Poor planning handcuffing star owners
AS A competitor, there is nothing more enjoyable than watching someone’s fantasy football season go up in flames because that person refuses to adhere to the basics.
Handcuffing your running backs isn’t some whimsical idea you may want to try out for fun. It is a bona f ide winning strategy. Just ask those Melvin Gordon owners who woke up early Sunday morning to set their lineups before the London game and blankly stared at a barren waiver wire looking for any shred of help. Austin Ekeler may not have produced Gordon-like numbers, but it was certainly better than some random waiver pickup.
Why people refuse to acquire the backups to their top producers is a mystery. Stubbornness? Stupidity? It is time to teach the biggest offenders a lesson. It is time to look at the top teams in your league and, should they fail to do so, start picking up their handcuffs.
According to ESPN and Yahoo ownership numbers, Rams running back Malcolm Brown is owned in less than 2 percent of all fantasy leagues. Is Todd Gurley made of steel? Is he indestructible? He is not. So why in the world do his owners risk the possibility of losing out on the Rams’ ground attack should something happen to their prized possession?
Even if you didn’t want to entertain the notion of a possible Gurley injury, how about taking notice of the Rams’ record and the potential of them resting their starting running back before the playoffs? In a blowout win yesterday, Gurley was rested late and Brown saw 13 carries and one reception. The Rams are 7-0 with 3-3 Seattle the closest behind them in the NFC West. They could coast into the playoffs. What happens during your fantasy playoffs when Sean McVay decides to rest his top guy?
There are actually a few key moves you can make here. Kareem Hunt’s backup Spencer Ware is owned in fewer than 4 percent of fantasy leagues right now, and we all know how much Andy Reid loves to rest his starters before the playoffs. Marshawn Lynch is out for at least a month, and Doug Martin is still unowned in a number of leagues and Christian McCaffrey’s backup, C.J. Anderson, is owned in fewer than 9 percent of leagues.
You don’t have to stockpile them all, but one or two might not be a bad idea. You don’t have to hold them for yourself either. Pick them up and deal them to whomever their rightful owners should be. You’ll improve your team for next to nothing in cost.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm. com for all your fantasy sports advice, NFL player rankings.