Handcuff Your Running Backs: The Ultimate Fantasy Football Draft Strategy for 2025

If you're looking for a championship-tested fantasy football draft approach, look no further than handcuffing your running backs. It's a time-tested formula that's been a staple of my championship-winning fantasy football success, year after year, for over twenty years.
What is handcuffing, and why does it succeed, as well as the top three running back handcuffs you'll need to make a top priority in your 2025 fantasy football drafts, will all be detailed below.
What Is Handcuffing?
Handcuffing is a simple yet astute approach. You take an early starting running back and then, perhaps some rounds down the road, take his backup.
The idea is to insure your investment in a quality player by obtaining the player who would take over the starter position if the main back got injured or didn't play. It's an insurance policy roster fantasy, guaranteeing you ownership of a team's ground game in the event of disaster.
But handcuffing is not a universal approach. Not all running backs have an adequate handcuff, and not all systems of teams permit this play. You need to attack specific parameters in order to make it work.
The Criteria for Successful Handcuffing
To handcuff a running back effectively, you need to invest money in the system, not personnel. Here's what to do:
- Run-Heavy Offense: The offense must have a run-oriented philosophy with high rushing usage.
- Bell Cow Back: The feature running back must receive the lion's share of the workload, with minimal sharing of carries. Although they might come out of the game occasionally, the backfield is decidedly theirs.
- Capable Backup: The backup has to be able to do the entire workload if the starter gets injured. That means they shouldn't be a situational player who hands off snaps to a short-yardage specialist or third-down pass-catcher.
If you can find such a team and players, you're laying the groundwork for fantasy greatness. Let's get to my top three running back handcuffs for the 2025 NFL season.
Top 3 RB Handcuffs for 2025
Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet (Seattle Seahawks)
Seattle Seahawks, with new OC Clint Kubiak, will employ a run-dominant, run-first attack in 2025. Kenneth Walker is the clear head back, holding onto the lion's share of the work on this high-volume rushing attack. Injuries can always occur, though, and that's when Zach Charbonnet enters the picture.
Charbonnet is a skilled backup who can handle the entire load if Walker suffers an injury. He's already demonstrated he can fill in and do the job, and Kubiak's offense keeps the running back position productive no matter who gets the touches. Draft Walker as your RB1 or RB2, and then add Charbonnet on the backend to round out Seattle's backfield.
Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo (San Francisco 49ers)
Christian McCaffrey is the 49ers' offense's soul and center, a bell cow if ever there were one who absorbs an ungodly workload. Run-heavy Kyle Shanahan-scheme 49ers dump touches on McCaffrey, and he is a fantasy first-round pick. However, injuries have kept him sidelined from time to time, so his backup, Isaac Guerendo, is a key handcuff.
The 49ers cut Elijah Mitchell and Jordan Mason, making Guerendo the definitive No. 2. When McCaffrey was out last year, Guerendo carried the entire load with fantastic results. If you're going to draft McCaffrey early, be sure to take Guerendo late to protect your investment in one of the most dynamic offenses in the NFL.
De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright (Miami Dolphins)
De'Von Achane operates a run-dominant team in Miami under the guidance of head coach Mike McDaniel. While McDaniel prefers to cycle running backs to maintain legs, Achane is the bell cow and gets most of the reps. Achane's past and lean build make Jaylen Wright a perfect handcuff as the backup.
If Achane goes down, Wright is ready to step into a significant role. Think back to Raheem Mostert’s breakout a couple of seasons ago—Wright has similar potential to explode in Miami’s high-octane offense. Pair Achane with Wright in your draft, and you’ll have the Dolphins’ backfield locked down, ready to deliver fantasy points all season long.
Why Handcuffing Wins Championships
Handcuffing isn't solely injury prevention; it's roster maximization. When you acquire a backup who can project (or reasonably approximate) the starter's output, you're hedging against losing a quality asset while retaining ownership of a quality offense unit. It's particularly crucial in modern-day NFL, where running back injuries are rampant and workload is concentrated into a few key guys.
In addition, handcuffing provides you with trade flexibility. If your first running back remains healthy, you may be able to trade the backup to a struggling manager whose running back was injured. Or, if the backup begins receiving more touches because of a committee system, you've got a flex option or trading piece.
How to Incorporate Handcuffing in Your Draft
In order to handcuff your running backs, you must do the following:
- Hit the Right RBs Early: Hit running backs in run-first systems with established backups. Walker, McCaffrey, and Achane top the group.
- Wait for the Backup: Don't pick up the handcuff prematurely. Charbonnet, Guerendo, and Wright are normally available in the double-digit rounds, so you can establish depth elsewhere first.
- Prioritize Your Starters' Handcuffs: If you're drafting multiple top running backs, prioritize their backups ahead of lottery ticket sleepers on the backend of rounds.
- Stay on Top of the Depth Chart: Backups will be decided by preseason and training camp. Keep tabs on injuries, depth chart adjustments, and coaching tendencies.
Final Thoughts
Handcuffing your running backs is a proven strategy that can elevate your fantasy football team from contender to champion. By targeting players like Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, Christian McCaffrey and Isaac Guerendo, and De'Von Achane and Jaylen Wright, you’re investing in high-volume, run-first systems that deliver consistent fantasy production.
Don’t leave your draft without securing these critical backups—they could be the difference between a playoff berth and a championship trophy.
For further expert advice, rankings, and draft guidance, head over to the Fantasy Alarm NFL Draft Guide. Here's to crushing the 2025 season and claiming that championship!
Player News
Tory Horton “continues to make plays” with the first-team offense while Marquez Valdes-Scantling “was again working a lot with the second team.”
Horton is evidently playing well both as a field-stretcher and in the red zone. ESPN’s Brady Henderson reports that Horton “caught a red zone TD pass from Sam Darnold” on Sunday. The fifth-round rookie is making progress in his quest to relegate MVS to a backup role.
Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said the tight end position is the offense’s “silent engine.”
The Athletic’s Mike Dugar explains, “Seattle’s offense is built around the idea of making all the run actions look like their passing concepts and vice versa.” The Seahawks need to be able to put No. 1 TE AJ Barner and veteran Eric Saubert “on opposite ends of the line of scrimmage on early downs and make it difficult for the defense to predict which direction the run might go.” Dugar adds, “Barner continues to show he’s a great athlete with soft hands and the ability to make big-time catches,” while curiously abstaining from forecasting Elijah Arroyo’s exact role, beyond emphasizing Arroyo’s demonstrated receiving abilities. Barner appears to be the favorite to lead the position group in early-season snaps. Arroyo will likely need to prove himself as a blocker in order to have a full-time role, though operating in a specialized receiver role at least remains possible.
Colts RB Khalil Herbert (undisclosed) missed practice on Sunday.
This is Herbert’s second missed practice. The Indy Star’s Nate Atkins commented on the matter, saying this is a “setback” for Herbert “in the RB3 battle.” Herbert is not worth stashing on fantasy benches at this time.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith caught 0-of-2 targets in the Chargers’ preseason Week 1 game against the Saints.
Lambert-Smith led the Chargers’ wide receiver corps with 30 snaps, and played 5-of-6 on the first drive. The intriguing rookie needs a bounce-back showing next week if he wants to earn an early-season role in the offense.
Tre’ Harris caught 0-of-1 targets in the Chargers’ preseason Week 1 game against the Saints.
Not much to go on here. Harris played 28 snaps, including 5-of-6 on the first drive. Harris must make his mark if he wants to lock up the X-receiver role pre-Week 1.
Oronde Gadsden II caught 2-of-4 targets for 15 yards in the Chargers’ preseason Week 1 game against the Saints.
Gadsden and Tyler Conklin both logged three first-drive snaps and Conklin failed to secure his lone target. Gadsden has a long way to go before he becomes re-draft-relevant but he’s getting reps alongside Conklin, which is a good start.