After you draft your starters, what's next?

[Brees#1]

Just seems in this year's case there's no health certainty. So after you draft starters, do you draft handcuffs next or some players to fill in crucial bye weeks? Especially if byes are early in season.


In this mock draft I did
QB-Brees-No handcuff or bye filler. If I did go bye filler it was between Cutler and Rivers who were there late. Both play favorable matchups week 7.
RB-Charles(will not be drafting him)-Handcuff Knile Davis in 14th. Bye filler I got Greene who plays jags week 10 and he could get red zone looks that game.
RB 2 Sproles-Handcuff Ingram. Not that big a deal to fill in his bye.
WR Cruz-No handcuff, but bye rep V Brown who plays redskins
WR 2 Wallace-No handcuff same bye rep V Brown who plays colts at home
TE Gronk-Handcuff Sudfeld in 13th, bye rep Gates who's had success against Denver.
Flex DJac-Did not focus on handcuff or bye rep because his bye is week 12, plenty of time to find a FA gem. No one is going to hold on to Cooper when FAs are picked up.

Basically after drafting my main eight starters(inc. defense), I drafted 3 bye fillers and 3 handcuffs. I probably overreacted with Gates because the pats bye is week 10. The last spot was a kicker.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Just seems in this year's case there's no health certainty. So after you draft starters, do you draft handcuffs next or some players to fill in crucial bye weeks? Especially if byes are early in season.


In this mock draft I did
QB-Brees-No handcuff or bye filler. If I did go bye filler it was between Cutler and Rivers who were there late. Both play favorable matchups week 7.
RB-Charles(will not be drafting him)-Handcuff Knile Davis in 14th. Bye filler I got Greene who plays jags week 10 and he could get red zone looks that game.
RB 2 Sproles-Handcuff Ingram. Not that big a deal to fill in his bye.
WR Cruz-No handcuff, but bye rep V Brown who plays redskins
WR 2 Wallace-No handcuff same bye rep V Brown who plays colts at home
TE Gronk-Handcuff Sudfeld in 13th, bye rep Gates who's had success against Denver.
Flex DJac-Did not focus on handcuff or bye rep because his bye is week 12, plenty of time to find a FA gem. No one is going to hold on to Cooper when FAs are picked up.

Basically after drafting my main eight starters(inc. defense), I drafted 3 bye fillers and 3 handcuffs. I probably overreacted with Gates because the pats bye is week 10. The last spot was a kicker.

That is always an interesting question. Handcuffs vs lesser starters. I don't like going for handcuffs because there is too much to factor in. Many teams have a number 2 who they like at their role and won't change their role even if the number one gets hurt. So just because he is the handcuff that does not mean he will become the starter. I generally skip the handcuffs for my starters and go with the players that are most likely to be good if they start, and don't focus on whether I think they will start or not since injuries are too difficult to predict.

 

[TK21775]

I agree, I don't even worry about handcuffs. I'd rather go for talent or pick up some players that have a high ceiling then take up a space on my bench for a handcuff that may or not play all season. More than likely depending on how deep the bench is the handcuff will be available on waivers, you just need to stay alert to your guys and work the waiver wire quickly.

 

[averagejoe]

Before the traffic on these boards picked up I did a thread about Handcuffing.

In a nutshell, I'm against handcuffing. But you are adding another dimension by handcuffing the TE position. That's just a waste of a roster spot. In almost every situation the backup/handcuff is no where near the talent and upside level of the starter, which is why I feel you shouldn't handcuff.

One exception may be the Ivory/Powell tandem.

 

[Barilko]

i don't go for handcuff per say but i do love to steal by drafting a player from an owner who does believe in handcuffing

ie: Ben Tate who i believe will be a solid if not solid + running back when given the chance if that chance doesn't arrive too late..

he certainly is a top handcuff for those who believe

 

[wilwhite]

Depends on the RB and the backup. Gerhart puts up almost the same kind of points AP does when AP goes down. Tate if you have Foster. But I'm not drafting Knile Davis.

 

[TREFF]

Chalk up another anti handcuffer...won't do it, other than Ben Tate, and MAYBE Gerhert..probably not though as a lesser starter will probably be better than AP's replacement..as I'm not sure anyone other than a mutant alien could shine on that team.
Absolutely, under no circumstances would I ever handcuff a WR or TE.

 

[tlance]

Like others have said, handcuffs only make sense if there is 1 clear back-up and if that player has the upside to be a top fantasy play if given the opportunity. Knile Davis is not that guy. Also, Ingram is not Sproles' handcuff. Both players have stand alone value independent of one another.

The Sudfeld for Gronk handcuff makes sense, but only because Gronk is hurt right now. Rostering players like Gates and Davis is pretty silly, IMO. By drafting this way, although not your intention, it seems like you are going all in on your starters. If any get hurt or have disappointing production, it will be very difficult to recover from.

 

[JDM]

I don't do it.

 

[Yellow Fuzzies]

I will handcuff at #1RB but only if the handcuff is available at the very end of the draft and options are thin. In a recent draft I grabbed Turbin with last round pick as handcuff for M Lynch when I did not like my other options. Other than this type of rare scenario, I don't handcuff either.

 

[Brees#1]

Like others have said, handcuffs only make sense if there is 1 clear back-up and if that player has the upside to be a top fantasy play if given the opportunity. Knile Davis is not that guy. Also, Ingram is not Sproles' handcuff. Both players have stand alone value independent of one another.

The Sudfeld for Gronk handcuff makes sense, but only because Gronk is hurt right now. Rostering players like Gates and Davis is pretty silly, IMO. By drafting this way, although not your intention, it seems like you are going all in on your starters. If any get hurt or have disappointing production, it will be very difficult to recover from.

I do know that. But if Sproles goes down saints cannot use much of the screen. When Sproles went down last year, Ivory came in for two straight games and slashed his way through defenses. And it may have been a team decision to not use him much against the easiest matchup and giving Ingram the carries against the raiders. If Sproles go down, saints are gonna run it more between the tackles(they already plan to) and thats where Ingram comes in.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

I draft at least 1 backup RB before filling out QB/TE/DST. Always. Enough said. I suggest you do the same, unless you are in a league with me!

 

[Bandit]

It's a "No" for me

I don't believe in handcuffing either. The only case this year would be if I drafted Foster I would want Tate. Other than that, in most situations I hope to get better talent than a guy's backup in the draft. I always tell myself that there is a reason he is a backup running back, so just because he gets the start, doesn't mean he's going to perform.

 

[Brees#1]

I think Tate is obvious. But what about Bryce Brown?

And no way can I draft a backup before drafting a starting QB, TE, and defense. I hope I didnt read that right and you meant bench and bye fill-ins.