Every fantasy football owner worth their salt knows how crucial running back handcuffs are. Just look at this past NFL season if you need any evidence supporting that strategy. David Johnson replaced Chris Johnson in Arizona, Devonta Freeman exploded in relief of Tevin Coleman, rookies Karlos Williams and Jeremy Langford impressed in spot duty for LeSean McCoy and Matt Forte, respectively. The list goes on and on. Gone are the days of the bell-cow back. Now, to navigate the weekly rigors of a fantasy season, you have to have capable backups with high upside.
This brings us to Minnesota Vikings running back Jerick McKinnon. The 23-year-old ball-carrier impressed last year filling in for a suspended Adrian Peterson, rushing for 538 yards on a 4.8 yards per carry average. ESPN's Mike Clay believes he could be a very valuable handcuff in 2016.
"This is relevant to Minnesota because Adrian Peterson is set to turn 31 during the offseason after the sixth 300-plus-touch season of his career," Clay wrote. "Peterson was healthy enough to appear in each of Minnesota's regular-season games this season, allowing highly intriguing handcuff McKinnon only 73 touches. The 2014 third-round pick was impressive in the small sample, averaging 5.2 yards per carry and scoring three touchdowns. Despite touching the ball only 27 times, McKinnon ranked sixth among backs in fantasy points during the final three weeks of the regular season. McKinnon will start 2016 behind Peterson, but he's one injury away from RB1 consideration."
Overall, McKinnon carried the ball 52 times for 271 yards and two scores while catching 21 passes for 173 yards and one additional TD. Are those stats comparable to fellow No. 2 RB Giovani Bernard? No. As long as Peterson is healthy, McKinnon will be virtually unplayable, unlike Bernard and other complimentary backs. But as a backup, McKinnon holds immense value as both a potential trade chip and a capable replacement should Peterson go down with an injury.
Fantasy football is a wonky game. No one could have predicted Tim Hightower or Bilal Powell potentially swinging the outcome of your league. But to give yourself the best shot at success, you have to identify a few low risk-high reward players. McKinnon falls squarely into that category.
