Dynasty Stock Market: Roster Cloggers

Ryan McDowell

moreno3The weekly Dynasty Stock Market features not only price checks, but provides player features, draft projections, trade values or a variety of other relevant topics each week to make sure we’re covering everything our premium content followers are demanding.

This week, I want to delve deep into your dynasty rosters and provide some analysis for the players who reside at the end of your bench. A typical dynasty team starts seven or eight offensive players and often allows owners to carry a roster of 24, 26 or even more players. The strategies for managing your roster can vary greatly, but are primarily dependent on your team’s status for the current year. Are you a playoff contender or are you rebuilding? Those are really the only two options.

No matter if you are undefeated and cruising towards the title game or winless and already scouting the top college prospects, all owners should share one rule when building a roster – there shall be no roster cloggers. A roster clogger is my term for players stuck on the end of your bench who are not actually deserving of a roster spot. These players offer little to no upside and will likely never be a starting option for your fantasy team. While these players occasionally post a big statistical game, their production is not steady enough to rely on on a weekly basis. Also, your leaguemates are well aware of these players’ subpar performances, so they have little or no trade value.

With all of this, why do we keep these players around?  One cause could be the status on their own team. In many leagues, every starting NFL quarterback or tight end is on a roster – this should not always be the case. There are many backup quarterbacks who offer far more upside in the long term. Another reason is name value. Many veteran players have been solid fantasy options in the past and dynasty owners are basing roster decisions on data and memories from years gone by.

Sometimes, clearing off the roster cloggers can be a tough decision. I know many owners who fear giving up value and worry that if they drop a player, another owner could quickly snag that player. To that I say “so what?” If I deem a player not worthy of my roster and decide he is not even worth shopping in a possible trade, that should be a player I want clogging up my competitor’s roster. Finally, sometimes these players tempt us with the occasional nice game I mentioned before. There is a certain quarterback who I will focus on soon that began the year with a very impressive game. He was even one of the top quarterbacks of that week. The downside is, since then, he has been disappointing and unreliable. He will likely never be a starting fantasy quarterback. So, why waste a roster spot on a player that I won’t start and can’t trade? I shouldn’t. In fact, I would rather take a shot on a deep dynasty prospect who could eventually become a starting caliber player for my team.

Identifying the roster cloggers depends on the current status of your team as I mentioned before, but is also greatly affected by the type of league you’re involved in. While I could make an educated guess if I knew the rules and other dynamics of specific leagues, I can really only speak from the point of view I know best. Most of my leagues are PPR leagues that allow 26 roster spots and very flexible starting lineups. The majority of owners in my leagues only carry one kicker and defense at a time. The players mentioned below are based on those league settings, but could change if you are playing under different rules. One example would be a two quarterback league. These leagues obviously place greater value on that position and would create a change in the definition of roster cloggers. Another important factor that affects roster cloggers is the number of roster spots you have. If your dynasty league only allows 18 players rostered, the end of bench management is greatly affected.

Let’s start naming some names. Each of these players are rostered in most of my dynasty leagues, some even by me. Don’t worry, I will soon be following my own advice and dumping these players for those who offer more upside.

Quarterbacks

Matt Cassel, QB KC

This is Cassel’s fifth season as a starting quarterback and although he has been mediocre overall, he does have a top eight quarterback finish in 2008, the year he took over for an injured Tom Brady. Now though, his team is struggling and his own fans are cheering his injury. There were even rumors prior to his concussion that he would lose his starting job to Brady Quinn. Yet, he is on a roster in every one of my dynasty leagues and probably many of yours.

Mark Sanchez, QB NYJ

Sanchez was the player I was referencing earlier. After a great week one, it has been all downhill for Sanchez and the Jets. It was easy to predict this once fan favorite Tim Tebow was brought aboard and the Te-bow chants are in full swing in the Meadowlands. Sanchez’ best finish in his three full seasons was in 2011 when he was the QB10, at least partially thanks to his surprising amount of rushing touchdowns.

Running Backs

Isaac Redman, RB PIT

The Steelers gave Redman the chance of a lifetime and all but handed him their starting running back job. He failed to impress and not only could he not hold off Rashard Mendenhall, he could only earn a timeshare with Jonathan Dwyer. Considering he squandered this chance and is not even the clear backup in Pittsburgh, it’s time to let him go.

Knowshon Moreno, RB DEN

The fall of the Broncos former starting tailback has been well documented. He has battled injuries and inconsistency and first lost his starting job to veteran Willis McGahee. He now has lost his backup job to rookie running back Ronnie Hillman. In fact, Lance Ball is even ahead of him on the depth chart. Moreno’s status as a former first round pick and starting running back has kept him on many dynasty rosters, but shouldn’t any longer.

Wide Receivers

Laurent Robinson, WR JAX

Robinson, the Jaguars free agent acquisition this past off-season, has had a disappointing start to his Jaguar career. He has missed action with a concussion and only caught nine balls through the season’s first five weeks. Robinson has a long history of letting down his fantasy owners, mostly due to his failure to stay healthy. Now, all of his value is based on his tremendous season with the Dallas Cowboys in 2011. Now with one of the worst offenses in football, he is the definition of a roster clogger.

Robert Meachem, WR SD

Meachem, who the Chargers envisioned as the replacement for Vincent Jackson, has been a huge disappointment in San Diego. Although he had a great week five against his former team, he remains an inconsistent and unreliable fantasy option. Meachem is one guy who I had rostered eyeing a breakout year, but with one poor performance after another, there is no longer room for him at the bottom of my rosters.

Tight Ends

Marcedes Lewis, TE JAX

Another Jaguar who continues to disappoint and will likely never start for your fantasy team is tight end Marcedes Lewis. He had a breakout season in 2010 and was being drafted as a starting caliber tight end in 2011 startup drafts, but with rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert under center, Lewis struggled. That has continued in Gabbert’s second year. With very deep rosters, maybe he would be worth holding in hopes Gabbert is replaced, but for now he is a waste of a valuable roster spot.

Anthony Fasano, TE MIA

Fasano currently ranks as the TE22 in PPR leagues. This would appear to make him a low end TE2 and possible bye week starter. The facts are his up and down play make him impossible to start with confidence and you are better off taking a chance on one of the many young, promising tight ends in the league.

Check back next week when I take a look at some of the high upside players that would be better suited for that spot on the end of your bench.  Follow @RyanMc23 on Twitter.

ryan mcdowell