It is official; handcuffs are no longer just for running backs and the bedroom. They have also become a legitimate strategy for tight ends. As Vernon Davis proved last season, it can be valuable in certain situations to handcuff a tight end with his backup. That being said, like all potential handcuffs in fantasy football, the question of whether or not to handcuff your tight end involves a lot of competing factors, and the answer can vary wildly depending upon your circumstances.

In the end, the only tight ends really worth considering as handcuffs for 2017 are Vernon Davis, Dwayne Allen and, if you are really feeling frisky, Erik Swoope. We will deal with Davis and Allen first, since they are the most likely tight end handcuff candidates.

On the face of it, it makes total sense to draft Davis and Allen as handcuffs. They back up the top two tight ends on most fantasy draft boards, and both Rob Gronkowski and Jordan Reed have repeatedly dealt with injuries in their careers. In order for a handcuff to be worthwhile, we have to feel confident the handcuff will get the same opportunity as the starter and will be reasonably productive with that opportunity.

In Davis’ case, we can feel reasonably good about handcuffing him to Reed because he played well when Reed was out last season. In the four games Reed missed last season, Davis averaged 3.5 receptions, 47.3 receiving yards and 0.25 touchdowns. Those aren’t earth-shattering numbers, but it is fine production from someone you can get in the last round of a 16-team draft.

Those are the drafts where I would consider taking Davis. You probably won’t get better production on the waiver wire when Reed goes down, and waiting so long to take a second tight end in a league where most players are probably taking two tight ends anyway can give you an advantage elsewhere.

Just keep in mind, this strategy isn’t a slam-dunk. In weeks 14 and 15 Jordan Reed was a game-time decision. He was ultimately able to play, but caught just one pass in both of those games. He was a disaster for fantasy, but cut into Davis’s workload enough to make Davis unplayable as well. In those weeks you probably either had to pick up a third tight end, which isn’t ideal even in deep leagues, or you had to cut Vernon Davis to pick up a different tight end.

This was the biggest problem if you owned Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett last season as well. Gronkowski was questionable for multiple weeks before he was finally shut down, and he had three games where he ultimately played but had two targets or fewer. Are you really going to bench Gronk for Dwayne Allen when Gronk is active? And is Allen going to be useable when Gronk is taking some of his snaps and targets?

Martellus Bennett had fewer receptions and yards when Gronkowski was out of the lineup, and only one more touchdown. He averaged 3.1 receptions, 38.9 receiving yards and 0.5 touchdowns with Gronk out. And there is no reason to believe Dwayne Allen is actually a better fantasy tight end than Martellus Bennett. If Bennett wasn’t a clear handcuff, there is no way Allen can be. I would rather draft a different tight end with higher upside to back up Gronk, and when Gronkowski does go down, you may be able to pick up someone off waivers who is better than Allen, even in a deep league.

While all of the potential tight end handcuffs are better-suited to deep leagues, Erik Swoope shouldn’t even be considered outside of a 16-team league. That being said, I have seen him go as the last tight end off the board in a 16-team league, and while it hasn’t been Jack Doyle’s owners who are taking him, I wouldn’t hate it if they did. The idea behind taking a flier on Swoope late in a draft is that he has the size and talent to possibly produce if given the opportunity. The best way for him to get that opportunity would be a Jack Doyle injury, and if that injury does happen, I am reasonably confident Swoope will be the top TE pick up in most leagues, especially deep ones.

The problem with this pairing isn’t so much the handcuff as the starter. What if Jack Doyle and Erik Swoope both stay healthy and split snaps and targets, preventing either from being a consistent TE1 even in deep leagues? I think I’d rather pair Doyle with someone like Austin Hooper or Cameron Brate just to give myself some more upside and the chance to mix and match based on matchups. That being said, if I take Jack Doyle and get to the end of the draft needing another tight end, I wouldn’t pass on Swoope to take someone further down my draft board.