The Handcuffs Who Matter

Last week on the Fantasy Slant podcast, Michael Moore and I debated and mostly disagreed on which running back handcuffs were worth drafting in standard leagues. Since that format is a difficult one to comprehensively tackle an issue that spans the entire league, I wanted to follow with a post that explains my opinions.

This advice is for shallow, redraft formats. Even in those leagues, when a starter goes down on basically any team, his backup will have value, if only as a speculative pickup. However, there is an opportunity cost to drafting a handcuff. If you draft Christine Michael, that might cost you the chance to draft Justin Hunter. Ka’Deem Carey might cost you Travis Kelce. I like enough late-round sleepers this season that I want to be confident my handcuff will deliver if the time comes. Otherwise, I don’t want to spend the draft pick.

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Scott Spratt was named Newcomer of the Year by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. He also writes for RotoGraphs and contributes to ESPN Insider as a research analyst for Baseball Info Solutions. Feel free to ask him questions on Twitter – @PFF_ScottSpratt