ClutchPoints
The 2024 NFL season was the perfect example of why insurance is so important in fantasy football. Coming off a season where he went for 2,000 scrimmage yards, Christian McCaffrey was the undisputed No. 1 pick in fantasy football leagues.
Unfortunately, McCaffrey didn’t live up to his draft position. Calf and Achilles injuries delayed his debut, and a PCL injury prematurely ended his season once he did return to action.
Fantasy managers who had McCaffrey’s backups reaped the rewards, though. Jordan Mason and Isaac Guerendo had impressive performances when McCaffrey was sidelined. McCaffrey isn’t the only example of a star player who misses a lot of time due to injury, though. In fact, the nature of the running back position makes all ball carriers vulnerable to missing time.
There are some great backups who won’t make much of an impact on fantasy teams if the starter ahead of them is healthy, but they should step up in a big way if the player ahead of them on the depth chart goes down with an injury. These players are known in the fantasy football community as handcuffs. Which handcuffs should fantasy managers draft ahead of the 2025 season?
Joe Mixon is dealing with a foot/ankle injury that may prevent him from suiting up Week 1. Injuries like this often linger, too, so drafting handcuff options out of the Houston Texans’ backfield makes sense. Nick Chubb is second on Houston’s depth chart. He has four 1,000-yard seasons to his name, but injuries have sapped him of his athleticism.
Chubb has never been the best player in fantasy football PPR leagues, either, although he is better in standard formats. Perhaps Chubb will have a bounce-back season after two injury-riddled years, but it is more likely that Chubb is washed up. Because of that, Woody Marks is another handcuff option on the Texans.
Marks was a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and is the future of the running back position in Houston. He may be given a bigger role sooner rather than later, especially if Mixon’s injury woes continue.
The problem with selecting Houston running backs this year is that there are a bunch of solid ball carriers on the team, so the Texans may use a by-committee rotation with their ground attack. In addition to Mixon, Chubb, and Marks, Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale are on the roster and have experience contributing to fantasy football lineups.
Jordan Mason was arguably the best handcuff running back in 2024, and he could thrive in that role once again, even on a new team. Mason took over for McCaffrey on the San Francisco 49ers last year. Now he plays for the Minnesota Vikings as the backup to Aaron Jones.
Jones had a resurgence of a season in his first year with the Vikings, but regression can be expected in his age-30 season. If Jones does start to trend in the wrong direction, there...
