Fantasy Football: Are you gambling with your number one wide receiver?

So, you just finished your draft and you followed the plan perfectly. You somehow lucked out and got Christian McCaffrey in the first round and managed to get a top-five receiver. You had the foresight to grab Elijah Mitchell with one of your last picks as a handcuff. That is a great move. The idea of a handcuff is that if your number one goes down, you don’t necessarily replace those points but have someone ready to go on your bench. If that happens, Mitchell immediately becomes a number one back in this case. You will not find that on the waiver wire.

Why don’t we do that with a QB? Well, if on the same team I had Purdy then yes, Sam Darnold becomes a number one QB. The difference is there should be better options on the waiver wire. Same with tight ends. There isn’t a lot of difference between a TE10 and TE20.

What about wide receivers though? You say there isn’t a wide receiver backup right? And that is a good point. We generally see a WR1, WR2, and WR3 getting the bulk of the receiving yards. When you are drafting you generally don’t want two receivers on the same team. If you drafted Ja’Marr Chase in round one you don’t want to grab Tee Higgins in the third round just to have a handcuff. While Higgins’s fantasy points per game will get a bump, he is already getting a lot of targets. But what if I draft Chase in the first round and in round 15 or 16, which is the last round in most drafts, and take Tyler Boyd (ADP:164)? If Chase does get hurt, Boyd is now a WR2 on a high-powered offense. A WR2 on this team should be much better than anyone you could pick up on the waiver wire. You probably aren’t starting anyone you draft with that pick anyway.

3 other wide receiver handcuffs

Braxton Berrios - ADP 300+

The Dolphins have a WR1 and a WR1A. Fantasy Pros listsTyreek Hill as ADP6 and Jaylen Waddle is ADP 23. If you draft either then take Berrios with your last pick because there will be a bunch of targets available if either goes down.

Hunter Renfrow - ADP 212

Davante Adams is being drafted in the second round at ADP 18. Vegas brought in Jacoby Meyers to be the number two. Hunter Renfrow is still a good player and is now ADP 212 but will see a huge increase if Adams gets hurt.

Khalil Shakir - ADP 312

Buffalo has one of the best fantasy receivers in Stefon Diggs and he is being drafted in the first round. The WR2 is Gabe Davis and is being drafted somewhere around round nine. If Diggs misses any time at all, Shakir becomes WR2 on another high-scoring offense. His ADP is 312 so he can also be there for you with your last pick.

If you have already drafted then check the waiver wire for some cheap insurance for your number one wide receiver.