How early to draft certain handcuffs, e.g. Pierce, Randle, Tate, Brown (1 Viewer)

[Frank Black]

Some handcuffs are deemed essential, notwithstanding that some people don't advocate handcuffs at all.

For people who own Foster, Rice, McCoy, Murray or others where you feel strongly that you also want Tate, Pierce, Brown and Randle, where do you draft the backup? How much are you willing to overpay?

 

[Grigs Allmoon]

I don't worry about handcuffs too often, but for most of those guys I'd go at least one round early. Maybe two, if I'm not blown away by other options.

 

[Shutout]

For all of those guys, I think you have to treat them as a stand-alone player, ranked where you would rank them, and draft accordingly. Anyone trying to "shark" you by scooping them up on you is overpaying and you can find a player that will perform as well or better in their spot. The other thing you have going FOR you as the owner of the starting player is the fact that these players have almost no value unless an injury occurs so time is on your side. Three or four weeks into the season, if those players have been sitting and doing nothing, you can almost assuredly offer something menial to add them as your backup at that point.

People like to think they are clever when they "steal" your Tate or Pierce. THey tend to overthink it and think you will be knocking down their door to get the player. But nine times out of ten, if you just hang back for the first few weeks (and are fortunate not to lose your player in that first month), you can get your player.

 

[Skilo]

For all of those guys, I think you have to treat them as a stand-alone player, ranked where you would rank them, and draft accordingly. Anyone trying to "shark" you by scooping them up on you is overpaying and you can find a player that will perform as well or better in their spot. The other thing you have going FOR you as the owner of the starting player is the fact that these players have almost no value unless an injury occurs so time is on your side. Three or four weeks into the season, if those players have been sitting and doing nothing, you can almost assuredly offer something menial to add them as your backup at that point.

People like to think they are clever when they "steal" your Tate or Pierce. THey tend to overthink it and think you will be knocking down their door to get the player. But nine times out of ten, if you just hang back for the first few weeks (and are fortunate not to lose your player in that first month), you can get your player.

This.

I drafted Tate way earlier than I should have. Ultimately it did not hurt me in the long run, but I could have used that pick for better depth on my roster and still got Tate. Granted, its easy to look back, but more times than not, Shutout's response on this issue is right.

 

[steveski]

Last year was my first year grabbing a handcuff and that was Tate to protect my #1 overall pick. Needless to say, I don't think I will be doing that again. I made sure I'd get him by taking him a round or two before his ADP. In dynasty, I get it. In redraft, it just doesn't make sense unless you'd normally pick that guy around that spot. I wouldn't reach more than 1 round of where you have him valued.

 

[Coeur de Lion]

I generally don't care about handcuffing, so I wouldn't reach at all to grab a pure hancuff. That said, IMO I don't see Bryce Brown as a handcuff type this year -- I think that Chip Kelly will have Philly near the league leaders in rushing attempts. IMO Brown can be a good RB3 / flex player regardless of McCoy's health, so I will be looking to draft him ahead of his current RB4 pricetag.

 

[KellysHeroes]

Some handcuffs are deemed essential, notwithstanding that some people don't advocate handcuffs at all.

For people who own Foster, Rice, McCoy, Murray or others where you feel strongly that you also want Tate, Pierce, Brown and Randle, where do you draft the backup? How much are you willing to overpay?

how early do u pull them out on a date

seriously I don't see any of the current handcuffs as a must own in redraft. For dynasty, I know people love Pierce and kid is good but its still Rice's job and hes going to be there a while. Take it from someone thats owned players like Chester Taylor & Ben Tate forever, its really not worth reaching for these guys and waiting yrs for them to get the job. Turner was worth the hold & Larry Johnson became a stud for 2 or so yrs but for everyone of those success storys theres dozens of failures or short lived success. For the most part these players are backing up young studs w/ death grips on the job and by the time the starter has aged out or moved on you've held that roster spot for yrs and only get a small payoff. I think its just a better idea to let someone else reach for them and then get them as a throw in to a trade in a yr or 2 later.

How much longer does Foster have, another yr or 2 but Tate has shown that he can't stay healthy and most likely have stiff competition for the job when Foster leaves.

Brown should be rostered by the McCoy owner but hes usually the 1st to be drafted since he played pretty good last yr minus the fumbles and Chip Kelly has stated that his system tempo requires 2 backs. Thats if they can stay on the field.

 

[Sarnoff]

Depends on the value of the first player, and the ability of his "handcuff". For some, it's better to have a completely different player available on the bench than the actual "handcuff" of your guy. That is, don't bother handcuffing Adrian Peterson because his "handcuff" won't be worth much even if he starts, because the offense will be terrible. So if AP goes down, you're better off with Shonn Greene on your roster to fill in.

That said, if you determine the handcuff is worth having, take them no more than a round before their ADP:

For Tate, round 8

For Pierce, round 10

For Brown, round 13

For Tebow, round 6

For Randle, round 15

HTH

 

[Warrior]

For all of those guys, I think you have to treat them as a stand-alone player, ranked where you would rank them, and draft accordingly. Anyone trying to "shark" you by scooping them up on you is overpaying and you can find a player that will perform as well or better in their spot. The other thing you have going FOR you as the owner of the starting player is the fact that these players have almost no value unless an injury occurs so time is on your side. Three or four weeks into the season, if those players have been sitting and doing nothing, you can almost assuredly offer something menial to add them as your backup at that point.

People like to think they are clever when they "steal" your Tate or Pierce. THey tend to overthink it and think you will be knocking down their door to get the player. But nine times out of ten, if you just hang back for the first few weeks (and are fortunate not to lose your player in that first month), you can get your player.

And when Arian Foster goes down in the pre-season, they get a free RB-2 while you've lost your league.

Likely won't happen. Repeat, this likely won't happen, but if it does (Foster goes down early), you have no chance this season, while the Tate owner is sitting pretty.

Not handcuffing Foster with Tate is like gambling your entire 2013 fantasy season on the health of a single RB with a TON of carries over the past few years. Not smart.

 

[DropKick]

Depends on the value of the first player, and the ability of his "handcuff". For some, it's better to have a completely different player available on the bench than the actual "handcuff" of your guy. That is, don't bother handcuffing Adrian Peterson because his "handcuff" won't be worth much even if he starts, because the offense will be terrible. So if AP goes down, you're better off with Shonn Greene on your roster to fill in.

That said, if you determine the handcuff is worth having, take them no more than a round before their ADP:

For Tate, round 8

For Pierce, round 10

For Brown, round 13

For Tebow, round 6

For Randle, round 15

HTH

Surprised Pierce isn't higher and Brown much higher. I see both being on the field enough to warrant spot starter value regardless of injury. Conversely, Tebow is much too high.

 

[We Tigers]

For all of those guys, I think you have to treat them as a stand-alone player, ranked where you would rank them, and draft accordingly. Anyone trying to "shark" you by scooping them up on you is overpaying and you can find a player that will perform as well or better in their spot. The other thing you have going FOR you as the owner of the starting player is the fact that these players have almost no value unless an injury occurs so time is on your side. Three or four weeks into the season, if those players have been sitting and doing nothing, you can almost assuredly offer something menial to add them as your backup at that point.

People like to think they are clever when they "steal" your Tate or Pierce. THey tend to overthink it and think you will be knocking down their door to get the player. But nine times out of ten, if you just hang back for the first few weeks (and are fortunate not to lose your player in that first month), you can get your player.

And when Arian Foster goes down in the pre-season, they get a free RB-2 while you've lost your league.

Likely won't happen. Repeat, this likely won't happen, but if it does (Foster goes down early), you have no chance this season, while the Tate owner is sitting pretty.

Not handcuffing Foster with Tate is like gambling your entire 2013 fantasy season on the health of a single RB with a TON of carries over the past few years. Not smart.

I disagree with this almost completely. Hedging your bets on a handcuff like Ben Tate, who you have to take in the 7th or 8th round, is not useful. You're using a pick that would be used for a starter or your top reserve on a guy you basically hope you don't have to start, and you can't drop him for a productive player off the wire since that would completely invalidate your reason for drafting him. A high-cost handcuff is one the worst kinds of players to have clogging your roster.

If I have to have a handcuff, give me a guy like Joseph Randle or Lamichael James: a 12th round lottery ticket I don't mind dropping midseason if it hasn't cashed.

 

[Frank Black]

For all of those guys, I think you have to treat them as a stand-alone player, ranked where you would rank them, and draft accordingly. Anyone trying to "shark" you by scooping them up on you is overpaying and you can find a player that will perform as well or better in their spot. The other thing you have going FOR you as the owner of the starting player is the fact that these players have almost no value unless an injury occurs so time is on your side. Three or four weeks into the season, if those players have been sitting and doing nothing, you can almost assuredly offer something menial to add them as your backup at that point.

People like to think they are clever when they "steal" your Tate or Pierce. THey tend to overthink it and think you will be knocking down their door to get the player. But nine times out of ten, if you just hang back for the first few weeks (and are fortunate not to lose your player in that first month), you can get your player.

And when Arian Foster goes down in the pre-season, they get a free RB-2 while you've lost your league.

Likely won't happen. Repeat, this likely won't happen, but if it does (Foster goes down early), you have no chance this season, while the Tate owner is sitting pretty.

Not handcuffing Foster with Tate is like gambling your entire 2013 fantasy season on the health of a single RB with a TON of carries over the past few years. Not smart.

I disagree with this almost completely. Hedging your bets on a handcuff like Ben Tate, who you have to take in the 7th or 8th round, is not useful. You're using a pick that would be used for a starter or your top reserve on a guy you basically hope you don't have to start, and you can't drop him for a productive player off the wire since that would completely invalidate your reason for drafting him. A high-cost handcuff is one the worst kinds of players to have clogging your roster.

If I have to have a handcuff, give me a guy like Joseph Randle or Lamichael James: a 12th round lottery ticket I don't mind dropping midseason if it hasn't cashed.

What I hear several of you saying is that using an earlier round for a handcuff would be better spent drafting another area of need or another stand-alone player. However, getting a handcuff late enough in the draft isn't so wasteful in the way you described.

Using your 12th round pick of Randle or James as an example, round 12 doesn't seem like a wasteful spot to draft this caliber of handcuff, even if the hancuff may have a round 15 stand alone value.

 

[Sarnoff]

Depends on the value of the first player, and the ability of his "handcuff". For some, it's better to have a completely different player available on the bench than the actual "handcuff" of your guy. That is, don't bother handcuffing Adrian Peterson because his "handcuff" won't be worth much even if he starts, because the offense will be terrible. So if AP goes down, you're better off with Shonn Greene on your roster to fill in.

That said, if you determine the handcuff is worth having, take them no more than a round before their ADP:

For Tate, round 8

For Pierce, round 10

For Brown, round 13

For Tebow, round 6

For Randle, round 15

HTH

Surprised Pierce isn't higher and Brown much higher. I see both being on the field enough to warrant spot starter value regardless of injury. Conversely, Tebow is much too high.

If you have Brady and don't get Tebow, you're playing with fire. Going to be practically impossible to win your league. He might even be worth grabbing in the 4th just to make sure some other owner doesn't grab him first to "block" you and end your season before the draft is even halfway over.

 

[We Tigers]

For all of those guys, I think you have to treat them as a stand-alone player, ranked where you would rank them, and draft accordingly. Anyone trying to "shark" you by scooping them up on you is overpaying and you can find a player that will perform as well or better in their spot. The other thing you have going FOR you as the owner of the starting player is the fact that these players have almost no value unless an injury occurs so time is on your side. Three or four weeks into the season, if those players have been sitting and doing nothing, you can almost assuredly offer something menial to add them as your backup at that point.

People like to think they are clever when they "steal" your Tate or Pierce. THey tend to overthink it and think you will be knocking down their door to get the player. But nine times out of ten, if you just hang back for the first few weeks (and are fortunate not to lose your player in that first month), you can get your player.

And when Arian Foster goes down in the pre-season, they get a free RB-2 while you've lost your league.

Likely won't happen. Repeat, this likely won't happen, but if it does (Foster goes down early), you have no chance this season, while the Tate owner is sitting pretty.

Not handcuffing Foster with Tate is like gambling your entire 2013 fantasy season on the health of a single RB with a TON of carries over the past few years. Not smart.

I disagree with this almost completely. Hedging your bets on a handcuff like Ben Tate, who you have to take in the 7th or 8th round, is not useful. You're using a pick that would be used for a starter or your top reserve on a guy you basically hope you don't have to start, and you can't drop him for a productive player off the wire since that would completely invalidate your reason for drafting him. A high-cost handcuff is one the worst kinds of players to have clogging your roster. If I have to have a handcuff, give me a guy like Joseph Randle or Lamichael James: a 12th round lottery ticket I don't mind dropping midseason if it hasn't cashed.

What I hear several of you saying is that using an earlier round for a handcuff would be better spent drafting another area of need or another stand-alone player. However, getting a handcuff late enough in the draft isn't so wasteful in the way you described.

Using your 12th round pick of Randle or James as an example, round 12 doesn't seem like a wasteful spot to draft this caliber of handcuff, even if the hancuff may have a round 15 stand alone value.

I realize I wasn't clear here; I don't draft late round players as handcuffs. I play with pretty tight rosters--I don't think I'm in a league with more than 7 bench spots--so I don't like to devote two roster slots to one position on one team.

If I draft Lamichael James, I probably don't own Frank Gore. If I draft Joseph Randle, I don't own Demarco Murray. I'm drafting these guys on their own talent and the chance that I might get lucky and see one forced into a starting role, not as insurance.

 

[MAC_32]

Depends on the league and specific cuff, but I will consider as early as round seven.

 

[johnadams]

I don't bother with handcuffs until later in the year. I'd much rather spend a pick on a sleeper candidate. I don't consider players with ADPs prior to round 10 as handcuffs. I churn the back part of my roster quite a bit and I'd likely just be dropping my handcuff after week 1 sleepers shake out anyway. I have actually streamed my handcuffs in the past, snagging them from waivers prior to gametime if I'm not satisfied with my bench, only to drop them after the games have been played if someone emerges. But come weeks 8-9, I start trying to get my handcuffs as the depth they provide once the trade deadline passes and I can't address depth via that route. But in the draft, no thanks.

 

[bostonfred]

In start 2 rb leagues, I would have no problem trotting out tate or pierce or brown as my bye week guy. I would rather have them as my rb4, but rb3 isn't too bad if it let's me be strong at all my starting positions. If I'm in you league, don't wait on tate.

In start 1 qb leagues, I don't pull the trigger on tebow until the 8th, and then only if I have brady. If brady goes down there are guys who can step in and be almost as effective as tebow. Am I giving something up by passing on him? Probably. But true sharks take calculated risks imo.

 

[Sarnoff]

Guppies. In my Dynasty league, we have to plan so far ahead we have to pick up the handcuffs now for the 2017 season.

 

[DropKick]

Depends on the value of the first player, and the ability of his "handcuff". For some, it's better to have a completely different player available on the bench than the actual "handcuff" of your guy. That is, don't bother handcuffing Adrian Peterson because his "handcuff" won't be worth much even if he starts, because the offense will be terrible. So if AP goes down, you're better off with Shonn Greene on your roster to fill in.

That said, if you determine the handcuff is worth having, take them no more than a round before their ADP:

For Tate, round 8

For Pierce, round 10

For Brown, round 13

For Tebow, round 6

For Randle, round 15

HTH

Surprised Pierce isn't higher and Brown much higher. I see both being on the field enough to warrant spot starter value regardless of injury. Conversely, Tebow is much too high.

If you have Brady and don't get Tebow, you're playing with fire. Going to be practically impossible to win your league. He might even be worth grabbing in the 4th just to make sure some other owner doesn't grab him first to "block" you and end your season before the draft is even halfway over.

You can't be serious.

What is Tebow, 3rd on their depth chart? Maybe I should go #1 Brady, #2 Mallet and pray (pun intended) Tebow falls to the 3rd round!

 

[kutta]

One thing to keep in mind this year regarding handcuffs. I am drafting from the 12 hole and have done a ton of mocks. I've noticed that RB's are going VERY early this year, and folks like me from the 11 or 12 hole are taking WR/WR or TE/WR in round 1 and waiting on RB. Well what happens is that the RB pool is drying up very quickly, and in the mid-rounds, these handcuffs are all that's left. When you don't take a RB early, you are forced to take chances on a bunch of guys in the mid-rounds who might pan out. If you have 2 or 3 guys doing this, those handcuffs are going to be gone early.

 

[We Tigers]

One thing to keep in mind this year regarding handcuffs. I am drafting from the 12 hole and have done a ton of mocks. I've noticed that RB's are going VERY early this year, and folks like me from the 11 or 12 hole are taking WR/WR or TE/WR in round 1 and waiting on RB. Well what happens is that the RB pool is drying up very quickly, and in the mid-rounds, these handcuffs are all that's left. When you don't take a RB early, you are forced to take chances on a bunch of guys in the mid-rounds who might pan out. If you have 2 or 3 guys doing this, those handcuffs are going to be gone early.

It does seem that way. Depending on the ADP source you use--I took a look at both Fantasy Football Calculator mocks, and MFL real drafts--anywhere between 14 and 17 RBs were being drafted in the first 3 rounds/36 picks in 2010, 2011, and 2012. This year, FFC has 22 going in the first 3 rounds, while MFL has 20. Scarcity is a real issue.