Football is a violent, unpredictable sport where anything can happen. Injuries can derail a player’s season and dash any hopes you had for your fantasy football squad. The best way to protect yourself is to always have a plan B. That can be through acquiring your rostered players’ “handcuff” or backup or having deep stashes on your bench in an emergency.
As we roll into Week 6, here are three players who have shown they can be valuable fantasy football assets when called upon and could save your season as a handcuff or value stash in the coming weeks.
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Week 6 WR & TE Handcuffs
The Cincinnati Bengals offense finally got rolling in a Week 5 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Without starting WR Tee Higgins, who missed the game with broken ribs, veteran WR Trenton Irwin stepped up, catching eight of his 10 targets for 60 yards.
Over his four-plus seasons in Cincinnati, Irwin hasn’t seen frequent or reliable volume outside of being a fill-in. His 10 targets on Sunday were a career-high for the fifth-year receiver. However, when he is called into action, Irwin has delivered. In 2022, he scored more than 10 fantasy points three times while scoring four touchdowns.
Higgins has been limited in practice this week, and his status for Sunday’s game against Seattle is again up in the air. Irwin could be in for another higher-than-usual volume week if he does not play and could be plugged into your flex slot with confidence.
Things are bumpy right now in the Mile High City. After a disappointing start to the season, rumors are swirling that WR Jerry Jeudy will be traded ahead of the October 31st trade deadline. This could open the door for WR Brandon Johnson to see a larger share of opportunities in this middling Denver offense.
It hasn’t all been bad for the Broncos. Despite their 1-5 record, which includes a loss to the Jets in Week 5, QB Russell Wilson is currently the overall QB8 and some emerging players like Brandon Johnson have shined when given the opportunity. The second-year receiver out of TCU already had 11 targets entering Week 6, and despite his eight catches being seventh on the team, his three receiving touchdowns are tied for the team lead.
With Jeudy, and possibly more, on the move, Johnson should see an uptick in volume for the rest of the season. If he continues to be a favorite red zone target for Wilson, he could have some boom weeks on a team that will be playing from behind more often than not this season.
The New York Jets have been better than anyone expected this season in the absence of QB Aaron Rodgers. Zach Wilson has been pleasantly mediocre, which is more than even head coach Robert Saleh could have hoped for. Part of what has helped Wilson outperform expectations has been his TE corps. Starter Tyler Conklin is second on the team in targets (21) behind Garrett Wilson, and veteran bookend C.J. Uzomah has four catches, one of which went for a touchdown. Now, after not seeing a single target in the first three games of 2023, second-year TE Jeremy Ruckert appears to be in the mix.
Ruckert, who only saw two targets last season thanks to battling plantar fasciitis, has caught all three of his targets in the past two weeks for 28 yards. While that’s not exactly sexy, it’s better than the three total snaps he accumulated in the first two weeks of the season. Furthermore, Ruckert has run a route on all but one of his 23 snaps this season.
Acquiring Ruckert in fantasy football is a two-sided proposition. Should Conklin get injured, Ruckert could be in for immediate work over the veteran Uzomah. If Conklin stays healthy and on the field, as we all hope he does, Saleh will let the talented TE out of Ohio State earn a more significant role in the Jets offense. However it happens, now is an excellent time to get Ruckert rostered as either a handcuff or a value sleeper down the line with boom potential.
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Nate Polvogt is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Nate, check out his archive and follow him @NatePolvogt.
