The good thing about suspensions is that you know exactly how much time a player will miss. You know that you have to cover that position for a few weeks, and you know it will cost you a roster spot. You also know what the player has done in the past, and you know that they aren't nursing an injury.

Here's what you don't know: Whether the gamble will be worth it.

Here's a confession: I love discounts. I surf the web for bargains. I use coupons. I even joined AARP way before retirement age to save some cash at movies and restaurants (not kidding. Turns out there's no age requirement to join AARP). So when I can get an impact player on draft day at a discount, I'm all over it.

Julian Edelman was suspended four games, and Jameis Winston was suspended three games. Everyone knew those facts going into their drafts. I have both in multiple leagues, and I got them at what I thought was a bargain price.

After week 8, it's a mixed bag.

On one hand, Edelman has been exactly what I expected: A solid PPR starter. He's not a flashy #1 receiver, but he's a quality WR2 and a superb flex. I targeted him in PPR leagues and it's paying off with 25 receptions in his first four games. I'm a genius, right?

Not so fast.

I targeted Winston in leagues whose scoring systems were favorable to quarterbacks who throw interceptions. I thought he might throw a few once he was back in the lineup. I did not think he would throw 10 of them in a little more than three games' worth of action.

The end result was I got three starts out of him, and only two of them were good ones. Unless he comes back later this year (and shows he can play at a high level), he was a bust no matter what round you took him.

Two guys I didn't draft were Aaron Jones and Mark Ingram. Of the two, Jones has probably been the better value so far, because he'd have been a late-round pick. But Ingram is more likely to be the middle-rounder who becomes a playoff performer. Neither has set the league on fire, but unless you have great depth both would probably be welcome on your roster.

You could add Le'Veon Bell to this discussion because, even though there wasn't a suspension, there was risk in selecting him (and that risk grew the later your draft was held). But there wasn't much of a discount at any point of the drafting season. If you wanted Bell, you had to take him in the top half of the first round, usually in the top four. It's hard to see how he provides a satisfactory return on that investment in 2018.

I want to add Josh Gordon, too (I also added him to one of my teams, so why not?). Gordon is a perennial risk, and every owner seems to assign him a different value. So far his results are mixed. If you got him later in your draft, he has plenty of potential and has had a couple of good games for a Super Bowl contender. But if you depended on him to be an every-week starter and paid for him accordingly, he's let you down so far.

I guess I have to admit that my gambles have been pretty inconsistent. In looking for value, I found bargains and busts. I also used up a lot of roster spaces, and that's cost me in terms of who I could have had there instead. The players who have panned out happen to be on teams that were doing well without them, so now those teams are even stronger.

But other players (looking at you, Jameis) have made my mediocre teams look even more mediocre. But that's also my fault, since I didn't draft well enough to cover for him, and now he doesn't look like the savior I needed him to be. The games go on, so I'll try to rally the troops without him.

Despite an uneven track record this year, I don't think I'll stop looking for bargains. When they pan out, they can save your season, or boost a strong contender. It makes you feel like your plan came together just as you envisioned.

But when they don't, they can make a long season even longer, and make you second-guess why you wasted a roster spot for several weeks you really could have used all year. You realize that you depended on a future return, even if you told yourself you didn't really need that player. You watch a guy play his way out of a lineup (both yours and a real one) and you wonder why you thought he was a value pick in the first place.

Can you guess which camp I feel closer to after week 8?

Did you draft a suspended player, hoping they'd make a difference once they hit the field? How have the performed relative to where you took them? Are you happy with your decision? Share your thoughts below.