Introduced a season ago, the charts you’re about to see include handcuff information for each of the important fantasy positions: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End. Why am I doing this? Simple. So that when one of your key fantasy contributors goes down with an injury, you know the right player to target.
Check out the 2012 Quarterback Tamme Index for additional explanation.
Today I'm taking a look at wide receiver handcuffs.
| Your Move | What it means |
| Starter | This player is, at worst, a borderline starter (Top 12 QB, Top 24 RB, Top 36 WR, Top 12 TE) in 12 team leagues |
| Bench | This player is worth a roster spot in 12 team leagues. |
| Monitor | You don't need to add this player in 12 team leagues, but monitor his progress over the next few weeks. |
| Ignore | Ignore this player, as they do not have much Fantasy value. |
| Tm | Note | Starter(s) | Handcuff(s) | Your Move |
| ARZ | Roberts is a better player than Early Doucet, which is why he is the man to add. If one of the starters goes down, Roberts would move outside with Doucet manning the slot. | Larry Fitzgerald | Andre Roberts | Bench |
| Michael Floyd | Andre Roberts | Monitor | ||
| ATL | If White or Jones go down, Douglas will move into the starting lineup. He warrants an add in all leagues, but he's a risky start, as Matt Ryan would lean heavier on the healthy starter and Tony Gonzalez. | Roddy White | Harry Douglas | Bench |
| Julio Jones | Harry Douglas | Bench | ||
| BLT | Jones isn't very good, but does have plenty of experience. He'd step in as a starter if either of the top-two went down. Feel free to also throw Tommy Streeter on your bench to see if he emerges, especially if it's Smith who goes down. | Anquan Boldin | Jacoby Jones | Bench |
| Torrey Smith | Jacoby Jones | Bench | ||
| BUF | If Johnson goes out, slot man Nelson would see a bit more work outside, but he really moves to WR3 status because of increase in targets. Jones would see a boost, as well, as the team's top outside receiver. T.J. Graham is worth a speculative add in deeper leagues, as he'd fill in out wide in 3-WR sets. | Stevie Johnson | David Nelson | Starter |
| Donald Jones | Bench | |||
| CAR | LaFell is poised for a breakout in 2012 and would see, at least, 20-percent of the targets if Smith went down. He'd be WR3 material. Joe Adams would see additional targets in the slot and is worth an add. | Steve L. Smith | Brandon LaFell | Starter |
| Joe Adams | Bench | |||
| CHI | If Marshall goes down, Bennett would take over the possession role and is WR3 material. An injury to Jeffrey forces Hester into a full workload, which makes him worth keeping an eye on. | Brandon Marshall | Earl Bennett | Starter |
| Alshon Jeffrey | Devin Hester | Monitor | ||
| CIN | Jones is a better fit in Green's role, so he'd likely slide right into a starting job. Fellow rookie Sanu would work on the opposite side and should also be added. Jordan Shipley should be monitored, especially in PPR leagues. | A.J. Green | Marvin Jones | Starter |
| Mohamed Sanu | Bench | |||
| CLV | Little is the starting X receiver, but moves all over the field. If he goes down, we'd see Massaquoi and Cribbs outside and Benjamin in the slot. The latter holds the most upside and is worth a look for the bench. Massaquoi isn't very good, but you should still monitor his progress. | Greg Little | Travis Benjamin | Bench |
| Mohamed Massaquoi | Monitor | |||
| DAL | The No. 2 and 3 jobs would be made up of a committee if a starter went down, but Coale would lead that crew. He's too risky to start, but has enough upside to warrant a bench spot. Deep leaguers can stash Andre Holmes. | Miles Austin | Danny Coale | Bench |
| Dez Bryant | Danny Coale | Bench | ||
| DEN | Caldwell should already be seeing a handful of targets each week, so throwing him into the starting lineup would be enough to make him WR3 material. Add him and get him in the lineup. Brandon Stokley can be monitored, as he'd pick up some slot duties. | Demaryius Thomas | Andre Caldwell | Starter |
| Eric Decker | Andre Caldwell | Starter | ||
| DET | Burleson works more from the slot with Young emerging, but he'd move outside if Johnson went down and Ryan Broyles (worth a look in deeper leagues) would man the slot. Assuming Young is owned, Burleson would see a spike in looks and should be your first target. | Calvin Johnson | Nate Burleson | Starter |
| Titus Young | Nate Burleson | Bench | ||
| GB | The Packers use four and five WR sets quite a bit, so there's plenty of snaps to go around. The three “starters” play mostly out wide, so an injury would mean an increase in slot snaps for Randall Cobb and Donald Driver. Driver might see a few more snaps than Cobb, but the latter is the better player by far and is worth your attention. Grab him in all leagues. | Greg Jennings | Randall Cobb | Bench |
| Jordy Nelson | Randall Cobb | Bench | ||
| James Jones | Randall Cobb | Bench | ||
| HST | Johnson is targeted a ton, so Walter and Posey are both worth adding despite Houston not relying on the wide receiver position very often. The veteran Walter would be Schaub's first read more often, making him a WR3. | Andre Johnson | Kevin Walter | Starter |
| Devier Posey | Bench | |||
| IND | The young Colts figure to employ 2-TE sets quite often, so targets for wide receivers figure to be limited. If Wayne goes down, Avery is the better bet to slide in his slot. If Collie is hurt, expect to see Hilton see the larger bump in snaps. You can consider both for your bench. | Reggie Wayne | T.Y. Hilton | Bench |
| Austin Collie | Donnie Avery | Bench | ||
| JAX | Mike Thomas figures to stick as the primary slot man regardless of injuries, but he'd see a boost in targets if either starter went down. That makes him more valuable than Lee Evans, who figures to fill in out wide. Evans is worth a bench stash, as well. | Justin Blackmon | Mike Thomas | Bench |
| Laurent Robinson | Mike Thomas | Bench | ||
| KC | If either starter goes down, Baldwin is a slam dunk for a full-time gig. The rookie is expected to be the team's future superstar at the position and should get plenty of looks. He must be owned and is starter material if Bowe is the one who is out. Deep leaguers can add slot man Devon Wylie. | Dwayne Bowe | Jon Baldwin | Starter |
| Steve Breaston | Jon Baldwin | Bench | ||
| MIA | This is likely to be a fantasy wasteland in 2012, so I'd stay away from the reserves if a starter goes down. Keep an eye on Gates, BJ Cunningham, Jeff Fuller, and Rishard Mathews to see if one emerges. Naanee may see snaps, but he has a low ceiling. | Davone Bess | Clyde Gates | Monitor |
| Brian Hartline | Legedu Naanee | Ignore | ||
| MIN | Jenkins will be the odd man out when Simpson returns from his three-game suspension, but he'd get the first call if either went down. There's not much upside, but he'll see enough reps to warrant bench consideration. Jarius Wright would step into Harvin's role, and is also worth a long look. | Percy Harvin | Michael Jenkins | Bench |
| Jerome Simpson | Michael Jenkins | Bench | ||
| NE | Regardless of which starter goes down, Gaffney is the add. He can handle Welker's possession role, but can also fill in, to a lesser extent, for Lloyd, Anthony Gonzalez becomes a sleeper WR3 if Welker is out and keep an eye on Deion Branch if it's Lloyd who goes down. | Wes Welker | Jabar Gaffney | Starter |
| Brandon Lloyd | Jabar Gaffney | Bench | ||
| NO | The top-three are always worth owning, so simply make sure that all of the healthy bodies are owned if one goes down. Moore and Colston play from the slot about half the time, while Henderson mostly works from the outside. Toon, Adrian Arrington, and Joe Morgan would compete for No. 3 and 4 duties, but Toon offers the most upside. | Marques Colston | Nick Toon | Bench |
| Lance Moore | Nick Toon | Bench | ||
| Devery Henderson | Nick Toon | Bench | ||
| NYG | The Giants like to pass to the WR and they like to throw it deep, too, making Randle a must-start. Jerrel Jernigan would step into the No. 3 job (pushing Cruz out wide if Nicks gets hurt) and is worth a bench spot. | Hakeem Nicks | Rueben Randle | Starter |
| Victor Cruz | Rueben Randle | Starter | ||
| NYJ | Schilens would slot in on the outside regardless of which starter goes down. He's worth an add, but don't start him in this run-first offense. Jeremy Kerley would stick in the slot, but would see a few extra looks and is worth a bench spot, as well. | Santonio Holmes | Chaz Schilens | Bench |
| Stephen Hill | Chaz Schilens | Bench | ||
| OAK | If Moore goes down, Ford could step into a playmaking role that would make him worth WR3 consideration most weeks. If Heyward-Bey is out, Ford's upside is a little lower, but he's worth a bench spot. Juron Criner is worth bench consideration, as well. | Denarius Moore | Jacoby Ford | Starter |
| Darrius Heyward-Bey | Jacoby Ford | Bench | ||
| PHI | McNutt is competing with Riley Cooper for the top reserve job on the outside and should have the advantage. He'd be worth a bench add. Jason Avant doesn't leave the slot, but could see an extra target or two. You can leave him on waivers. | DeSean Jackson | Marvin McNutt | Bench |
| Jeremy Maclin | Marvin McNutt | Bench | ||
| PIT | Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery are basically splitting No. 3 WR duties, but Sanders has more upside and is the man to target. Add them both. Start Sanders. | Mike Wallace | Emmanuel Sanders | Starter |
| Antonio Brown | Emmanuel Sanders | Starter | ||
| SD | Brown may not see a ton of snaps with Eddie Royal manning the slot, but he'd immediately step into 50-plus snaps every week if a starter went down. Add him and consider him WR3 material. | Robert Meachem | Vincent Brown | Starter |
| Malcom Floyd | Vincent Brown | Starter | ||
| SEA | Tate would step up as Flynn's go-to guy if Rice went down, making him a borderline starter. Baldwin would stick in the slot, but an uptick in targets will put him on the fantasy football radar. Ben Obomanu would see extra reps out wide, but isn't worth your time. | Sidney Rice | Golden Tate | Bench |
| Doug Baldwin | Bench | |||
| SF | Regardless of which starter goes down, Moss should be your first add. He'd step in as a starter and would see about a half dozen targets. The run-heavy offense keeps him from being a WR3, but he's close. A.J. Jenkins should also be added. | Michael Crabtree | Randy Moss | Bench |
| Mario Manningham | Randy Moss | Bench | ||
| SL | Quick and Givens aren't the same type of player, but Givens would see enough of a boost to warrant an add. Amendola should still see plenty of underneath targets and Smith is the favorite over Greg Salas to take his job if he went down. | Brian Quick | Chris Givens | Bench |
| Danny Amendola | Steve Smith | Bench | ||
| TB | Benn has spent quite a few games as a starter for this team over the last few years, so he'd be the favorite to step in if Jackson or Williams went down. He hasn't been very good, however, so don't slide him in as a starter. Preston Parker would help in the slot and Dez Briscoe would push Benn for reps on obvious passing downs. Neither are worth an add. | Vincent Jackson | Arrelious Benn | Bench |
| Mike A. Williams | Arrelious Benn | Bench | ||
| TEN | If Britt misses action, Wright is good enough and would see enough reps to warrant a starting nod in fantasy. If it's Washington is out, add Wright, but leave him stashed on your bench for a few weeks. | Kenny Britt | Kendall Wright | Starter |
| Nate Washington | Kendall Wright | Bench | ||
| WAS | The ‘Skins will rely on a four-man weave at wide receiver, but Garcon and Hankerson will be the headliners. If either goes down, add Morgan, but he's only a borderline starter. Santana Moss can be added to your roster, as he'd pick up slot duties. | Pierre Garcon | Josh Morgan | Bench |
| Leonard Hankerson | Josh Morgan | Bench |
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