- Jonathon Brooks holds potential: The Panthers' backup has worked back from multiple knee injuries to potentially take over Carolina's backfield.
- Blake Corum could be better in fantasy: Although Corum was elite from a grading standpoint, he would receive additional carries if Kyren Williams goes down.
- Jaylen Wright figures to be part of a ground attack in Miami: Wright played just 127 offensive snaps in 2025 but could become a workhorse if De'Von Achane gets hurt.
Running back is the one position in fantasy football where the backup is one of the more coveted spots in the middle-to-late rounds of drafts along with sleeper rookie picks.
If the starter goes down, it stands to reason that the back up automatically inherits a fantasy relevant role even if just through pure volume.
Let’s break down the best running back handcuffs to target in 2026.
Jonathon Brooks, Carolina Panthers
Reports out of training camp for Brooks have been glowing. The former second-round pick has admirably worked his way back from back-to-back ACL tears and looks to establish himself in the Carolina backfield.
Rico Dowdle finished as the RB17 last season for the Panthers, while Chuba Hubbard fell off from his RB15 season in 2024 to finish as the RB38 last term. Hubbard’s 2024 campaign was his best of his career with a 86.3 PFF rushing grade, a number that dipped to 70.8 in 2025.
Hubbard’s longest run of this past season was a meager 14 yards, and just eight of his 134 attempts went for over 10 yards. While Dowdle fared better with 24 rushes of over 10 yards, and 10 over 15 yards, his long run of 53 yards showcased his relative lack of explosion.
So far, Brooks has logged just nine NFL carries, and a lot is hinging on him being the same guy that rushed for 1,135 yards and 10 touchdowns at Texas with an elite 91.9 PFF rushing grade. If he can recapture even most of that burst, he’s absolutely worth drafting as Hubbard’s handcuff and, possibly, potential successor if he gives the Panthers’ ground game a more explosive option.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Is it cowardice to suggest a running back that is being spoken highly of, had 145 rushes last season and is expected to continue to eat into Kyren Williams’ touches, is a handcuff rather than has standalone fantasy value? Possibly, but I don’t care.
Corum’s emergence has seen his value skyrocket in dynasty leagues and has made him a very good handcuff in all formats.
From a pure grading standpoint, Corum and Williams were equals, as they both recorded 87.0 PFF rushing grade in 2025. However, Williams did see just over 100 extra rushing attempts than Corum (259 to 145), but Corum tallied just three fewer runs of 10-plus yards and two fewer 15-plus yard gallops than Williams’ 26 and 12, respectively.
That hasn’t translated to fantasy success in its own right for Corum. Last season, Corum finished as the RB40, while Williams was the RB9 with 145.1 points between them.
However, if Williams picks up an injury, Corum becomes an every-week fantasy starter instantly. From a dynasty perspective, should that happen, it would immediately change the dynamic of how he and Williams are viewed going forward.
Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins
I’ll make a prediction: The 2026 Miami Dolphins will run the football a lot. Not the boldest of takes, but for fantasy purposes, the most relevant parts of this offense is the ground game — that includes quarterback Malik Willis.
De’Von Achane is a bonafide RB1 in every fantasy format and a bonafide star in the league, and finishing as the NFL’s the highest-graded rusher in 2025 with an elite 91.0 grade.
The former Texas A&M Aggie was one of just six backs to top 300 fantasy points last season. He slashed and gashed his way to an RB5 overall finish, replicating his RB5 finish of 2024 — though he collected 22.9 more points in 2025.
Achane will be the focal point of the Dolphins’ offense and snagging Wright has nothing to do with if the former can carry the load or not. Achane had 305 touches in 2025 and 281 in 2024; it’s about if he gets hurt.
Wright only played 127 total offensive snaps last season, but what he did with them was encouraging. Wright posted a solid 69.4 overall PFF grade with a good-not-great 74.7 PFF rushing grade.
The former fourth-round pick took his 70 carries for 288 yards — 4.1 yards per carry — for two touchdowns and, admittedly, two fumbles. Of those 70 attempts, Wright was able to break off six runs of over 10 yards and two of 15-plus.
Those are not the gaudy numbers of Achane, but it’s respectable. If Achane misses any length of time, Wright will be a fantasy-relevant back.
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