Nine Roster Cloggers To Drop In Dynasty Leagues

Nearly twelve years ago, I wrote my first version of a “Roster Clogger” article. I recently re-read that article and wanted to begin this year’s version by looking back at the definition and thought process regarding identifying these players that can actually damage your dynasty fantasy football squads. Here’s what I wrote back in October of 2012…

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.

Since I wrote that years ago, many things have changed with the dynasty game and all aspects have been impacted, including Roster Cloggers. While there are still tons of leagues like the ones I described, larger starting lineups and larger rosters in general are now the norm. Also, superflex leagues have become very popular and common with die-hard dynasty players.

These changes have impacted the value of quarterbacks and running backs. In a superflex league, obviously all starting quarterbacks are worthy of a roster spot as are a large number of backups. Over the years, we’ve seen the number of useful running backs increase, thanks in large part to the popularity of committee backfields around the league.

Former DLF writer Scott Connor has done excellent work with his theories about the value of the quarterback and running back positions in superflex leagues, suggesting #AnyQBOnA2Deep and #AnyRBOnA53 are worthy of roster spots in dynasty leagues. In case you’re not familiar with Scott’s ideas or his lingo, he’s suggesting the top two quarterbacks on a depth chart and any running back on an active NFL roster could have dynasty value. I completely agree, which is why you won’t see any quarterbacks on this list and only a few running backs.

What remains the same from a dozen years ago is the definition of a Roster Clogger. If you identify a player who has no trade value in your league and has seemingly no path to cracking your starting lineup, you’ve found a clogger. Those are players you want on other teams’ rosters around your league, so dump them now and improve your team while potentially damaging other rosters.