Handcuffs Worth Drafting: Backups One Injury From RB1 Value

A handcuff is the backup who inherits a starter's job the moment he goes down, and at running back that swing is enormous: the man behind a true workhorse can go from undraftable to a weekly RB1 in a single snap. Injuries are not a maybe over a 17-game season, they are a certainty somewhere, so the late-round backups to the biggest workloads are the highest-upside dart throws on your bench.

For each team we take the lead back by 2026 consensus and pair him with the next runner in line, then sort by the starter's value, because the bigger the workload at risk, the more the handcuff is worth. At the top: Isiah Pacheco, the back directly behind Jahmyr Gibbs (DET, RB1). Handcuff the elite, workhorse backs first, and prioritize the ones whose backup would walk into a clear, every-down role.