Tom Brady, LeVeon Bell, Josh Gordon. None of these players will play in the month of September. Tyler Eifert? He's iffy, too. Three of the four will definitely be useless roster drains the first four weeks of the season, due to suspensions.

But when October rolls around, they could help you win your league.

With Bell suspended the first four games, he's a possible top pick overall who'll fall into the second round of most drafts. Brady will be a mid-round pick at best, given the depth at quarterback. Gordon, on the memory of his dominant 2013 season, might be selected in the early rounds, but missing the first four games -- and factoring in the outside chance of an another off-field misstep over the next two months -- should keep his price tag down.

Eifert caught 13 TDs in less than 13 games last season, and that was when Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu were still on the roster. His return is murky following ankle surgery, and he'll also come at a discount in drafts.

Draft any of these players, or multiple ones, and you've got to have some bench room. It also carries the negative of limiting your ability to stockpile backup running backs and possible breakout wide receivers. If you tie up 2-3 spots on veterans you know won't be available at the start of the season, you can pretty much forget keeping handcuffs or favorite sleepers there.

But if you can get through those first few weeks at 2-2, say, you can win a league with players who didn't contribute during them. Todd Gurley last year was useless the first three games. Bell himself has missed at least the first two games in two of his first three seasons, and been a star in his other games. Gordon missed his first two games in his incredible 2013 season.

So I'm thinking Bell, Gordon and possibly Eifert will find their way onto a few of my rosters this year. OK, I won't have room on my bench for Devontae Booker, C.J. Prosise or Paul Perkins. But I'll have LeVeon Bell! Josh Gordon!

I can protect the Bell pick with DeAngelo Williams, who might be drafted too early, but might also lose a lot of appeal once I take Bell. Boom, I've got a 16-game Steelers starting running back. Eifert, well, there are other tight ends. Maybe I use my last-round pick on Tyler Kroft and chuck him into the lineup. He wasn't great in Eifert's missed three games (8 for 94, TD) but he's a second-year guy now who will be operating as the starter all preseason.

Gordon's gonna be catching passes from some lesser quarterback on a trainwreck team, but whatever, he did that in 2013, too. Brady is less likely -- I can get his numbers from another mid- to late-round quarterback who will be available in September -- but hey, the guy should be on a mission when he comes back to the roster in Week 5.

(This is setting aside the fact that many leagues have IR spots, where you can stash players who are suspended or officially out until they're activated. I'm in one of those, and you can be sure I'll pop these guys onto them immediately after drafting them.)

There's risk involved in such an approach.

But there's plenty of risk in ignoring these late-starters and letting somebody else take them, scratch their way to a 2-2 or even 3-1 start without them, and then clean up the rest of the way.