The NFL season is finally off to a start after the Denver Broncos and the Baltimore Ravens played on Thursday night and with the first true week of fantasy football coming up on Sunday, there are plenty of players out there for owners to grab that could help win their league this year, including Danny Woodhead, Giovani Bernard, Bilal Powell, DeMarco Murray, Ben Tate, Vick Ballard, Christian Michael, Lamar Miller and Roy Helu.
The running back position has a number of sleepers and players that should be handcuffed and for any owners of players like Ray Rice, Frank Gore and LeSean McCoy should snag Bernard Pierce, Kendall Hunter and Bryce Brown. Running backs are usually the most important players in fantasy and if a prime player goes down, it is essential to have his handcuff backup on your roster to keep production up through the season.
Arian Foster and Ben Tate should be handcuffed together and while Foster made it through the season last year without major injury, Tate showed two years ago that he is capable stepping up after rushing for over 900 yards. Tate would be a starting running back on plenty of other teams and after averaging over five years per carry, he likely will still factor into the offense whether Foster gets hurt or not.
Jamaal Charles is expected to be one of the best backs in the NFL this season after being extremely productive last season, but after his knee scare in the summer and his previous ACL surgery, owners should grab a backup as well in Knile Davis. Andy Reid likes to use multiple backs and after Dexter McCluster, Davis could get some prime touches. The Chiefs and the Broncos should be productive in the passing game in the AFC West, with Denver bringing in a trio with Montee Ball, Knowshon Moreno and Ronnie Hillman.
Bryce Brown could end up being a nice option in deeper leagues with Chip Kelly coming in to run the offense and last year he showed he can be explosive, rushing for over 300 yards over two weeks and averaging nearly five yards per carry. Kendall Hunter is a solid option for Frank Gore owners and while Gore has played in 16 games in two straight seasons after being injury prone in the past, this could be time for the shoe to drop and Hunter will be waiting. LaMichael James suffered a knee injury so Hunter will have the backup job locked down at least through the first month of the season.
Some other very good options include handcuffing these bad boys: Giovani Bernard for BenJarvus Green-Ellis on the Bengals, Isaac Redman and Le'Veon Bell on the Steelers, Woodhead for Ryan Mathews since he never stays healthy, Rashad Jennings for Darren McFadden for the exact same reason, as well as DeMarco Murray and Lance Dunbar for Dallas Cowboys. A bad injury can derail a team, but having a handcuff back is like a lifeline and that could help fantasy owners big time this season.