Pickups

Ryan Torain, RB, WAS – Portis was beaten up all game and Torain was left to pick up the slack.  Averaging 3.89 yards per carry on 13 carries he was able to find the end zone and come up big for any fantasy owners who were digging deep enough to use him.  Shanahan is well known for utilizing his unknown running backs to the best of their ability.  As an interesting side note, Portis was the most successful of Mike Shanahan’s discoveries and one of the only to have a long career.

Mark Sanchez, QB, NYJ – You still won’t be able to start Sanchez in anything but a deep format, but if you are being riddled by injuries and/or bye weeks then Sanchez is proving to be a very realistic option.  The offense is soon to get Santonio Holmes back and Sanchez should actually see an increase in production once they are able to stretch the field.  Oh, he hasn’t thrown an INT yet on the season either. The Jets will be able to make it to the Super Bowl if Sanchez can keep up this safe yet efficient play style.

John Kuhn, RB, GB – The RB position is a mess in Green Bay but with bye weeks upon us such a productive goal line back on one of the leagues best offenses deserves a spot on someone’s team in every league.  Here is hoping you have some of your FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) left after grabbing Jackson earlier.

Jason Avant, WR, PHI – Avant was a decent flex play late last season but in the Mike Vick offense he disappeared.  Once Kolb entered the game Avant was the only receiver he was able to work into the mix and could help you out as a bye week plug-in over the next couple weeks.

Tony Moeaki, TE, KC – He was just on his bye week and if you have an underachiever with his bye coming up, this guy is the real deal.  He fits in well with the Chiefs offense since Cassel doesn’t have the arm strength to throw the deep ball consistently.

Michael Bush, RB, OAK - I don’t know exactly how the situation between Bush and McFadden will flesh out, but for now at least it looks like both of them will be able to be fantasy relevant.  Bush should only be used as a flex play until this proves to be a regular occurrence.

Javon Ringer, RB, TEN - He has ability to be a big play threat and while he is not start-able while CJ is playing he is looking to be one of the best hand-cuff options out there.

Dump List

James Jones, WR, GB - He couldn’t get the job done against the Lions, so even if he does have a few good games this season it is unlikely you would be starting him anyways.

Tim Hightower, RB, ARI - The Cardinals offense is inept and Hightower will be losing more and more touches over the course of the season to Beanie Wells.  If I owned him I would just bail out now before it gets any worse.  There must be someone out there with upside.  You can ignore all of this if your in a PPR league.

Laurence Maroney, RB, DEN - Moreno can’t come back fast enough.  The Broncos are a pass-first offense in what is proving to be a very competitive division.  I expect them to stick with what is working for as long as Orton is red hot.  Maroney has done nothing with his two starts so get rid of him now instead of two weeks from now.

Darren Sproles, RB, SD – This was the second week that Mathews was inactive or limited by injury and Sproles has yet to be a factor in the offense.  No reason to hang on to him with Tolbert the obvious number two.

Lee Evans, WR, BUF – While Fitzpatrick has provided a spark for the Bills offense the past two weeks Evans has been unable to have any substantial production.  I know he was up against the Jets, but there was lots of junk time in that game and Evans couldn’t even get open against a prevent defense.

Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, CLE - Delhomme will give him some value, but it will be VERY hit or miss and I couldn’t trust him even if I was in bye week hell.

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Pickups

Ryan Torain, RB, WAS – As long as Mike Shanahan is coaching in this league there will be some great waiver wire pick-ups at running back.  Torain tied Portis at 7 carries and while neither looked particularly good, each of them was able to rip off a big gain.  The Redskins as a whole looked pretty inept most of the game as they suffered a loss on the road against the Rams.  Bad weeks happen and while you still can’t start any of the Redskins running backs Torain and Portis should be on a roster as one of them will end up getting the majority of the work.

Roy Williams, WR, DAL - We cannot expect this kind of performance from Williams OR Austin down the stretch, but Williams may just not be useless after all.  While he did take the workload of Miles Austin this week, he will mostly cut into Dez Bryant’s production if he can remain a factor in this offense.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, NE – Belichick remains true to form and after recently losing 2 of their top running backs the Patriots still deployed a committee of four running backs and being against the Bills they were all effective. BJGE (get used to it) by far led the team with 16 carries and fell just short of 100 yards (including a TD).  Given the soft match up and the likelihood that the Patriots feature someone else next week I wouldn’t start any of them, but Taylor and Green-Ellis deserve a spot on someones roster.

Laurence Maroney, RB, DEN – Once we found out that Moreno was going to miss the game due to his hamstring injury Correll Buckhalter became a very popular late-week pickup that was expected to do well against a Colts defense that had not been good at stuffing the run.  While he did not do well, averaging 2 yards per carry on 12 carries it is clear that his ex-offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is more comfortable with Maroney as the lead back.

Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ - Hard to argue with his current production, but down the stretch Santonio Holmes will be the primary target for Sanchez and the Jets passing game.  Keller will remain a red zone target for Sanchez and could end up a top 10 TE on the season.

Aaron Hernandez, TE, NE - PPR owners that might need a TE do not need to look any further than this guy.  What really impressed me in this game was the end-around Hernandez took for a 13 yard game on the opening drive.  He looked like Wes Welker for a second there.  If you aren’t in a PPR league Keller is a better pick-up until Hernandez can prove he is able to find the end zone.

Dump List

Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, CLE – The Browns offense was more effective against this tough Ravens D than the Jets was this week and Massaquoi was not able to catch a pass.  Cribbs is the receiver that I want in Cleveland and he is almost definitely available unless your league counts return yards.

Carson Palmer, QB, CIN – The Panthers struggled all game and the Bengals leaned heavily on Cedric Benson who was very effective in week 3. Even with the success of Benson Palmer was unable to make either “superstar” wide receiver fantasy-relevant.  This once-great QB’s career is over and while they do not have any better options for this year, I expect the Bengals to target a QB early in next year’s draft.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – Lynch is the RB to own in Buffalo (other than Spiller of course!) and since the Bills offense won’t get any better than they were this week and either a trade or an injury will likely need to happen before you would consider using Jackson again this season.

Correll Buckhalter, RB, DEN – It is clear that 3rd down back is the only role Josh McDaniels intends to use Buckhalter in.  4 carries is not enough to be productive.

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Waiver Wire Pickups

Mike Thomas, WR, JAC – The Broncos have a decent pass defense, but they should not have been good enough to shut out Mike Sims-Walker.  There were a few quiet murmurs about Thomas just before the season, but they went largely unnoticed and probably shouldn’t have.  Go get Thomas as I think before long he will prove to be the most viable and consistent fantasy option among all Jaguar receivers.

Eddie Royal, WR, DEN – I saw a lot of Jabar Gaffney questions on game day this week and while he did find the end zone, touchdowns are random.  I will take the guy with the most targets and receptions any day.  I do not think Brandon Lloyd has what it takes to be a reliable target so go get Royal now while people are focused on the other two.

Michael Vick, QB, PHI – Seems like a no-brainer for Kevin Kolb owners to go out and get Vick to play the role of handcuff while Kolb recovers from a concussion.  Often times the first concussion can be recovered from pretty quickly but I would anticipate at least one week off for Kolb. With the Lions coming up this week Vick should be capable of filling in quite well after getting over 100 yards rushing this week to compliment his 175 passing yards and a TD through the air.

Brandon Jackson, RB, GB - Grant has said that he does not plan to miss any time, but can you afford to not have him around?  The Packers are going to face a bad Bills run defense (though they played pretty well considering how abysmal their offense was) next week and they should be able to let Grant get back to 100% and still get a win.  This seems like an easy decision and so does grabbing Jackson for the easy match up just in case the Packers do the right thing.

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Once Montario Hardesty got hurt, it became increasingly apparent to me that Jerome Harrison was going to be the lead back and get the vast majority of the workload.  Clearly, the Cleveland Browns are unable to commit to one single running back and this creates some value for Peyton Hillis.  Hillis had 11 fewer yards on as many carries as Jerome Harrison but found the end zone and very surprisingly was the top fantasy RB on the Browns.  I wouldn’t be in a rush to start either Harrison or Hillis quite yet till there is some idea who will be the top guy might be.

David Garrard, QB, JAC - Garrard was surprisingly efficient in the season opener and he was able to do so with a less than 100% Maurice Jones-Drew in the backfield.  This is not the type of performance you should expect from Garrard, however he is the same type of backup as Vince Young, Chad Henne and Jason Campbell… he will remain a consistent fantasy producer even when the team struggles.

Mike Williams, WR, SEA – I still do not think that the Seahawks can be a playoff team.  I also still think that the 49ers will be and will win this division despite a slow start.  The woes of the Seahawks will center around the play of Matt Hasselbeck so as long as he is able lead the team on the field as well as off of it, the receivers will be relevant to us.

Dump List

Jabar Gaffney, WR, DEN – Touchdowns are pretty difficult to predict and apart from getting one this week Gaffney did very little against a pretty soft Jaguars secondary.

Rashard Jennings, RB, JAC – Jennings was drafted by some people as a handcuff when people paniced about Jones-Drew.  MJD did not have a great game in week 1 but he did enough to demonstrate his injury will not be a lasting concern.

Laurence Maroney, RB, NE - Maroney’s contract is about to expire and the Patriots have never seemed to been a big fan of his.  I do not see them trying to pick up his contract at the end of the year nor using him as much as they have in the past.  Fred Taylor is the best Patriots RB to own so don’t bother holding Maroney if Taylor is available.

Devin Hester, WR, CHI – I have seen some questions this week about Hester and he should not be on anyone’s roster unless you are in a very deep format.

Anthony Gonazlez, WR, IND – I don’t think of Collie as own-able in a 10 team league yet, but he should certainly have earned the slot receiver job after a great performance this week.  This leaves Gonzalez to 4th on the depth chart and useless to fantasy owners even if the injury was very minor.

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It’s Week 1, I hope you all have live score tracking for your leagues!  Here are the injuries for this week’s games!

Michael Bush (OAK) – Inactive

Laurence Maroney (NE) – Inactive

Julian Edelman (NE) – Inactive

Josh Freeman (TB) – Active

Fred Jackson (BUF) – Active

Owen Daniels (HOU) – Active

Demaryius Thomas (DEN) - Inactive

Late Games

Beanie Wells (ARI) -

Night Games

Donovan McNabb (WAS) -

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This year certainly looks to continue an unfortunate trend.  Year in and year out, the running back position was by far the most important for your fantasy team’s trip to the playoffs.  Their importance to us has not changed; but the reliability of the average running back to productive has gone way down.  When you look at the top of your draft boards you will almost always see the same 5 or 6 names going first and they are all running backs.  The problem is that since offenses are becoming pass-first and the popularity of splitting carries between two or three backs is still increasing, the consistency of the 7th through 15th ranked RB’s is lowered.  Ten years ago during the 2000 season there were 16 different RBs that got at least 275 carries, but last year only had 7. You can get my updated RB rankings here.

The Big Three

It seems like it always comes down to 3 guys that become the consensus elite three each year.  This year welcomes back Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew but the number one guy is new to the group, Chris Johnson.  There was an interesting article in ESPN the magazine that was written by Christopher Harris in support of Peterson as number one, but I don’t buy it.  2000 yards is special, I want that on my team.  Peterson should improve on his ’09 campaign given the Vikings WR issues and Favre just looking to stay healthy if the team struggles.  I am a little concerned about MJD STILL not participating in any football related drills, but I view this as only a slight setback.  If he was expected to miss time, we would know.  Anticipate a slow start but he will still be the same old guy once he is 100%.

The Other First Rounders -

Rounding out the guys that are likely to be drafted in the first round at this position are Frank Gore, Ray Rice, Michael Turner, Steven Jackson and DeAngelo Williams.  I have been talking up Frank Gore to anyone that will listen for a little while now.  With the addition of the two lineman in the first round of this year’s draft, a stable QB and a very stout defense Gore is set to have a great year.  I think he has more things working in his favor that Ray Rice, unless you are in a PPR league… then Rice is probably at number 3.  Michael Turner seems to be being overlooked by most people, they still rank him around the same place I do, but I am positive you should draft this guy over anyone at QB or WR.  I think Turner will have a 1400 yard season.  Steven Jackson is the last guy I would take before Andre Johnson, he is a rare talent on a bad team.  Regardless of every obstacle put in front of him he continues to be productive statistically and if Bradford has any success it will benefit him greatly.  I have seen DeAngelo Williams fall to the second round, don’t let that happen if you can help it!  This guy is a special player and the only reason he isn’t ranked at the number 3 spot is Jonathan Stewart. The Panthers know how to get the most from each of these backs, Williams is more talented and will see the most carries.  There are questions at QB and the Panthers will be trying to use their running game as a crutch to get to the playoffs.

Second Running Backs (RB2)

I’ll refer you to the rankings to see all the guys listed in the rest of the sections here, but you are looking at ranks 10 to 24.  Shonn Greene does appear to have some company in the backfield with LT, but Tomlinson is old and in order to be as effective as he can be he will be limited in the number of touches he gets.  This will allow Greene to stay rested and still receive a lot of work, the Jets love to run if you didn’t know.  Jamaal Charles is in an identical situation with Thomas Jones on a team with a worse defense.  This makes him slightly less valuable than Greene because he will see fewer touches.  Charles is a more explosive back, but I think Jones has a little more left in the tank and will vulture ALL of the goal line duties.  I was much higher on Beanie Wells before the preseason performance of Matt Leinart.  Wells is not experienced or developed enough to produce consistently in a bad offense.  He was much more of a raw talent than polished runner coming out of college and will need a bit more time before he can carry the Cardinals through the rough spots.  Ronnie Brown and Joseph Addai are coming off productive years, with Brown having been injured at the end of the season.  I have confidence in both guys going into the year, despite Ronnie’s track record. There should be a better vertical passing game to keep the 8th man out of the box this year and that should help keep the two Dolphin RBs healthy.  Lastly, Arian Foster totaled over 100 yards on the ground in week 3 of the preseason.  He is going to be the lead guy on a pretty damn good offense, that’s good enough for me.

Flex Players and The Best Backups

As far as the guys between 25 and 35 in my rankings are concerned, I have some major concerns that Felix Jones can stay healthy for 16 games, but while he is healthy he will be the lead back for the Cowboys and Marion Barber will take over that supplementary role that he was so successful with during his breakout season on ’06.  Ahmad Bradshaw will be the starting RB for the Giants this year and is among my favorite picks this year at the position.  He has always been explosive and make the most of his opportunities. Jacobs will probably see most the goal line duties but Bradshaw should great things with 20 rushing attempts per game.  Fred Jackson has fallen below his teammate CJ Spiller in most people’s rankings, but I view this as a mistake.  Matthew Berry at ESPN put an awesome stat in his Love/Hate column about how Chan Gailey uses RB’s.  Basically there is a clear lead guy and a clear supplementary back.  Spiller does not have the skill set for a clear lead role, but Fred Jackson does.  If the Redskins O-line can keep Clinton Portis healthy he will be a big surprise for owners this year.  He may have been in the league for a little while now, but we haven’t devalued a running back like this before the age of 30 in a while.

The Best of The Rest

Players ranked 36 and below on my rankings are either ideal for bye week fill-ins and in case of an injury. LaDainian Tomlinson and Thomas Jones are guys that are experienced but new to their team.  It is still unclear exactly how they will be used, but we can expect both to get the most goal line carries on their team and get enough work to be productive as a fill-in.  Donald Brown is a single injury away from a starting job on one of the elite offenses in the league.  I don’t expect the Colts to sign Addai to another contract after this year unless they absolutely need to.  They will be putting this guy on the field plenty this year to know how best to handle a potential Addai contract.  Tim Hightower has also fallen a bit too far in most people’s rankings, he is a talented guy and will see use in what will probably be a struggling offense.

Sleepers

Frank Gore, DeAngelo Williams, Pierre Thomas, Ahmad Bradshaw, Fred Jackson, Donald Brown, Tim Hightower

Busts

LeSean McCoy, Knowshon Moreno, Felix Jones, Brandon Jacobs, Laurence Maroney

Recap

Draft around 5 guys at this position, expect injuries and you can’t be screwed by them.  The talent pool is shallow this year, if you are lucky enough to get one of the top 6 or 7 picks DO NOT do anything crazy. rounds 3-4 are where all the WRs fly off the shelves so you can often find a bargain in the fourth as a back or two usually falls too far at this time.

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The Patriots are, for the first time in a while, not the favorites to win the division.  With Moss aging, Welker’s return questionable at best for week one, and a scattered backfield there has been little improvement since last year. With that said, it is still Tom Brady and Bill Belichick running the show so there is no cause for concern.  Brady will not be breaking any of his own touchdown records this season, but the deep ball will remain a huge part of the offense and Moss will still be the guy catching them.  Until Welker is back there will be a drop off in the production of the offensive players, but there is no cause for concern.  As far as running backs are concerned, Maroney is the safest bet, but it will likely be done by committee.

Top Fantasy Players

Tom Brady – Brady has not declined at all, just his supporting cast.  He will find an open guy as always so draft Brady with confidence.

Randy Moss – Moss is getting older, and is not quite the same as he used to be. However, he is still among the best in the league and will have a very productive year. I rank Moss 3^rd among receivers at this time.

Wes Welker – Most of the news from the Patriots since the draft has been regarding Welker’s return to practice and drills.  While it is possible that he is ready to go by week one, it seems unlikely that they would rush him back so quickly.  Welker will have great value as a mid round pick this year.  When he returns he will see double digit targets again, you can be sure of that.

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Nick

Ok, here is the deal. I’m having a lot of mixed emotions on who I should start this week. I don’t think I can go wrong with my options, but it is the playoffs and I need all I can get. In our league, our roster looks like this. QB WR WR RB RB TE W/T W/R. I’m set at QB with Schaub and my #1 and #2 RB are AP and MJD. My starting TE is Dallas Clark. As of now I have Greg Jennings and Robert Meachem in my WR spots. This is where I don’t know who to play. I have 2 spots to fill (W/T and W/R). I have Antonio Bryant, who I really like this week. Dwayne Bowe who has a good match-up against the Browns. Heath Miller who may see some action with Woodson on Holmes and Ward being banged up. I also have Beanie Wells and Arian Foster who have great match-ups. Which 2 players should I play in my last 2 spots? And I forgot to mention it is a PPR league. PLEASE HELP!

I would put Bryant in as the WR2 and probably play Bowe and Wells this week.  Wells isn’t a PPR threat but he has a great match-up and they seemed to cut out Hightower really early after that fumble last week.

John

gore maroney moreno charles or jacobs which 3 do i start

Gore Moreno Charles for sure Maroney is going to share too much to have a big game

Kolby R

Baltimore vs Chicago or Arizona vs Detroit
I am currently planning on starting Baltimore. They will crush the pocket and force turnovers. What do you think?

Ravens are my number 1 defense this week, good luck bud!

Matthew

hi jim. i decided to bench sims-walker last night (ugh!), and now i’ve got to go with bowe or manningham this week. what do you think?

Manningham shouldn’t be on your roster anymore so its definitely Bowe!

Quiet Time

Defense: GREEN BAY vs Steelers or ARIZONA vs Lions this week?

WR PPR league: Calvin Johnson??? or Derrick Mason?

Manningham shouldn’t be on your roster anymore so its def Bowe.  And Cardinals Defense is my 3rd, so play them.

Weez

Do I have a better chance starting Boldin/Breaston against the Lions with a banged up Fitzgerald? Or should I start Meachem over Breaston? No way I’m sitting Boldin though. Even after he cost me a win last week….*grumbles*

I like the Boldin Breaston play, and it has nothing to do with Fitz =D

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Sunman

Cinci defense ok to start against Minnesota? My other choice is to get buffalo def off waivers.

I think they are ok, something has Peterson not at 100%, what that is we don’t know.  What we do know is that he was absolutley a non-factor in last weeks game and Childress won’t let that happen again… With that said the Bengals are very stout vs the run, however haven’t faced more than one ELITE back this season.  It will be a really interesting game, but I do not think you can trust the Bills defense in the playoffs.  Also to take into consideration Harvin has had issues with migraines since he was a boy, and they have flared back up this week, he has now missed two practices.

MR.MVP

WR help who Rober Meachem (NO) @ Atl, Terrell Owens (Buf) @ KC, Michael Crabtree (SF) vs Ari, or Mario Manningham (NYG) vs Phi

I’m planning on starting RB’s Ricky Williams (Mia) @ Jac and Cedric Benson (Cin) @ Min, other option would be Laurence Maroney(NE) vs Car.. what do you think??

Well MVP, I see no reason to hold a roster spot for Manningham if you can get a britt, or a crabtree, or avant, or lots of people really so your good to go ahead and drop him.  TO is your starter this week, the Chiefs are not a very good team by any stretch, and apart from his turn on Revis island (I think he had a photo shoot there for his modeling gig) TO has been very productive recently.  Trust him against a week secondary as the Bills are likely to slide in draft position this week after a win.

Benson is a workhorse, 30+ carries last week, you got it right and here is why: Sammy Morris looked explosive last week as well as Fred Taylor is possibly making his return this week.  Maroney looked good, but there are two guys around now that will take goal line work (Taylor) and 3rd down as well as some regular work (Morris).  Not much is left as far as being relevant in fantasy football.

T Hop

Hi Big Jim,
I can start 2 RBs, which 2 do I start. Addai, D. Williams, or J. Charles. I’m completely stuck here so thanks for your help!

This actually goes a little contrary to my rankings, but I’m going to put a stipulation on it.  I would start Charles and Addai, however, If Williams looks like he will be 100% based off late week practices then go with him over Charles.  This is the playoffs so we can’t take a risk and bench a guy like Williams if he is healthy.

Willie M.

hey Jim two questions:
1. Whats the deal with Mike Sims-Walker; yahoo says he has a calf injury. Is he worth a start?
2. Whats the deal with Kenny Britt and Justin Gage? yahoo says Gage is back in the starting lineup but im still starting Britt at this point. Good idea?

Well Willie, MSW does indeed have a calf injury, but he will be a game time decision for Sunday so we’ll have to wait until then to decide.  His role might be minimized but i cannot speak to whether he is still worth a start without your other receivers.  Also Gage will be coming back at some point, but he has been out a while and will take some time to get used to the speed of the game again.  He won’t likely start eating at Britt’s productivity for a couple weeks.

Josh

which 2 wrs???
ocho, sims walker, V.Jax, smith NYG, D.Mason
thanks

VJax and Ocho – Jackson wont stay in this slump, I still trust him as a WR one without a doubt. The Vikes have proven they can be thrown on so Ocho should be just fine as well assuming they Bengals O-Line can contain Jared Allen.  I think they do a good enough job where Ocho gets in the end zone (this is what play action is for, and why Benson gets 30 carries a game).

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