Welcome to The Learning Curve. I don’t have all the answers…and that’s kind of the point.
KaVontae Turpin wasn’t a name I expected to circle while preparing for my drafts. Then I checked the scoring.
Suddenly, I was interested.
This year, I wanted to build around receivers. I knew the biggest names would disappear quickly, so I studied player profiles and looked for other ways to find production.
In a couple of my leagues, return yards mattered. Players like Turpin and Malik Washington could earn points beyond catches and touchdowns. At one point per 15 return yards, a 150-yard return day would mean 10 points before either caught a pass.
Apparently, I had been overlooking an entire department.
Earlier in this series, I wrote about understanding player types instead of getting attached to names. This was where that lesson became useful. Someone could grab my favorite receiver, but other players could still fill the job I needed done.
The scoring helped me see Turpin differently. Roster space gave me another reason to reconsider players I usually passed over.
My Bench Needed Some Elbow Room
I picked up Braelon Allen a couple of weeks before I needed him. With seven bench spots, I had room to wait.
Then I lost De’Von Achane for the season. There went an early draft pick. Breece Hall eventually went down too, of course.
Great. The double whammy package. I don’t remember ordering that.
Now Allen is someone I’m planning to start. His opportunity doesn’t guarantee points, but having him gives me an option when I badly need one.
On a five-player bench, keeping him would have required a tougher choice. A player waiting for an opportunity takes the same space as someone who could cover next week’s bye.
Talking through this article with my son Alex helped sharpen that distinction. Bench size tells us how many players we can keep. Depth depends on what those players can actually do for us.
Some are ready to fill in now. Others can cover upcoming byes. Some need a bigger role before we would consider starting them.
They’re all auditioning. They just don’t have the same opening night.
That also means the first few weeks won’t answer every question. Bucky Irving reminded me about that Thursday night. After a quiet start, his 31.50 points gave my lineup a welcome lift.
Of course, I had already traded him away in another league. Apparently, my patience varies by league, too. Just proof that I’m human and still somewhere on the curve.
The Guy I Didn’t Expect Much From
In 2024, injuries sent me to the waiver wire for Khalil Shakir.
My confidence was somewhere between “maybe” and “please don’t make this worse.”
Josh Allen was Superman. I worried he would handle the scoring himself while my receiver watched.
Shakir’s performances in Weeks 8 and 14 had me eating those words. He exceeded my expectations and helped me secure a playoff spot ahead of my league mates.
That experience matters when I look at deeper starting lineups. A player doesn’t have to replace my best receiver to be useful. Sometimes I need someone who can make that last starting spot productive.
The more players a league asks me to start, the more important those overlooked options become.
This Week’s Learning Curve Challenge
Choose one player you usually overlook. What does your scoring reward? Where could he fit? Would you need him now, during a bye, or only if his role grew?
Then look at your bench. How many of those jobs does it cover?
I can’t know every surprise the season has waiting, but I can respond better by understanding the scoring, the available space, and the role each player could fill. Ask yourself these things before reaching out for help. That’s where the learning happens.
Who deserves a second look in your league?
Trust your process. Have some fun. And remember, we’re all somewhere on the curve.
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