It might sound silly, but there's a real advantage in fantasy football just by knowing your league's rules. You'd be surprised at how many people don't know if they play in a .5 PPR league or if their benches comes with an IR spot.
If you do have that extra bench slot dedicated just to players on injured reserve, it can make a lot of sense to take a player in the second round of drafts who is starting the season on IR but expected to return. If everything goes according to plan, your bench gets a shot in the arm when they're activated off IR and while everyone else is scrambling with their own injuries. If it doesn't work out, well, the bet didn't cost much.
This year, the obvious IR player to draft is Seattle Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet.
The fourth-year Seahawk scored 12 rushing touchdowns with 874 yards from scrimmage last season as the complement to Kenneth Walker before tearing his ACL in a January playoff game. This season, Walker has departed to the Chiefs and been replaced by a first-round rookie who should be great, but who also didn't start for his college team and might not be able to handle a huge workload (Jadarian Price).
Depending on the price, drafting Charbonnet could end up delivering big value down the line of your fantasy season.
Here's what to know about drafting Zach Charbonnet in fantasy football this season:
Should you draft Zach Charbonnet?
If you have an IR slot, taking Charbonnet is kind of a no brainer. He's basically free, as you don't have to draft him until the 11th or 12th round, and there's a good chance he's leading the Seattle backfield by November. When you're battling bye weeks and midseason injuries, that is going to feel like a gift.
Drafting Charbonnet and then moving him into your IR slot also frees up a roster spot. That way, you can take another dart throw on another position player, not draft a defense, and then pick up a unit off waivers that has a nice Week 1 matchup - Jacksonville (vs. Cleveland), Las Vegas (vs. Miami) or the Los Angeles Chargers (vs. Arizona).
If you don't have an IR slot or play with shorter benches, leave the Charbonnet bet to someone else. You'd rather have the flexibility of taking chances on high-variance healthy players who can show you the kind of season they're going to have early on.
Fantasy football running back rankings
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Should you draft Zach Charbonnet in fantasy? Injury update on Seahawks RB
