League Winning Backups: 3 Handcuff RBs Worth Drafting

Fantasy titles aren’t won at the draft. Managers must pay attention all season, strike quickly when players are breaking out, and react even more quickly when big time players go down. It’s often a fool’s errand to draft handcuffs and just wait for them to be useful, mostly because until the star player in front of them goes down they’re eating up valuable roster space. However, a rare few handcuffs every season are worth the wait for two reasons. First, they’re so talented that if their opportunity arrives, they can perform like true RB1s and maybe push a good team into real contention. Second, they possess that upside I just mentioned while also being able to contribute on a weekly basis even without the full role. These next three RBs are handcuffs that, barring major additions to their respective teams between now and Week 1, I believe are worth drafting rather than having to blow your whole FAAB budge in season if they get an opportunity bump.

Elijah Mitchell, 49ers

Mitchell is my favorite handcuff this season. Injuries are a massive issue for Mitchell, who has played in just 16 games in two seasons, but aside from that he’s rock solid in every aspect of the game. Christian McCaffery, the superstar in front of him, is going to obviously generate a ton of San Francisco’s offense, and Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle provide head coach Kyle Shanahan an embarrassment of offensive riches. But, at their core, this team is a run-first offense and McCaffery, for all his otherworldly skill, is not someone Shanahan wants to overload. CMC broke down continually in Carolina under heavy carry counts, and Mitchell did see time on the field in 2022. Mitchell gashed defenses, averaging 6.2 yards per carry last year, a season after rushing for nearly 1,000 yards as a rookie in just 11 games (10 starts). Mitchell’s rushing and receiving grades per PFF, 77.8 and 83.4, respectively, were comparable to McCaffery’s, who finished as PFF’s No. 2 RB last season, and would rank him among the best RBs in the league in both categories over a full season. He ranked second in the NFL per Football Outsiders in RB DVOA among rushers with fewer than 100 attempts (35.1%), and was second in Yards Above Replacement (110) behind only J.K. Dobbins.

Mitchell’s calling card is efficiency; he’s built for Shanahan’s offense, which is why he rocketed past higher-drafted RBs in his rookie season and still gets work even with CMC present. Should a McCaffery injury occur, it’s unlikely that Mitchell would get 20+ totes, but he’d comfortably see around 15 which is more than enough for him to do major, RB1-esque damage. McCaffery has his own checkered injury history, so it’s not far-fetched at all to envision Mitchell having a massive fantasy impact in 2023, and the best part is that the hype for CMC is all the way back, which should depress Mitchell’s ADP quite a bit.

Rashaad Penny, Eagles

Penny is one of fantasy’s greatest what-ifs. A first round pick of the Seahawks in 2018, he’s always produced when he’s on the field. Penny has a career 5.7 yards per carry average, and he famously led managers to fantasy titles in  2021 when he finally strung together some healthy games and averaged 134.2 yards per game with six touchdowns across the final five games of the 2021 season. Being on the field, though, is his problem. Since 2018 Penny has played in just 42 of a possible 81 games.

Leaving Seattle is typically a bummer for RBs, as they’re usually one of the NFL’s more prolific rushing offenses under Pete Carroll, but Kenneth Walker is entrenched there now as the lead back. Philadelphia actually ran the ball third-most in football last season, putting up the fifth-most rushing yards and leading the NFL with 32 rushing touchdowns. Of course, QB Jalen Hurts had a lot to do with that, but Miles Sanders amassed more than 1,200 rushing yards and scored double-digit touchdowns. Penny will enter the season the clear No. 2 to D’Andre Swift, who was acquired via trade from the Lions, and who projects as an elite back. Swift, though, has struggled to stay on the field like Penny. He’s played in 13, 13 and 14 games in his three NFL seasons, but that doesn’t tell the full story because he has been limited in many more, left games early, or had to have his touches dialed back. Swift is also an elite pass-catching back, so in an effort to preserve his body, it’s easy to envision a scenario where Penny handles a lot of early-down work; with Penny’s efficiency, that alone likely makes him playable even without an injury to Swift.

Zach Charbonnet, Seahawks

Charbonnet’s landing spot on its face isn’t ideal. While Seattle’s offense was surprising last season, they did veer from their super run-heavy reputation in 2022, attempting just the 22nd-most rushes in the NFL. They entrusted QB Geno Smith to lead the way, have arguably the NFL’s best receiving corps with first-rounder Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the fold, and they have a clear lead back in Kenneth Walker. And yet, Charbonnet’s talent might just make him worth a draft pick anyway. While Walker is undoubtedly the top dog, he only managed 19 receptions in three college seasons, and caught 27 passes last season as a rookie with a very high snap rate. Charbonnet, on the other hand, caught 37 passes just last season as a senior for UCLA, and racked up 518 receiving yards across his final two collegiate campaigns. Right off the bat, Charbonnet looks like a candidate for third down/passing down work, and has potential to eat into Walker’s snap count should the Seahawks be faced with negative game scripts.

What makes him more dangerous as a playing time threat is that he’s also a talented rusher. Charbonnet ran for 1,100+ yards in back-to-back seasons to end his UCLA career, and, like Walker, was a prolific touchdown scorer notching 27 in those last two Bruins years. Simply put, Charbonnet is a three-down, workhorse lead back who is blocked right now by another player of his ilk. Sure, Walker is probably better than Charbonnet, but if Walker gets injured – which he did last year – Charbonnet appears capable of stepping right into the role and running with it. That’s league-winner stuff, and he’ll be cheap on Draft day.