Foster + Tate = fantasy gold

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

I don't get the people who say drafting Tate in the seventh is a waste if foster is already on the team. The only way the pick is a waste is if Houston is full blown rbbc. As long as one rb is getting a majority of the carries you basically have a guaranteed stud.

 

If it takes two picks in the first seven rounds to produce a stud rb so be it. Start Tate when Foster is out, start Foster when he comes back. You know Foster is still getting more carries since he's getting paid so much. They have to somewhat justify all the money going to one rb.

[Matt Mueller 146]

I hear that but at the opportunity cost maybe you could have Rice and say D Rich, Bradshaw, Lacy, ect...someone who ends up an RB 2 on their own.

 

I might rather hold 2 assets...than 1 combined one.

[browndelivers 7]

I see your point, but two arguments back could be 1) having to draft Tate in the 7th is an opportunity cost -- you basically get 6 players in 7 rounds and (2) you could see Houston going RBBC within a game, limiting Arian to 15 touches and giving Ben 10. If that happens, and you start Arian, was he really worth a 1st round pick when you could've gone with a 20+ carry guy?

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Ok can you guarantee Bradshaw, Lacy, or Drich are going to be sold rb2? You can't, and I especially think Drich is wildly overrated.

 

The point is you can almost guarantee yourself an absolute stud rb1.

[stonewall 647]

....until some wise guy takes Tate in the 6th.

[Gladiators 1,904]

Also, there's no guarantee that you'll get Tate in the 7th. I've seen him go in the last round (16) in a buddy's draft, and I've seen him go in the 6th right before the Foster owner in a co-worker's draft. But it's those types of picks that can make/break a season.

 

I'm in the boat that would rather take a high upside RB that's coming into the season getting the majority of the touches.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

The Texans have been more than willing to give Foster the lion's share of the touches, so I don't think that will change.

 

Don't get me wrong, there are a few less risky options, but I don't think it's as bad of a situation as is projected.

 

Some people make it seem like they hit on every one of their first seven picks so basically sacrificing one for a damn near guarantee isn't worth it.

[Upper Class Trash 67]

I have avoided the Foster debacle in round one thus far. They could be saving him for the season, but you won't really know until the season begins. I understand the handcuff concept, but have never drafted one as early as the 7th round, where Tate is going. You do guarantee yourself one stud, but you are also losing another position by doing so. I'd rather take Spiller, McCoy or Charles at where Foster is going. You can get their handcuffs at the very end of the draft and I don't see you losing any points by taking them over Foster.

[BobSanders_33 127]

The coaching staff doesn't have to justify all the money going to a RB. They just have to win and hope that AF is healthy for the playoffs. AF put up excellent number last year because of the massive volume of carries he received because there was no 2nd back to spell him. I can't imagine there are many backs over the last decade that averaged 4.0 yards per carry and still have an excellent season.

 

I don't think that you will see a full blown RBBC but I do think you will see a 75/25 split. I also don't like the injury issues and the chance that AF has issues during a game that causes him to be unexpectedly pulled. Having a back that has failed to during camp is also a recipe for injury.

[Gladiators 1,904]

I have avoided the Foster debacle in round one thus far. They could be saving him for the season, but you won't really know until the season begins. I understand the handcuff concept, but have never drafted one as early as the 7th round, where Tate is going. You do guarantee yourself one stud, but you are also losing another position by doing so. I'd rather take Spiller, McCoy or Charles at where Foster is going. You can get their handcuffs at the very end of the draft and I don't see you losing any points by taking them over Foster.

To be fair, Fred Jackson and Bryce Brown are both going in rd 8 or 9.

[We Tigers 71]

I don't get the people who say drafting Tate in the seventh is a waste if foster is already on the team. The only way the pick is a waste is if Houston is full blown rbbc. As long as one rb is getting a majority of the carries you basically have a guaranteed stud.

 

If it takes two picks in the first seven rounds to produce a stud rb so be it. Start Tate when Foster is out, start Foster when he comes back. You know Foster is still getting more carries since he's getting paid so much. They have to somewhat justify all the money going to one rb.

It assumes that Foster misses enough time for Tate to be worthwhile. A lot of people thought this was a great idea in 2011 when Foster had that hamstring injury, and Tate was very good indeed...for three games. Then Foster proceeded to have the highest fantasy points per game the rest of the year and Tate scored over 4 points twice.

 

There are some reasons to draft Ben Tate this year, but I don't think handcuffing Foster with a 6th to 8th round pick is worth it for just 2-3 starts. At this point, I don't think the situation is clear enough to justify his price. If Foster looks like he's going to miss half the season, sure. Right now there's just not enough info out there.

[Matt Mueller 146]

To be fair, Fred Jackson and Bryce Brown are both going in rd 8 or 9.

 

I'm not sure that Fred Jax is really going that high but Brown is being drafted there, IMO, not as a 'handcuff' but as someone who might have flex appeal week in week out in Kelly's offense.

[Maroon Bells 18]

Tend to agree, but wow, I hate to take a handcuff that high. This year I put Foster, Spiller and McCoy ahead of Peterson, Rice, Charles simply because of their handcuffs. AD goes down, Gerhart isn't going to keep your team playing at the same level. But all three of the aforementioned handcuffs are nearly as capable as the starter.

 

McCoy might be the best value of all considering he's a guy you can get in the 2nd round, while his new offense and his handcuff render the reasons he's not top five nearly irrelevant.

[tanatastic 2,061]

Is this a thread from 2 years ago? You can read about handcuffing with tate in rnd 7 on every fantasy site on the internet, this isnt a new thing. That said, yes some idiot will take him early and smirk to the foster owner as if he just got over on him but really he just wasted a pick.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

Tend to agree, but wow, I hate to take a handcuff that high. This year I put Foster, Spiller and McCoy ahead of Peterson, Rice, Charles simply because of their handcuffs. AD goes down, Gerhart isn't going to keep your team playing at the same level. But all three of the aforementioned handcuffs are nearly as capable as the starter.

 

McCoy might be the best value of all considering he's a guy you can get in the 2nd round, while his new offense and his handcuff render the reasons he's not top five nearly irrelevant.

I haven't seen McCoy go into the second round.

[Maroon Bells 18]

I haven't seen McCoy go into the second round.

 

http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/livedraftresults

[WMagnum1 4]

I have Tate already kept in a keeper league and losing my 7th round pick in the process. Foster MIGHT fall to me at 4th overall, but what if he doesn't? That just means I can get a Rice/McCoy/Charles type player and STILL have the possibility of hitting the jackpot with Tate as a RB3/4. I don't need Foster, but it would be nice.

[tanatastic 2,061]

I haven't seen McCoy go into the second round.

If people let Mcoy slip into RNd 2 thats robbery, hes in the top 4 argument. A proven workhorse stud in an offense that knows how to run the ball (we think.).

[waxg 3]

Got Foster locked in at $51 and Tate locked in at $8 (auction, dynasty league). BOOM.

[Matt Mueller 146]

 

http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/livedraftresults

 

Eh...I think there are a lot of 10 team leagues there.

 

I trust FFC way more where they have him at #7.

 

http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.php

[Maroon Bells 18]

 

Eh...I think there are a lot of 10 team leagues there.

 

I trust FFC way more where they have him at #7.

 

http://fantasyfootballcalculator.com/adp.php

 

I use ESPN only because that's what my league uses. And it's the funniest thing: even experienced players will tend to draft based on the value of the player as determined by the host site. Smart players know the consensus and look for outliers in their host league. In my league, the first one IMO is McCoy.

[Johnson Rose 1]

I don't get the people who say drafting Tate in the seventh is a waste if foster is already on the team. The only way the pick is a waste is if Houston is full blown rbbc. As long as one rb is getting a majority of the carries you basically have a guaranteed stud.

 

If it takes two picks in the first seven rounds to produce a stud rb so be it. Start Tate when Foster is out, start Foster when he comes back. You know Foster is still getting more carries since he's getting paid so much. They have to somewhat justify all the money going to one rb.

 

It's not a waste if you have to draft Foster. Securing the Houston backfield is a good thing.

 

It can, however, be seen as a waste with how many great 1st round RB options there are this year. Why not go with a Doug Martin, Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch whose handcuff won't need to be drafted so early? a 7th round pick can be your starting QB, a very good WR, your #1 TE..... so to use it on a handcuff RB kind of sucks.

 

again, if you already own Foster, it' kind of a necessary evil.

[Frozenbeernuts 1,652]

 

It's not a waste if you have to draft Foster. Securing the Houston backfield is a good thing.

 

It can, however, be seen as a waste with how many great 1st round RB options there are this year. Why not go with a Doug Martin, Jamaal Charles, LeSean McCoy, Marshawn Lynch whose handcuff won't need to be drafted so early? a 7th round pick can be your starting QB, a very good WR, your #1 TE..... so to use it on a handcuff RB kind of sucks.

 

again, if you already own Foster, it' kind of a necessary evil.

Yeah I agree that drafting one of the other consensus top RBs is a bit of a safer bet right now, but I still don't think you could go wrong by employing this strategy. I just want to point out that it is not a waste of a draft pick.

 

If you have to draft two RBs in the first seven rounds to ensure one stud, so be it. So what if you can't draft a Daryl Richardson instead of Tate, Richardson isn't going to have anywhere near the same numbers if they both were starting.

[Johnson Rose 1]

Yeah I agree that drafting one of the other consensus top RBs is a bit of a safer bet right now, but I still don't think you could go wrong by employing this strategy. I just want to point out that it is not a waste of a draft pick.

 

If you have to draft two RBs in the first seven rounds to ensure one stud, so be it. So what if you can't draft a Daryl Richardson instead of Tate, Richardson isn't going to have anywhere near the same numbers if they both were starting.

 

I don't disagree but my point is, why put yourself in that position in the first place? considering the amount of top 5 potential RB's there are this year. Especially when Foster seems to be one of the most fragile at the moment.

 

If I'm drafting 2nd or 3rd, i'd much rather take Martin, Charles, McCoy and be free to use my 7th rounder (or even 6th rounder) how I see best fit. It doesn't need to be a Daryl Richardson either. I can go RB/RB and my 7th could be Stafford, Kaepernick, Luck, Romo, James Jones, Tavon Austin, Steve Smith, TY Hilton, Kyle Rudolph..... guys with more stand alone value.

[steel827 2]

I'm not big on the handcuffs. Rarely do they work out. Even if Foster does get injured, I have to put a 30% reduction on Tate because he simply isn't as good as Foster. It gets really muddled if they get Tate more involved and they work out to a 70/30 split. Now Foster isn't elite and Tate is barely playable. Starting both gets you very good numbers but at the cost of 2 spots. I don't know how to deal with this so I'm staying away.

 

Just my two pennies

[We Tigers 71]

I'm not big on the handcuffs. Rarely do they work out. Even if Foster does get injured, I have to put a 30% reduction on Tate because he simply isn't as good as Foster. It gets really muddled if they get Tate more involved and they work out to a 70/30 split. Now Foster isn't elite and Tate is barely playable. Starting both gets you very good numbers but at the cost of 2 spots. I don't know how to deal with this so I'm staying away.

 

Just my two pennies

 

Texans RBs in 2012: Foster - 351 carries, other RBs 128. 73/27 split. Foster finishes RB2 in standard, RB3 in PPR. If it's a 70/30 split, Foster can certainly still be elite; he'd only lose 16 carries off last year's numbers.

[Maroon Bells 18]

I'm not big on the handcuffs. Rarely do they work out. Even if Foster does get injured, I have to put a 30% reduction on Tate because he simply isn't as good as Foster. It gets really muddled if they get Tate more involved and they work out to a 70/30 split. Now Foster isn't elite and Tate is barely playable. Starting both gets you very good numbers but at the cost of 2 spots. I don't know how to deal with this so I'm staying away.

 

Just my two pennies

 

My two pennies is that you're underrating Ben Tate's overall talent. I think he's a helluva back. I think we'll all see that next year when he leaves Houston for a starting gig.

[steel827 2]

My two pennies is that you're underrating Ben Tate's overall talent. I think he's a helluva back. I think we'll all see that next year when he leaves Houston for a starting gig.

 

No, I know he is a good back. I think it's more of a situational problem. I think with Foster back(makes me very concerned) being questioned it won't be cut and dry on who is playing. I see games where he is scheduled to start but Tate is the effective runner. I think my problem entering the draft next week is that I may not get Tate. Then if Foster back becomes a real issue I've got problems. I'm drafting second and I don't need the headaches so early in the season. Lol

 

Just my two pennies

[kilomantis 6]

Foster/Tate combo isn't a new strategy, and it isn't a horrible strategy, but in the 6th, 7th, 8th round I'm still filling in my starting lineup. I'd much rather be choosing my TE, QB, WR3 or flex at this point, as opposed to drafting a player who, if all things go the way I hope, will spend the entire season on my bench.