A lot of fantasy football involves waiting. Waiting for Thursday or Sunday or Monday night. Waiting to see whether a starter is practicing or not. Waiting to see what team is giving up on Christine Michael this week. Lots of waiting.
Unfortunately, we also wait for guys to come back from injury, and we often expect too much when they do. And if you’re doing that with an eye on the final weeks of the regular season, you can expect to be disappointed.
Roster space is always at a premium, so of a player is camping out and not paying rent, we have a tendency to expect a big payoff when they finally take the field. And around this time, there are several freeloaders who have a balloon payment due. Doug Martin, Dion Lewis, Thomas Rawls and Tevin Coleman are just a few guys who either just came back from injury or are due back shortly. We want them available as quickly as possible, and we want points when they do it.
And that’s fine, except our record might dictate that what we really need is the fantasy cavalry to come and rescue us. And as much as I’d love to have that confidence in some of these players, that’s simply not going to happen.
No matter how many goal-line cupcakes the Buccaneers give Doug Martin, he’s not going to save your season. Tevin “time share” Coleman won't, either. They won't be a waste of a roster space like Jamaal Charles was, of course. But there simply isn't a player who will come in and rescue your team.
That doesn't mean they can't contribute. They might be a starter for you at some point. But they're role players, not difference makers. If you're still waiting for Todd Gurley to get into regular-season form, I'm afraid your bench isn't going to rescue you.
Now, this might not be news to you. What fantasy owner expects Doug Martin to come in and win games by himself? Well, I'm not really talking to the owner of your team. I'm talking to your team's biggest (and only) fan. Same person, of course, but they have different mentalities.
As an owner, you know that these guys might do something for you, and it's probably worth a spot to find out. But as a fan of your team, you see a guy practicing, you see a team rave about how good he looks, and you hear about how much he'll contribute to the team. And you see a disappointing record, and a barren waiver wire. How can you not hope that these guys will provide the spark you need to get things going? Maybe you'll make the playoffs with them, after all.
And that's true; maybe you will. But you won't do it because of them. You'll do it because Jarvis Landry woke up, or Zach Miller became a fantasy hero for a few weeks with Alshon Jeffery out. You'll do it because the Steelers figured out that if the ball doesn't go to Le'Veon Bell, it should go to Antonio Brown and forget those other guys. But with a returning starter, your best bet is to hope for a cog in an improving wheel.
I'm not excited to bring you this opinion, by the way. I have a team with Coleman, Martin and Rawls. That's a bench full of zeroes that I want to become heroes. If anyone wants that fantasy cavalry to show up, it's me.
And maybe I'm wrong, and we'll see one of them emerge as a guy who lifts teams to titles. As a fan of the Lost City Sleestak (shout out to "Land of the Lost"), I want that to happen. But as the team owner, I know better. Maybe I win games with one of these guys in my lineup, but the lion's share of points will come from somewhere else. Let's just hope it's enough to get our teams to Christmas Day. Good luck this week.
Are you counting on any returning players to make a big impact for your team? Any players you think will be up to the job? Share your thoughts below.