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Ask the Experts

Which handcuff running back will be best going forward?

Hunt, Mattison make the grade

ASK THE EXPERTS appears weekly from training camp through the Super Bowl with answers to a new question being posted Thursday morning. How the guest experts responded when we asked them: Which handcuff running back, yet to do much this season, is the best to own?

DAVID DOREY

This is easy – Kareem Hunt! He’s due to return in Week 10 after his suspension is over. Nick Chubb doesn’t need any help but Hunt offers the Browns a very valuable option as a receiver in addition to rushing. He is a free agent in 2020 so the Browns will use him to get back some value from having him on the roster this long. Should Chubb get injured, you have a one-time best back in the league ready to take over. I am looking forward to the second half of the season if I am holding Hunt.

Dorey has been dealing out all the rankings and projections for The Huddle since 1997 and wrote up a preview of every game for the last 21 years. His specialty is schedule strength and he’s been in countless magazines, podcasts, and radio shows. He is the author of Fantasy Football: The Next Level.

SAM HENDRICKS

Mark Walton has really been the RB3 in Miami, but he is making a push and I have stashed him on many rosters the past few weeks. Unfortunately he plays for Miami (strike 1) and, well, that might not be enough to make him a valuable wildcard.

Hendricks is the author of Fantasy Football Guidebook, Fantasy Football Tips and Fantasy Football Basics, all available at ExtraPointPress.com, at all major bookstores, and at Amazon and BN.com. He is a 25-year fantasy football veteran who participates in the National Fantasy Football Championship (NFFC) and finished 7th and 16th overall in the 2008 and 2009 Fantasy Football Players Championship (FFPC). He won the Fantasy Index Open in 2013. Follow him at his web site, www.ffguidebook.com.

MICHAEL NEASE

Going into the season, Devin Singletary owners had high hopes of a big season. After getting injured he was replaced by the venerable Frank Gore. I look for Singletary to move up from running back 2 status and have a very successful second half of the season.

Nease is a member of the FSWA and has been playing the game since 1985, while also writing about it since 2001. He is a writer for Big Guy Fantasy Sports. Over the years he has sampled about all the playing scenarios that fantasy football offers, including re-drafter, keeper, dynasty, auction, IDP and salary cap leagues. You can contact Mike at mnease23@yahoo.com anytime and during the football season follow him @mike-insights.

ALAN SATTERLEE

As a Dalvin Cook owner, I can only hope this doesn’t come true but the correct answer is Alexander Mattison. Barring an injury to Cook, Mattison is just a potential flex option but if he were needed to start then Mattison would be a clear RB1 in fantasy. Mattison is averaging a healthy 4.9 yards per rush and plays on a team committed to the run (Minnesota ranks third in the NFL with 160 rushing yards per game).

Satterlee is the Fantasy Football Insider for the Charlotte Observer and is syndicated in a few other newspapers in the southeast. Satterlee first started playing fantasy football in 1990.

ANDY RICHARDSON

I have finally given up the ghost on Damien Harris. I could see him being a factor down the stretch should an injury strike, but New England is clearly going to use 3 different running backs no matter who goes down. My new ultra-deep stash is Tra Carson. The Lions are going with Ty Johnson, but he's unproven in a large role. J.D. McKissic is just a third-down guy. If Johnson either struggles with a large role or gets hurt, they'll plug in Carson, who they liked enough to poach from Green Bay when the Packers had roster crunch issues. Slightly higher profile is Wendell Smallwood. Terrible roster, but who knows when Chris Thompson will return, and Adrian Peterson is also dealing with an ankle injury. Smallwood could be a three-down back as soon as tonight. Just don't look for touchdowns.

Richardson has been a contributing writer and editor to the Fantasy Football Index magazine and www.fantasyindex.com since 2002. His responsibilities include team defense and IDP projections and various site features, and he has run the magazine's annual experts draft and auction leagues since their inception. He previews all the NFL games on Saturdays and writes a wrap-up column on Mondays during the NFL season.

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