We will start out this week in Minnesota, where Alexander Mattison landed in the concussion protocol. This places Ty Chandler firmly on the radar, but perhaps we should be paying closer to Chandler even with Mattison healthy. He was out-touching Mattison in the first half, and Kevin O’Connell has had positive reviews of the second-year back out of North Carolina.
There is some downside to Chandler, as he wasn’t targeted in the passing game. Despite the 72% snap share once Mattison went out, if he isn’t getting any receiving work, his upside will be capped. That said, we are heading into Week 11, and the opportunities to find potential lead running backs this late in the year are scarce.
I will be bidding on Chandler this week and have him queued up in a couple of leagues where my waiver priority is high enough to warrant consideration. Running backs in the concussion protocol aren’t likely to play the following week, which would make Chandler an RB2 against the Broncos on Sunday night.
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Fantasy Football Running Back Handcuff Rankings (Week 11)
Handcuff Notes From Week 10
Here is what else I saw at the position this week, followed by the handcuff ranks for Week 11 :
- In what has become a weekly feature, Jonathan Taylor played on 89% of the snaps, handling 24 of the 25 running back touches. Zack Moss is still an elite handcuff but nothing more.
- Bijan Robinson played on 77% of the snaps in Atlanta’s loss to the Cardinals, scoring a touchdown inside the Red Zone. He went over 100 total yards on 23 touches, so now, if we can just get some more work in the passing game, we will be in business.
- Pittsburgh is at a 50/50 split in the workload, but the Steelers have committed to the run in a big way. After rushing for 166 yards against Tennessee in Week 9, they rushed for over 200 yards on Sunday. Both Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren scored touchdowns, with the latter going over 100 yards on the day. Somehow, both are startable.
- I have no idea why the Ravens only had 24 rushes in a game they were leading for 59 minutes, but Keaton Mitchell needs more work. He finished with three carries for 34 yards and a touchdown but did not receive a touch in the second half. An odd decision by Todd Monken there.
Handcuff Rankings
- Zack Moss (IND)
- Zach Charbonnet (SEA)
- Jaylen Warren (PIT)
- Ty Chandler (MIN)
- Keaton Mitchell (BAL)
- Elijah Mitchell (SF)
- Kareem Hunt (CLE)
- Devin Singletary (HOU)
- Tyler Allgeier (ATL)
- Rico Dowdle (DAL)
- Tyjae Spears (TEN)
- Latavius Murray (BUF)
- Ezekiel Elliott (NE)
- AJ Dillon (GB)
- Joshua Kelley (LAC)
Buffalo
- Starter: James Cook
- Handcuff: Latavius Murray
I normally try to get the handcuff report published on Mondays, but the Buffalo backfield held some intrigue for me this week. Latavius Murray finished Week 9 by taking 16 consecutive snaps to end the game, and I wanted to see if that was just noise or if there was some legitimacy to that. Murray was already seeing the majority of the work inside the five-yard line, so a bump in snap share would cement him as a legitimate flex play.
Last night James Cook fumbled on the first play of the game, paving the way for Murray to play most of the first half and garner a 50% snap share, by far his highest on the season. Murray finished with nine carries for 68 yards and a touchdown while also catching two passes. For his part, Cook did rush for 109 yards, but his grip on the backfield is slipping here. Murray is worth picking up this week where he is available.
Dallas
- Starter: Tony Pollard
- Handcuff: Rico Dowdle
I said in this space last week if Tony Pollard is going to pop for a big game, this was the spot. Unfortunately, every Dallas skill player (including Rico Dowdle) got into the end zone except for Pollard, who was stuffed at the goalline and missed another touchdown by a few inches. Pollard played 90% of the snaps with Dak Prescott in the game, so the role is unchanged, but Dallas just isn’t using him the same way they have in the past.
Pollard is now being asked to take on more of the Zeke Elliott role, which has crippled his fantasy value. If you have him, you’ve got to keep rolling him out, but Dallas has opened up the offense over the last month, and they are comfortable throwing the ball on any down and distance. It’s a disappointing season for Pollard, who some thought could be the overall RB1.
Detroit
- Committee: Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery
In David Montgomery’s first game back, Jahmyr Gibbs played on 58% of the snaps. Had 17 touches for 112 total yards and two touchdowns, playing on 5/9 snaps inside the 10-yard line. For Montgomery, he ripped off a 75-yard touchdown run that propelled him to a 116-yard rushing day as Detroit ran all over the Chargers.
I am taking Gibbs off the handcuff list because he has made the case for this to be, at worse, a committee backfield. The game flow here probably helped Gibbs more than Montgomery, but both of these backs are viable in this offense. Detroit plays Chicago and Green Bay in their next two games, so fire both of them up.
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Jason Kamlowsky is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Jason, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @JasonKamlowsky.
