Fantasy Football RB Handcuff Rankings: 2025 Depth charts, draft sleepers, key backups, waiver wire pickups

Many fantasy football drafters continue to fade the top options at running back in the early rounds, instead opting to deploy strategies including Zero-RB, where you punt the position for at least four rounds or through the top 20 or so options at average draft position (ADP).

Regardless of whether you’re trying Zero-RB, Hero RB (one major RB drafted in the first half of the draft), or Robust RB (old-school approach of going heavy on the position), knowing the backups to chase and stash in your draft and on the waiver wire is a necessary step.

Enter the fantasy RB handcuff grid, where we track depth chart movement among every NFL backfield and itemize how it influences each team’s fantasy football backfield picture.

Keep scrolling to see where every NFL running back group stands as of the preseason. We will update this every week throughout the season, detailing major changes and news along the way. 

Fantasy Football RB Handcuffs Depth Chart

Before reading the full outline of the handcuff grid, see how these names fall in our 2025 RB draft rankings.

Here’s the key for symbols used in the fantasy NFL RB handcuffs grid:

• Fantasy RB1: The top back in name for that team’s backfield
• Top Handcuff: The likely next in line should an injury or coach’s decision remove the RB1. Though it’s not always a direct replacement of role, this column lists the best bet to have more volume in place of the established RB1.
• Sleepers & Role Players: The first name(s) listed are the most intriguing dart throws in the backfield if you need to dig deeper.
• (co): Committee
• 🏥: Injured
• 📈: Rising stock | 📉: Falling stock
• ➕: New RB added

MORE: Find our favorite 2025 RB draft sleepers.

2025 RB handcuff rankings

This Top 50 list of the best backup running backs to draft may include some overlap from ongoing RB competitions, but this ideally would be a list of direct backups to draft or pick up off the waiver wire.

We’re not yet going to count the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers, due to their ongoing competitions or relative uncertainty.

For fantasy draft season, we’re ok with duplicating our efforts to ensure that you’re maximizing your targets, so we’re including “Handcuff Plus” options like the Minnesota Vikings’ Jordan Mason and the Detroit Lions’ David Montgomery.

Assume PPR value for these handcuffs, but the rankings can be considered universal.

MORE: Find the best RBs to fade with our fantasy draft busts.