Updated 5/17/12
Introduced a season ago, the charts you’re about to see include handcuff information for each of the important fantasy positions: Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End. Why am I doing this? Simple. So that when one of your key fantasy contributors goes down with an injury, you know the right player to target.
Check out the 2012 Quarterback Tamme Index for additional explanation.
Today I'm taking a look at tight end handcuffs.
| Your Move | What it means |
| Starter | This player is, at worst, a borderline starter (Top 12 QB, Top 24 RB, Top 36 WR, Top 12 TE) in 12 team leagues |
| Bench | This player is worth a roster spot in 12 team leagues. |
| Monitor | You don't need to add this player in 12 team leagues, but monitor his progress over the next few weeks. |
| Ignore | Ignore this player, as they do not have much Fantasy value. |
| Tm | Note | Starter(s) | Handcuff(s) | Your move |
| ARZ | Heap and blocker Jeff King are basically co-starters, but only Heap has an inkling of fantasy value. Housler is an excellent pass-catching prospect and would warrant a speculative add just for that reason. | Todd Heap | Rob Housler | Bench |
| ATL | Palmer is a solid receiving option, but he wouldn't see the same piece of the target pie that Gonzalez did, especially with the Falcons' WR unit getting better. | Tony Gonzalez | Michael Palmer | Monitor |
| BLT | Still no word which of these two will get the starting nod. Either way, both are good pass catchers. If one goes down, pick up the other. | Ed Dickson | Dennis Pitta | Bench |
| BUF | Chandler is counted on near the goal line, but he's not on the field much. Lee Smith would provide the blocking, so Caussin really wouldn't play much. | Scott Chandler | Mike Caussin | Ignore |
| CAR | The Panthers offense relies heavily on the tight end, making capable-receiver Barnidge worth an add if Olsen goes down. | Greg Olsen | Gary Barnidge | Bench |
| CHI | The post-Martz era will mean more tight end involvement, but Rodriguez would be competing for reps with blocker Matt Spaeth. Still, he's Aaron Hernandez-lite. Monitor him. | Kellen Davis | Evan Rodriguez | Monitor |
| CIN | If Gresham goes down, look for Cincy to throw a capable Charles into his role. He'd be a decent TE2 option. | Jermaine Gresham | Orson Charles | Bench |
| CLV | We saw in 2011 that the Browns will use Moore as in-line tight end when Watson is out, but he's still more of a pass-catcher. Monitor Cameron, who could easily leapfrog Moore in the coming months. | Ben Watson | Evan Moore | Bench |
| Jordan Cameron | Monitor | |||
| DAL | Phillips is primarily a blocker, but would see close to a half dozen targets if iron man Witten were to get hurt. | Jason Witten | John Phillips | Monitor |
| DEN | Tamme and Dreessen are expected to share duties, but Tamme is the better pass-catcher. Dreessen would be a borderline TE1 if Tamme went down, so snatch him up. Thomas has massive upside as a receiver, so he'd he be worth a speculative add. | Jacob Tamme | Joel Dreessen | Bench |
| Julius Thomas | Bench | |||
| DET | Already playing quite a bit in the slot, Scheffler would be among the most utilized tight ends in receiving situations if Pettigrew went down. | Brandon Pettigrew | Tony Scheffler | Starter |
| GB | Andrew Quarless was a bust in the receiving game in 2010, but still has a leg up on the No. 2 job if his ACL heals. Tom Crabtree will do the blocking and deep leaguers can take a chance on D.J. Williams. | Jermichael Finley | Andrew Quarless | Monitor |
| HST | If Daniels goes down, FB Casey would surely see more work at TE and is worth an add. Monitor Graham, who would be forced into 40+ snaps. | Owen Daniels | James Casey | Bench |
| Garrett Graham | Monitor | |||
| IND | Allen will already be heavily involved in the offense and a Fleener injury would lead him to seven-plus targets. He'd be a borderline TE1. | Coby Fleener | Dwayne Allen | Starter |
| JAX | Miller, a capable pass catcher, would get the reps if Lewis were to go down. The offense here isn't very good, however, so just monitor. | Marcedes Lewis | Zach Miller | Monitor |
| KC | Boss has a history of producing decent fantasy numbers, but he won't do enough damage to warrant TE1 consideration. Add him only if you need a TE2. | Tony Moeaki | Kevin Boss | Monitor |
| MIA | The team really likes FB/TE Clay's abilities as a pass catcher, but Egnew would chip in enough to cap his upside. Monitor both. | Anthony Fasano | Charles Clay | Monitor |
| Michael Egnew | Monitor | |||
| MIN | Carlson has a history of TE2 production with Seattle and Minnesota expects to rely heavily on the position. He'd warrant an add. | Kyle Rudolph | John Carlson | Bench |
| NE | Both Gronkowski and Hernandez will be owned. If Gronkowski goes down, Hernandez, basically a WR, will move inside, but Fells will help out with some blocking. If Hernandez goes out, a wide receiver will take over most of his targets. Gaffney is that guy. | Rob Gronkowski | Daniel Fells | Monitor |
| Aaron Hernandez | Jabar Gaffney | Bench | ||
| NO | Thomas would be a downgrade, but also a competent replacement for Graham as the team's pass-catching TE. He won't see the same number of targets, however. | Jimmy Graham | Dave Thomas | Bench |
| NYG | The Giants haven't produced any elite fantasy plays at TE lately, and that doesn’t figure to change in 2012, even with Bennett around. Robinson has a ton of potential as a pass-catcher, but would be a TE2 at best. | Martellus Bennett | Adrien Robinson | Bench |
| NYJ | Cumberland, much like Keller, is more of a pass catcher than a blocker. Targets to the position would drop a bit, but he'd still be worth monitoring. | Dustin Keller | Jeff Cumberland | Monitor |
| OAK | Converted wide receiver Ausberry would fill in for Myers, but Oakland doesn’t use the position in the passing game enough to warrant an add. Still, keep an eye on him, as he is a good pass-catcher. | Brandon Myers | David Ausberry | Monitor |
| PHI | A good pass catcher, Harbor would fill in right where Celek left off. There's some upside here when you consider the offense. | Brent Celek | Clay Harbor | Bench |
| PIT | Miller is already just a borderline TE2 and Pope would see even fewer targets, especially considering the team's deep WR unit. Wes Saunders is a better pass-catcher than Pope, but is suspended four games. | Heath Miller | Leonard Pope | Ignore |
| SD | Randy McMichael already sees a ton of snaps as a blocker, but Green, an excellent receiving prospect, would slide into Gates' pass-catching role. He'd be a borderline TE1. | Antonio Gates | Ladarius Green | Bench |
| SEA | Morrah would be the team's top receiving tight end if Miller missed action. Anthony McCoy would see plenty of snaps, but he's a blocker. | Zach J. Miller | Cam Morrah | Monitor |
| SF | Walker would pick up where Davis left off as one of the team's top receiving targets | Vernon Davis | Delanie Walker | Starter |
| SL | Blockers Mike Hoomanawanui and Matthew Mulligan would dominate the snaps if Kendricks went down. Neither are particularly good pass catchers, but they'd see a few targets each. | Lance Kendricks | Mike Hoomanawanui | Monitor |
| TB | Stocker would be first in line for snaps and a majority of heavily-targeted Winslow's looks. | Kellen Winslow | Luke Stocker | Bench |
| TEN | Craig Stevens would lead the unit in snaps, but he's primarily a blocker. Daniel Graham will also be in the mix. Those two would be blocking pass-catching prospect Thompson from really emerging, but he's still the man the monitor. | Jared Cook | Taylor Thompson | Monitor |
| WAS | A healthy Cooley will force the Redskins into more two-tight end sets regardless, but he'd be a borderline TE1 if called upon to start. | Fred Davis | Chris Cooley | Starter |
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