As we head into Week 8, it is hard to believe we are at the midway point of the season. We will have quite a few bye weeks for teams coming up that may give teams the chance to start working some younger players into the rotation. As fantasy managers, the next few weeks are also the time when we should be looking to lock up handcuffs for the stretch run. I would be trying to get out in front of this after this week, since this is the biggest bye week of the year.
Next week, I will have some information on stashes for handcuffs and backs who may be going overlooked. For now, here are 10 backfields I am monitoring going into the week:
- New Orleans Saints: Kendre Miller tore his ACL, putting him out for the season. Rookie Devin Neal is the next man up behind Alvin Kamara, and I think he could be a nice speculative add at this point in the season.
- Chicago Bears: Kyle Monangai handled 15 touches for 94 total yards and a touchdown. He was in on 46% of the snaps. It looks like Ben Johnson is starting to mold this backfield to look like Detroit in terms of division of labor. Monangai should be added everywhere.
- Los Angeles Rams: Kyren Williams and Blake Corum both had 12 carries on Sunday. Part of that was because of the blowout, but Corum would be in for a monster role if Williams were to miss time.
- Kansas City Chiefs: Brashard Smith saw a season-high 36% snap share against the Raiders. He is being used in a similar way to how Jerick McKinnon was for years in Kansas City. He is probably not a feature back, but his path to relevancy is becoming clearer.
- Minnesota Vikings: Aaron Jones is eligible to come off injured reserve (IR) at any point. Jordan Mason hasn’t exactly lit it up, so if Jones is somehow available, he is an add this week.
- Dallas Cowboys: Jaydon Blue saw a season-high eight touches and played 24% of the snaps. I still like him, especially on rosters as a Javonte Williams handcuff.
- Houston Texans: Woody Marks played 63% of the snaps and had all seven snaps inside the 5-yard line last night. It wasn’t a great stat line (13 touches for 35 yards), but he did manage to score a touchdown. Looking way down the road, he has some soft matchups in the fantasy playoffs.
- Jacksonville Jaguars: What do we do with Bhayshul Tuten? Travis Etienne hasn’t done much since his 124-yard outburst against the 49ers on September 28th. The Jaguars have a bye this week, and it makes me wonder if they won’t figure out a way to get Tuten more involved. The athleticism is tantalizing, and he is one of a handful of backs leaguewide who can take a play 80 yards for a touchdown. I’m putting him in Tier 1 this week, but I doubt too many people take a swing this week since he won’t be playing.
- Seattle Seahawks: Zach Charbonnet out-snapped Kenneth Walker last night, scoring two touchdowns in the process. Don’t ask me what the Seahawks are doing, but I’d rather have Charbonnet at this point.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Rachaad White couldn’t find much room to do anything last night, but still played 90% of the snaps. I assume Bucky Irving will be back after Tampa’s Week 8 bye, but I would imagine White will still have a role in the offense, given how well he played and the injury issues the Buccaneers have.
Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings
Tier 1: Roster Everywhere
- David Montgomery (RB – DET)
- Rachaad White (RB – TB)
- Zach Charbonnet (RB – SEA)
- Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL)
- Blake Corum (RB – LAR)
- Kyle Monangai (RB – CHI)
- Kenneth Gainwell (RB – PIT)
- Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAX)
- RJ Harvey (RB – DEN)
- Samaje Perine (RB – CIN)
Tier 2: A Tier Below But Still Worth Stashing
- Brian Robinson Jr. (RB – SF)
- Isaiah Davis (RB – NYJ)
- Jaydon Blue (RB – DAL)
- Devin Neal (RB – NO)
- Hassan Haskins (RB – LAC)
Tier 3: Best of the Rest
- TreVeyon Henderson (RB – NE)
- Emanuel Wilson (RB – GB)
- Tyrone Tracy Jr. (RB – NYG)
- Brashard Smith (RB – KC)
Thursday Night Football Handcuff Stash
Hassan Haskins is someone you can probably snag for free after waivers run ahead of Thursday night. On the Vikings side, I would imagine Aaron Jones is probably rostered in 85% of leagues, but he makes for the other obvious add where available.
Jason Kamlowsky is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @JasonKamlowsky.