Week 3 Running Back Handcuffs: Blake Corum, Tyler Allgeier And More Recommended Pickups
Ian Hartitz identifies and recommends six running back handcuffs to add to your fantasy football roster before Week 3, in case the starters miss time.
You've already done your waiver wire maintenance for this week, but what if I told you there were still a handful of high-upside handcuffs just waiting to be picked up and added to your bench in lieu of some backup QB/TE or WR6 who you're never going to be interested in actually starting anyway? Would that be something you might be interested in?
Presenting: Six potential handcuff additions who are rostered in under 40% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues alike. Obviously this doesn't include guys like Bhayshul Tuten and Trey Benson–we're trying to dig just a bit deeper here, but yeah, for the record, I'd preferably stash either of those guys over the fellas we're about to dive into.
As always: It's a great day to be great.
Fantasy Football RB Handcuffs To Pick Up For Rest of Season
Chargers RB Najee Harris
- ESPN: 38% rostered
- Yahoo: 36%
- Projected rank if Omarion Hampton misses time: Borderline RB1
The Chargers shrunk the split down to 60/40 with even opportunities between Najee Harris and Hampton in Week 2. The ex-Steeler veteran is more of a 1.B FLEX than pure handcuff, yet remains available in plenty of ESPN and Yahoo leagues alike.
Look, Harris has his warts, but the eye issue seems to be in the rear-view mirror, and, small sample be damned, he's looked like the better RB on a per-touch basis this season.
- Yards per carry: Hampton (3.1), Harris (3.7)
- Yards after contact per carry: Hampton (2.8), Harris (3.7)
- Success rate: Hampton (39.1%), Harris (77.8%)
Obviously we aren't expecting Harris to take the backfield over from Hampton, although we also shouldn't assume what started as an 80/20 Week 1 split is done shrinking. After all, Harris was on a snap count then, and Week 2 ended with an unfortunate fumble from the rookie (even if he was hit immediately). The rookie also didn't exactly help his case as this offense's goal-line back after getting stuffed on three consecutive carries from inside the 5-yard line.
Ultimately, the Chargers have ranked 11th in scoring in each of the past two seasons and have *zero* additional RBs on this roster that they seemingly trust. As much as Hampton would be in line for weekly every-down workloads consisting of 20+ touches, the same is likely true for Harris, making him a prime handcuff in addition to someone who has an outside chance of carving out some semi-consistent FLEX value.
Falcons RB Tyler Allgeier
- ESPN: 37% rostered
- Yahoo: 37%
- Projected rank if Bijan Robinson misses time: Borderline RB1
Tyler Allgeier has been more involved than expected through two weeks, racking up 27 touches, 104 yards and a score—good for RB29 status among all RBs in PPR points per game. Not too shabby for the jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none backup, who has now racked up an absurd 559 carries and 54 targets without a single fumble or drop during his four-year career.
Now, it wouldn't be as simple as crossing out Robinson's name and replacing it with Allgeier should the Falcons' stud starter be forced out of game action, but I do doubt that you'd be able to rank 15 RBs you'd rather have. The only other RB on the Falcons roster at the moment is Nathan Carter–an undrafted rookie who has yet to see his first NFL touch.
Bills RB Ray Davis
- ESPN: 17% rostered
- Yahoo: 24%
- Projected rank if James Cook misses time: Upside RB2
Earned 23 of 27 (85%) backfield carries and targets in his one game without Cook last season. Ty Johnson will always cap the receiving upside, but Ray Davis looked good with his opportunities as a rookie, and would offer at worst RB2 upside without Cook inside the Bills' perennial top-five scoring offense.
The only reason why the projected rank isn't higher is due to the reality that we can't exactly guarantee goal-line work. In fact, Davis lost out on a one-yard TD rush to Josh Allen during that aforementioned game with Cook sidelined in 2024. This is one of the league's few offenses willing to feature the QB on the goal line.
QBs with 3+ carries inside the 5-yard line this season:
- Josh Allen (5)
- Daniel Jones (4)
- Jalen Hurts (3)
Rams RB Blake Corum
- ESPN: 9% rostered
- Yahoo: 15%
- Projected rank if Kyren Williams misses time: Upside RB2
The Michigan Man has clearly seized the No. 2 job ahead of rookie Jarquez Hunter, even carving out a 30% snap share and 5-44-1 rushing line in Week 2 at the expense of Kyren Williams—something Sean McVay says he prefers, even if I have a hard time believing the man when it comes to workload-related coach speak.
Either way: Blake Corum is clearly the next-man-up behind Williams, which should be considered one of the better backup gigs in the business. After all, the Rams were the NFL's most willing offense to leave *one* RB on the field with a 75%+ and even 90%+ snap role last season, something that has been a staple here even going back to the days of Todd Gurley, CJ Anderson and Cam Akers, among others.
Texans RB Woody Marks
- ESPN: 6% rostered
- Yahoo: 7%
- Projected rank if Nick Chubb misses time: Low-end RB2
This backfield continues to evolve, but what we saw in Week 2 sure made it seem like Jo'Quavioius Marks is now the second man on the totem poll.
Note that Dameon Pierce was a healthy scratch, and Joe Mixon (foot, ankle) continues to have no timeline for return.
Kudos to Chubb for looking spry on his 25-yard TD jaunt last Monday night, but Marks' explosiveness in the pass game was evident on his 37-yard catch-and-run—he possesses a fantasy-friendly, big-play pass-catching skill set that could be leaned on more independent of Chubb even missing time.
But if Chubb were to go down? Marks would immediately be on the cover of every waiver wire article in the industry, and my projected low-end RB2 ranking could look low if the Texans offensive line starts to look like something other than the worst group in the league.
Bears RB Kyle Monangai
- ESPN: 4% rostered
- Yahoo: 7%
- Projected rank if D'Andre Swift misses time: Low-end RB2
The seventh-round rookie turned his first seven career carries into just 28 yards in Week 2, but the really important thing was seeing Roschon Johnson active … and receive zero snaps!
Clearly the Bears offense has some work to do, but the rushing attack has actually been a pleasant surprise in terms of the offensive line opening up some pretty nice holes.
Most RB rush yards *before* contact per carry:
- Lions (2.3)
- Jaguars (2.1)
- Commanders (2.1)
- Cowboys (2)
- Bears (1.9)
Obviously, D'Andre Swift hasn't exactly made the most out of his opportunities thus far, and this–combined with some ball security concerns–could perhaps compel Ben Johnson to give the rookie a long look moving forward even independent of a potential injury arising. There's always the chance that the Bears would look to the trade or free agent streets in the event of the latter scenario occurring. Just realize Monangai is the next-man-up candidate inside an offense that should have better days ahead.
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