Much like old school comedian Rodney Dangerfield (Google him and watch the movie Back to School), running backs (RBs) don’t get any respect from the NFL. In what has steadily evolved into a pass happy league, NFL teams have been nickeling and diming top tier running backs like Austin Ekeler, Saquon Barkley, and J.K. Dobbins when it comes to contract negotiations while they throw a boatload of money at their franchise quarterbacks. 

There’s been a growing trend for NFL owners to balk at signing their top RBs to long term contracts and to avoid paying them what they think they’re worth. Ekeler has called for his fellow RBs to revolt against ownership and has been very vocal about his displeasure with his own current four year $24,500,000.00 contract which expires at the end of this season. The Chargers responded to Ekeler’s unhappiness by adding $1.75 million in incentives to his contract and signing quarterback Justin Herbert to a five-year, $262.5 million contract extension. Speaking of unhappy RBs, wouldn’t you have loved to have been a fly on the wall in that meeting between Colts owner Jim Irsay and 2021 rushing champ Jonathan Taylor that caused the star RB to promptly ask to be traded?

The disrespect for the running back position found its way into this preseason’s fantasy football drafts as well. According to FantasyPros consensus ADPs, prior to the 2022 season 12 of the first 20 picks in half point PPR leagues were RBs. This preseason only eight of the first 20 picks in half point PPR leagues were RBs. 

With so many teams’ offensive strategies geared toward their passing game the only RBs being selected in the early rounds of preseason drafts are the few remaining bell cow backs. However, the running back by committee (RBBC) approach that an increasing number of NFL coaches are using when it comes to RB utilization has made the bell cow back an endangered species and one that you might consider handcuffing. 

Handcuffing Your Running Backs

When you handcuff your RBs in many instances you’re:

  • Protecting your early round investment
  • Buying into and trusting that your RB’s team will continue to make running the football a priority 
  • Figuratively taking out insurance against an injury prone RB or one who has a good chance of losing his job if he doesn’t perform well

Rostering one of the few remaining bell cow RBs probably cost you a ton of draft capital and by also rostering his handcuff you’re protecting your investment. When you selected that bell cow back you were also putting your faith in his team’s offensive philosophy and that should be taken into consideration when deciding on whether to handcuff your running backs or not. For instance, if you used a first-round pick to draft Bijan Robinson it makes a lot of sense to draft his backup Tyler Allgeier because you know that even if Robinson goes down with an injury the Falcons are still going to be a run first team. You’re trusting their offensive system. Handcuffing RBs like the often-injured Christian McCaffrey also makes sense. With the 49ers having run the fifth highest percentage of run plays last season drafting Elijah Mitchell as McCaffrey’s handcuff, not only protects you in case McCaffrey lands on the IR but also lets you still roster a talented RB who will be heavily utilized by his team. With the Rams’ love/hate relationship when it comes to Cam Akers rostering his backup Kyren Williams should be a priority if Akers is one of your starting fantasy football RBs.

Pass Protection

Protecting the quarterback is an important role for today’s RBs and could be a difference maker in how much playing time they receive. The Patriots have two of the best RB pass protectors at the top of their RB depth chart in Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott. Jamaal Williams, who’ll begin the season as the Saints’ RB1 and Cardinals RB1 James Conner are also considered to have top pass protection skills. Pay attention to pass protection skills and metrics when evaluating your fantasy football RBs.

Let’s take a closer look at some of the backfield situations that you should be paying attention in Week 1:

New York Jets

With both Breece Hall (torn ACL) and Dalvin Cook (shoulder surgery, free agency) recovering from their injuries and unable to fully ramp up their preseason regimen until midway through training camp it may take a few weeks for them to provide the type of fantasy production that fantasy football managers are expecting from them. Both backs will play on Monday night and while head coach Robert Saleh stopped short of saying they’d be on a snap count he did say that the Jets would be smart in the way that Hall and Cook would be used in Week 1. Hall almost certainly will eventually emerge as the Jets’ primary back but Cook still has a lot of gas left in the tank and will also carve out a significant role in the Jets’ offense. For now, don’t be too surprised if we see a 50/50 split in carries between Hall and Cook to start the season. Michael Carter, who some expected would be cut at the beginning of preseason, should also see some limited action in the early part of the season with rookie RB Israel Abanikanda nursing a preseason thigh injury.

Denver Broncos

Much like the Jets, the Broncos have an uber talented young RB in Javonte Williams (torn UCL) who is coming back from a major injury and will be active in Week 1, but it may take a few weeks before he’s running on all cylinders. Williams will be the Broncos’ lead back once he’s healthy but he’ll likely be splitting time with Samaje Perine to start the season as he continues to recover from his injury. Both Williams and Perine can contribute on the ground and in the passing game. Perine’s above average pass protection skills could make him an offensive factor throughout the season. Rookie Jaleel McLaughlin is another Broncos RB to familiarize yourself with. He led the Broncos with 113 rushing yards this preseason and is a multipurpose back who can be used in the running game, passing game and on kick returns. 

Detroit Lions

Other than Bijan Robinson (whom we referenced above) Jahmyr Gibbs has been one of the most talked about rookie RBs this preseason. At 5’11” and just 200 pounds, the “smallish” Gibbs will probably lose some goal line work to the 224-pound David Montgomery, but Gibbs is explosive and an all-purpose back who’ll be a huge part of the Lions’ offense. With Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson stating that “we might use Gibbs in some ways that people don’t quite think we might” and that "vertical threats don't have to be receivers, so that's one thing to watch out for with Gibbs" the rookie RB has obvious big time fantasy upside. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

All preseason there’s been speculation that second year RB Jaylen Warren would replace Najee Harris and become the Steelers’ lead back. Both backs ran behind a weak Steelers offensive line, but Warren gained 4.9 yards per carry compared to Harris’ 3.8 yards per carry. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has favored using one lead RB throughout his tenure and according to at least one Steelers expert Harris is still his guy. The Steelers have improved their offensive line and are committed to running the football and Harris has been one of the most durable RBs in football, even dating back to his college football days. Harris will be the Steelers’ lead back and Warren will fill the change of pace and third down back role but if Harris doesn’t perform up to expectations there’s a chance that he eventually takes a back seat and Warren can take over as the team’s lead back. 

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins seemed to be in on almost every worthwhile available RB this preseason but with Jeff Wilson on IR and rookie RB De’Von Achane dealing with a shoulder injury, it looks like Raheem Mostert will start the season as the Dolphins’ lead back. With Mostert’s checkered injury history and the fluid way in which head coach Mike McDaniel manages his backfields, it’s unlikely that he’ll end the season as the Dolphins’ RB1. Achane, the Dolphins’ third round draft pick, has the talent both on the ground and as a pass catcher that should allow him to play a prominent role in the Dolphins’ offense as the season progresses. McDaniel just can’t seem to quit Wilson, Jr. and once he’s available to be reinstated from the IR he should play some significant snaps as well. Salvon Ahmed should see some action early in the season as well, but he doesn’t appear to have much fantasy value at this point. Don’t be surprised if the Dolphins eventually work out a deal to acquire Jonathan Taylor. If that happens McDaniel won’t be mixing and matching his RBs any longer. The Dolphins’ backfield would belong to Taylor.  

Indianapolis Colts

Colts head coach Shane Steichen has stated that he’d be using a RBBC approach when it comes to utilizing his backfield to start the season. Steichen said he would lean on the RB whose “got the hot hand” and “let ‘em ride a little bit.” With Jonathan Taylor unlikely to play a snap for the Colts this season and Zack Moss slowly recovering from a broken forearm, Deon Jackson seemed as if he would be the likely candidate to lead the team in carries in Week 1 but that might not be the case. Evan Hull, who caught 88 passes for Northwestern over the past two seasons still seems like the obvious choice to be the Colts’ third down back but with the Colts bringing in RBs James Robinson, Jaret Patterson, and Carlos Washington for a tryout on Monday, the Colts’ backfield is still very much a work in progress. With Colts RBs forced to run behind a weak offensive line and mobile rookie QB Anthony Richardson potentially vulturing much of the goal line work from his backs this looks like a backfield to avoid for fantasy purposes to start the season.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles have one of the best offensive lines in football but with the team possibly using a committee approach to managing their backfield, figuring out which one of their RBs will be the best fantasy option in Week 1 will be extremely difficult. Fantasy football managers know that they need to start Boston Scott when he plays against the Giants (10 career TDs against Big Blue), and D’Andre Swift and Rashaad Penny should play significant roles in the Eagles backfield. However, with head coach Nick Sirianni suggesting he might sometimes use a hot hand approach when managing his RBs, Kenny Gainwell can be intermittently fantasy productive as well.

Lastly, add these three young RBs to your watch list:

Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars

Travis Etienne is a dynamic RB but he’s not great at running between the tackles. Bigsby could carve out a significant role this season and serve as the Jaguars’ goal line back.

Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys

Dowdle has had a great preseason and is listed as lead back Tony Pollard’s backup.

Chris Rodriguez, Washington Commanders

Rodriguez has had an impressive preseason showing improvement in rushing, passing and pass protection.