Fantasy Football: Golden Handcuffs RB

By Muntradamus

 

BEAST DOME NATION.

When you have your fantasy football draft, it is important to remember a simple fact.  If your superstar RB goes down with an injury,you will want his starter to replace his production.  This does not include everyone, so here are the list of the must-own handcuffs.

 

 

MUST-OWN RB HANDCUFFS:

 

BEN TATE/ARIAN FOSTER – TEX

IF FOSTER WAS OUT PER GAME (TATE) : 20 Attempts. 110 Yards. 1 TD.

Ben Tate is the type of RB where he could be a top 5 option every week if Arian Foster went down.  As a rookie Tate rushed for 942 Yards in a backup role for most of the season.  He did it on 175 ttempts as well which is beyond amazing.  If you draft Arian Foster, you must draft Ben Tate as that would be driving a brand new Ashton Martin without insurance.  Does not make sense.  Even as a backup Ben Tate could find some good garbage games where the Texans should blow out the other teams.  ADP #88 for Tate.

 

MICHAEL BUSH/MATT FORTE – CHI

IF FORTE WAS OUT PER GAME (BUSH): 20 Attempts. 100 Yards. 1 TD.

Bush became an instant fantasy monster when Darren McFadden went down last season.  He turned into a hands down top 10 option at the position, and simply did better than those expectations.  He has already been crowned the Goal Line back for the Bears, which already means doom for Forte’s fantasy value.  One injury to Forte, and Bush once again becomes a top 10 RB.  To tell you how good Ben Tate could be, Michael Bush ran for 977 yards which was 35 more than Ben Tate.  But on the flip side, Michael Bush had 81 more rushing attempts.  ADP #96 for Bush.

 

 

JACQUIZZ RODGERS/MICHAEL TURNER – ATL

IF TURNER WAS OUT PER GAME (RODGERS): 12 Attempts. 55 Yards. 5 Receptions. 40 Yards. 1 TD.

Michael Turner is on a huge down swing.  To the point where he might turn into a change of pace power back.  With the Falcons turning into a pass heavy team, JacQuizz is the perfect screen pass option to make noise this fantasy football season.  Since Turner cannot do anything but run for 3 yard gains up the middle, JacQuizz should see the bulk of the playing time to start from Week 1.  ADP #159 for Rodgers.

 

PEYTON HILLIS/JAMAAL CHARLES – KC

IF CHARLES WAS OUT PER GAME (HILLIS): 20 attempts. 80 Yards. 1 TD.

Jamaal Charles should have a very nice season, only problem is he is losing red zone touches to Peyton Hillis.  That is a huge deal as TDs where the points are at, and if Charles rushes for a 30 Yard gain to bring them inside the 20, Hillis will be getting the 6 Points.  If Charles goes down, Hillis becomes a must-start option as he looks angry and ready to revenge his bitter Madden season.  Average Draft Position #77.

 

LEGARRETTE BLOUNT/DOUG MARTIN – TB

IF MARTIN WAS OUT PER GAME (BLOUNT): 20 Attempts. 80 Yards. 1 TD.

Blount is not a 3rd down back, and he will not be in the game if the Bucs are trailing.  The defenses should be all better now that McCoy is healthy on the D-Line, which means Blount could be seeing carries going into the 4th quarter.  On games the Buccaneers won last season, Blount was great, when they lost he was terrible.  If Doug Martin goes down, and the Bucs have an easy game.  Blount will go off.  ADP #125 for Blount.

 

C.J. SPILLER/FRED JACKSON – BUF

IF JACKSON WAS OUT PER GAME (SPILLER): 14 Attempts. 70 Yards. 3 Receptions. 20 Yards.

Spiller is an electric back who can make big plays if Jackson goes down.  There are rumors that they will both be playing a lot this season, but I do not see how Jackson gives up anything near 50% of his touches with how amazing he was before he got injured.  ADP #86 for Spiller.

 

 

NOT MUST-OWN BUT SHOULD:

 

DAVID WILSON/AHMAD BRADSHAW – NYG

IF BRADSHAW WAS OUT PER GAME (WILSON): 17 Attempts. 75 Yards.

My favorite quote of the pre-season came from Giants camp when Ahmad Bradshaw talked about David Wilson as being too flashy for showing off his speed.  You can already tell Bradshaw is a hater of Wilson, and he knows his surgically repaired ankles are going to have a tough time lasting this whole season.  David Wilson will literally take off running with the job if Bradshaw goes down.  ADP #102 for Wilson.

 

BERNARD SCOTT/BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS – CIN

IF GREEN-ELLIS WAS OUT PER GAME (SCOTT): 17 Attempts. 80 Yards. 1 TD. 3 Receptions. 20 Yards.

The Bengals offense is better suited for a back like Bernard Scott who can run and catch.  So far the Bengals are trying to turn Benjarvus Green-Ellis into that back, we will see if it holds true.  Regardless of Scott taking the job eventually, he would be a great plug-n-play if Green-Ellis were to miss a game or two.  ADP #227 for Bernard Scott.

 

RYAN WILLIAMS/BEANIE WELLS – ARI

IF WELLS WAS OUT PER GAME (WILLIAMS): 12 Attempts. 60 Yards. 3 Receptions. 20 Yards.

Williams might be getting the coaches attention this pre-season, but it is really Beanie Baby Wells who is the RB for this team.  Williams may get 3rd downs all season long, but Williams with a full work load is good, but not ELITE.  This is not a must-handcuff situation, but it is a good idea to do it just to play it safe.  ADP #126 for Williams.

 

TOBY GERHART/ADRIAN PETERSON – MIN

IF PETERSON WAS OUT PER GAME (GERHART): 14 Attempts. 50 Yards. 1 TD.

Gerhart is not a great RB, but he will score goal line TDs against bad teams when AP is out.  Gerhart is a full back who somehow got pegged as a RB because he played well at Stanford.  You do not have to handcuff, but if he is around late enough you should make the move.  ADP #105 for Gerhart.

 

MIKE GOODSON/DARREN MCFADDEN – OAK

IF MCFADDEN WAS OUT PER GAME (GOODSON): 10 Attempts. 40 Yards.

Goodson is more of a good receiving RB than a full shoulder the load kind of guy.  If McFadden were to go down, you would probably see Taiwan Jones work his way into the rotation with the chance to beat him for more carries.  You would also see the Raiders become very pass heavy.  ADP #192 for Goodson.

 

ISIAH PEAD/STEVEN JACKSON – STL

IF JACKSON WAS OUT PER GAME (PEAD): 12 Attempts. 44 Yards. 3 Receptions. 20 Yards.

Steven Jackson is confident he will not have to give up anything but change of pace carriers to Pead.  That makes Pead nothing more than waiver wire material until Jackson is hurt, but the truth is even with a Jackson injury I would not trust Pead in this less than average Rams offense.  ADP#220 for Pead.

 

BRANDON JACOBS/FRANK GORE – SF

IF GORE WAS OUT PER GAME (JACOBS): 12 Attempts. 60 Yards. 1 TD.

Jacobs may not be the only back in that backfield, but if Gore were to go down than Jacobs would be worth owning in all leagues if he saw double digit carries again.  Jacobs is a TRUCK, and with limited carries he will be FRESH all season long.  ADP #167 for Jacobs.

 

BILAL POWELL/SHONN GREENE – NYJ

IF GREENE WAS OUT PER GAME (POWELL): 14 attempts. 50 Yards. 3 Rec 20 Yards.

Powell is quickly making his way up the depth chart and could be the 3rd down back from week 1.  If anything were to happen to Shonn “No Gain” Greene than Powell would quickly make his way into some fantasy lineups moving forward.  The Jets offense could be terrible, which could mean nothing really to see here but a late round flier. ADP #233 for Powell.

 

DANIEL THOMAS/REGGIE BUSH – MIA

IF BUSH WAS OUT PER GAME (THOMAS): 16 Attempts. 60 Yards.

No one was more frustrating to trade for than Daniel Thomas.  He was the ultimate sell high candidate after his 100 yard performance against the Texans early last season.  Once he returned, his hamstring was giving him issues, and he looked like he never played RB in his life running into blockers instead of holes for 6 yard gains.  This is Reggie Bush’s team.  ADP #168 for Thomas.

 

RASHARD JENNINGS/MAURICE JONES-DREW – JAX

IF MJD WAS OUT PER GAME (JENNINGS): 15 Attempts. 60 Yards.

Jennings was the #1 handcuff RB last season.  That was until he tore his ACL in pre-season, and it did not seem to matter as Maurice Jones-Drew never missed a game.  Jennings is back, and MJD is still holding out.  Jennings has a career average of over 5 yards per carry, and that will come into handy if he does ever have to start.  ADP #189 for Jennings.

 

FELIX JONES/DEMARCO MURRAY – DAL

IF MURRAY WAS OUT PER GAME (JONES): 14 attempts. 50 Yards. 3 Receptions. 20 Yards.

Jones may not be the only RB in the Cowboys offense if Murray goes down.  Jones is fragile, and he disappointed with his shot as a starter as he only performed against easy defenses.  Still if you own Murray, and you have a deep league and looking for your #5 RB, you can do a lot worse than Felix Jones.  ADP #136 for Jones.

Muntradamus is a Fantasy Sports Expert who specializes in Fantasy Football/Baseball/Basketball. He is currently in his first season as a Pro on FantasyPros where he is the only expert to have Adam Dunn, Mike Aviles, and Wilin Rosario in his top 20 at each position. Muntradamus not only leads many to championships with his great advice, and outlooks into the future. He is also consistently on the top of leaderboards in DraftStreet.