Dallas Clark, TE, IND – Active

Billy Cundiff, K, BAL – Active

Josh Freeman, QB, TB – Active

Kyle Orton, QB, KC – Inactive

Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI – Active

Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN – Inactive

Christian Ponder, QB, MIN – Active

Kevin Walker, WR, HOU – Active

Kevin Smith, RB, DET – Inactive

Nate Washington, WR, TEN – Active

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Pickups

DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL – In most leagues he was picked up last week, but you need to check and make sure that he was picked up after a 253 yard outing against the Rams yesterday.  Murray set the Cowboys single game record for rushing yards and if he can remain a productive back for another week or two, he will be a serious threat to Felix Jones’ workload the rest of the season.

Michael Jenkins, WR, MIN – Christian Ponder impressed me against the Packers yesterday. With a back like Adrian Peterson for defenses to worry about, they are not able to devote much time to puzzling the rookie QB. Jenkins only caught three passes on eight targets but had 111 yards and a TD. It is not clear whether or not Jenkins is going to be able to continue this production, but Ponder gives him enough upside that I think you should go pick him up and leave him on your bench till we see if Jenkins and Ponder can put together a repeat performance.

Roy Helu, RB, WAS – With Hightower out for the rest of the season, Helu is due to see a big increase in work. I believe things will start with Torain as the main guy and Helu as the 3rd down/change of pace, but Torain is injury prone and Helu could be a feature back before long.

Fred Davis, TE, WAS – Cooley has been out a lot with injury and at his age, I think Davis is the better player.  The value of either guy is pretty dependent on the QB play in Washington, but Beck had a pretty solid second half and Davis was able to rack up 80 yards and a score on 6 catches. Almost all of which was in the 2nd half.  Santana Moss is also going to miss a month or two and Davis should see some significant production in his absence.

Michael Bush, RB, OAK – Darren McFadden has a sprained foot, which is good for his owners because it is NOT a high-ankle sprain.  The Bye week comes up next week for the Raiders and they will have time to get Carson Palmer acclimated to the offense and DMC healthy again.  But it is far from a lock that DMC is back in week 9 and Bush ran very well this week in his absence with simply TERRIBLE quarterback play. Look ahead to week 9 and if you need an RB, pick up Bush.

Antonio Brown, WR, PIT – Brown is battling it out with Emmanuel Sanders for fantasy relevance right now. Brown currently has the edge in my eyes though because he was targeted more against the Cardinals on Sunday, but I am not sold that either guy is someone worth a start.  This was a good match up for the Steelers against a soft secondary and lack luster pass rush, so Ben was able to take the time and find the open receiver deep.  The main issue I have with starting either guy is that Ben typically doesn’t have time to hit a receiver deep down the field with his offensive line playing as poorly as they have this season.  Stash Brown on your bench for now, but you shouldn’t leave him on the waiver wire either!

Dump List

Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU – The passing game production has been down since the emergence of Arian Foster last year.  This was a blow to Schaub’s value and it looks as though without Andre Johnson in the lineup, no one will be a consistent producer at receiver.  It looks as though AJ will be back for week 8 and even if he misses time, I would try to look somewhere other than Jones.

Santana Moss, WR, WAS – I don’t see it worth the roster spot to hold Moss for 5-7 weeks unless you team looks stacked and your worst bye weeks are behind you.

Tashard Choice, RB, DAL – It’s clearly Murray who will see the lion’s share of the work load while Felix Jones is out.  Jerry Jones was shopping Choice for a possible deal before trade deadline passed.  Clearly he isn’t a big part of their plans unless Murray and Jones are both out in any given week or maybe if they really want to fumble.

Greg Little, WR, CLE – I know there isn’t a clear #1 receiver on this team talent-wise and Little IS the guy that I would want to own… but if you can’t get more than 6 points against the Seahawks, I am not at all confident in your ability to turn things around too much.  Watson is still the most valuable receiver that Colt McCoy has at his disposal.

Dallas Clark, TE, IND – Talent isn’t enough on this apparently awful Colts team.  Clark will have a decent game or two this season but I am treating him as another of the many potential weekly pick-ups that you should be choosing from based off match up.

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Pickups

Earnest Graham, RB, TB – Graham did a great job filling in for Blount this week and solidified his spot in this article today by gaining 131 yards Sunday. I expect Blount back, but even as a backup Graham has value in PPR formats. Graham is 4th in the NFL in receptions among RB’s, which puts him above Chris Johnson, Fred Jackson and Ray Rice. Take note PPR players.

Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU – Houston is not the same team without Andre Johnson but as I thought, Jacoby Jones is the guy you want to take a chance on in Johnson’s absence. This week Jones was able to haul in 4 catches on 7 targets for 73 yards and a score. This is more than acceptable for a flex play.

Dallas Clark, TE, IND – Clark was targeted 7 times in this game and managed 53 yards and a score. Losing a fumble kept him out of double digit points, but I think he still needs to be owned. Without Manning he is no better than a top 10 guy, but last I checked that makes him a weekly starter and a lot of people dropped him too soon.

Danario Alexander, WR, STL – I’ve made my choice for which Rams receiver I would want to start should I need to. It’s nothing more than apparent trust with Bradford either. While three different receivers were targeted exactly 10 times, Alexander hauled in 6 of them for a team-high 91 yards receiving.

Arrelious Benn, WR, TB – The Buccs made a statement when they beat the Saints in Tampa on Sunday afternoon. After being dismantled by the 49ers last week, many people (myself included) were questioning whether they would have what it takes to be a playoff contender late into the season. The answer is in: maybe. Tampa is a young and dangerous team, they beat an NFC powerhouse with a total team effort. Back up RB Earnest Graham proved he has fantasy value, especially in PPR leagues by doing a great job filling in for LeGarrette Blount. The defense intercepted Brees 3 times and Tampa put themselves on top of the NFC South. Benn has made some explosive plays and is worth a roster spot to me in some deep formats.

Dump List

Denarius Moore, WR, OAK – I do a lot of warning about Raiders receivers lately. I am OK with picking one up after a big game if you have an open roster spot, but don’t not pick up someone on my pickups list to save room for any Raider receiver not named Jacoby Ford.

Pierre Thomas, RB, NO – Sproles has been the surprise stud of the Saints’ running backs and with Ingram handling most of the traditional carries, Thomas just doesn’t have enough work left over to be much of a factor. Unless someone gets hurt, you can’t risk starting Thomas.

Chad Ochocinco, WR, NE – He’s still owned in almost half of leagues. Really? When will you guys finally give up!? It’s definitely time to drop this once great receiver.

Thomas Jones, RB, KC – Still owned in a quarter of all leagues. Jackie Battle is the guy and Jones is done. McCluster has the 3rd down back duties and I wouldn’t even start Jones if Battle went down for the season next week.

Johnny Knox, WR, CHI – Cutler actually had time to throw this week and Knox STILL couldn’t get it done. I’m more than OK with dropping Knox at this point… I recommend it.

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Pickups

Jackie Battle, RB, KC – I talked about Battle a bit on a podcast I appear on and mentioned him to some people in REALLY deep formats last week as someone that was likely to win the starting job soon. Soon was REALLY soon. In week 5, Battle had 119 yards and averaged 6.3 per carry. He had a really soft matchup this week against a Colts defense that hasn’t been able to stop the run for quite some time.  This is shown by Old Man Thomas Jones managing 55 yards on 10 carries. Battle saw more work, has younger legs and was more productive. He can’t be as good as Jamaal Charles but with bye weeks still to come, Battle makes a nice fill-in depending on his opponent.

Doug Baldwin, WR, SEA – It looked like Sidney Rice was going to be a big factor for the Seahawks passing game and I don’t see that changing at all. Statistical production is not the only way to be a factor.  Rice is clearly the best option for fantasy owners and he is also the guy that defenses are going to focus on the most.  This will open things up for Baldwin AND Obomanu who each managed double digit fantasy points this week as they each had a receiving TD.  Baldwin also had over 100 yards and caught 8 of the 9 passes that went his way. This really builds trust with your QB and should ensure a decent number of targets over the next few weeks.  You can pick up Obomanu too in deeper formats, but Baldwin had fewer targets, more catches and more yards.

Alex Smith, QB, SF – I feel bad for Smith. I think he is a decent, game managing QB. He has had more offensive coordinators that seasons he has started in San Fran and this makes it impossible for him to find a rhythm. Frank Gore is finally rolling and this opens the passing game for Smith and he has some quality receivers. He didn’t have a big yard total in week 5, but Smith threw for three TDs and if he has a nice match up while your QB is on Bye, Smith makes a viable fill-in option.

Jonathan Dwyer, RB, PIT – Issac Redman saw more carries than Dwyer (11 for Dwyer and 15 for Redman) and yet Dwyer was able to be twice as productive in yardage totals.  Neither guy saw the end zone, but Ben was hogging all the TDs. Redman also left this game early and I would much rather own Dwyer than Redman after this performance.

Pierre Garcon, WR, IND – I don’t think he’s that talented. I still think he struggles with drops. He has a LOT of chemistry with Curtis Painter. He can’t be left on free agency or waivers in any league. Those are the facts, as I see them.  I don’t believe in either him or his QB individually, but there is apparently an undeniable connection and understanding that these two guys have with each other. If it goes this way one more week, Garcon will sit higher in my rankings than Reggie Wayne.

Dump List

Chad Ochocinco, WR, NE – We are STILL waiting for 85 to be a factor in the Patriots offense and Brady is STILL having a career year. If it hasn’t clicked ONCE in 5 weeks, I don’t see it happening all year.  He still has upside but it is dropping by the week and he will need to get it done a few weeks in a row to earn enough trust to be worth a start.

Scott Chandler, TE, BUF – He is really just a red zone target in this Bills offense and even with wide receiver injuries piling up in Buffalo, I don’t see his yardage total increasing.

Denarius Moore, WR, OAK – The woes of trying to use a Raider receiver are still evident as they seem to be very inconsistent and take turns having a big game.  Jacoby Ford is the guy you want to own and I don’t have any issue with dropping any of the other guys. This week Heyward-Bey and Chaz Schillens were the big-producers and who knows who it will be next week.

Dallas Clark, TE, IND – Despite his talent, the offense is not able to use him effectively. On talent alone he is a top 5 guy but with no production at all this season, you can’t wait any longer to make a roster move that might actually get you some points.

Devery Henderson, WR, NO – As with all Saints receivers, there will still be big games for Henderson. You just can’t accurately guess when they will be.  He is own-able but if you have someone with a lot of upside on free agency, make the switch.

Kyle Orton, QB, DEN – Time to jump ship. Tebow might be the guy now and Orton hasn’t been very productive in the run-first John Fox offense.

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