While the NFL has now transformed into a pass-first league that relies on quarterbacks and wide receivers more than it does running backs, the same cannot be said for fantasy football. Running backs are even more important now in fantasy football than they used to be 5-10 years.  That is because there are fewer workhorses that carry the ball 20-25 times a week.  Between specialists that play on passing downs, offenses calling 40-50 pass plays per game and teams using two or three-headed running back systems to keep everyone fresh, finding an above-average fantasy running back is almost harder these days than finding a Democrat that thinks climate change is a myth.

Even with running backs splitting carries and sharing time, they still are liable to get injured due to the severe pounding the position takes.  Some other backs also find new and innovative ways to keep themselves off the field, such as missing drug tests and saying idiotic things on social media.  So covering yourself by drafting the running back who backs up a starting running back on your fantasy roster – the handcuff – is crucial in this day and age.

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Backup Running Backs to Target in Drafts

Here are the top four handcuffs in fantasy football for 2016:

 
DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers

Le’Veon Bell is one of the best backs in the NFL and in fantasy football.  The problem is that he always has a problem.  Whether it is failing or missing drug tests or suffering major injuries, he cannot keep his talented feet on the field.

Williams shined when Bell suffered his season-ending knee injury last season, sprinting for 801 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in the 10 games he started in place of Bell.  His 40 receptions for 367 yards helped fantasy owners as well.  Williams definitely helped thousands or maybe millions of fantasy owners win their league championships in 2015.

Williams would have still been listed in this column whether or not Bell was problem-free.  His 33-year-old legs have more life in them than those of running backs a decade younger.  But with Bell on the verge of being suspended for the first month of the season due to missing several sanctioned drug tests, Williams skyrockets ahead of all backup running backs to become the No. 1 handcuff back to own.

If you have Bell in a keeper league, Williams must be drafted in the early rounds, especially if Bell loses his appeal and sits for four games.  And if you do not have Bell, you should still go after Williams anyway.  He will probably start at the minimum four games, and it could be many more if Bell continues sabotaging his career like he is the next Ricky Williams.

 
Duke Johnson Jr., Cleveland Browns

Isaiah Crowell could have gotten himself kicked off the team this offseason when he made his highly-inappropriate comments about the police via social media.  Yet the Cleveland Browns have a long leash for players on their roster who do dumb things.  Look no further than the Johnny Manziel and Josh Gordon situations over the past couple years.

Crowell is still No. 1 on Cleveland’s depth chart at running back, although his grip on the top spot is as slippery as if he dipped his hands in a vat of olive oil.  With new head coach Hue Jackson taking over the team and the offense, Crowell is far from safe as the top tailback.

Johnson is a multi-dimensional back who can be utilized by Jackson the same way he utilized Giovanni Bernard when he ran the offense in Cincinnati.  Johnson caught 61 passes for 534 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 379 yards on the ground last season.  All of those numbers could definitely go up under Jackson’s direction, especially if Crowell does not impress during training camp or at the start of the season.  Can’t you see a healthy Robert Griffin III and Johnson thriving together on flex-option plays?

 
Charles Sims, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You might not want to give Sims any love coming off a 2015 campaign where the man above him in Tampa Bay’s pecking order, Doug “Muscle Hamster” Martin, rushed for 1,402 yards and trailed only fantasy demigod Adrian Peterson in the rushing race.  But Martin has a checkered fantasy history.  While he topped the 1,400-yard plateau in 2012 and 2015, his 2013 and 2014 seasons were fiascos due to his injuries and inconsistent play.  There is no telling what Martin will do in 2016.

Sims proved he can catch passes out of the backfield and that he has the wheels to run outside the tackles last season.  He caught 51 passes for 561 yards and four touchdowns while adding 529 yards on the ground to the tune of an impressive 4.9 yards per carry.  He has explosiveness and elusiveness, and with an above-average line blocking for him and Jameis Winstondumping off to him, Sims has more going for him than most backup running backs.

If Martin gets banged-up or starts slow, Sims could step in and go from a situational back who had 1,090 combined yards to a starter who could pile up 1,400 yards and score 6-8 times.  The combination of Sims’ skills and Martin’s mystery equals Sims being one of the most sought-after handcuff backs in fantasy drafts.

 
Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles

Fantasy owners know all about Ryan Mathews.  His injuries, his fumbles and his propensity for breaking fantasy football owners’ hearts is legendary.  He enters the 2016 season as Philadelphia’s starting tailback, but trusting him is like trusting Donald Trump not to call any world leaders names if he becomes President.

It feels like Sproles has been around since parachute pants and break dancing were considered cool.  In 2015 he averaged under four yards per carry for only the second time in 10 years, and his yards per catch was the lowest since 2007.  While these seem to be indicators that Father Time is tackling Sproles’ speed, a spotty offensive line and Chip Kelly’s three-back system that did no fantasy favors for anybody were probably more to blame for Sproles’ stats.

If Mathews gets dinged or coughs up the football too many times, Sproles should be the next man up in Philadelphia’s revamped Doug Pederson offense.  If you draft Mathews then you undoubtedly have to take Sproles a few rounds later for insurance.

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