Fantasy Football 2014: the Top NFC Handcuff Running Backs

The first round in fantasy football drafts still belongs to running backs, and the middle-to-late rounds still belong to backup running backs.

With fantasy drafts happening all week long right up to the kickoff of the opening games on Sunday, shuffling your draft lists and cheat sheets around at the last minute is a necessity. And drafting backup running backs to handcuff to the starting running backs you select in the first few rounds is a must if you want to win fantasy leagues.

I touched upon the top AFC handcuff running backs in fantasy football in a column earlier in the week. Now here are the top NFC handcuff running backs for 2014:

Carlos Hyde, San Francisco 49ers

The popular theory is that running backs start hitting the wall at age 28. If that is the case, then Frank Gore should be covered by a mound of broken bricks. Although he showed no signs of slowing down in 2013 after rushing for 1,128 yards and nine touchdowns, this could be the year Gore finally downshifts into a lower gear.

Fantasy owners should know a lot about Hyde since he was on television every Saturday while he was a member of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Only Kirk Herbstreit was probably seen more on TV. He is an inside runner with speed to make big plays once he reaches the secondary, and he has a nose for the end zone when given the ball inside the 10-yard-line.

Hyde will be learning from a master runner and carrying the ball behind one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. He is one of the best handcuff backs to draft, especially in dynasty leagues where you can hold onto him for a couple years as he becomes San Francisco’s starter.

Darren Sproles, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia will probably run more plays than any other team in the NFL this season thanks to Chip Kelly’s offense, and fantasy super stud LeSean McCoy cannot possibly be on the field for all of them. That means veteran change-of-pace back Sproles should touch the ball more than most backup backs.

Sproles had a down year in 2013, which led many fantasy pundits to speculate that Father Time had tackled the life out of Sproles’ legs. Sproles still had 71 receptions for 604 yards and two touchdowns, though, so he was still productive in point-per-reception fantasy leagues.

Will Sproles fight off old age and run for 400 yards, add 700 receiving yards and score six times in 2014? Thanks to the high-powered, nonstop, no-huddle offense he is in, it is very likely.

Joique Bell, Detroit Lions

To classify Bell as a handcuff is like calling Bill Murray a character actor. It just does not do him justice. Bell is not Reggie Bush’s backup, he is more like a second starter. In 2013 Bush had 223 rushing attempts and 54 receptions while Bell had 166 rushing attempts and 53 receptions.

But fantasy owners know about Bush’s injury history just as well as the paparazzi know about Alec Baldwin’s temper. Bush could pull a hamstring or strain a groin at any moment. If that happens, Bell becomes one of the most valuable running backs in fantasy football.

Bell had 1,197 combined yards and eight touchdowns last season and could vault into the 1,400-yard and 10-TD range now that he is more experienced. The sky is the limit on the yardage and touchdown totals if Bush gets hurt and Bell’s role in the offense expands.

James Starks, Green Bay Packers

Eddie Lacy might be the Green Bay running back going in the first round in many, if not most, fantasy drafts this week, but Starks should not be forgotten. All he did last season was average a career-high 5.5 yards per carry and score four touchdowns while filling in for Lacy.

Lacy has a physical, violent running style that leaves him open to injuries. He missed a game last season with a concussion and just suffered a second one Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks in the NFL opener. Lacy could easily get nicked up again down the line as he prefers to initiate contact rather than avoid it.

Starks has been everything from a Super Bowl hero to a fantasy zero in his short career so far. He ran with authority against Seattle, though, and could get a few starts this season in place of Lacy if his latest concussion sidelines him for a few weeks.

Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints

With the aforementioned Sproles now in the "City of Brotherly Love," Thomas' role has changed with the Saints. He will now become more of a third-down pass-catching back than the all-purpose back he has been since joining the Saints in 2007.

Thomas has always been a key cog in New Orleans' offensive machine. His versatility between running, catching or blocking has kept him on the field leading to him topping the 1,000-yard plateau in combined yards on three different occasions.

Mark Ingram is slated to be the lead running back, especially on early downs, Considering Ingram’s track record is spotty at best, drafting Thomas in fantasy leagues and betting that he ends up getting more touches than Ingram and finishes with 1,100 combined yards is a solid strategy.

Jonathan Dwyer, Arizona Cardinals

Andre Ellington was the darling of fantasy experts this past month. It sounded like he was going to get 99 percent of the touches out of the Arizona backfield and would become a top-10 fantasy running back by season's end thanks to his quickness and Bruce Arians' offense.

But the fantasy world has been turned topsy-turvy with the breaking news from XTRA 910's Mike Jurecki that Ellington suffered a foot injury in practice late this week and now might miss this week’s game, if not future games. That opens the door for Dwyer to swoop in and steal yards and touchdowns like a fantasy football thief.

Dwyer is no Pro Bowl player. He has the speed of a fullback, limited pass-catching ability and has scored two touchdowns in 36 career contests. He should be a second-stringer at best and in the Arena League at worst.

But if Ellington misses an extended period of time, Dwyer will be the one getting the majority of the carries for Arizona, and in fantasy football it is better to have a below-average starting tailback than a very talented backup because the former will touch the ball more than the latter.