Top Running Back Handcuffs For Fantasy Football 2026: Blake Corum, Tyrone Tracy And More

We are fewer than 50 days away from the start of the NFL regular season, what a time to be alive. It won't be long before redraft season is in full swing. If you're like me, that means several weekends spent navigating multiple fantasy drafts. It's important to have your player targets and draft strategies figured out before the madness arrives.

Today we are diving into the top handcuff RBs to target late in your fantasy drafts this year. The question of who qualifies as a handcuff is worth spending a minute on. I am not including players like Rhamondre Stevenson and J.K. Dobbins, who are drafted as the RB2 on their team, but are in situations that are ambiguous enough they could lead their team in fantasy points at the RB position without an injury. In my mind, handcuffs are players who need a guy ahead of them to miss time for their value to really skyrocket.

Top RB Handcuffs to Stash for Fantasy Football 2026

Blake Corum | Rams

The Rams have finally found someone worthy of splitting time with Kyren Williams. After years of Sean McVay saying that the team wanted more of a committee approach, it finally happened in 2025 with Blake Corum handling 145 rush attempts. He rewarded the Rams with some solid production and solidified his hold on the RB2 spot, which the team affirmed by not adding anyone at the position.

Heading into 2026, there are some who believe Corum is going to threaten Williams for the lead back role. I'm not among them, but I do believe Corum will remain heavily involved and would step into a workhorse role in any games where Williams is not available. Any time we have seen a back consolidate the workload in a McVay offense, it has been a huge win for fantasy managers. That includes stretches from players like C.J. Anderson and Darrell Henderson, who were average talents at best.

Corum is at the top of this list because he should have enough of a role that you can start him even when Williams is healthy, if needed. He also has true RB1 potential as the Rams’ starter in any games where Williams is out. That floor/ceiling combo is unmatched among true handcuffs and should make Corum a priority pick in the later rounds.

Tyrone Tracy | Giants

The reason Tyrone Tracy is such a good handcuff pick is because he has a true three-down skill set. He has been effective as both a rusher and receiver in his two NFL seasons, and has handled a large workload when needed. It also helps that he is behind Cam Skattebo, who plays with arguably the most violent running style in the NFL. Predicting injuries is notoriously difficult, but if I were assigning probabilities of the RBs most likely to miss time, Skattebo would be toward the top of the list.

The Giants do still have Devin Singletary on the roster, but the team proved last year that Tracy is the guy who will see the majority of opportunities if/when Skattebo misses time. From Week 10 through the end of the season, Tracy averaged just over 19 opportunities (rush attempts + targets) per week. That is borderline RB1 volume. Of course, the Giants offense wasn't great and he only scored 3 total TDs in that timeframe, which did hold back his fantasy value.

Tracy was a hit as a late-round handcuff last year, and there is significant untapped upside if the Giants offense improves under the new coaching staff in Jaxson Dart's second year.

Chris Rodriguez | Jaguars

Jacksonville lost Travis Etienne in free agency, which left a significant hole at the top of their RB depth chart. They chose not to draft an RB this year, which was a major vote of confidence in the existing RB room of Bhayshul Tuten, Rodriguez and LeQuint Allen. Tuten is expected to lead the backfield, while Allen is a pass-game specialist. Rodriguez is more of a physical presence in the running game, which makes him the biggest beneficiary if Tuten were to miss time.

Another point in C-Rod's favor is that he has a history with Liam Coen going back to their time at Kentucky. Coen understands the type of runner that Rodriguez is and should deploy him accordingly. Keep an eye on training camp reports on the progress of his injured foot.

In a scenario should Tuten miss time, Rodriguez should be in line for 15+ touches on a weekly basis, including goal-line work. On a high-powered Jacksonville offense that would make C-Rod a quality RB2 on a weekly basis.

Tyjae Spears | Titans

Tony Pollard has averaged more than 290 touches per season over the last three years and is heading into his age-29 season. He has stayed healthy and available throughout that stretch, but with each passing season the risk of missing games increases. We also have the dynamic of a new coaching staff, which has the potential to shake up the backfield usage.

Tyjae Spears brings a three-down skill set, which is a major bonus for a backup RB. He has averaged just over 42 receptions across his first three NFL seasons and has been above 1.2 YPRR in each of those years as well, a very solid mark for an RB. Pollard has stayed healthy since joining Tennessee, which has not given us any chances to see Spears in a larger role, but that also helps to keep his ADP lower than other players whom we have seen get those chances more recently.

Spears doesn't rank higher on this list for two seasons. First, Cam Ward might just not be very good. Poor QB play would limit the upside of the offense and the rushing game. Second, the Titans did draft an intriguing late-round rookie in Nicholas Singleton. I fully expect Pollard and Spears to be the clear top RBs to start the season, but Singleton is someone who could emerge down the stretch, which adds some uncertainty into Spears' upside as a handcuff.

Kyle Monangai | Bears

Chicago is another team that was consistently linked with RBs this offseason but didn't end up adding anyone notable. That is good news for D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, who are firmly entrenched at the top of the depth chart. I do still have some questions about how good Monangai actually is, which prevents him from being higher up this list. But there is no questioning that he would be a great FLEX or RB2 option as the starter in Chicago.

The Bears are one of the most popular breakout offenses of 2026, but most of the attention is going to the passing-game weapons. Players like Luther Burden and Colston Loveland are more exciting talents on their own, but Ben Johnson is going to run a balanced offense which will produce a lot of opportunities for the RBs. If either Swift or Monangai gets the opportunity to consolidate those touches due to the other missing time, the floor would be a high-level RB2.

Tank Bigsby | Eagles

Tank Bigsby ranks at the bottom of my list because he is one of the only guys who I expect to have no value when the starter is healthy. Everyone else on this list should see enough work in their base role to be a viable dart throw at FLEX if you are desperate. However, Bigsby has arguably just as high of a ceiling as anyone else on this list if Saquon Barkley misses games.

The Eagles traded for Bigsby early last season and he played a minimal role in the offense for most of the season, playing 5 snaps or fewer in most games. There were just three games where Bigsby played double-digit snaps for the Eagles last season. In those three games, he handled 42 rush attempts and turned them into 236 rushing yards.

On a per-touch basis, 2025 was the best season of Bigsby's career with an impressive 5.7 yards per attempt, 3.87 yards after contact per attempt and 129 elusive rating. Each of those marks ranked in the top 3 among all RBs who had at least 50 rush attempts last season. I'm not confident he would maintain that level of efficiency over a larger sample size, but it does show that Bigsby is improving.