Fantasy Football Week 14 Running Back Handcuff Report: Zach Charbonnet, More
Up until the last couple of weeks we fantasy football managers have been largely immune from the type of major injuries often associated with the RB position.
However, our luck pretty quickly ran out. J.K. Dobbins’ knee sprain, which caused him to be placed on the IR, forced us in many cases to have to start Gus Edwards, his RB handcuff, in Week 13.
Fantasy Football NFL Week 14 Running Back Handcuff Report
In Week 14, which in many leagues is the final week before the fantasy football playoffs begin, some fantasy managers will be starting the RB handcuff to the RB handcuff of an RB who was the number one overall pick in many fantasy leagues’ preseason drafts.
We’ve got a lot to cover in this week’s Week 14 RB Handcuff Report.
How To Find The Best RB Handcuffs
The San Francisco 49ers have had a hard time keeping their RBs off the IR this season. Christian McCaffrey started the season on the IR and his presumed RB handcuff Elijah Mitchell was placed on season ending IR back in August.
Jordan Mason was great as the next man up until McCaffrey was able to return to action but now McCaffrey (PCL) and Mason (ankle) are on the IR and will miss the fantasy football playoffs. Isaac Guerendo will almost certainly be the 49ers’ lead back in Week 14 with Patrick Taylor possibly getting some reps on passing downs.
Guerendo has performed well in limited action this season, rushing for 5.86 YPC. His two best games came against the Seattle Seahawks (99 rushing yards, 9.90 YPC) and the Dallas Cowboys (14 carries, 85 rushing yards, 1 TD, 3 catches for 17 yards). Taylor Jr. should be considered Guerendo’s RB handcuff, but the 49ers also added New York Jets RB castoff Israel Abanikanda to their active roster.
With many fantasy football managers who are heading into the fantasy playoffs adding depth pieces to their rosters, and with so many 49ers RBs succumbing to injuries this season, Abanikanda might be worth rostering.
Las Vegas Raiders RB Sincere McCormick continues to be an intriguing fantasy player. He’s been impressive the last two weeks, most notably against a tough Kansas City Chiefs run defense. He ran for 64 yards on 12 carries (5.33 YPC) in the Black Friday game against the defending Super Bowl champs.
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce has been vocal about McCormick earning more reps and with six teams and top RBs like Derrick Henry, Joe Mixon and Jonathan Taylor on a bye in Week 14, McCormick might even be startable in some deeper fantasy football leagues.
McCormick may be following in fellow Raiders’ RB Zamir White’s footsteps. If you recall White helped fantasy football managers last season with his own late season surge.
In a perfect world for fantasy football purposes, McCormick would get the majority of early down work and Ameer Abdullah would continue to be the Raiders’ passing down back. That scenario would make sense since White and Alexander Mattison haven’t been very effective when they’ve been healthy and active this season.
If you want to add Washington Commanders RB Chris Rodriguez to your roster as a depth piece, that’s fine but temper your rest of season expectations. He had an impressive line in Week 13, rushing for 94 yards on 13 carries (7.23 YPC) and he also scored a TD.
However, it should be noted that much of his playing time came in the fourth quarter of a game that the Commanders were leading by a wide margin. Brian Robinson was healthy enough to play in Week 13, but he had been dealing with an ankle injury and the Commanders probably decided to rest him knowing that the game was in hand.
That also contributed to Rodriguez Jr.’s extended reps in Week 13. He’s still number three on the Commanders’ RB depth chart behind Robinson Jr. and his RB handcuff, Jeremy McNichols.
I can’t see him losing his starting gig, but Minnesota Vikings RB Aaron Jones has four fumbles in his last three games. His snap rate decreased after he fumbled twice in the first quarter of his Week 13 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. Cam Akers appears to be Jones’ RB handcuff.
Isiah Pachecho finally made his long-awaited return to action for the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 13. As many expected, he was eased back into action and played just enough to cut into Kareem Hunt’s fantasy value, but not enough to regain the fantasy value he had before he was placed on the IR due to a fractured fibula.
Unfortunately for fantasy football managers, the Chiefs can continue to ease Pachecho back into the swing of things since they keep winning and have already clinched a playoff spot. At this point Pachecho and Hunt are each other’s RB handcuff.
Top 7 RB Handcuffs Ahead Of NFL Week 14 (Plus Rest Of Season)
Trey Sermon, Indianapolis Colts
Jonathan Taylor has averaged just over 91% offensive snaps played in the past three weeks. The Colts rely on the run game, and should Taylor miss time, Sermon, who is Taylor’s RB handcuff, will have a big role in the Colts’ offense.
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Kenneth Walker is dealing with ankle and calf issues this week. He’s been able to practice but any time a lead back is dealing with injuries that suddenly present themselves this late in the season it’s cause for some concern. Charbonnet has performed well when asked to fill in for Walker III in the past.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets
Breece Hall fumbled twice in Week 13 and is still dealing with knee soreness. Monitor his progress as kickoff approaches.
Travis Homer, Chicago Bears
As this article is being written, Roschon Johnson, who is D’Andre Swift’s RB handcuff is still feeling the aftereffects from his Thanksgiving Day concussion. Homer might see more action in Week 14, (especially on passing downs), and if Johnson is placed on the IR, he’d probably be the next man up in the Bears’ backfield.
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles
I’ll repeat what I wrote in last week’s column. There aren’t many RBs who’d be able to fill Saquon Barkley’s shoes should he miss time but based on the way the Eagles have been relying on the run this season, Gainwell should be considered one of the top RB handcuffs in fantasy football. He only has 47 carries this season but is averaging 4.7 YPC.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Allgeier is another top fantasy football RB handcuff. He’s a 24-year-old RB who has previously rushed for over 1000 yards in a season. Without question, he’d be the Falcons’ lead back should Bijan Robinson be unavailable. He has enough talent to be the lead back for several teams.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Despite Kyren Williams having a big Week 13, his offensive snaps rate played was his lowest of the season (68%) and Corum’s was his highest of the season (32%). If the Rams are eliminated from playoff contention Corum’s snaps could continue to increase.
Player News
Dolphins signed No. 13 overall pick DT Kenneth Grant to a four-year contract.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that Grant will sign his contract today. The former Michigan defensive tackle is expected to fill a major void left by Christian Wilkins, who left for the Raiders in the 2024 offseason. Grant totaled 32 tackles, three sacks, and seven TFLs in his final season at Michigan and excelled at stopping the run while also generating 27 pressures in his final season, per PFF.
Beat reporter John Hendrix reports that free agent WR Donovan Peoples-Jones is among the 16 players that the Saints will host for their rookie minicamp.
Peoples-Jones last played regular season snaps with the Lions back in 2023, when he caught 13-of-24 targets for 155 yards. He is highly unlikely to return to fantasy relevance at this point but could perhaps sign on as a special teams contributor.
Titans signed fourth-round pick WR Elic Ayomanor to a four-year contract.
Ayomanor will now begin learning behind Calvin Ridley. Although Ayomanor is unlikely to find a meaningful role in year one, dynasty managers should note his status as training camp gets underway this summer. The former Stanford receiver flashed big-play ability in his two college seasons.
Buccaneers signed seventh-round pick WR Tez Johnson to a four-year contract.
Johnson will serve as a rotational deep-threat option for Baker Mayfield. His thin frame (5'10/154) simply does not lend itself to the repeated hits one incurs in a full-time role. Johnson did earn 100-plus targets in his two seasons at Oregon, though. His big-play style make him a better fit in best ball for now, pending any major on-field breakthroughs.
Giants waived DT Casey Rogers.
Rogers was a 2024 undrafted free agent and logged 33 defensive snaps for the Giants in his rookie season. He is credited with zero tackles and/or sacks. He may find his way onto another roster as a practice squad option.
Vikings signed third-round pick WR Tai Felton to a four-year contract.
Felton is quietly in play to challenge Vikings No. 3 WR Jalen Nailor in training camp. Nailor (5'11/190) caught 28-of-42 targets for 414 yards and six touchdowns in his first season as a starter last year, with the latter category buoying his fantasy productivity. Felton (6'1/183), meanwhile, caught 96-of-143 targets for 1,119 yards and nine touchdowns while averaging 2.32 yards per route run in his final college season. Fantasy managers should monitor Felton’s training camp reports this summer, as he could have a matchup-based WR5 role if everything falls into place.