When it comes to fantasy football sleepers and stash picks, the handcuff running back is a classic archetype to take late in drafts or off the waiver wire. After all, halfbacks take more of a beating than most positions and are generally regarded as more prone to injury than other positions, though that does tend to be anecdotal to an extent.
Not all handcuff RBs are created equal, though. The ones you really want are those in productive offenses who could pop off if the starter goes down midseason. With that in mind, is Malik Davis one of the best fantasy handcuffs after winning the backup job with the Dallas Cowboys?
Is Malik Davis an elite fantasy handcuff?
Last season, the Cowboys took a swing by offering Javonte Williams a one-year prove-it deal. The former Denver Bronco had been through a debilitating knee injury and didn’t quite look like himself upon returning to the field with his previous team. In Dallas, though, Williams truly broke out with 1,201 rushing yards, 35 receptions and 13 total touchdowns to deliver 15.2 FPPG. He was rewarded for his performance with a three-year, $24 million extension in February 2026, locking him in for the future with the franchise.
Williams was a workhorse who handled an average of 48 snaps per game with a 68% snap percentage in 2025, seventh highest among halfbacks, also handling 252 carries over the course of the year. So, why are we looking at the Cowboys’ backfield if Williams is entrenched as the starter, and a bell-cow back at that?
Well, it’s because his backup would become immensely valuable if he misses any time. Dallas’ offense ranked top 10 in scoring and total yards per game last year, affording plenty of scoring opportunities to Williams. The Cowboys moved the ball with relative ease and now return nearly the entire offensive core in 2026, setting the stage for whatever running back plays to rack up fantasy points.
Enter Malik Davis, who has picked up steam as a valuable handcuff in fantasy football circles over the last few weeks. The 27-year-old has been with the Cowboys since 2022, a rookie season in which he saw spot work as a rusher with 161 yards and a touchdown on 38 carries. He then bounced between the active roster and the practice squad over the following two years, but made his way back to the big leagues in 2025 with 52 carries for 250 yards and two scores.
In year two under head coach Brian Schottenheimer, Davis was given the chance to compete for a role over the last couple of months. Reports from training camp were positive, but he really showed ability in the preseason. He appeared in two games for Dallas, taking 12 carries for 68 yards. That may not sound like impressive production, but he ran five times for 29 yards with a touchdown reception in one of those contests and handled seven carries for 39 yards in the other. After averaging 5.7 YPC across those productive outings, he clearly impressed the coaching staff.
The Cowboys cut second-year back Jaydon Blue, who was a fifth-round pick last year, then waived Phil Mafah as well. Those moved cleared the way for Davis to take over as the backup to Williams on the active roster, which is supported by the depth chart as the official RB2.
The argument to roster Davis isn’t that he has much standalone fantasy value – he’s merely a handcuff for the moment. He has proven that he can compete in a live game environment, though, and the team seems to trust him more now than in the past. He should flirt with a few carries each week to spell Williams as a change-of-pace option, but if the starter goes down at some point, Davis is a player who should step into a major role with the majority of rushing work and a minor role on passing downs. In what should be one of the NFL’s most exciting offenses once again, that kind of backup bet could pay off in a big way if he gets on the field.
Do you need to roster Davis in fantasy football? Not really, but there are far worse end-of-bench options on teams across the landscape. In the event that Williams suffers an injury, you’ll be thankful you don’t have to fight for his handcuff on the waiver wire.
