Updated: 10/25/2011
For a detailed explanation of the Tamme Index, including their purpose, check out the Tight End Tamme Index.
I recently adjusted the Tamme Index format. Instead of ranking the handcuffs, they are now sorted by team. The final column now tells you what move to make in a normal 12-team league instead of simply offering a ranking. Remember, the advice for each team assumes that the player listed in the ‘Starter' column is out of action.
Click here to view the QB Tamme Index
Click here to view the RB Tamme Index
Click here to view the WR Tamme Index
Click here to view the TE Tamme Index
Key:
| 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 | Roberts is the No. 2 WR behind Fitzgerald, but Doucet is getting the targets. He'd be the better pickup if Fitzgerald went down. Considering the high volume of targets that Fitzgerald sees, Roberts still needs to be on benches. | Larry Fitzgerald | Early Doucet | Starter |
| Andre Roberts | Bench | |||
| ATL | If White or Jones go down, Douglas will move into the starting lineup. He warrants an add in all leagues. | Roddy White | Harry Douglas | Bench |
| Julio Jones | Harry Douglas | Bench | ||
| BLT | Considering Evans' injury issues and the Ravens offensive struggles, he hasn't really been on the Fantasy radar. He'd be a must-add if Boldin were to go down. Smith is already on the Fantasy radar with Evans missing so much time, and would be worth owning, as well. | Anquan Boldin | Lee Evans | Starter |
| Torrey Smith | Bench | |||
| BUF | If Johnson goes out, Nelson and CJ Spiller will play out wide and Roosevelt will fill in at the slot. If Nelson goes down, it's Johnson and Spiller out wide with Roosevelt in the slot. Ryan Fitzpatrick loves the slot man, making Roosevelt a must own. Make sure you grab RB Spiller, as well. | Stevie Johnson | Naaman Roosevelt | Starter |
| David Nelson | Naaman Roosevelt | Starter | ||
| CAR | Naanee is listed as the No. 2 WR and playing more snaps, but LaFell has been the better producer. Both should be added, but LaFell should be your first target. | Steve L. Smith | Brandon LaFell | Bench |
| Legedu Naanee | Bench | |||
| CHI | Knox is the immediate handcuff to Williams and Hester and would be a must own. Bennett's handcuff in the slot is Sanzenbacher, who is worth an add in all but shallow leagues. | Devin Hester | Johnny Knox | Starter |
| Roy Williams | Johnny Knox | Starter | ||
| Earl Bennett | Dane Sanzenbacher | Bench | ||
| CIN | Regardless of if it's Simpson or Green that go down, Caldwell will step into the starting lineup and becomes a player worth adding. Cincy relies heavily on it's Top 2 wideouts. | A.J. Green | Andre Caldwell | Bench |
| Jerome Simpson | Andre Caldwell | Bench | ||
| CLV | Little is the starting X receiver, but moves all over the field. Although Brian Robiskie would replace him as a starter, he'd barely see any targets. Cribbs, also Massaquoi's clear handcuff, would only be worth monitoring in both situations. | Greg Little | Josh Cribbs | Monitor |
| Mohamed Massaquoi | Josh Cribbs | Monitor | ||
| DAL | Robinson is the clear No. 3 in Dallas right now and would start if either of the top two went down. He's worth an add and usually he'll be worth starting. | Miles Austin | Laurent Robinson | Starter |
| Dez Bryant | Laurent Robinson | Starter | ||
| DEN | Royal is already playing regular snaps, so the only adjustment here would be a few more targets. He's the add regardless of which starter goes down. | Demaryius Thomas | Eddie Royal | Bench |
| Eric Decker | Eddie Royal | Bench | ||
| DET | Burleson will work more from the slot with Young now in the picture, but he'd move outside if Johnson went down. Assuming Burleson is owned, Young will see a spike in looks and should be your first target. TE Tony Scheffler or Maurice Stovall would handle slot duties. | Calvin Johnson | Titus Young | Starter |
| Nate Burleson | Titus Young | Bench | ||
| GB | The Packers use four and five WR sets more than anyone, so there's plenty of snaps to go around. If Jennings goes down, Nelson and Jones will play out wide with Driver seeing more slot snaps. If Nelson or Jones are out, it's Jones/Nelson and Jennings wide with Driver in the slot. He's see the biggest uptick in work if Jennings were to go down. Monitor Randall Cobb. | Greg Jennings | Donald Driver | Bench |
| Jordy Nelson | Donald Driver | Bench | ||
| James Jones | Donald Driver | Monitor | ||
| HST | Although Walter is really the No. 2 WR on a regular week, Jones would see the biggest uptick in value as Johnson's replacement. | Andre Johnson | Jacoby Jones | Starter |
| Kevin Walter | Bench | |||
| IND | Wayne and Garcon have dominated the 2-WR sets this season, leaving Collie on the bench more than usual. If either starter goes down, Collie slides into a starting job and is worth Fantasy consideration. | Reggie Wayne | Austin Collie | Bench |
| Pierre Garcon | Austin Collie | Bench | ||
| JAX | Now that Sims-Walker is back, we have a bit of a committee attack between he, Thomas, and Hill. Hill is playing well enough to warrant starter consideration, but Sims-Walker is only worth a bench spot. | Mike Thomas | Jason Hill | Starter |
| Mike Sims-Walker | Bench | |||
| KC | If either starter goes down, Baldwin is the slam dunk for a full-time gig. The rookie is expected to be the team's future superstar at the position and should get plenty of looks. He must be owned and is starter material if Bowe is the one who is out. | Dwayne Bowe | Jon Baldwin | Starter |
| Steve Breaston | Jon Baldwin | Bench | ||
| MIA | Hartline works mostly out wide, making him the prime replacement for Marshall. Bess does the slot work for Miami, but about half his snaps come out wide. Either way, Hartline benefits the most. | Brandon Marshall | Brian Hartline | Bench |
| Davone Bess | Brian Hartline | Bench | ||
| MIN | Jenkins and Aromoshodu both play quite a bit, but Jenkins and Harvin are really the two appealing/semi-appealing Vikings wideouts right now. Aromoshodu would see increased reps if either “starter” went down. He should be added. | Percy Harvin | Devin Aromoshodu | Bench |
| Michael Jenkins | Devin Aromoshodu | Bench | ||
| NE | If Welker gets hurt, grab Edelman first, as he'll take over his job full-time. If it's Branch who falls, grab Ochocinco, who would see regular snaps out wide. | Wes Welker | Julian Edelman | Starter |
| Deion Branch | Chad Ochocinco | Starter | ||
| NO | Three of these four receivers are always worth owning, so simply make sure that all of the healthy ones are owned if one goes down. Moore and Colston play from the slot about half the time, while Henderson and Meachem mostly work from the outside. | Marques Colston | Devery Henderson | Bench |
| Lance Moore | Devery Henderson | Bench | ||
| Robert Meachem | Devery Henderson | Bench | ||
| NYG | The Giants like to pass to the WR, making this a situation to monitor. Cruz can play any of the WR positions and would be the No. 2 if a starter went down. That would move Thomas into 3-WR sets and Barden can chip in from the slot. | Hakeem Nicks | Devin Thomas | Monitor |
| Mario Manningham | Devin Thomas | Ignore | ||
| Victor Cruz | Ramses Barden | Monitor | ||
| NYJ | Kerley has played mostly out of the slot, but he'd be forced into regular snaps if a starter went down. He's worth adding in case he racks up a bunch of short yardage targets, but temper expectations. | Santonio Holmes | Jeremy Kerley | Bench |
| Plaxico Burress | Jeremy Kerley | Bench | ||
| OAK | Ford's injury allowed Heyward-Bey and rookie Moore to emerge as the every-down wideouts. If either goes down, however, Ford gets the edge over Louis Murphy and the rest of a crowded WR unit for regular playing time. | Darrius Heyward-Bey | Jacoby Ford | Starter |
| Denarius Moore | Jacoby Ford | Bench | ||
| PHI | If a starter goes down, Smith will step right into regular snaps. Avant would see an extra target or two, but the teams runs enough 3-WR sets that'd he'd just stick in the slot. | DeSean Jackson | Steve Smith | Starter |
| Jeremy Maclin | Steve Smith | Starter | ||
| PIT | Sanders and Brown are basically in a timeshare for the No. 3 job, but their roles are different. Sanders, like Ward, is a better blocker and works quite a bit from the slot. Brown, like Wallace, plays out wide and doesn't block much. | Mike Wallace | Emmanuel Sanders | Starter |
| Antonio Brown | Emmanuel Sanders | Starter | ||
| Hines Ward | Emmanuel Sanders | Bench | ||
| SD | Crayton still holds the edge over rookie Vincent Brown for the No. 3 job and would step into the starting lineup | Vincent Jackson | Patrick Crayton | Bench |
| Malcom Floyd | Patrick Crayton | Bench | ||
| SEA | Rice and Williams both play exclusively at the X/Y positions, making him the clear handcuff. Ben Obomanu would be next in line there. Baldwin and Tate are both playing mostly from the slot, which makes Tate next in line behind him. | Sidney Rice | Mike Williams | Bench |
| Doug Baldwin | Golden Tate | Ignore | ||
| SF | Edwards and Ginn play almost exclusively out wide, but Crabtree dabbles in the slot. If either starter goes down, he can step right into the starting lineup. Kyle Williams would chip in, as well. | Michael Crabtree | Ted Ginn | Monitor |
| Braylon Edwards | Ted Ginn | Monitor | ||
| SL | Gibson has already started a few games this season and would fill right in for Lloyd or Alexander. Salas and Pettis have already traded slot duties a few times this year. | Brandon Lloyd | Brandon Gibson | Monitor |
| Danario Alexander | Brandon Gibson | Ignore | ||
| Greg Salas | Austin Pettis | Bench | ||
| TB | Benn, Briscoe, and Parker have split the WR duties behind Williams this season, but each has a different role. Benn is a blocker, Briscoe is a pass catcher, and Parker works from the slot. If Williams goes down, Briscoe and Benn would be the “starters”, but Briscoe should be your first target. | Mike A. Williams | Dez Briscoe | Bench |
| Arrelious Benn | Bench | |||
| TEN | If Washington goes down, Williams and newcomer Avery would be the starters. One of them should be able to emerge as a Top 36 fantasy wideout. Williams provides the most upside and is higher on the depth chart. | Nate Washington | Damian Williams | Starter |
| Donnie Avery | Bench | |||
| WAS | Moss spends about 40% of his snaps in the slot, which is a role Gaffney could fill if he went down. Terrence Austin would help in the slot, as well. The biggest benefactor, however, would be Anthony Armstrong, who would start on the other side of either Gaffney or Moss. | Santana Moss | Anthony Armstrong | Bench |
| Jabar Gaffney | Anthony Armstrong | Bench |
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