Of course, the names most often discussed in fantasy sports are the starters. However, in most leagues, most of your roster is actually comprised of bench players. This isn’t to say they’re more important, but it is a significant part of the game. Here are some tips for how to use your bench in dynasty fantasy football.

Of course, every league is different. I have seen some leagues with tiny benches with less than 10 players and others with over 25 players. The average tends to be around 20, including taxi squads so I’ll write around that.

Backups

I am not talking about NFL backups, though that could apply as well. What I mean are players you can start if your starters go down. People often judge their team by how good their starting lineup looks. But things happen to those starters and you need backups when they don’t play.

If you follow the NFL at all, you know injuries are very common. Having depth, especially at the running back position, is key to making it through a fantasy season. You also need to make it through bye weeks. Though it may not be easy, this is why having more than two starting quarterbacks in Superflex or 2QB leagues is important. If you are competing, you want to make sure you have players who are startable on your bench. Having handcuffs can also work in these situations.

Prospects

These could overlap with the previous category, but some of these may not. What I mean by “prospects” is that you want upside players who can become starters. These are players where their floor does not matter. The only thing that matters is their ceiling. These could be unproven rookies, great talents in bad situations (bad offences where they aren’t used well or great offences where they’re stuck behind stars), or anyone else who you think has any reasonable chance to explode. This could also include players who are always injured, but who have shown they can be great when healthy.

This is an important part to improving your dynasty team. Sure trades can help, but the biggest gains to team value are often found in picking up players no one else wants who end up becoming players that everyone wants.

Bench Cloggers

You don’t only need to think of who to add to your bench, you also need to think of who to cut (or trade away) from your bench. These are players who do not really fall into the above categories. I am talking about players with a low ceiling and who are such deep backups, you’d need to be hit with three injuries to even consider starting them. These players are often replaceable by the waiver wire.

Wrap-Up

Overall, I would say your team should be about one-third starters, one-third backups, and one-third prospects. The starters are self-explanatory, the backups are needed because anyone can go down, and the prospects are cheap investments that can increase their stock price. I hope this helped you in understanding how to use your bench in dynasty fantasy football.

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