You know that moment when you check your fantasy team and somebody on your bench has apparently decided to become a superstar?
Suddenly, those points look personal.
Where were you when I needed this? And why didn’t you mention it before kickoff?
In Week 7, KC Concepcion gave me that pleasant surprise. Eight catches, 129 receiving yards, and another 23 yards rushing. In two different leagues, he did it from my bench.
But I wasn’t mad.
My starters had good weeks, too. I won in one league and survived in another. Concepcion’s performance wasn’t a lineup disaster. It was encouraging news about a player I already rostered.
I drafted him because I thought he could play. Apparently, he agreed.
Welcome to The Learning Curve. I don’t have all the answers…and that’s kind of the point.
I Drafted a Roster, Not Just a Starting Lineup
I selected Concepcion 109th overall in an 18-team guillotine league. In a separate redraft league, I acquired him off waivers because I needed depth.
Different circumstances, same basic idea. He had talent and an opportunity to develop into someone I could use. I didn’t need him to carry my lineup immediately.
That distinction matters.
When we build a roster, not every player has the same assignment. Some need to produce now. Others provide bye week coverage, injury protection, or the possibility of a bigger role later.
My bench players are auditioning. But not every audition comes with an opening that Sunday.
Concepcion’s Week 7 performance gave me a deeper reason to hold him. It didn’t mean I should retroactively fire the starters who helped me win.
They did their jobs. Nobody needed to clean out a locker.
A Big Score Gets My Attention. Then What?
Caleb Douglas also had a big Week 7 on my bench, catching two passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
Now, two touchdowns will certainly get a manager’s attention. They’ll get mine while I’m checking another league, answering a text, and pretending I’m listening to my wife.
But Concepcion and Douglas reached their big scores differently. Concepcion had ten targets. Douglas had three.
That doesn’t erase what Douglas accomplished. It means I need to look beyond the fantasy total before deciding what comes next.
Was the player on the field more? Running more routes? Earning more targets? Or did a couple of excellent plays account for most of the afternoon?
A big score tells me to investigate. It doesn’t fill out next week’s lineup for me.
Week 8 gave us another useful chapter. Concepcion finished with three catches for 37 yards. Douglas caught four passes for 43 yards, but no touchdown.
Douglas scored less, but his targets increased from three to six. That’s something I want to monitor, even if the fantasy scoreboard wasn’t throwing him another parade.
Neither player repeated his Week 7 fireworks. Neither observation requires an emotional emergency meeting.
What Would Earn Him a Start?
For me, it would take more consistent involvement, a favorable matchup, or an opening created by a bye or injury. Ideally, several of those things would line up.
Then I still have to compare him with my other options.
Two productive games don’t automatically establish a dependable starter, just as one quiet game doesn’t automatically erase a player’s value.
The question isn’t simply, “Did he score?”
It’s, “What changed that could help him score again?”
That gives me something useful to evaluate before kickoff, when I actually have to make the decision. Unfortunately, my league still refuses to accept lineup changes submitted with the phrase, “Knowing what I know now…”
Before I Decide I Need Somebody Else
This also makes me think about trading.
If I convince myself that “my guys aren’t getting it done,” I might move a developing player to solve a need that isn’t really there.
Meanwhile, my starters are producing, and my bench is showing signs of life.
Maybe I don’t need a rescue package. Maybe I need to pay closer attention to the roster I built.
That doesn’t mean holding everyone forever. Bench space has a cost. But I want a reason to move on beyond impatience for a player’s audition to earn a starring role.
The Learning Curve Challenge
Pick one bench player this week. Write down why you’re holding him and what would earn him a start.
Give yourself something more specific than “he goes off again.”
Your bench production isn’t automatically evidence that you chose the wrong starters. Sometimes, it’s evidence that you’re developing more choices.
And when the bye weeks and injuries arrive, having choices feels a whole lot better than posting, “Anybody got a running back?”
Trust your process. Have some fun. And remember, we’re all somewhere on the curve.
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