Ian Allan answers your fantasy football questions. In this edition: Ranking the handcuff running backs, 1 thru 32. Sleeper wide receivers to consider for the second half of the season. And is this a week to sit down Aaron Rodgers?

Question 1

Who are the top five handcuff running backs that I should target? I just lost Bell and there are no other starting RBs available. Bidding on DeAngelo Williams tonight, but might not be successful. What backup RB has the best chance of replacing an injured starter? I have West and Ivory in a PPR league where we are required to start two RBs.

GREG HOULETTE (Amarillo, TX)

Entering Week 9, it’s getting late in the game to hold a running back, fishing for an injury. We’re at the point in the year where it becomes more palatable to release a handcuff running back prospect to pick up a plug-in kicker or defense. You just hope that you don’t release DeAngelo Williams or Jeremy Langford right before the key injury that makes them a relevant player. It makes sense to hang onto the handcuffs behind your own guys, but this doesn’t really apply to you. The backup situations behind Charcandrick West and Chris Ivory are fluid. Knile Davis has been a productive tailback in the past, but Kansas City seems to have soured on him – Spencer Ware has played more than Davis in the last two games. And with the Jets, you’ve got Bilal Powell, who’s really more of a third-down back, Zac Stacy and Stevan Ridley. If Ivory gets hurt, they might go with more of a committee situation. I’ve put together a chart ranking the backup tailbacks 1 thru 32. In each case, I’ve set aside the team’s starter. (For five teams, I’ve listed two starters – committee-type teams). Then I’ve ranked the remaining 32 guys based on a balance of how likely they are to play and how productive they might be. If a guy is going to play but isn’t going to do much (like Pierre Thomas, #32), I’ve got him down near the bottom.

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Question 2

Please give me three RBs and WRs sleeper types, that you like for a best ball and TD-only league going to end of the year. Thanks for all you do.

CRAIG LEEDY (Sacramento, CA)

I will assume that you mean guys who aren’t on rosters of other teams in your league – guys you can pick up off the waiver wire. I ordered the handcuff running backs 1 thru 32 in the other letter. So I will focus here on pass catchers. Sammy Watkins, for starters. He actually made it onto the waiver wire in half of the six leagues I’m participating in, which seems crazy to me. He’s definitely their No. 1 wide receiver, and he could be a top-15 wide receiver going forward. Danny Amendola of New England. I like what I’ve seen in recent weeks. He made a couple of great, great catches in the Jets game. They’ve got Gronk, Edelman and LaFell, but I could see Amendola putting up good enough numbers that he should be on a roster in fantasy leagues. Kamar Aiken of Baltimore. Steve Smith is out for the year, and Aiken has played a little better earlier in the year when Smith has been sidelined. Dorial Green-Beckham. He’s big and talented, and I believe the new coaching staff in Tennessee would like to get him on the field a lot more. He might be a red zone guy. Stevie Johnson, Malcom Floyd and Ladarius Green of San Diego. With Keenan Allen out for the year, they’ll need to use those guys a lot more. Especially Johnson. Victor Cruz. He says he’ll be back after the team’s Week 11 bye. Nelson Agholor. He’s been a disappointment so far, but maybe the light comes on for the first-round pick; he had the one really neat catch in the preseason. DeSean Jackson. He’s a great deep threat, and he might be sitting unclaimed in a lot of leagues right now. And the other Jackson, Vincent, might be in the same boat. Davante Adams. He’s been hurt and unproductive thus far, but he could trend upwards in a hurry.

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Question 3

Last week you told me to go with my gut and start Newton over Rodgers and it worked out well for me as I won by a single point. I figure Newton over Rodgers again as the game is in Carolina. My other problem, related to Rodgers, is I have been starting Cobb, Sanders and Martellus Bennett along with either Snead or Crabtree depending on the matchup, and I also stashed LaFell. When Rodgers doesn't do well, neither does Cobb and I get a double whammy. Do I sit Cobb for one of my other receivers? Bennett hasn't done much lately but maybe he gets more looks with Forte and Royal out. I can start four receivers so I can bench Bennett for one of my other receivers. Any input is much appreciated.

david hogshire (Plymouth, MN)

Newton over Rodgers is an easy call, I think. Rodgers is the better player, and he’ll probably start most of your remaining games. He’s good enough that maybe he even comes out and puts up top-4 quarterback numbers this week. You never bench the special player, somebody once said. But the Packers haven’t been playing well. Other than the laughers against Kansas City and Chicago, they’ve scored only 10 touchdowns in five games – about 2 per game. They’re on the road, and they’re playing against a good defense. So you start Newton there, definitely. But I will advise against benching Cobb. He’s also been struggling, under 45 yards in four straight games, with no touchdowns. But he’s still definitely their No. 1 guy, and he could get back on track in a hurry. As poorly as Green Bay played on Sunday night, I expect a bounce-back effort this week. The coaches will have been reading those guys the riot act all week, and I’m guessing the Packers will come out plenty motivated to re-establish themselves as a Super Bowl contender. Wouldn’t surprise me at all if they won it. The Panthers are 7-0, and they might be getting a little full of themselves – it’s hard to keep the fire burning week after week. If the Packers come in and put together a better effort, you’ll definitely want Cobb in there. The idea of double-dipping with Rodgers and Cobb is too rich for my blood, but let’s at least leave the pass catcher out there.

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Question 4

Started the season 6-0 despite wasting two of my first three picks on Lacy and Luck. Luckily, I got Julio and Freeman and am fairly deep at both positions so I've managed to get by. That said, I've dropped two in a row and feel changes may be in order. I've been using Ivory and Latavius Murray pretty much every week along with Freeman who has clearly been my MVP. I'm wondering if I should consider replacing one or both this week and going forward with Hillman and/or Lacy. Hillman has been coming on and I stubbornly haven't given up on my first round pick, Lacy. In a 1/2 point per reception league, what are your thoughts on these guys?

Jeffrey Damiani (Cambridge, MA)

Freeman starts every week. The other four guys are all in play. Ivory has been very good, but Jacksonville has had some success keying on running backs – allowing a league-low 3.5 yards per carry. Ivory isn’t much of a pass catcher. Murray is a big, fast dude, but Oakland also has a tough matchup – at Heinz Field. Makes sense to rank him lower than usual, given that Pittsburgh’s defense has been a lot better than expected. The Colts don’t play good run defense, so you can think about Hillman. The game’s on turf, and he’s really quick. But he got banged up in their last game, and he’s a time-share guy. As poorly as Lacy has played, I think he’s also in the mix. I saw a couple of decent runs in the Denver game, and Carolina’s defense isn’t as good against the run as you might think (20th).

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Question 5

I'm looking for some down-the-road advice. I'm in a 12-team league and the top 2 teams after our regular season get double byes right to the Final Four. My team is 7-0 and I may just earn one of those spots. So I only need to win in week 16 to earn a Super Bowl birth in week 17. I want to know what players look the best for having big points in week 16 (weighted 80%) and week 17 (weighted 20%). With that information I may want to trade one of my top players now before our trade deadline of week 10. I have Brady and Newton but will they even play in those weeks? QB: Brady, Newton. RB: Freeman, Gurley, Murray, Hyde. WR: Landry, Cooks, Adams, Garcon. TE: Olsen, Bennett.

TYLER HAINES (Loveland, CO)

The Patriots have tended to play their front-line in those meaningless Week 17 games a little more than other teams. But that wasn’t the case last year. They held out Gronkowski and Edelman, and Brady didn’t play in the second half. If they’ve got every sewn up entering that final week, I don’t think you’ll see any of their key guys playing more than a half. The also have a tough game in Week 16 – at the Jets. For the sake of your fantasy team, the best option could be to have the Patriots lose their game at Denver. Or have the Bengals keep winning. You want things up in the air in Week 17. At running back, I wonder if you should simply release Carlos Hyde. He’s a great back, but he’s got a broken foot and is on a terrible team. You’re not going to use him. That roster spot might be better used on Tevin Coleman. If Devonta Freeman were to get hurt, you would definitely be wishing you had Coleman rather than Hyde. At the other positions, looks like Landry, Cooks and Olsen will be your starters.

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Question 6

who has more fantasy potential, if any? Mike Davis or Reggie Bush.

Jon Piccolo (Blue Bell, PA)

I don’t think we’ll see Bush on a football field again. With the torn ACL, I don’t any team will be interested in bringing him to camp next summer to see what he can do. He’s a 30-year-old third-down back, and he had lost a lot of speed and quickness even prior to the injury. I would guess that about half of NFL teams wouldn’t have been interested in Bush at the veteran’s minimum this year. I thought Davis, their fourth-round pick, looked pretty solid in the preseason. He runs hard. When healthy, he’s definitely their No. 2 tailback behind Carlos Hyde. But Davis doesn’t look special. He doesn’t jump out as a guy who definitely will start some games before his career is through. I don’t know that he’ll ever begin a season as a team’s starting tailback. He’s got a broken hand now, so I expect the 49ers will go with a committee of lesser options this week. They signed Kendall Gaskins off the practice squad this week. After the Bush and Davis injuries, they signed veteran free agents Shaun Draughns and Pierre Thomas this week. Thomas is by far the best pass catcher of that group, and I expect Blaine Gabbert will throw a lot more of the short balls to running backs than we saw out of Colin Kaepernick.

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