Fantasy Football Week 2 Waiver Wire Options

Week 1 of the NFL regular season has officially come to a close and some fantasy football questions have been answered… at least for one week:

• Adrian Peterson is a robot sent from the future and no matter how brutal of an injury he’ll sustain he will play football.
• RG3 is the savior Redskins fans have been clamoring for and Rex Grossman can officially be designated as clip holder #1 for the rest of his career. RIP Sex Cannon.
• Mike Shanahan will continue to mess with the minds of fantasy football players looking to ride the Redskins running game to fantasy glory. Alfred Morris may have been more Clinton Portis this week but he could be more Olandis Gary next week.
• The Atlanta Falcons will have a high-powered offense and any fake football team out there that has both Matt Ryan and Julio Jones on it will have an easy time making the playoffs.
• The New England Patriots have always been known for their fantasy assets on the offensive side of the ball but their defensive just might finally be able to also help them win a few games. Rookies Chandler Jones and Dont’a Hightower could very well be for real and in the world of fake football the Patriots might have a top ten defensive unit.
• Jamaal Charles isn’t 100% fully back yet in terms of getaway speed but he should be there the more he gets acclimated to game playing situations again. Hewasthisclose from breaking an 80-yard touchdown run against the Falcons this past weekend. Charles is the better player when compared to Peyton Hillis and a timeshare committee might not happen if Charles keeps outperforming Hillis the longer the season goes.

Week 2 of the regular and fantasy season kicks off this Thursday with a Thursday Night football match-up between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. Here at GMEN HQ we want to help you make your fantasy team better the further along we go in the NFL season and one way for that to happen is by always scouring through the waiver wire to see which players you can snag for your roster.

Each Tuesday right here on this website we will feature a waiver wire pick-up article and this is the first installment of it for the new season. Enjoy, good luck and check back every Tuesday morning for players to target on your waiver wire!

QUARTERBACK

Mark Sanchez. I can’t believe I’m really recommending Sanchez but after his performance against the Bills he would make for a decent back-up QB to stash on your roster and is even a serviceable QB2 in the 2-QB leagues. The Bills defense might have had more to do with Sanchez’s final numbers than Sanchez’s skills but he went 19 for 26 and threw three touchdowns. That’s a great stat line at the end of the day. You have to remember that he did account for a total of 32 touchdowns last season, 26 passing and 6 rushing. In the right match-up he can be called to fill in for your stud starting QB.

Blaine Gabbert. Again another name I didn’t expect to mention on this list but Gabbert looks much improved since last season and even if you look ahead to your starting QB’s bye Gabbert could be the guy to insert into your line-up. He’s also a worthy name to consider starting in 2-QB leagues. He went for 260 yards passing and 2 touchdowns against the Vikings and if he continues to improve 300 yards and 3 touchdowns might not be out of the question for this former top ten overall draft pick.

Jack Locker. This is a player I touted as a sleeper/value pick this off-season and before he left the game due to a shoulder injury he sustained while trying to make a block on an INT that was eventually called back he was looking pretty good. Locker wasn’t able to return to the game after his injury but he said he could have returned.

Locker was 23 of 32 for 229 yards and 1 TD against a Patriots defense that was pretty good and he should be back in Week 2. He’s a great guy to have on your bench and like Sanchez and Gabbert someone who would make for a good starting #2 QB in 2-QB leagues. He’s also going to get Kenny Britt back to throw to this week and that’s never a bad thing if you’re a quarterback.

RUNNING BACK

C.J. Spiller. Probably a guy that was drafted onto many fantasy football teams so you might not get a chance at picking him up in your league. If he is on the waiver wire then make him your #1 waiver wire pick-up, regardless of your running back situation. With Fred Jackson’s leg injury Spiller is now a #1 RB and if you saw what he did against the Jets you already know he has talent.

Sept 9, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller (28) runs for a touchdown during the first half of their game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

He was almost unstoppable in relief of Jackson rushing for 169 yards and tacking on an additional 25 yards receiving for a total of 194 yards. He also scored on a 56-yard touchdown run. Spiller showed blazing fast speed and great field vision running around and through Jets defenders. He’s my top waiver wire pick this week so don’t hesitate to pick him up; just do it!

Alfred Morris. I’m not sold on Morris but many people are. I’m putting him on this list because he’s the number one running back on the depth chart and in a run friendly offensive scheme like the one the Shanahans employ in Washington that’s valuable in fantasy football. Just be warned that Morris could get benched or lose carries at any moment. He may have ran for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns on 28 carries but there’s no guarantee that type of workload will be consistence from week to week.

WIDE RECEIVER

Randall Cobb. Cobb was targeted nine times against the 49ers and he caught all nine of his targets to a tune of 77 yards. He was also in the backfield on certain downs and scored a punt return touchdown. In PPR leagues and leagues that count return yards he is a WR3. In standard leagues he’s a guy to watch out for that could become a weekly starter.

Dexter McCluster. Not sure if anybody thought that McCluster would lead the Chiefs in receiving yards (82), receptions (6) or targets (10) but he did. It doesn’t seem like McCluster is a running back anymore having been given zero carries against the Falcons but that doesn’t matter when you’re being thrown to and looked for as much as McCluster was. Cassel doesn’t have the greatest arm strength and if the short passing game becomes featured more and more McCluster will be the one to benefit from it. He’s a must add in PPR leagues.

Aldrick Robinson. I’m only throwing this name out there in case Pierre Garcon can’t play this week. Garcon is RG3’s favorite target and that has been evident by their pre-season hook-ups. That chemistry continued into the season opener against the Saints where RG3 and Garcon hooked up four times. Those four catches for Garcon totaled 109 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown bomb. The only thing is that Garcon left the game with a foot injury in the first quarter and never returned. There are no indications that his injury is something that will keep him out of the Redskins Week 2 game but if it does Robinson looks like he will be the next go-to receiver for RG3.

Robinson actually led the team in targets and caught four catches of his own for 52 yards and a touchdown against the Saints. When Garcon went out it was Robinson that went in, not Leonard Hankerson; that’s something to keep in the back of your mind if you hear that Garcon won’t be suiting up this week against the St. Louis Ram who gave up 335 yards passing to Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions.

Andrew Hawkins. The Cincinnati Bengals have a number of wide outs listed on their depth chart and they desperately need one of them to step up as the team’s #2 WR behind A.J. Green. Hawkins might have become that guy after his MNF football performance against the Ravens. Hawkins caught 8 balls for 86 yards and was targeted 9 times. All team highs except the targets category where he was second to Green and his 11 targets.

Every time Hawkins touched the ball he showed off his blazing speed and whenever the ball was in his hands he looked like a threat to take it to the end zone. If he can keep it up he will solidify himself as the team’s second WR and third passing option behind Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham.

TIGHT END

Kyle Rudolph. Until Jerome Simpson comes back from suspension the Vikings don’t have too many pass catching weapons. There’s Percy Harvin and that’s pretty much it. Rudolph is clearly the team’s second best passing option right now and he had 5 catches on 7 targets for a total of 67 yards this past weekend against the Jaguars. The former Notre Dame tight end was a trendy sleeper pick (myself included) and even if he’s not starting for you he should be on your bench. Right now I’d start him over guys like Fred Davis, Brent Celek and Gresham; all of whom were drafted higher than Rudolph.

Martellus Bennett. This is not my Giants homerism coming into play but I really think Bennett could have a pretty nice fantasy season. I look for him to catch about 50-60 balls for 700-800 yards and 5 or 6 touchdowns. Not eye-popping stats but pretty good nonetheless. At some point you’re going to need a bye week tight end substitute and it’s not a bad idea to be thinking about Bennett right now. He did score against the Cowboys and Eli does like throwing to his tight ends in the red zone, which could happen frequently this year with Bennett.

DEFENSE

New England Patriots. Much was made about the Patriots porous pass defense of last season. While it didn’t seem like it was a complete 180, as Locker was able to throw on them before he left the game with his injury the Pats defense looked much better in their first game of this season than they did last season. That might have to do with the addition of rookies Jones and Hightower who teamed up for a sack/fumble recovery that led to a Hightower touchdown. Rookie FS Tavon Wilson also added an interception. The Patriots also recorded two sacks and held the Titans to a total of 13 points.

They’re a good defense to play for the rest of the season but one to especially start next week against the lowly Arizona Cardinals.

Cleveland Browns. Against the Eagles the Browns had two sacks, four interceptions, an interception returned for a touchdown, a fumble recovery and only gave up 17 points. Joe Haden won’t be around for the next four games as he serves a suspension but this Browns defense looks for real. Throw in Joshua Cribbs and his kick returning skills and you could have a top fantasy defense.