Handcuff Strategy

In my last article I talked about RB Strategy as we head into our drafts. This article is one that I think ties in very well with that one.

Handcuffing is a strategy that involves drafting the direct backup to your star player, so that you are still locked into the performance of that situation. This is most often a strategy that people attribute to RB. When a star RB goes down in an offense that utilizes the RB very well, you are still going to get good performances out of the backups.

Most recently this was shown in Tennessee when Derrick Henry went down and D’Onta Foreman stepped in and performed very well. Last year as well when the Panthers traded CMC away, and Chubba Hubbard and Foreman(again) had great seasons.

Now, I am a believer in the handcuff strategy, but not in every instance. Not every stud has a clearly defined back up, and some situations are player dependent. This year, there are a few RB that I think handcuffing makes a lot of sense.

Derrick Henry is one. He is a prime candidate due to the Curse of the 370, and the fact that we know that his back up is Tyjae Spears.

The next candidate is Bijan Robinson. If Bijan gets hurt (god forbid) we know that Tyler Allegeir is going to be the guy.

The next candidate might be one that is unexpected. The next name is Mark Andrews. Mark Andrews is a great example of a guy who has a direct back up, who will step into the same role, in Isaiah Likely.

CMC is the last name that I will list here. While his situation is a little murkier, Elijah Mitchell will be the next man up in the primary role. While guys like Deebo Samuel will also see an updated role, Mitchell is the primary beneficiary.

If you have any questions on other potential handcuffs, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter(X) at @2fatguysff