Pickups

Ahhh, Why no list?!  I told you these lists would be getting shorter and shorter with each passing week and boy was I not kidding.  If you would like a list of the players worth picking up, you can get one here.  Confused? It’s pretty simple.  Every single player on that list is a viable pick up as you head into your super bowl match up.  You need to use strategy now more than ever.  Does your opponent have Ryan Mathews? Did he start him last week? Well that means he needs a running back.  This means that YOU need as many running backs as you can get.  I wont waste my time telling people that I think Curtis Brinkley is the best step-in for Mathews (which I do), my rankings will do that.  My point here is that if your opponent needs a RB to play, then you need to go pick up Brinkley AND Jackie Battle.  If you won’t start them and your opponent won’t either… they are safe to be dropped, no matter how “valuable” they are.  (**Disclaimer** Keeper and dynasty league owners, this advice is NOT for you)

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Pickups

Kevin Smith, RB, DET – Smith is the one of the biggest surprises of the week as he tallied the most fantasy points of anyone in the NFL on Sunday and yet no one had him started on their team. This obviously makes him very likely to be a hot pick up and with the Jahvid Best injury situation so up in the air, I see no reason why this guy shouldn’t be owned in every league.

Santana Moss, WR, WAS – Even though the Redskins are in shambles, Moss is a very good playmaker that creates bad match ups lined up as the slot receiver.  Shanahan has been pretty good at utilizing him when he was healthy and while the team will likely continue to struggle, Moss should mean good things for their offensive production. He was playing like a WR2 or really good flex-play before his injury.

Toby Gerhart, RB, MINN – Peterson said that he was hoping to be out there next week but he won’t be if he has a high-ankle sprain.  We need to hear the results of today’s MRI to know for sure but if you own Peterson, you can NOT afford to let someone else pick up Gerhart.

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, CLE – This game was probably the best performance that a running back has had in Cleveland all season.  I still like Hardesty more but until he comes back and plays better than Ogbonnaya, I would rather own Ogbonnaya.

Carson Palmer, QB, OAK – It sure looks like Oakland is a playoff team and they aren’t likely to have their playoff seeding locked up before week 17.  They will only get better when McFadden comes back and Palmer will only get more acclimated to his new surroundings.  I wouldn’t say the sky is the limit but Palmer might just be a top 10 fantasy QB  again the rest of the way. Don’t let him continue to sit on free agency.

CJ Spiller, RB, BUF – Of the big-time injuries that happened to RBs this week, Jackson’s is the one that concerns me the least. Buffalo is reeling from their absurd list of injuries that occurred in this game and they had more than their fair share prior to this week. There are no amount of injuries that justify this performance against the Dolphins but if Jackson does miss a game, which could easily happen, Spiller will be the feature back and is worth a pick up if your throwing a Hail Mary trying to make the playoffs.

Joe McKnight, RB, NYJ – It looks like Greene and LT are both going to be back for the upcoming game against the Bills on Sunday.  If your in a deep league or have an open roster spot, you might want to look at McKnight.  The match-up is great and he ran the ball very well last week.  He may end up being the starting RB for the Jets before long.

Dump List

Maurice Morris, RB, DET – The emergence of Kevin Smith AND the chance that Jahvid Best comes back soon kills Morris’ value. Drop him in all leagues.

Michael Jenkins, WR, MIN – This group of receivers are un-ownable except for Harvin.  His value comes from his versatility and ability to score on a hand off, reception OR kick return. Ponder might be playing solid football but he isn’t a miracle worker and can’t keep Jenkins relevant to fantasy-owners.

Roy Helu, RB, WAS – With Torain appearing to be the starter, though I wouldn’t be surprised if Helu started next week, I am ok with Dropping Helu if you need to fill another spot on your roster. The unpredictability is maddening and I don’t think you can trust any Redskins RB to start at the moment anyways.

Vincent Brown, WR, SD – With Rivers playing so poorly and the offense as a whole struggling as a result, feel free to drop Brown already.  There aren’t many weeks left and with Floyd coming back soon, I don’t think Brown can make me trust him enough to be worth a start in the playoffs.

Ryan Grant, RB, GB – Ok, so we know for sure that the Packers are just going to go to the air against everyone and when they do try and run, it will be with Starks.  There is no reason to own Grant anymore.  His value would remain pretty low even if Starks was placed on IR tomorrow.

Jason Hill, WR, JAC – Hill has been the receiver you want to own this season in Jacksonville but Gabbert hasn’t been able to gel with this offense so far this season and I just can’t imagine holding on to Hill or Mike Thomas in a standard league.  Gabbert was particularly bad this week and I would just cut your loses and get someone else to ride your bench if your still holding one of these guys.

Ryan Torain, RB, WAS – If I had to pick a Redskins back to own, it would be Torain. I would assume if you are that desperate for an RB, its a rough season.  If he is just going to sit on your bench, drop him. There is a handcuff that would be better out there anyways.

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Pickups

Torrey Smith, WR, BAL – Smith might have lost the trust of Flacco when he dropped the almost game-winning TD pass late in the game last night. The problem is, there was no one else for Flacco to look to a few plays later.  So Smith managed to make amends and hauled in a TD grab with less than 20 seconds left in the game.  Smith is a big-play threat and has at least three receptions in 5 of the last 6 games.  He will continue to improve and he has to be owned in all leagues.

Roy Helu, RB, WAS – Helu is available in over 80% of leagues as the Redskins offense has been terrible in recent weeks. Tashard Choice joined the Skins to further cloud the workload division for Shanahan but as the season slips away from them, I think it is safe to assume that Washington will look to the young guy and see what he can do.

Jacoby Ford, WR, OAK – I have been pretty steadfast in my evaluation that Ford is the top fantasy receiver in Oakland.  Carson Palmer created some doubt in my mind as each QB will have different levels of chemistry with each receiver but I am convinced again.  Ford is the top fantasy receiver in Oakland and the only one that I would even consider starting. And he is available in over 60% of leagues.

Jake Ballard, TE, NYG – There has only been two games this season where Ballard has been under 5 fantasy points.  Those games were in weeks 2 and 3.  Ballard gets his fair share of targets and makes the most of them. I am going to be considering him a top 10 TE and a weekly starter, regardless of match up.

Antonio Brown, WR, PIT – He has pretty clearly established his role in the Steelers offense. He is available in just over 30% of leagues and you need to go get him if he is out there in yours. No one has been targeted more on the Steelers and I think his value is only going to continue to rise.

Ben Tate, RB, HOU – Tate is only owned in roughly 60% of leagues and should be owned in all of them.  Both Tate and Foster were over 100 yards and while Foster will remain the lead back in the Texans’ offense, Tate is going to maintain value and would be a top 15 guy in the event that Foster missed any time. In the mean time, Tate is a potential flex play in the weeks where both guys are active.

Dump List

Jonathan Baldwin, WR, KC – Just when I thought the Chiefs might turn out to be a competitor despite all their injuries, they lose to the Dolphins and can’t even manage much in the way of offensive production.  Baldwin looked like he might take off and develop into a decent fantasy-receiver. My confidence has been shaken quite a bit and Baldwin was a long-shot to begin with, so cut your losses and get rid of him now.

Ryan Grant, RB, GB – I still expect the Packers to ride the hot hand but we wont be able to see it coming when Grant is going to see the work.  He only saw 4 carries last week and Starks was who they looked to late in the game when they were trying to run the clock and seal the win.

Mike Williams, WR, TB – Williams hasn’t been in double digit fantasy points since week 1 and while he hasn’t really blanked in a game for a few weeks, in shallow leagues you can drop him for an appealing prospect like say… Torrey Smith?

Pierre Garcon, WR, IND – Garcon just isn’t someone that I can trust to start.  He has issues with drops and is on the league’s last winless team. I don’t see him becoming a consistently performing fantasy-option.

Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, CLE – We hoped that he might be able to be decently productive as he was bound to see the lion’s share of the carries.  He didn’t get anything accomplished and if you don’t need a fill-in for next week’s nice match up against the Rams, then feel free to cut him.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, OAK – The Raiders offense is a bit of a mystery with Palmer at QB. As I said above though, Ford is the Raiders receiver that I want to start and Heyward-Bey has too big of a track record of inconsistency for me to trust him easily.

Knowshon Moreno, RB, DEN – Moreno was essentially invisible in this game. McGahee came back early from his hand injury and ran wild in this game. Moreno’s value has officially hit rock bottom and there is no reason left to keep him on your roster that I can see.

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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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