Handcuff Harbor Vol. 3 || League Winners

When you dive into the statistics, running backs are the most frequently injured players by position in the NFL. Last year we saw an abundance of injuries at this position which unfortunately had massive fantasy implications for fans around the world. The reality is your starting RB’s have an above average chance of missing at least one game a year due to injury, but don’t fret, a solid handcuff running back taken in the later rounds of your draft can do wonders.

The first installment of 2022 for this segment needs to go to a running back who has already shown their worth and will be behind a clear cut top 20 RB on the depth chart, specifically one that has missed playing time over the past couple years. This might be a surprise as a kick off the year kind of guy but I’m going with Kahlil Herbert out in Chicago.

First off, go look at his college numbers, the guy averaged 7.6 YPC in his senior year at Virginia Tech, rolling for 9 TD’s and 1,183 rushing yards. Herbert has a stocky frame at 5’9 / 210 with a mid 4.5 40 time. The former Hokie has a fantastic blend of strength and vision. He’s a patient runner with extremely smooth cuts and great balance. He’s proved to be elusive with above average burst despite combine scores, and can start and stop fluidly. After watching tape, both at college and his rookie year your main takeaway is his anticipation leading to extra yards and how tough of a tackle he can be at 5’9. The Bears predominantly used him with a zone run scheme in 2021 and it did not disappoint when on the field.

Kahlil Herbert got an opportunity as lead back in 2021 as a rookie in weeks 5-8 against 4 playoff teams and he shined. The rookie in those 4 games averaged 19.5 carries per, 86 YPG, 4.4 YPC, 13.4 PPR points per. He had a breakaway run in every matchup that he received more than a 50% snap share. His best game in this span? Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who had a consensus top 3 run defense in 2021. He ripped them apart for 100 rushing yards on 18 carries. The most impressive part was his ability to keep the legs moving, rushing for 74 yards after contact in this game, an average of 4.11 per carry.

Now lets come back down to earth and remember who’s in front of him both on the depth chart and on the field. David Montgomery has been an absolute workhorse when on the field for the Bears in his career, and outside of that 4 game stretch last season he had only missed 1 game in 2019/2020 combined. Not to mention if we put it lightly, the Bears offensive line is a problem. 2021 2nd round pick Teven Jenkins was absolutely awful last year, finishing with a 47.5 overall PFF grade. It’s hard to pinpoint a bright spot for the big men up front outside of youth being brought in via late round draft capital. The only significance of this is last year Herbert produced behind a clear bottom 3 line in the game.

Khalil has home run ability, so it was no surprise we saw him in the return game for the Bears last season. His ability to dissect a defense and adjust to find the right lane, then hit it with acceleration and burst is why he's perfect for the Bears zone run scheme.

I know a lot of people are just flat out avoiding the Chicago Bears offense in fantasy this year. Personally value is value, and if I have an opportunity to steal a solid RB in the 4th I’ll take it. David Montgomery is currently the RB15 in redraft and going anywhere between the late 3rd - Mid 4th in PPR leagues. Khalil Herbert is a perfect last round flyer if you end up snagging Monty in a good spot. He’s sitting at RB59 / 15th round currently, which is a low risk high reward move that gives you a perfect handcuff on a guy who’s proven his value already against high quality teams.

Arm tackles simply do not work on this guy, most play’s you see a swarm needing to take him down. His balance, patience, and vision make him a very viable threat within this Bears offense that just lost both Tarik Cohen and Damien Williams. He has a high evaded tackle rate and juke rate, I wouldn’t expect the breakaway runs against solid teams to change anytime soon. Draft a handcuff and reap the rewards down the line.

- Ryan Mobley / Upside Play