Handcuffing Your Wide Receivers

August 21, 2008 at 9:18 am | Article by Paul Hickey |

Handcuffing Your Wide Receivers Well, one concept all fantasy owners are now familiar with is “hand-cuffing” – the art of locking up a running back situation by drafting the back-up to your starter. It seems simple enough, and it has really come in handy in the past, especially for owners of Priest Holmes in 2005 and Adrian Peterson in 2007, and many other backs. Heading into 2008, however, it seems there are a couple of scenarios in which the hand-cuffing concept could actually be applied to a different position – wide receiver.
Here’s why – two of fantasy football’s top WRs – Brandon Marshall and Steve Smith – are suspended during the beginning of the season, but should be primed and ready to come back and have solid seasons. Smith, who punched teammate Ken Lucas in the face and broke his nose, won’t return until Week 3 against Minnesota. Marshall, a freak of nature athlete, capable of putting up absolutely sick numbers, will return in Week 4 against Kansas City. Obviously, long term folks, like dynasty or deep keeper owners, don’t concern themselves too much with these types of situations, but because of the fact that most seasonal owners play in leagues that start their playoffs in Week 13 or 14, missing a third of the season is a big factor – one that has led many folks to take a pass on Smith and Marshall in rounds three or four over the last few weeks. We’re recommending that these players get snagged up though, and the strategy is simple – draft their back-ups in the later rounds.

In addition to Smith and Marshall, there are a couple other scenarios in which owners may want to draft a star WR’s back-up.

D.J. Hackett, Panthers WR – The 6’2” 27 year old signed with the Panthers this off-season after playing solid when healthy as a member of the Seattle Seahawks each of the past two seasons. He was primed to be at-worst the team’s third WR until Smith’s temper tantrum. Now, he’s primed to start Week 1. He’s been sidelined with nagging injuries of late, but John Fox is likely to rest him in order to start him in the team’s opener. He should be the team’s top receiver with Smith out, and worthy of being in fantasy starting line-ups. The good thing about Hackett is that he has a serious chance to be productive even when Smith returns. He’s a great late-mid round pick – especially for Smith owners.

Eddie Royal, Broncos WR – Like Hackett, it looks like Royal – a second round rookie from Virginia Tech – could actually earn a starting gig at the X spot in 2008, meaning he’d eventually start alongside Marshall. With veterans Darrell Jackson, Keary Colbert and Brandon Stokley not showing much at all during the preseason, look for Royal to step in and be Denver’s number one WR with Marshall out until Week 4. He’s worthy of taking late in seasonal drafts and even starting in deep leagues until Marshall returns. Again, it’s unconventional to draft two WRs on the same team, but in this case it’s very warranted and could prove to be incredibly smart.

Anthony Gonzalez, Colts WR – Gonzalez, a second year WR from Ohio State, was drafted to play the slot, and he’s actually played well enough thus far in his short career to warrant possibly replacing veteran Marvin Harrison when number 88 decides to hang it up. Harrison is healthy now, after missing most of 2007, and he appears ready to rock for 16 games in 2008. However, if Harrison goes down again, Gonzalez will become an unbelievable threat capable of racking up huge points every week. Due not only to the hand-cuffing factor, but also to the fact that Gonzo can put up serious numbers as the team’s third WR, he could warrant a seventh or eighth round pick for owners that just drafted Marvin in round five. That way, you’re covered if Harrison goes down – taking the risk out of the pick – and you could get away with starting them both most weeks.

Drew Carter, Raiders WR – While Ronald Curry appears to be Oakland’s best WR right now, a player with WR1 capabilities is Javon Walker. Due to knee injuries last season and off-the-field issues that almost caused him to retire just a few weeks ago, Walker isn’t looking like a player with as much upside as he once had. However, he’s still worth drafting, and will likely be taken in the mid rounds of seasonal drafts. A player to not necessarily draft as his future replacement, but someone to keep an eye on as a solid waiver wire pick up during the season should Walker go down, is 6’3” Drew Carter. He showed flashes of brilliance in relief of Steve Smith in Carolina last season, and could work his way into Lane Kiffin’s offense.

Antonio Bryant, Buccaneers WR – Wow, did the man who was suspended and released by San Francisco last season look good against New England in preseason Week 2. We’ve heard nothing but good things about Bryant heading into 2008. Jon Gruden likes him and feels he could be a key to the Buccaneers offense this year. And, let’s face it, Bucs number one WR Joey Galloway will be 37 this year and his body is starting to break down. Bryant is still young (27 years old), and capable of making a serious fantasy impact (he was a 1,000 yard receiver in 2005 in Cleveland). Galloway owners should look to potentially replace him with Bryant if the gray-haired pass catcher can’t stay on the field in 2008.

Chris Henry, Bengals WR – The 24 year old trouble maker is back in the league. Why? Because of injuries to Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Andre Caldwell. There you have it. Anything can happen, and now that this 6’4”, 200 lb. extremely talented pass catcher is back, he looks to potentially have some serious fantasy PO as one of Carson Palmer’s top targets to start off the season. Owners can probably still get him on the cheap right now. If you’re drafting Ocho Cinco or Housh early on, look to snag Henry or rookie Jerome Simpson – who caught five balls for 114 yards in preseason Week 2 – as a “hand-cuff” late in drafts, or early on the waiver wire.

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