Well this week we really only have a couple of Washington Redskins that are questionable and both Ryan Torain and Santana Moss will be active!
The Late Game players to watch are:
Antonio Gates, TE, SD
Ben Obomanu, WR, SEA
Brandon Marshall, WR, MIA – Active
Legedu Naanee, WR, SD
Mike Williams, WR, SEA
Vincent Jackson, WR, SD
Deion Branch, WR, NE – Active
Reggie Bush, RB, NO – Inactive
Owen Daniels, TE, HOU – Inactive
Malcom Floyd, WR, SD – Inactive
Antonio Gates, TE, SD – Inactive
Percy Harvin, WR, MIN – Active (Should be limited, bench him if you have other viable options)
Legedu Naanee, WR, SD – Inactive
Beanie Wells, RB, ARI – Active
DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR - Inactive
Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Active
Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – Active
Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU – Active
Legedu Naanee, WR, SD – Inactive
Mike Williams, WR, TB – Active
Pickups
Danny Amendola, WR, STL - Mark Clayton has said that he believes his injury is season-ending. Whether or not this is true, he will miss significant time and lose his rhythm in the offense and with Sam Bradford. Amendola hauled in 12 catches for 95 yards on 19 targets in week 5, combine that with amazing catches like the one below from Week 4 and you have Sam Bradford’s new favorite target.
Michael Crabtree, WR, SF - The new Offensive Coordinator of the 49ers has done a good job thus far getting the ball in the direction of Michael Crabtree. Last week was the best game of his young career, catching 9 balls for 105 yards and a score. If you own Crabtree you may want to wait a week before you start him… but if you have some bye-week concerns or injuries then go ahead and start him.
Roy Williams, WR, DAL – He isn’t getting his job back, but he does have Dez Bryant hovering just above my Dump List at the moment. His emergence has provided the balance in the passing game that we thought Bryant would. Opposing defenses can’t double cover both guys and still contain Felix Jones who had a big game in the Cowboys tough Week 5 loss.
Pierre Garcon, WR, IND – No one expected there to be only one TD in this game and that it would go to Mike Hart. Peyton Manning had a pretty bad game by his standards with below a 60% completion percentage, but Garcon was on the field for most of the 2 WR sets and led the team with 14 targets. The Colts are banged up and seeing Manning look to Garcon that much definitely means he deserves a spot on someone’s roster in every league.
Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – A general rule of thumb recently is “don’t start your Titans receivers” is still in effect… but the Cowboys don’t have a terrible secondary and Vince Young made them look pretty silly. Britt is a home-run threat and if you are in serious trouble at the WR position, he could have a couple of huge games in good match-ups this season.
Buccaneers, D/ST, TB – In week 8 they are at Arizona, at home against the Panthers in Week 10, and facing the Redskins, Lions and Seahawks in Weeks 14-16 for your playoffs. If you are struggling with your defense, snatch these guys up after their second 14 point game of the season. The Buccaneers are the real deal.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, BUF – What is this? Consistent play from a QB in Buffalo? REALLY? Over 200 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs for Fitz this week make him a surprisingly valuable backup QB. I know had I went with him over Sam Bradford this past week, I would have won my match-up. I know it feels dirty to pickup a Bills QB… but as long as you don’t need one in Week 6 Fitz needs to be seriously considered.
Felix Jones, RB, DAL – When I was on @ThaSPORTSKRIB last Thursday, we all joked about how it is an annual tradition that the Cowboys “want to give Felix Jones more touches”. While I don’t blame us for taking it with a grain of salt… looking back we should have upgraded him a bit more than we did. It appears to finally be something they are going to DO rather than TALK ABOUT.
Marcedes Lewis, TE, JAC – It seems that every week a TE makes this list… and that speaks to the depth of the position that I have been talking about all season. If you need someone this week, look no further after the Titans allowed Jason Witten’s best game of the year.
Steve Johnson, WR, BUF – You will need to be in a deep format, or major injury/bye week concerns… but since that sure does happen Steve Johnson has 4 TDs in the past 3 games. Too bad he is on the Bye in week 6, but keep an eye on this surprisingly productive receiver from a bad offense.
Dump List
Ladell Betts, RB, NO - Ivory and Betts split carries evenly this week, but Betts will lose almost ALL of his carries when Thomas returns. Ivory is a much better pass catcher and third down back that Ladell is despite catching 5 passes this past week. The fumble he had also makes it more likely that the Saints look to Thomas to handle the goal line duties as well.
Mark Clayton, WR, STL - Usually I don’t put injuries in this list… but not everyone closely watches the Rams and Lions so they may not be aware of his injury yet. Get rid of him.
Lance Moore, WR, NO – Given the recent struggles of the Saints offense, I am staying far away from everyone but Brees, Thomas and Colston. Moore did nothing in Week 5 and proves to be too inconsistent to ever be comfortable with him in your lineup.
Kevin Walter, WR, HOU – Andre Johnson WILL get his targets and catches. He is too difficult to cover anywhere on the field. Jacoby Jones was always the guy that soaked up too many targets for Walter to be valuable to fantasy owners. Jones was out this week and Walter did terribly. He wasn’t alone as a disappointment on the Texans, but I couldn’t start Walter if I owned him so why keep him?
Kenneth Darby, RB, STL - I still got some Darby questions this week. Steven Jackson is the reason that Steven Jackson is so productive. It has NOTHING to do with the offensive line, or the QB. He has the ability to overcome any obstacles his own team can throw at him. Darby is not that guy and even remotely considering him with a healthy Jackson is a terrible idea. He isn’t even a valuable handcuff… go get Javon Ringer or something.
Jason Snelling, RB, ATL – A terrible game against the Browns brings Snelling out of fantasy relevance almost as quickly as he emerged. The Falcons don’t use him unless they have to and unless you want him as a handcuff to Turner he needs to go!
Legedu Naanee, WR, SD – If you were wondering why you saw that much of Buster Davis… Naanee left early with a hamstring injury. He was on the bubble before this game and getting hurt pushes him to the Dump List. You can do better than him.
Cadillac Williams, RB, TB - The RB situation in TB is a mess. A successful mess. They will ride the hot hand until someone proves that they deserve feature carries. No need to own any TB RB so drop Blount if you picked him up last week too.
This year is unique in Fantasy Football, the Wide Receivers are in a position of importance. In the Running back article I talked about how the use of RBs has changed in the NFL. This change has caused different statistical outcomes for the wide receivers as well. With offenses like the Colts and Saints emerging throughout the league, a premium wide out is essential. The increased reliance on the passing game has lead to more receptions, yards and scores from wide receivers. Historically consistency was a problem at this position and it forced us to put our emphasis on RBs during our drafts, but this year is a different story. You can see my top 50 WR’s here.
The Top 5
If you told me last year that Larry Fitzgerald would not be a top 5 WR on my rankings in 2010 I would have probably laughed inappropriately at you, but here we are going into week 4 of the preseason and we aren’t sure who the starting QB will be for week 1. Andre Johnson is EVERYONE’S number one WR this year, and deservedly so… he is a shoe-in for 1400 yards and 10 TDs. Last Year AJ lead the league in targets and yardage. Many people are predicting the beginning of the end for Reggie Wayne, but I am not one of them. He looked very sharp in the preseason and last I checked he was still the guy Manning looks for when he needs a big play. You always run the risk of not having him in your Super Bowl since the Colts love to bench starters at the end of the year, but on Draft day… lets focus on getting to that game! Last year Miles Austin was the third best receiver in fantasy football, which is even more impressive when you consider he didn’t start for the Cowboys until Week 5 when he had a monster breakout game against the Chiefs. With a full season and a better receiving corp to draw the double coverage away from him, Austin should be a special player again this year. He is not higher than 4th because of the offensive line issues the Cowboys have to figure out. Once you are facing the decision of whether or not to draft a slightly questionable running back, consider one of these consistent stud receivers.
The Second Tier
My 2nd tier of wide-outs covers ranks 6-13 and starts to include people that will lack in consistency. At the top of this group is Calvin Johnson, a Detroit Lion. That is a big enough question as it is, but this guy is a freak of an athlete and is the only one in this group capable of scoring more points than Andre Johnson. We have seen flashes of brilliance with Calvin, but mediocre-at-best quarterback play has been his limiting factor. Matthew Stafford showed us his leadership abilities and toughness last year that compliments his throwing ability quite nicely. If Detroit can continue to develop Stafford and the rest of the team, Megatron could have a career year. Brandon Marshall has been too widely praised by fantasy owners this year, I think people confuse him for a home run threat… and that is not what he will be. Marshall will see his fair share of scores, don’t get me wrong… but he is much more of the Wes Welker type than that of Randy Moss. You should feel much more comfortable reaching for Marshall in a PPR format. Larry Fitzgerald terrifies me this season, Leinart is being shopped around on the trade market, he took a pretty nasty shot on a crossing route early in the preseason and has yet to come back and they lost some significant talent on the defensive side of the ball. The Cardinal’s offense will spend a lot less time on the field this year, and wont come close to the number of TDs they had last year. Fitzgerald is a supreme talent but has no upside attached to him. Best case scenario he finishes as the number 8 WR at the end of the season… exactly where he is ranked today. DeSean Jackson will not produce what he did last year, but I am encouraged by his involvement in the intermediate passing game this preseason. He is the key to the Eagles’ offensive success this year and they have to find ways to get him the ball. Anquan Boldin can vastly exceed his ranking this year… if he stays healthy. It has been a little while since we have seen Boldin play in 16 games, but if he can do it this year he will be a top 5 fantasy receiver. It probably won’t happen though.
Second, Third and Flex Receivers
So far this preseason I have seen this group (ranks 14-27) of guys FLY off the draft board in the 3rd and 4th rounds. Wes Welker is back in full speed action during the preseason… he won’t be missing any time in the regular season. If he recovered that quickly from his injury then it is fully healed and I do not anticipate any drop in production from this PPR gold mine. With a full preseason under his belt, and a clear number one QB at the helm, we should be about to witness the start of a very good career. We all remember that he held out to start last season and there was good reason he was able to do it. He is incredibly talented. Dwayne Bowe has gotten back into shape this season and with a much more balanced offensive attack he could have the best season of his career this year. Pierre Garcon has done a great job cementing his number two role in Peyton Manning’s offense. We saw Reggie Wayne excel in this role behind Marvin Harrison and the Colts have a knack for drafting talent. Popular sleeper picks Hakeem Nicks, Jeremy Maclin and Mike Wallace round out this group all of whom have big play ability and an offense capable of utilizing their talents. Wallace is ranked last of these three solely because of Big Ben’s suspension.
Spot Fillers and Sleepers
In the last half of the rankings (28 – 50) comes guys you will use to fill in for bad match ups and bye weeks. Vincent Jackson is an elite talent that needs to sign with a team by Saturday or else he will be ineligible for the first six weeks of the season. Santonio Holmes is another guy that would be ranked much higher, but he will be missing the first four games for a suspension. Malcom Floyd could be a huge bargain as he will be filling in for VJax while he holds out/is suspended. Sidney Rice will miss at least 6 games and this brings up the value of teammate Bernard Berrian. Kenny Britt and Vince Young appear to have some chemistry between them and Britt has huge upside this year, I could see him getting to 1,000 yards receiving.
Sleepers
Greg Jennings, Michael Crabtree, Pierre Garcon, Dwayne Bowe, Johnny Knox, Kenny Britt, James Jones, Jacoby Jones, Legedu Naanee and Mike Williams (TB)
Busts
Larry Fitzgerald, Chad Ochocinco, Hines Ward, Braylon Edwards and Steve Breaston
Recap
You definitely will need an elite WR this year. Do not get left without one in my top two tiers you will have headaches. I know it feels funny, but don’t be afraid to reach for a 2nd guy as well.
