In fantasy football, smart managers don’t just chase starters; they stash the backups who could become league-winners overnight, and Week 11 is no exception.
With just the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts on bye, tons of handcuffs might be available to stash in a crucial part of the playoff push. Here’s your Week 11 handcuff RB rankings, spotlighting the most valuable insurance policies and upside plays.
Stash-Worthy Handcuffs
Tyler Allgeier– Team: Atlanta Falcons
Emari Demercado- Team: Arizona Cardinals
It’s sad, but it’s the truth: Tyler Allgeier has more rushing touchdowns than Bijan Robinson in 2025. No, it’s not just Arthur Smith; it’s now current offensive coordinator Zach Robinson. I am not sure why the Falcons‘ 1B running back is not rostered more, as he is their goal-line back with 6 touchdowns on the ground to Bijan’s 2.
It is unclear if Trey Benson comes off injured reserve this week, but Emari Demercado deserves more carries, as in the past two games, he has sort of redeemed himself from the costly mistake a few weeks ago, pulling a “Desean Jackson”. He has at least shown explosiveness and pass-catching ability that Bam Knight doesn’t have, and even on the ground, he has supplanted him, with Knight just being their goal-line power back instead of the lead like before. Even with fewer carries compared to Week 9, with 4, Demercado had bigger runs and was more involved as a check-down option for PPR. Knight has 6 more carries, but was way less efficient for the Cardinals.
Injury Watch for Week 11
Handcuff: R.J. Harvey (Rookie)
Injury Status: Questionable (foot)
Starter: J.K. Dobbins (Denver Broncos)
J.K. Dobbins, last Thursday, was “hip drop tackled” and suffered a foot injury late against the Las Vegas Raiders, potentially making rookie R.J. Harvey the next man up against the division rival Kansas City Chiefs off a bye week. While this isn’t a good matchup, at least the talented rookie, who’s had better games of late for Denver, could see more work and rotate with Tyler Badie/ Jaleel McLaughlin to some extent.
Still, Harvey was already getting increased usage for the Broncos, and he could have a solid game like another rookie did in Week 10, TreVeyon Henderson, who had a breakout game for the Patriots. If anything else, he should have a good enough game for PPR as a receiver, since that was already a trend with Dobbins as the lead with Harvey as the pass-catching back.
Top 10 Pure Handcuff Rankings
I only included running backs who are in defined backup roles to a known starter, so backs in ambiguous split or trio backfields I didn’t include for this list. Also, players like the backfield trio are essentially seeing enough time as part-time starters themselves and have RB 2/3 or, at worst, flex appeal as a starter, so they are not in this list either. This is in no specific order.
- Tyjae Spears
- Jordan Mason
- Jaylen Wright
- Bhayshul Tuten
- Brian Robinson Jr.
- Isaiah Davis
- Kenneth Gainwell
- Blake Corum
- Ty Johnson
- Chuba Hubbard
I deem Devin Singletary basically splitting the work but slightly over Tyrone Tracy Jr. in New York, while a split backfield is coming into effect for the Bears with D’Andre Swift leading, but rookie Kyle Monangai right behind. Woody Marks was taking over the Houston backfield before he left with a leg injury, with Nick Chubb more on the back burner lately.
Baltimore is finally involving more Keaton Mitchell mixed in with Derrick Henry, but Justice Hill got the rushing touchdown this past weekend, as another murky backfield is in Washington, with rookie Jacory Croskey-Merritt fading in the background, with Chris Rodriguez seeing more usage last week, plus Jeremy McNichols.
