Players to Pick Up Now – Week 13

I did say last week that the article is getting kind of slim since most teams are set in stone heading into fantasy playoffs. With that, I want to turn the attention of this week’s article toward Fantasy Football Handcuffs for your teams. All season, and particularly last week, we saw some big-named RBs go down and people emptied their wallets for the backups if they were still out there. The ones that come to mind are Alexander Mattison, Chuba Hubbard, and Jamaal Williams. All of those players were likely already on teams or grabbed off waivers this week, so I want to give you some other handcuffs to add before it is too late.

Now, we have said for weeks to handcuff your top players and I hope if you were a Dalvin Cook, CMC, or DeAndre Swift owner, you already did so and are sitting pretty. Also, please keep in mind that I just returned home from the hospital after the birth of our beautiful, healthy baby boy! So if I seem to drift or fall asleep at the keyboard while I type, that’s the reason. Thank god for coffee!

Of course, we let you know the guys we picked last week and how the they did, so let’s take a look below..

Austin Hooper: Week 12 Results – 3 Tgts (0.00 Fantasy Points)

Marquez Valdes-Scantling: Week 12 Results – 9 Tgts, 4 Rec, 50 Rec Yards (9.00 Fantasy Points)

David Johnson: Week 12 Results – 10 Rush, 39 Rush Yards, 3 Tgts, 2 Rec, 16 Rec Yards (7.50 Fantasy Points)

Laviska Shenault Jr.: Week 12 Results – 9 Tgts, 5 Rec, 33 Rec Yards (8.30 Fantasy Points)

Now let’s get in to some other RB handcuffs out there that should be picked up, especially if you own the starter on your fantasy team. We will not talk about the handcuffs that have already taken over the starting role on their teams or those teams who have split backfields such as the Packers and Browns. We want to look at the guys who will have a solidified role if anything were to happen to the starter on that team.

Khalil Herbert – 15% Owned

This one is a little shocking as far as how low his ownership is, but when Montgomery came back, Herbert was dropped in several leagues. This should not have been the case. I get that he has done very little since Monty has returned, and Monty has been on the field over 84% of the time since he has been back. This just shows the Bears like to give one RB the ball no matter who it is. We saw Herbert have some great weeks when Monty was out, so we know if he got the opportunity again, he is capable of putting up fantasy numbers once more. The Bears have a favorable schedule for RBs going forward, so if you are a Monty owner, you must grab Herbert now just in case.

Marlon Mack – 3% Owned

I still do not get why the Colts did not trade Mack at the deadline, even if it was for a 7th round pick. When you refuse to trade your backup RB and end up not using him since Week 8, it simply does not make sense to me, but perhaps they know they need a back ready to step up if Jonathan Taylor ever went down. We know Hines is there, but he has that pass catching role down if JT does miss time. Mack would be the early down back there if needed and he is barely owned in fantasy. It is not the most exciting name or handcuff to grab, but I believe he would be the true handcuff to JT on the Colts.

Devontae Booker – 29% Owned

I really cannot believe Booker is not owned in more fantasy leagues. He is the clear handcuff to one of the more injury prone RBs in the NFL (Barkley) and he still is only owned in 29% of leagues. When Barkley was out, Booker had 4 games over 13.6 points, so we know he can give you that safe floor you are looking for at an RB2 spot. Even if you do not own Barkley, I think Booker is a great guy to pick up regardless. If Barkley ever went down, which he has in the last few years, you have an RB2 you can play right away.

Jeff Wilson Jr. – 28% Owned

Wilson was a guy everyone was trying to grab for when he came off the PUP, but when it became clear to all of us that Eli Mitchell was the preferred Niners RB, Wilson was let go very fast. He still barely touched the field when Mitchell is healthy, but we have seen Mitchell banged up all season and miss some games after a large workload. Wilson would be the next man up if Mitchell ever misses more time, which he likely could. I am a Mitchell owner in a few leagues and in all of those leagues, I have Wilson as a handcuff. I suggest you do the same.

Ronald Jones II – 24% Owned

I get it, Jones was a massive bust this season for where you drafted him and Fournette is the clear lead RB in Tampa Bay. Even with that, Jones has seen a total of 15 carries and 2 rushing TDs in the last 2 weeks, so Jones is getting on the field still. If Lenny was forced to miss time, Jones would be the next man up in a high scoring offense. If you own Lenny, this is a handcuff you need to grab now especially with the workload Lenny has seen. The Bucs know they need Lenny for a playoff push, so do not be surprised to see them rest him towards the end of the season. If they do or he gets hurt, Jones slides in as a high flex play.

Kalen Ballage – <1% Owned

This is a very deep dive stash player here, but I do believe Ballage would be the next man up behind Harris. Harris’ workload has been insane this season for a rookie, and we are already seeing the Steelers give him some rest in recent weeks. If the Steelers continue to lose and push away from the playoff race, I would not be shocked to see them shut down their talented rookie and save him for next season. If they do, Ballage would get most of the work in the offense and be a startable asset in fantasy. Now this one is very deep and I would want all the other players above before I look at him, but he is someone to keep on your radar.

THE WRAP UP

Those are just a few guys I wanted to point out for you all to look at for top handcuffs in the league. A few other guys I did not mention that could be solid handcuffs are Carlos Hyde (11% owned), Salvon Ahmed (2% owned), & Jaret Patterson (1% owned). I did leave out players owned in over 50% of leagues, but if they are still out there, they would be above everyone else I just named. Those players are Darrell Williams, Kenyan Drake, & Sony Michel.

There you have it! Take a look to see if these handcuffs are available for you because now is the time to grab them in case anything happens to your starters.