We all know that the physical game of football can sometimes lead to injuries that absolutely ruin a player’s season or prolongs their return for quite some time. That’s why being able to understand the value of handcuffing is so significant. Think of it as “fantasy football insurance.” Since Workhorse Fantasy RBs are becoming quite rare nowadays with teams opting for committee backfields, I think it’s necessary to give you my favorite handcuffs heading into the 2022 season:
Top 3 RB Handcuffs for 2022
Alexander Mattison (Minnesota Vikings/Age: 24/Exp: 3)
Mattison has been in the NFL for 3 years now and he has been as serviceable as they come when relieving Dalvin Cook of the starting role. Cook has been riddled with injuries season after season. This has left Mattison to take on that workhorse role especially last season. I expect Mattison to slowly work his way more and more into the offense as he has proven that he can be a value piece of a very good Minnesota offensive attack.
Tony Pollard (Dallas Cowboys/Age: 25/Exp: 3)
Tony Pollard has proved why he can be a valuable piece of the Dallas Cowboys for the past couple of years. Even with a healthy Zeke and active for some games, Pollard this past year saw double digit touches in multiple games in addition to catching passes out of the backfield. The main question remains as too if Dallas will trust Pollard to take on a full workload should Zeke hit another bump in the road with injuries like he did last year. Only time will tell…
Mark Ingram (New Orleans Saints/Age: 32/ Exp: 11)
Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen I present to you arguably one of the best handcuff’s that you could get in your drafts with none other than Mark Ingram. Mark is in an interesting situation with Alvin Kamara’s legal situation. If Kamara were to be suspended and unable to participate in a plethora of games, that would leave the backfield completely vacated to the 11-year veteran. Even though Mark Ingram is 32 and, on the verge of expiration for the average RB in the NFL, he still is worth a shot to take especially if you can snag him in the later rounds of drafts.