Handcuffing

[averagejoe]

No, this isn't about Aaron Hernandez.

I know many "experts" will encourage fantasy owners to draft the handcuff of a key player. But I for one do not subscribe to this practice.

A prime example may be Adrian Peterson. Does anyone honestly think that Toby Gerhart would put up AP-type fantasy numbers if AP were to go down (again)? I doubt it. But some owners may counter with some more "realistic" scenarios:

Rookie Love
Green Bay's Lacy and Franklin. The Pack's high-powered offense is an attractive selling point on these two. Or Cincy's rookie Bernard waiting to acquit the law-firm, BJGE.

Injury Liklihood
Other backs come with health concerns. The impending injury doom of Chris Ivory and RunDMC may stand out. But some are also holding their breath on Mendy, Stewart, Murray and Mathews (perhaps).

Committee Disasters
Carolina, N'Orleans, the G-men. Pick the right guy and you're a fantasy genius. Sometimes picking both may seem like a safer alternative.

As stated, I do NOT subscribe to the handcuff approach.

One reason is because if you want to draft the handcuff (that is, if he truly may be fantasy relevant), then you most likely will need to draft him a round or two early to make certain that you land him. This strategy means that you're willing to sacrifice a more valuable fantasy option for the sake of a solidifying your handcuff.

Another reason is because as I stated earlier with respect to AP and Gerhart, the backup is usually not gonna raise the effectiveness of your fantasy squad.

I feel that it is much safer to draft quality over a handcuff.

And let's say that your RB1 does get hurt, or miss a game or two. It happens. Chances are, position battles are being played out each week of the NFL season. Players that may not even be on a fantasy radar now get a chance to step up. Guys from the practice squad suddenly get an opportunity.

Owner impatience. In the coming weeks leading up to the start of the season, many fantasy owners will be talking about the potential "upside" of a late-round player. After week one, I can guarantee that some owners with a short fuse of fantasy patience, will be dumping these same "upside" players to grab the week one fantasy heroes. Sleepers and backups will be tossed back into the free agent pool.

In other words, you can always improve your fantasy team without grabbing a handcuff.

But this is just my view. If you are a "pro" handcuff owner, I'd love to hear your reasons for handcuffing.

 

[TREFF]

couldn't agree more Joe..I laugh every time an expert uses the term. I usually write up a very similar "article" every year. Had one about two pages long back on the site which shall not be named.
Nice work

 

[fordman84]

I figure that there are enough RB's out there to pick one up if my star goes down. That pickup will likely get you as many yards as having the handcuff... who has been taking up space on your bench all year.

My philosophy is to use the later rounds to take chances on younger guys who might be trade bait later in the season. No use wasting them on an insurance clause in case your start goes down.

 

[Barilko]

i 'm not a firm believer in the handcuff however i do like to steal an obvious handcuff when it is there
i do agree there really are not too many viable ones
Just as ave.joe stated above you cannot replace AP
However if Im a Foster owner i want Tate and believe me if you want Tate and i have Tate you will pay.....


nice thread Joe...

 

[wilwhite]

Guess I'll be the devil's avocado.

Does anyone honestly think that Toby Gerhart would put up AP-type fantasy numbers if AP were to go down (again)?

He did, though. In the three games AP missed in 2011 Gerhart averaged 13.33 FF points per game... in the 13 games AP played that year, AP averaged 13.30.

On the other hand, nobody you're going to pick up on the waiver wire is likely to produce AP-type numbers.

Fordman mentions the wasted roster spot, but if AP is healthy you're playing him anyway, so the rest of your RBs are all vying for the second slot (unless you have a flex). Using two spots to secure top-notch production in the RB1 slot isn't crazy.

I"m not sure Tate's even a handcuff... he's a legit low-level starting option even when Foster is healthy.

There are plenty of situations where handcuffing makes no sense - I'm not gonna block a roster spot all year for the chance to play Quizz or Daniel Thomas. But Gerhart is actually the best example of a worthwhile handcuff.

 

[TKOSpikes]

I would have to agree with Will here. Especially on Gerhart. If AP were to go down, Gerhart would get the lion's share of touches, while (unless you drafted a starter as an RB3) picking up some actual NFL RB2, could lead you to trouble. Nowadays, most are drafting that third option anyway, so I guess the "handcuff" can be irrelevant, but there are a handful that I would make myself draft, if I had the starter. Joe, you make some great points though, and what I take away the most, is to try and stay away from clustered backfields.

 

[tlance]

Handcuffs only make sense when the back-up is talented enough to produce. If you have an injury prone star with a talented back-up (like McFadden and Michael Bush in 2011), then you absolutely have to handcuff. Simply grabbing the next guy on the depth chart behind your RB1 is a wasted spot unless there is some expectation of success.

 

[SmokingMonkey]

same feelings as Tlance - if the backup is legit, defintely worth drafting. Turner was a great handcuff to Tomlinson back in the day, Tlance mentioned Bush, Chester Taylor was a great handcuff just about everywhere he went (a few others from the BAL RB stables became good options as well).

With so many teams employing RBBC now, obviously the NFL coaches/GMs saw that having a stud handcuff to your RB1 was useless if you were waiting for an injury to get that guy on the field. So many teams use situational/specialty RBs now, that they can be considered RB3s/4s for fantasy, and not 'handcuffs' as they used to be categorized. Today's NFL just gets those guys on the field more often so they become more of a known quantity, sometimes finding permanent roles in the offense (JStew is a great example - was considered 2nd fiddle/change of pace to DeAngelo, until he got his chance to play)