Plus - This player has some standalone value but would have BIG upside if one of MULTIPLE players gets hurt.
    • Example: See below.

Much like poker, fantasy football is a game of skill that also requires some luck. Our job is to improve our odds as best as possible with fantasy strategy while hoping the cards fall our way. As Seneca once said, “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity”. So, like an open-ended straight draw, let’s look at some players that have a couple extra OUTS.

 

 

 

Best Handcuff TEs 2024: Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles

The key to the tight end version of this is that the tight end needs to clearly be third and ahead of the WR3. For instance, if a wide receiver in Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Green Bay, etc. gets hurt, they still have two premier pass-catchers available. Those tight ends are more like two injuries away to two guys, not one injury to either guy.

Dallas Goedert is the quintessential “double handcuff plus”. He definitely has standalone value in the “backend TE1” range. But, as we know from our article What Makes An Elite Tight End, most high-end tight ends are top two on their team in targets. In fact, last year, every TE1 in PPR finished as a top two target on their team. So, an injury to A.J. Brown or DeVonta Smith would certainly boost his upside.

The problem? Well, it’s been Dallas Goedert who actually gets hurt. He’s missed time five years in a row. The two WRs haven’t missed a game while being on the Eagles – which is pretty impressive. And, when Goedert is out, they both get a little boost into the 8.5-to-9-target-a-game range. Maybe this is the year when the flip side happens and Goedert gets that boost? He’s never finished above TE7 in fantasy.

 

 

 

Best Handcuff WRs 2024: Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers

There are a lot of situations where an injury to a wide receiver would open the door for another. But some situations certainly create more leverage and upside than others. The 49ers, for instance, run a fairly unique system that heavily features the fullback and blocking tight end. Kyle Juszczyk alone played around 50% of the snaps. That often takes the WR3 out of the game, which consolidates the snaps and targets among the top two.

Despite both Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk missing time, the WR after them that played the most snaps was Jauan Jennings at ~34% on the season. So, first round draft pick Ricky Pearsall out of Florida might not have a super fantasy relevant role right away. He’s more of a pure double handcuff. 

But Jauan Jennings last year came in and played 75-85% of the snaps in Weeks 7 and 8 when Deebo Samuel was out. That could be Pearsall if there is an injury, except he’s more talented than Jennings. And Pearsall even has a third out right now with all of the rumblings of a Brandon Aiyuk trade…

 

 

 

Best Handcuff RBs 2024: Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins

Oddly, running back doesn’t have a ton of these guys because most players are handcuffs for each other – there are more situations where you need one specific player to get hurt. For the double handcuff, you need a true split backfield where both roles are relevant. Like we see with the Miami Dolphins, where they are clearly happy deploying two backs. And we know that both of those backs can be fantasy relevant.

Mike McDaniel and crew made sure that they have a third back ready to go by drafting Jaylen Wright in the third round of the 2024 NFL Draft. There were some durability concerns about De’Von Achane at 5’9”, 187. And he did end up missing some time last year. Raheem Mostert has had injury issues his entire career – and he’s now 32 years old. If either of these players gets hurt, I don’t expect the other to take over the full workload. 

I expect the blazing-fast Wright (98th percentile 40-time per Player Profiler) to step into the vacated role. He might be more of a double handcuff than a double handcuff plus but, given the two outs, I would not be shocked to see him as the top fantasy waiver wire add at some point this season.