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The value of handcuffs (1 Viewer)

timschochet

Footballguy
I'm sure that compared to many of you, I'm still a newcomer at fantasy football. This is my 6th year. In the past, I've never bothered drafting handcuffs, and it's never hurt me. This year is an exception- because I drafted Chris Johnson and knew about his holdout, I also took Javon Ringer later on the draft.

But here's the thing- unless my team suffers multiple injuries, I can't see myself really starting Javon Ringer. Instead, in CJ isn't there I'll end up starting one of my other bench RBs that I drafted instead of Ringer, because they're bound to be ranked higher- currently I have Beanie Wells and Reggie Bush on my bench. (My starters are CJ, Ahmed Bradshaw, and Mark Ingram, though this may switch around.) Or I could start 2 RBs, and go with 3 wide receivers. My point is that a lot would have to happen before Ringer would ever get into a game for me, no matter how long Johnson is out.

So this made me wonder- what is the real value of drafting handcuffs? If you are someone that does this, has it saved your season in the past? Or was it irrelevant?

 
Saved me once - I had Ladell Betts the year Portis got hurt mid-season and then Betts rattled off the only seven good games of his life.

Thing is, I hadn't drafted him. Betts was a throw-in on a trade from just the week before, cause the team I was trading with wanted to clear a roster space. Before I got a chance to cut him, Portis got hurt and Betts took off. So it was a handcuff by accident. :)

I've never had an intentional handcuff work out for me, and I don't normally do them.

 
I have only ever been helped by the Holmes-LJ handcuff (hurt by it too), but that was a rarity.

I seem to have greater luck taking other people's handcuffs.

 
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I still am pissed I didn't back up Ricky Watters with Shaun Alexander in a keeper league.

And of course, it must be stated that you play in a league where you have 5 of the 32 starting RB's in the NFL. How many guys, 8? Maybe 10? They know anything?

Play in a bigger, better league and you will learn why handcuffs are important.

 
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I'm sure in 12 or 14 team leagues that RBs who are slated to get 15+ carries are pretty scarce. If you have a team that relies on the running game then a hand cuff can be very valuable because otherwise you are looking at picking up waiver wire fodder or starting guys on your bench who may suck or only touch the ball 10 times a game.

Obviously every backup of your starter is not necessary to have - guys like Bush in OAK, Jennings in JAX, or Snelling in ATL would be able to produce if they got more carries since those teams run it a good bit. It's more the volume of work IMO than talent when you handcuff a guy. You are just after those carries the backup gains if the starter is hurt or holds out.

 
Are we just talking about RBs here? Just redraft leagues?

Handcuffing QBs in deep to semi-deep dynasty leagues can be pretty valuable. Over the past two years Shaun Hill has saved my butt a couple times when Stafford went down in my main dynasty league. Hill, Collins, Hoyer, Flynn, and probably even Leinart should all be rostered in these types of leagues.

As far as RBs go, I drafted Hardesty last year and used a waiver flier on Peyton Hillis right after the draft. That seemed to work out pretty well. I've had MJD since our '08 start up. I've owned Deji Karim at multiple points and finally got the Jennings owner to accept a deal. So I feel like I'm good and handcuffed there. If you're an MJD owner this year, redraft or dynasty, you have to have Jennings.

The Arian Foster owner in my league is freaking out because a savvy owner has Ben Tate and is asking for quite a bit for him (and rightfully so at this point). I think in Houston especially that a Foster handcuff is needed. When Steve Slaton can rattle off a season like '08 you know that the scheme over there is phenomenal. It's basically plug n play.

 
As already mentioned, there is the rare LJ for Priest or Betts for Portis. But how many times have you handcuffed an ADP with Chester Taylor or Matt Forte with Kevin Jones or Frank Gore with the flavor or the year.

It seems like for every handcuff that pans out, there are 20 (200?) that don't. It's either unnecessary or another back emerges.

The only time I do it anymore is if it's a week or two before the trade deadline and my stud's backup is still hanging around the WW. Insurance for the playoffs, if it comes cheap, is a no-brainer.

But I no longer do it for the entire season.

ETA: roster size and league setup dictates the answer; I play in short bench redrafts.

 
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I took Priest Holmes one year and handcuffed Larry Johnson but the problem was I think I had to take Johnson in the 5th round. An expensive handcuff,but it did work quite well.

 
It depends on the handcuff for me.

For example, I have Peterson- I acutally didn't bother with the handcuff because I feel if Peterson went down his handcuff would not perform any better than the 3rd or 4th RB I take. And if I do lose Peterson - I'm already struggling.

Now with say a closer RBBC I would take the handcuff - like McGahee/Moreno, Ingram/Thomas etc.

Or a situation where I think the backup would produce at almost starter level MccOy/Brown

:shrug:

 
roster size is a huge factor, and this might not make much sense, but I don't like drafting with the idea that my guy will get hurt, I think about the main guy for other teams getting hurt....if we are going to gamble on injuries to begin with....I will usually gamble that somebody else's guy gets hurt.....that way I then have two starters instead of just one

if I have ADP but don't have McFadden....I am more likely to target Bush than Gerhart....thought is that Peterson/Gerhart take up two roster spots for one starter.....whereas if Mcfadden gets hurt then I have two starters in two roster spots...it's kind of backwards ### thinking but that is how I usually approach it.....I don't like wasting a roster spot on somebody at the draft that I know I am hopefully never going to ever really play....but my thoughts change about other guys "handcuffs"...

and certain guys....Jacobs, maybe even Bush for that matter, are almost startable anyway sometimes....

but in general I also use the waiver wire like a mofo and am all over a handcuff that somebody has left out there and doesn't get after when they should....

 
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In a league this weekend, I drafted McFadden and then only one other RB in the first 8 or 9 rounds. Loaded up on WR, TE and QB because of how the chips fell. Twice there was only one RB left that was a value pick, and he went right before me (Bush, Addai). At that point, I took Michael Bush, maybe slightly earlier than his ADP said. But that pick really (I hope) secured my RB1. If McFadden went down, Bush would be significantly more valuable to me than any other RB out there. So handcuffing makes sense in that scenario where you're relatively thin at the position and you have a clear handcuff. If I had taken Bush and Addai, I probably wouldn't have taken Bush.

 
Dynasty, it's a must for my starters. Redraft I'll still do it. I've had teams take 2 or 3 season ending injuries and still won the league. I'd much rather have my own than someone elses.

 
For a handcuff to be valuable you must have faith in not one, but BOTH of the following:

a. the talent/potential of the handcuff

b. the effectiveness of the offense as a whole

AP, for example, I probably wouldn't handcuff. Arian Foster, however...

 
Dynasty, it's a must for my starters. Redraft I'll still do it. I've had teams take 2 or 3 season ending injuries and still won the league. I'd much rather have my own than someone elses.
No, not really. In fact, for the most part, in dynasty it's better to do the opposite. (yes, I am a SSOG disciple)An example:

In dynasty I have Moreno. I would much rather take a guy like Alex Green or Delone Carter, than snag McGahee (we trim our rosters prior to draft so some vets get "thrown back"). The reason is that in the long run, I am MUCH better off with a developmental RB who could turn into something much better than a 30 year old who might only suit my purposes for a game or two.

In dynasty the long term production value (or possible long term production value) of a 22 or 23 year old RB with upside is much bigger than a 28-30 year old handcuff - who is usueless once the starter returns anyway. Now, if you have huge rosters (35+ for offensive players) have at it. But for the most part, the roster spot if much better spent on someone that could help you for 5-6 years, rather than someone who could help for 5-6 games.

 
I typically don't bother with handcuffs, and it hasn't typically affected me in the past. This season however, I drafted McCoy, Felix, Best, and FJax, and I am really regretting not picking up the handcuff for either Best or Felix instead of grabbing Rashad Jennings. I think it all just depends on your confidence in your starter, along with the confidence that the handcuff will be worthy of being on your roster in the event your main RB goes down.

 
'LawFitz said:
For a handcuff to be valuable you must have faith in not one, but BOTH of the following:a. the talent/potential of the handcuffb. the effectiveness of the offense as a wholeAP, for example, I probably wouldn't handcuff. Arian Foster, however...
:goodposting:I'm a big fan of drafting backups. I find very talented backups in very productive schemes, and I stash them on the end of my bench with a sign that reads "break glass in case of injury". If those backups happen to back up an RB already on my roster, then awesome. If they don't... oh well. My goal is to load up on as many potential game-breakers as I can get, not to draft crappy RBs and hope they can produce RB3 numbers if my starter ever goes down.There are exceptions. In extremely deep leagues, or leagues with exceptional RB scarcity, or leagues where for one reason or another I find myself perilously thin (such as the league Chase described), then I might resort to handcuffing simply because I've run out of alternatives. It's always an option... but it's always an option of last resort.
'DoubleG said:
No, not really. In fact, for the most part, in dynasty it's better to do the opposite. (yes, I am a SSOG disciple)An example:In dynasty I have Moreno. I would much rather take a guy like Alex Green or Delone Carter, than snag McGahee (we trim our rosters prior to draft so some vets get "thrown back"). The reason is that in the long run, I am MUCH better off with a developmental RB who could turn into something much better than a 30 year old who might only suit my purposes for a game or two. In dynasty the long term production value (or possible long term production value) of a 22 or 23 year old RB with upside is much bigger than a 28-30 year old handcuff - who is usueless once the starter returns anyway. Now, if you have huge rosters (35+ for offensive players) have at it. But for the most part, the roster spot if much better spent on someone that could help you for 5-6 years, rather than someone who could help for 5-6 games.
Is it narcissistic if I :goodposting: someone who describes himself as an "SSoG disciple"? :hophead:
 
I'm a big believer in trading away depth for starting talent, usually around week 8-9. My next move is then to line up the handcuffs for my starters as insurance if they go down.

 
I offered Ringer for mike bush to the CJ owner. (I own McFadden) he said no, ringers's worthless and bush is startable on his own. I said, ok but he'll cost more later when you come begging back haha

 
In a league this weekend, I drafted McFadden and then only one other RB in the first 8 or 9 rounds. Loaded up on WR, TE and QB because of how the chips fell. Twice there was only one RB left that was a value pick, and he went right before me (Bush, Addai). At that point, I took Michael Bush, maybe slightly earlier than his ADP said. But that pick really (I hope) secured my RB1. If McFadden went down, Bush would be significantly more valuable to me than any other RB out there. So handcuffing makes sense in that scenario where you're relatively thin at the position and you have a clear handcuff. If I had taken Bush and Addai, I probably wouldn't have taken Bush.
Right now, which was the best pick to have made? Sure Reggie has had a couple decent games, but during those games you were starting McFadden. Which Bush is more highly valued now that McFadden is out? Easily Michael.
 
This is the time of the year when I make sure I have a backup for at least my top backs. The waiver wire is picked clean and I have my starters pretty much set at all positions. A guy like CJ Spiller as a handcuff to Fred Jackson is much more valuable to me than grabbing Donald Jones as my WR6 off the wire.

 
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This is the time of the year when I make sure I have a backup for at least my top backs. The waiver wire is picked clean and I have my starters pretty much set at all positions. A guy like CJ Spiller as a handcuff to Fred Jackson is much more valuable to me than grabbing Donald Jones as my WR6 off the wire.
That's exactly what I try to do too, late in the season I handcuff my top 2 back if possible, but early in the season, if I have to roster backup RBs in deeper leagues, I go for the most interesting ones, which is not particularly my own handcuffs.
 
Are we just talking about RBs here? Just redraft leagues?
I would think that RB's are generally the most obvious handcuffs, although something like the Vick/Kolb combo was a natural before Kolb was traded away. The league setup is big as far as value goes, and every situation is different. Plus there's obviously some luck involved. If the OP's case I don't see the same value for holding Ringer as it might be in others. Tim's got a fair sized roster if he's carrying 5 RB's to begin with, So it's a tossup as to whether he'd ever use Ringer whether CJ goes down or not. It's a legitimate question whether Ringer would produce the same way even if called upon. Given limited rosters (15) in my league and only ten teams involved, I've found tremendous value with the slot I 'wasted' early on backing up DMC with Michael Bush--but there are so many factors that come into play here which don't in the original question that it doesn't even seem to relate. Obviously it's a case-by-case decision.
 
I know this probably belongs in the Asst Coachs forum, but that's a jungle.....

Would you rather have Flynn handcuffed to Rodgers, or Dalton as your back-up?

 
I would handcuff a guy i owned if he was playing in a great system. someone like Foster. But if I owned a guy like Peterson or Ray Rice, i would rather gamble on handcuffing someone else's injury prone player with a back who has a lot of potential. Not that Michael Turner is injury prone but if you had enough roster space a guy like Jacquizz Rodgers might be a guy worth stashing away. I have Fred Jackson with CJ Spiller sitting out there on the waiver wire but I'm not biting yet.

 
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I know this probably belongs in the Asst Coachs forum, but that's a jungle.....Would you rather have Flynn handcuffed to Rodgers, or Dalton as your back-up?
I have Rodgers with no backup at this point. If he goes down, i'll pick up a Flacco or a Colt McCoy from the waiver wire and dream about next year.
 
I'm not going to read the wall of text above me, but I will say I've been saved by my handcuff. I have DMC and didn't draft Bush. The guy who picked him up dropped him a while back and he sat on the WW for awhile before I was able to grab him. Was lucky of me to pick him up, but yes, my handcuff helped me.

 
Many, many years ago (2002, to be exact) I read an article here at Footballguys which proclaimed that the "handcuff" theory could apply to quarterbacks as well as running backs, and it offered up St. Louis backup Jamie Martin as a prime example. So, after drafting Warner in the 1st round, I dutifully grabbed Martin with my final pick.

Six weeks into the season, Warner went down. I thought I was a friggin' genius! I was so excited about having Martin that I didn't even notice that someone else in my league had picked up St. Louis' 3rd-string QB.......an unknown practice squad scrub named Marc Bulger.

Four weeks later my season was over, and the Bulger owner went on to win our league's Super Bowl.

Anyway, handcuffs suck.

 
Always. But I like a more competitive 14-16+ team league, were it becomes a better base scenario.

In '93 I drafted handcuffs Derrik Moore (then handcuffed and used Eric Lynch) and Leroy Thompson (had Hoge but never played him) to a title. At the start I thought I was stellar with Barry Sanders and Barry Foster. This was sort of predicated on me choosing to go the cheaper handcuff route and not expending picks on more talented backs and backups - so I could be stronger in other areas. I figured I was a beast at RB and low and behold, they both go down (cry!) and these rather cheap throw away picks gave me security and delivered.
 
I didn't handcuff Foster, which wasn't really ideal at the start of the season, but Foster is firing on all cylinders now, so its fine. I did however handcuff DMC and that is paying dividends right about now, especially with how close my league is right now.

 
Personally, I pretty much do it the same as the OP. I don't bother.

People talking about the value and importance of handcuffs often seem to be discounting the value of the roster spot entirely.

That said, I have had them here and there, when I have questions about a starter. Specifically, as a Chris Johnson owner, I've owned Ringer now and again. Cut him again last night, for Kevin Smith. If Chris Johnson goes down, I don't have Ringer. But I'm not starting Kevin Smith, either. I'm starting Denarius Moore or Mike Tolbert in that spot.

The only handcuffs to own, IMO, are players who are next in line for a job. But I'll own these guys without owning their counterpart. In a keeper league.

Handcuffs are generally overrated in fantasy football, IMO. The deeper the league, the more they make sense, but only to a point.

 
Personally, I pretty much do it the same as the OP. I don't bother.

People talking about the value and importance of handcuffs often seem to be discounting the value of the roster spot entirely.

That said, I have had them here and there, when I have questions about a starter. Specifically, as a Chris Johnson owner, I've owned Ringer now and again. Cut him again last night, for Kevin Smith. If Chris Johnson goes down, I don't have Ringer. But I'm not starting Kevin Smith, either. I'm starting Denarius Moore or Mike Tolbert in that spot.

The only handcuffs to own, IMO, are players who are next in line for a job. But I'll own these guys without owning their counterpart. In a keeper league.

Handcuffs are generally overrated in fantasy football, IMO. The deeper the league, the more they make sense, but only to a point.
The bolded is important. As current examples, I would NOT handcuff Benson (if he's your RB2/3) with B. Scott - IMHO, Scott is not the "heir" - he's stop-gap until the Bengals identify someone to replace Benson long term.I have (had - before he tore his ACL) come to the same conclusion about Moreno in Denver - that is, it is seeming that he will not be the starter there (somewhere else? possibly - but that's rough too).

A while back (YEARS ago) I had picked up Chester Taylor as a handcuff to Lewis in a dynasty league, thinking that Taylor was as talented as Lewis (if not more so). The Vikings thought the same and made him their starter for 1 year until they drafted ADP. That 1 year I won the Championship in my dynasyy league.

Some more interesting ones currently are:

INDY (is it Brown, Carter or neither?)

CAR (is it really Stewart - or are he and DWill just going to swap positions in the RBBC? - DWill is only 28)

SF (Hunter? Probably, but how long does Gore have left?)

BUF (Fred is 3 - but is Spiller really the heir apparent?)

NYG (Jacobs is 30 - but will the Giants get another "big back" to break up Bradshaw's carries...or will he become a true #1?)

 
IMO, there is only one scenario where it benefits to have a handcuff. But first we need to review what a handcuff really means. As I see it, teams that have more than one RB that is worth playing is more of a RBBC situation and not a handcuff. So combos like Priest Holmes/Larry Johnson, Tiki Barber/Ron Dayne, DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart are not really handcuff situations.

The next situation to review one where there is a true primary bell cow back/back up situation with the lead dog being an uber stud. ADP would be a good example. Frank Gore and Matt Forte might be others. Basically, an environment where one guy does so well because of his talent and a backup would not be expected to fare as well because his skills are not in the same class.

That leaves situations where the SYSTEM produces top fantasy numbers for RB, and whoever the main ball carrier is will score well almost regardless of his talent level. Examples would include the Broncos from a few years ago. The Steelers from a few years ago when they ran a ton. Maybe the Colts when they could still run block. Oddly enough, over the past several years the Texans fall into this category. Basically, whichever RB becomes the starter has done very well, gets the ball a lot, and you could pretty much be assured of top fantasy numbers no matter who was running the ball. THAT is the time to lock up a team's running game.

Any of the other scenarios there are still reasons to consider taking more than one back from the same team, but IMO it's not the same as being able to snag a handcuff late in the draft or off of waivers to rest easy that you will have a fantasy starter all year from that one NFL backfield situation.

 
It's a lot like buying homeowners insurance. What is the cost of the premium (roster considerations)? How likely is the event being covered? (injury) Would you be able to get replacement value or not?

I think far too many people make a generalization on one side of this argument or another. Either "you must always handcuff" or "it's never worth wasting the roster spots to handcuff".

I don't think either of these are correct. You have to weigh a lot of factors including tendencies in your leauge, your starting lineup requirements, roster size limitations, and most importantly, the specific complementary RBs and offensive philosophy of the team that the RB your considering cuffing plays on.

The main question's to ask are: 1) What would that NFL team do if the RB went down? and 2) What would my options be?

This year in my main $ redraft, I have Forte on my roster. I recently was able to pick up Marion Barber as a free agent. I currently feel it's worth keeping Barber rostered because I think his value should Forte go down would be significant enough that I'd likely start him. He certainly wouldn't have "replacement value", but he would have the opportunity to produce in the RB1 - RB2 range, so he's worth keeping.

I also drafted Fred Jackson. At the beginning of the year, I cuffed him with C J Spiller. I dumped Spiller some weeks ago, and don't intend to pick him back up. I don't think his value, should Jackson go down, would be worth burning a roster spot every single week.

 
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I know this probably belongs in the Asst Coachs forum, but that's a jungle.....Would you rather have Flynn handcuffed to Rodgers, or Dalton as your back-up?
I have Rodgers with no backup at this point. If he goes down, i'll pick up a Flacco or a Colt McCoy from the waiver wire and dream about next year.
I'd agree with that. No reason to back up Rodgers at this point, and Dalton, McCoy and others can be had off the wire in many formats for cheap if for some reason Rodgers goes down and Flynn is not an option (find that hard to believe though in most situations). I typically only address the handcuff moves with RB's only, and yes, it has saved me in the past in shallow roster depth formats. Like may others have said, it depends FF league, on the prime being insured, the back-up, the team schedule going forward. FF League IR rules are also huge here - can you IR immediately or are you subject to the wire? Truly case-by-case here.SSOG - good to see you again my friend!
 
Played this game for 22 years and I think about 3 times having a backup/handcuff has helped me. I have seen other owners get some help by having the backup/handcuff for an injured player. Mainly it has been a RB than a QB that has helped out.

League and size roster really determine if you can take the backup/handcuff. What I really noticed that once the articles came out talking about "handcuffing" players that certain owners paid more attention. Once this term came into the fold backups/handcuffs started to be taken earlier in the draft. I witness more of the backup/handcuffs being taken by another owner hoping to trade that player for a better player once there was an injury or an owner getting itchy for is early round stud's backup. Michael Turner was a great example of this, couple years I saw him drafted in middle rounds while there was still starting RBs on the board. The hope was either LT got injured or that Turner could be traded to the LT owner for some great value.

When experts started to write and talked about this issue the value of backups/handcuffs went up, as people actually over valued them.

 
I drafted McFadden pretty early this year. Given his injury history and that he had one of the best backups in the league, I knew I had to get Bush as an insurance policy. I drafted Bush very late and have dropped and added him back several times. While DMC is healthy, Bush has no value as a bye week filler so I can afford to drop him for a week. Also, if I need to drop the handcuff for a roster spot, I do it minutes before kickoff (our roster deadline) and I'm always the first one to make pickups when rosters are unlocked Monday night. I can kind of fly under the radar that way. I will say that I have played in leagues before that will not let you get away with this due to other owners beating you to the punch. If you can do it though, it's highly effective.

 
I know this probably belongs in the Asst Coachs forum, but that's a jungle.....Would you rather have Flynn handcuffed to Rodgers, or Dalton as your back-up?
I have Rodgers with no backup at this point. If he goes down, i'll pick up a Flacco or a Colt McCoy from the waiver wire and dream about next year.
I think you know what you are going to get from McCoy or Flacco (not much), whereas Flynn you have no idea. If you are of the thinking that if Rodgers goes down, you have no shot, you clearly have to take the gamble of Rodgers.
 
Handcuffs are largely overrated. They get overtalked when there's nothing to talk about.

The functional benefit of a handcuff seldom lives up to the promise. Problem is that winning the handcuff game plays to fantasy owner sharkitude vanity, being the guy who had that guy all along.

But, for either sharkiness or fantasy value, the better bet is usually in finding the best potential/opportunity backup than the one behind your own guy.

"I still am pissed I didn't back up Ricky Watters with Shaun Alexander in a keeper league."

You didn't miss out on a handcuff. You missed out on an up and coming backup who had immense promise. Shaun Alexander that year was what every fantasy owner is looking for, especially in keeper. He wasn't a handcuff. He was an opportunity. Much like LeSean McCoy in 2009 (in keeper leagues), he was an explosive rookie behind an aging starter.

 
Handcuffs are good for trades to team with the starter. Some owners won't give up much but others will. Sometimes handcuffs do pay off because they become the starters. I like the handcuffs that are the goal line back because once they score some TD's other owners start talking about them so the one with the starter makes an offer. I usually try to get a player and a future pick when trading handcuffs.

 
I would rather play the option of looking at teams that don't have a clear cut #1 back and grabbing both of the potential starters and hope one hits the first few weeks and drop the other to add depth elsewhere. I think NE/ATL/MIA/CAR are in nice spots to get solid ADP values at RB. Basically playing Waldman's upside down strategy. To me a handcuff just rots away on your bench all season and you are afraid to drop him in case your star RB goes down. I would rather play all-in with my star RB and try to hit with a couple of others that have much lower ADP but start the year in more of a committee role. If you want to win in Fantasy football this day and age (with all the info everywhere online) you can't afford to play it safe with handcuffs.

McFadden/MJD

Johnson/Ivory

Ridley/Vereen

Moreno/Miller

Jennings/Wilson/Williams

Thomas/Ingram/Robinson

Gerhart/Todman/Johnson

Richardson/Ballard/Bradshaw

Tate/Lewis/West

Williams/Stewart

Jackson/Freeman

 
I play in leagues that rosters 50-60 rbs at most times. I am a believer in a handcuffing at least one of my top 3 RBs. The chances of your RB1 or RB2 or both going down for a week or two is solid and all season, so needing an RB2 or 3 "next" week is why I handcuff. It's not as much a seasonal or playoff focused view. If my guy goes down I have someone I can play the week i need him if he's not that good I at least know he is starting so I have time to trade. If I own your handcuff I lose the plug-in option. I might gain trade value but most will only be starting short term.

I handcuff to ensure a starting option is available when i need it.

 
Handcuffs, I think come down to clarity of handcuff, cost of handcuff, and talent of handcuff.

With higher handcuff clarity, comes less roster cost to "secure" a backfield.

With a lower cost of handcuff, comes less opportunity cost.

Talent of handcuff, no sense rostering a player you wouldn't in your right mind be starting under any circumstance.

I think also the depth of your league matters. In a 10 team re-draft 2 RB league, your handcuff is not a backup RB, your handcuff is a starting RB somewhere. In a 14 team league, start 1RB, having a bullet proof 1RB solution allows you to invest many more picks in WR/QB/TE.

So the real answer is, it depends.

Ideally you have

-HIGH clarity

- LOWER cost

- HIGH upside

- depth of league dependent.

I think as well competitive teams should ensure this more, ie having the Brian Westbrook/Buckhalter duo going into Monday night football, as their goal is to win games. The rebuilding team, their goal is to secure value, long term starters with upside, should probably be selling those type of handcuffs to competitive teams.

I don't think there is a blanket answer here, but it probably is wise not to be chasing ghosts when it comes to handcuffs.

 
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I have the opinion that running backs are overrated in FF. At the same time, they get hurt most frequently also. In order to avoid rostering 7 of those expensive bastards, I firmly believe in handcuffing. I only need 3, accompanied by 2 very cheap handcuffs.

I especially handcuff in re-draft. I generally will only select a running back in the first two rounds if I can get his back up cheaply later, either during the draft or by trade.

 
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I'm a big fan of taking handcuffs. Just not my own. :)

Most of the time, if one of your studs goes down, your handcuff isn't going to produce at the same level anyhow. I'd much rather have the chance of multiple flyers/others' handcuffs hitting, giving me a better roster and/or trade bait, than simply protecting myself when I know that one or the other will be useless to me while the other is getting the reps. It's the theory of "playing not to lose" versus the "win big/lose big" theories.

 
Handcuffs are fine if you have really large rosters and are risk adverse. Many people would rather overpay for their handcuff to cover themselves. Others would rather take the handcuff they feel has the best chance of getting that opportunity and gamble that their own guy doesn't go down. The longer I have played the less likely I have been to worry about handcuffing my own guys. I'll take the gamble that my main guys stay healthy and will sink or swim by what happens with my main players.

 

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