League

With a website dedicated to 2-QB fantasy football leagues waking up on the Thursday morning of February 7^th to a tweet from Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus asking for participants in a 2-QB league mock draft was like waking up on Christmas morning ready to tear into all my new gifts. However, the tweet in question was an hour old (that’s like decades in the Twittersphere) by the time I had read it and by then it was too late as all the mock draft slots had been filled up. Oh well.

There was nothing I could do about that other than to see what some of the most renowned fantasy football experts out there would do in a 12-team 2-QB league format. And to tell you the truth I don’t know if I would have been ready to go up against those heavy hitters so I’m kind of glad I missed out.

Fast forward almost two weeks later and Clay tweeted out that the #GoingDeep mock draft trial 2-QB league he set up had completed its draft. I thought it would be interesting to see what the results were and how these particular fantasy football experts viewed quarterbacks in a 2-QB league format.

Before I delve deep into the mock draft results below I’ve posted the names of the twelve mock drafters that took part and if you click on each one of their names you’ll be directed to their respective Twitter accounts:

• Mike Clay
• Evan Silva
• Pat Daugherty
• Alex Miglio
• Bryan Fontaine
• Sigmund Bloom
• Jeff Ratcliffe
• Scott Spratt
• Tyler Loechner
• Adam Levitan
• Ryan Forbes
• Jim Day

As you can see from that list you’ve got a murderers’ row of fantasy football minds with writers from top-notch sites like Pro Football Focus, Footballguys and Rotoworld.

 

It’s almost time to look at the draft results themselves but before I do so now would be a good time to point out that it’s not a true 2-QB league. In this specific 2-QB league you are allowed to start up to two quarterbacks, one in the QB starting line-up slot and the other in the flex position. Really, you can look at it as sort of a 1.5-QB league. On top of that the scoring rules for quarterbacks is 0.03 points for every 1 yard passing (0.75 for every 25 passing yards) and 4 points for every passing touchdown.

By reading Clay’s Twitter timeline it looks like he was devaluing the QB position in this league when you compare it to other types of fantasy formats such as a 2-QB league in which passing touchdowns are worth 6 points and you get 1 point for every 25 yards passing. When I asked Clay on Twitter for clarification on the number of quarterbacks that you can start he replied saying that he had to make one of the QB slots a flex, “because of bye weeks.”

 

@2QBFFB No, you can’t handcuff people by forcing 2 QBs. Have to make it a flex because of bye weeks.

February 17, 2013 8:35 AM via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite

@MikeClayNFL

Mike Clay

That makes sense when you think about it. In a league where there are 12 teams and starting two quarterbacks each week is mandatory you’re looking at 24 quarterbacks being drafted. At least. When you factor in bye weeks there aren’t enough QBs for each team to draft two starters and one back-up, as that would equal 36 quarterbacks in a league where only 32 start usually, minus bye weeks throughout the season.

However, that’s the main reason why I play in 2-QB leagues. I want more roster spots in my fantasy football world and I want to be the one that takes advantage of drafting three quarterbacks so that I’m prepared for bye weeks or just having two quarterbacks on my roster and not worrying about bye weeks at all. That could just be me though.

With all that in mind let’s finally probe into the draft results of this 2-QB mock draft by focusing solely on the quarterbacks that were drafted. Below you’ll find two spreadsheets.

One shows you the quarterbacks drafted in order, along with their current ADP:

The other spreadsheet shows each team’s QB depth chart:

A total of 216 players were drafted and out of that number 31 were quarterbacks.

The first quarterback taken off the board was Aaron Rodgers in the 3^rd round at 3.02. After that was Drew Brees at 3.11. Rodgers and Brees were the only quarterbacks taken in the first three rounds. The current ADP for Rodgers is 18.41 (mid-2nd round in a 12-team league) and for Brees it’s 30.41 (mid-3rd round in a 12 team league). Rodgers, drafted by Jim Day, at 26 overall, and Brees by Alex Miglio at 35, were both drafted slightly later than their ADPs. How can a league where you can start up to two quarterbacks only have two quarterbacks drafted within the first 36 picks? The answer has to do with the format of the league itself. QB points are devalued, not to mention that you only really have to start one quarterback if you want. What that means is that quarterbacks aren’t much of a difference maker in this league, even when you can start one in the flex position.

However, even with that in mind, quarterbacks were still being drafted early, with 16 quarterbacks drafted in total within the first six rounds of the draft. Each owner drafted their QB1 within the first six rounds with Jeff Ratcliffe being the last owner to draft a QB1, leaving him with Joe Flacco as his QB1.

]]> http://gmenhq.com/2013/03/23/nfl-quarterbacks-who-are-the-top-five-in-fantasy-football/feed/ 0 http://gmenhq.com/2013/02/19/an-honest-look-back-you-drafted-a-tight-end-first-in-fantasy-football/ http://gmenhq.com/2013/02/19/an-honest-look-back-you-drafted-a-tight-end-first-in-fantasy-football/#comments Tue, 19 Feb 2013 16:33:21 +0000 Joe Tufaro http://gmenhq.com/?p=13086 In a piece I did as part of my 2012 fantasy football season preview here at GMEN HQ, I looked at whether or not drafting one of the two most coveted fantasy tight ends, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, in the first round was a worthwhile endeavor. The tight end position in the land of [...]

An Honest Look Back: You Drafted a Tight End First in Fantasy Football? - GMEN HQ - GMEN HQ - A NY Giants Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.

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In a piece I did as part of my 2012 fantasy football season preview here at GMEN HQ, I looked at whether or not drafting one of the two most coveted fantasy tight ends, Jimmy Graham and Rob Gronkowski, in the first round was a worthwhile endeavor.

The tight end position in the land of the fake footballers going into this season was looked upon as the year that drafting a tight end in the first round wouldn’t be seen as the dumbest draft move in the world of fantasy football, depending on which fantasy publication and mainstream fantasy football writers you followed.

The main reason why such a thought had any legitimacy whatsoever had mainly to do with the 2011 performances of Graham and Gronkowski. In my GMEN HQ piece I didn’t exactly bang the drum for taking either tight end in the first round but I didn’t really shy away from it either and even put out the suggestion of taking them both back-to-back if you had the 12^th pick in a 12-team league snake draft. When looking at their 2012 Average Draft Position (ADP) calculated by MyFantasyLeague.com, Graham and Gronkowski were both being taken early in the second round of most 12-team, non-PPR re-draft leagues. Graham’s ADP was 19.78 and Gronkowski’s was 19.96 in such leagues, which would see them drafted in the second round of those fantasy drafts at 15^th and 16^th overall, respectively.

You would see why those two particular tight ends were being drafted so high if you were to take a look at Graham and Gronkowski’s stats in a standard non-PPR fantasy football leagues from 2011, where 1 point was awarded for every 10 receiving yards and receiving touchdowns were worth 6 points apiece, Gronkowski and Graham scored 240.9 and 195 points, respectively. The third highest fantasy scoring tight end was Aaron Hernandez with 135.5 points. In total, only 11 tight ends put up more than 100 points.

If you were to classify Gronkowski and Graham as wide receivers they would have each been in the top ten of fantasy scoring wide receivers in 2011, with Gronkowski finishing in second place behind Megatron and Graham being the sixth highest scoring wide receiver. Of course, Gronkowski and Graham weren’t wide receivers but the numbers show that if you had either one of them on your fantasy roster in 2011 you stood to have a sizable advantage in your league at the tight end position, especially considering that Graham was the 6^th picked fantasy tight end and Gronkowski was the 9^th. In 12-team standard 2011 fantasy football drafts Graham’s ADP was 83.54 (late 8^th round) and Gronkowski’s ADP was 103.77 (mid-9^th round); pretty good value for two of the highest pass-catching players in all of fantasy football in 2011.

When you look at the numbers posted by both players last year how could you have not been tempted to take either one of them early in your drafts this year? Graham had 1,310 yards receiving to go with 11 touchdowns, and Gronkowski ended up with 1,327 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns of his own. If those numbers weren’t enough then take a look at their 2011 target numbers: Graham – 149, Gronkowski – 124. There was very good reason to think they would both put up monster numbers in 2012 and that taking them in the first round, while a ballsy move, would pay off, as long as they repeated or bested their 2011 performances.

That’s where the root of the problem lies though; with any fantasy football position, really. You can never expect any fantasy player to duplicate their performances, especially if they were career year performances. You can only hope that a player you drafted in 2012 would put up similar or better numbers than what they posted in 2011. If we knew exactly what type of a season a player would have then what would be the point of drafting a fantasy football team? Just play in an auto draft league and be done with it.

Now that the 2012 NFL regular season has come and gone, and so too have our fantasy football leagues, it gives us a chance to look back to see just how “smart” or “dumb” taking a chance on Gronkowski or Graham in the first round was…

 

Here’s a look at their 2012 stats:

• Graham – 982 yards and 9 touchdowns
• Gronkowski – 790 yards and 11 touchdowns

Graham ended the 2012 season as the highest fantasy scoring tight end with 152.2 points and Gronkowski finished right behind him in second place with 143 points. Even though they finished first and second respectively, the gap between first place (Graham) and third place (Tony Gonzalez) , and second place (Gronkowski), and third place (Gonzalez) was a mere 11.2 and 2 points, respectively. That pales in comparison to last year when the difference between first (Gronkowski) and third (Hernandez), and second (Graham) and third (Hernandez) was 105.4 points and 59.5 points, respectively.

Considering the fact that Gonzalez this year had a 96.60 ADP, taking either Graham or Gronkowski in the first place wasn’t a smart move in hindsight, as you could have just drafted Gonzalez in 7^th or 8^th round and gotten pretty much the same value. In fact, the difference in points between Graham and the 10^th highest scoring fantasy tight end Brandon Myers, who went undrafted in pretty much every fantasy football draft in 2012, was 47.6 points. Remember, last season Gronkowski scored 105.4 points more than the THIRD highest scoring fantasy tight end. How many more points did Gronkowski score than the 10^th fantasy tight end Dustin Keller last season? 131.4!

So, what was it that made the darlings of the fantasy football tight end landscape harken back to the days in which the tight end position in fantasy football was a crapshoot, as 2012 turned out to be? With Graham, you can look to his 15 drops and say that had an impact but he was still able to catch 85 passes. The wrist injury he dealt with all season long probably had something to do with his “down” year. As for Gronkowski, injury was the clear culprit, having missed five regular season games with a broken forearm. Just think about that for a second. Gronkowski missed five games in the regular season but he was still able to finish as the second highest scoring tight end in fantasy!

If you were to take a look at Gronkowski’s 2012 game log from Rotoworld you would see that he really only had two poor games: a Week 3 outing versus the Ravens in which he caught only 2 catches for 21 yards and a Week 5 performance against the Broncos that saw him catch 4 balls for 35 yards. In every other game he played in Gronkowski either scored a touchdown or had at least 60 yards receiving; in all but three of those he accomplished both. That means that out of the 11 games he played in Gronkowski went for 60+yards and a touchdown and in three of those games he had multiple touchdowns.

It would have been interesting to see what Gronkowski’s totals would have been like if he were able to have stayed healthy all season long but he didn’t and that’s something you can’t account for when preparing for a fantasy draft. You draft your team and hope for the best. With Gronkowski, injuries took away his best. Still though, was taking Graham or Gronkowski a completely dumb move when you compare it to the other players taken before them?

Here’s what a 12-team standard scoring non-PPR re-draft fantasy football first round draft would have looked like based on the MyFantasyLeague 12-team, non-PPR re-draft ADPs:

• 1. Arian Foster
• 2. Aaron Rodgers
• 3. Ray Rice
• 4. LeSean McCoy
• 5. Tom Brady
• 6. Drew Brees
• 7. Calvin Johnson
• 8. Chris Johnson
• 9. Darren McFadden
• 10. Matthew Stafford
• 11. Cam Newton
• 12. Matt Forte

I mentioned earlier that Graham and Gronkowski were taken on average at 15^th and 16^th overall, behind the twelve names in the above first round, as well as Maurice Jones-Drew and DeMarco Murray.

Here’s how those 16 players ended up points wise overall, taking into consideration D/ST, in 2012, with position rank in parenthesis:

• 1. Arian Foster – 14 (3)
• 2. Aaron Rodgers – 2 (2)
• 3. Ray Rice – 26 (6)
• 4. LeSean McCoy – 88 (21)
• 5. Tom Brady – 3 (3)
• 6. Drew Brees – 1 (1)
• 7. Calvin Johnson – 27 (1)
• 8. Chris Johnson – 53 (13)
• 9. Darren McFadden – 148 (28)
• 10. Matthew Stafford – 12 (11)
• 11. Cam Newton – 4 (4)
• 12. Matt Forte – 50 (12)
• 13. Maurice Jones-Drew – 248 (50)
• 14. DeMarco Murray – 144 (27)
• 15. Jimmy Graham – 77 (1)
• 16. Rob Gronkowski 99 (2)

Yes, Graham and Gronkowski didn’t come anywhere near their high ADP but was taking somebody like Aaron Rodgers second overall that big of a difference maker? When you look at the above top 16 ADP you see that the QBs taken gave their owners what they drafted, with the exception of Stafford, who was the 12^th highest fantasy scorer in 2012 but was drafted as the 10^th. That’s to be expected though as quarterbacks generally put up the highest fantasy points. Andy Dalton was the 12^th highest scoring fantasy QB with 250.8 points. That total would have him ranked as the 15^th highest scoring fantasy player overall. He was the 18^th QB off the board in most leagues; not even start-worthy in 1-QB leagues. The one thing this goes to show you is that you want to get your quarterbacks early in 2-QB leagues but late in 1-QB leagues.

The only non-QB who came close to fulfilling his top draft status was Foster, who was the consensus number 1 overall draft pick but he only scored the 14^th most points in fantasy football. And when you compare his numbers to the 12^th highest scoring fantasy running back, Matt Forte, he scored 5.21 points more/game.

Let’s get back on track though and finish this thing off by looking at the top twelve fantasy tight end scorers for 2012 with ADP in brackets:

• 1. Jimmy Graham – 152.2 points (19.78)
• 2. Rob Gronkowski – 143 points (19.96)
• 3. Tony Gonzalez – 141 (96.60)
• 4. Heath Miller – 131.6 (172.31)
• 5. Jason Witten – 121.9 (87.01)
• 6. Greg Olsen – 114.3 (135.90)
• 7. Dennis Pitta – 108.9 (-)
• 8. Owen Daniels – 107.6 (136.83)
• 9. Kyle Rudolph – 105.3 (153.61)
• 10. Brandon Myers – 104.6 (-)
• 11. Jermaine Gresham – 101.7 (119.15)
• 12. Antonio Gates – 95.8 (52.69)

While the difference in points/per game between Graham and Gates was only 3.53 points, the stability of having a guy like Graham or Gronkowski on your roster was much better than streaming a TE each week if you didn’t own somebody like Graham, Gronkowski, Gonzalez, Miller or Witten. At least if you didn’t draft a QB early in a 1-QB league you could have picked up somebody like Russell Wilson, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco or Carson Palmer in your league’s free agency pool and gone with a quarterback by committee approach all year long.

However, though, the question I sought out to answer at the beginning of this post was whether or not drafting Gronkowski or Graham in the first round was a dumb or smart decision. In 2011 Gronkowski and Graham would have both been in the top-6 in terms of wide receiver fantasy points. In 2012 Graham would have ranked 17^th and Gronkowski 19^th. Nowhere near the value they provided in 2011 but still pretty good. But pretty good’s not good enough in fantasy football and when you look at the stats, the answer to my question of whether or not drafting Graham or Gronkowski in the first round of fantasy football drafts in 2012 was dumb… At least this year… In 2013 fantasy drafts I’ll be tempted to ask the same question again though and maybe when looking back at the 2013 season in 2014 the answer will be smart. Either way, I’ll be the test dummy willing to find out.

For more Fantasy Football brilliance check out the new site: www.2qbornot2qb.com

Here’s a column from our old friend Salvatore Stefanile.  He will be featured here a few times a week, and whenever he has some strong opinions about Fantasy Football….Which is always!  Check out Sal’s site www.2qbornot2qb.com

With the NFL off-season getting ready to head into the danger zone, as franchise tag designations are about to take place with teams being able to apply franchise tags to players starting February 18. Shortly after that the NFL Draft Combine takes place, running from February 20-26. March 12 at 4PM signals the start of free agency in the league and then the NFL Draft will be held from April 25-27. Busy, busy, busy…

With all that in mind there’s going to be a lot of change happening in the NFL very soon. That’s not surprising though, as the NFL is a league that’s always about constant change. If it wasn’t the Cleveland Browns would still be the Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens wouldn’t have two Super Bowl titles.

With so much about to go down in the NFL, like will the Ravens designate Joe Flacco as a franchise player and will, but more importantly when and where to, will Alex Smith get traded, we won’t know the starting QB situations for all 32 teams until we get deep into training camp and the pre-season. Still I wanted to put together an early fantasy QB rankings based on the current QB landscape in the NFL as I see it without making a whole lot of projections.

I tried to rank QBs based on how the past (can you believe there was no football yesterday? Darn) season unfolded and where it’s going and I didn’t include QBs like Smith and Matt Flynn because of their currently unsettled situations. As well, two names that aren’t included in my rankings either are Eagles QBs Nick Foles and Michael Vick. The Eagles aren’t tipping their hand as to what they’re going to do with their starting QB situation, with either Foles or Vick an option, and we shouldn’t forget the Dennis Dixon rumors. I expect Vick will start the 2013 NFL regular season starting for a team other than the Eagles and Foles, WHO HAS BIG HANDS!, to be the Eagles Week 1 QB.

What that all means is that my QB rankings took into account the starting situations for all 32 NFL teams from how each team ended the season quarterback wise, as best as I could gauge. If you’re wondering why I ranked Carson Palmer over Terrelle Pryor it’s because Palmer was the starter most of the season and if he didn’t go down with a late season ending injury Pryor wouldn’t have been granted a start. You might also be wondering why I included QBs like Matt Cassel, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Mark Sanchez in my rankings. Fitzpatrick and Cassel could easily not be the starters for their respective teams, the Bills and Chiefs, next season but until we know exactly who will be I left them in. Rex Ryan’s Mark Sanchez tattoo is Sanchez’s only credential and good enough to land him a spot on the roster. Although, if I were Ryan I’d be giving Ray Lucas a call to see how’s he doing and if he’s busy come September. Then there’s Blaine Gabbert, who’s ranked, and not Chad Henne, because new Jaguars GM David Caldwell said the team needs to build around Gabbert. Even if Caldwell is totally catfishing Gabbert I went ahead and included him anyway. Brandon Weeden is also another QB rumored to be replaced but until that happens he’s the Browns QB of the future and past.

So, with those explanations out the way below are my first official QB rankings of the off-season and make sure to keep checking out the site because they will be updated quite frequently throughout the course of the off-season…

My Early 2013 Fantasy Football QB Rankings (February 11, 2013):

There you have it. Let me know in the comments what you think, what you agree with, what you disagree with, how you would have ranked the QBs, what rankings of mine are absolutely bonkers, etc. Just have at it.

If I had ranked Foles and Vick, assuming they’re both starting next year (Foles in Philadelphia and Vick elsewhere) Foles would have came in at 25 and Vick around 18, sandwiched between Dalton and Tannehill.

I ranked RG3 as if he were to be a healthy and Week 1 starter. Of course that’s not a guarantee as of this moment and if RG3 isn’t ready to go and is placed on the PUP list to begin the season I would have ranked Kirk Cousins somewhere in the 14-16 range.

Also, of note, a few QBs to keep an eye out that weren’t ranked and quite possibly will be by the time Week 1 kicks off are Alex Smith, Matt Flynn, Ryan Mallett, Drew Stanton, Dennis Dixon, Terrelle Pryor and, of course, Tim Tebow! We also can’t forget the incoming rookie QB class that could result in guys like Geno Smith, Tyler Wilson, or Ryan Nassib starting in their NFL freshman campaigns.

One thing I can guarantee you about the above early QB rankings you read is that they will change quite a bit in the next few months. Sure, that might seem like these rankings are meaningless but to me they’re a starting point and a tune-up for what’s to come.

Before I go I have one question for you and that is if you were drafting in a 2-QB league today what would be the most realistic dream 2-QB tandem you want? Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees isn’t something likely to happen unless you were drafting in a two-team league and owned both teams so be truthful. However, in a deep league mock draft created by Pro Football Focus’ Mike Clay Rotoworld’s Evan Silva was able to snag Brady and Kaepernick in the 4^th and 5^th rounds so if you dream big your 2-QB league fantasy drafting dreams can come true. I’d be content with a Colin Kaepernick/Russell Wilson-Jay Cutler/Sam Bradford tandem if I were to go with one QB early and one QB late. How does that sound to you?

Dec 16, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) celebrates with quarterback Matt Ryan (2) after a touchdown in the second half against the New York Giants at the Georgia Dome. The Falcons won 34-0. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The tricky part about such a scenario is worrying about motivation and players being rested. We don’t know what’s going through the minds of NFL coaches like Mike Smith of the Falcons who’s coaching a team with not much to play for after securing the #1 seed in the NFC and it’s easy to guess that the likes of QB Matt Ryan, WRs Julio Jones and Roddy White and TE Tony Gonzalez won’t see much playing time, if any, against the Buccaneers this Sunday.

However, we have no idea if that’s going to be the case. We’ve seen teams rest their starters heading into the playoffs and come out cold in the playoffs (Colts, Bengals of years past) and we’ve seen teams ride a late season hot streak all the way to the Super Bowl (07 and 11 Giants). There’s a case to be made for and against resting and only the coaches know what’s right for their team.

For fantasy football owners you can only hope and pray that the guys you have on your team will be playing this week or else you have to turn to the waiver wire to find suitable replacements. Luckily for you GMEN HQ has got your back and below you’ll find a few fantasy football names you will want to consider putting a claim on depending on the needs of your team. And good luck this week if you still have something meaningful to play for in fantasy football!

QUARTERBACK

Chad Henne. The Jaguars played a fairly competitive game against the Patriots on Sunday and Henne looked like a more than capable QB while leading his team. This week Henne and the Jags take on the Titans, who have given up 29 passing TDs this season. Since taking over the starting QB job Henne has totaled five TDs and passed for an average of 243.4 YPG. If you’re looking for a possible Matt Ryan replacement and the likes of Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick have been scooped up in your league then Henne could be your guy.

Michael Vick. It’s funny how the Eagles season is going to end with Andy Reid having to start Vick after Nick Foles broke his hand this past week against the Redskins. Vick is going to have a one game audition to showcase his talents for the other teams in his league, which should motivate him to have a great game. It doesn’t hurt that he’s going up against an easily burnable Giants secondary.

RUNNING BACK

Mark Ingram. It looks like Ingram is finally getting a chance to show the Saints why they drafted him in the first round, as he’s been getting the bulk of the carries lately for his team. Last week versus the Cowboys Ingram toted the rock a season high 21 times and was able to score another rushing TD. You always have to be wary of any Saints RB because you never know who’ll be carrying the ball but it seems like Ingram has become their primary ball carrier; couple that with him being the team’s goal line RB and you could have yourself a very fine RB2/Flex option.

Montario Hardesty. If Trent Richardson is ruled out for Week 17 then Hardesty becomes even more worthy of a pick-up so keep an eye on the Browns’ practice report for the week.

WIDE RECEIVER

Randy Moss. With the 49ers losing Mario Manningham and Vernon Davis’ status up in the air QB Colin Kaepernick will have to turn to Moss as one of his top targets out of necessity. The 49ers are fighting for the NFC West division crown and we’ve seen Kaepernick look to Moss a decent amount of times this season, culminating in a season high six targets for Moss against the Seahawks in Week 16. In their first meeting with the Cardinals this season Moss was able to reel in a 47-yard TD bomb and he’s always a threat to catch a deep pass.

Brandon LaFell. During the off-season LaFell found himself on many fantasy football sleeper lists but he was never able to live up to the hype he received. It’s not like LaFell hasn’t shown flashes this season with his play it’s just that he hasn’t been consistent. This week the Panthers and the red-hot Cam Newton take on the Saints, who have given up the second most points to WRs in fantasy. That leaves LaFell as a juicy option this week for owners looking for some WR help.

TIGHT END

Kyle Rudolph. In a year of frustrating play at the TE position in fantasy football Rudolph was seen as somebody that could have been a top ten player at the position. In some leagues that may have happened and that goes to show you how disappointing the crop of TEs has been this season. If Rudolph is still toiling away in your league on the waiver wire this would be a good week to pick him up. The Vikings are desperate for a win, Rudolph has become the team’s top pass catching option after the season ending injury to Percy Harvin, and he’s the team’s top red zone target.

Delanie Walker. If Vernon Davis does indeed end up having to miss the team’s season finale this week against the Cardinals after suffering a concussion in Week 16 Walker would take over the starting TE role for the 49ers. Walker has scored a TD in each of the past two games and Kaepernick has looked to him this season, as Davis gets the majority of coverage against foes.

DEFENSE

Buffalo Bills. The Bills play the New York Jets. That would be the Jets that are starting third string QB Greg McElroy. The same Jets that allowed McElroy to get sacked by the San Diego Chargers 11 times in Week 16! McElroy also threw one interception and lost a fumble, while the Chargers special teams unit was able to score a punt return TD. In many fantasy football leagues they were the highest scoring D/ST so the Bills become an attractive plug and play D/ST option for the final regular season week of the NFL.

Not everybody gets to say that they’re playing in a fantasy football championship this week so be proud you made it this far. Now, just because you made it to the finals of your match-up that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. You still have one more very important game to play and any smart fantasy football player knows that they need to look at their line-up with an open mind.

Dec 16 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Ravens tight end Dennis Pitta (88) brings in a touchdown reception as he is defended by Denver Broncos strong safety Mike Adams (20) at M

While that doesn’t mean benching somebody like Stevan Ridley because he didn’t produce for you in Week 15 against the 49ers, it could mean considering benching somebody like Danario Alexander, who got held in check versus the Panthers, because the Chargers play the Jets in Week 16, and perhaps picking up Brandon Gibson who has a very good match-up against the horrendous pass defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thinking like that is what will lead you to fantasy football gold!

Below you’ll find a few names to consider putting a waiver wire claim for in your league. Good luck in the finals!

QUARTERBACK

Sam Bradford. In most leagues that start only one quarterback Bradford might be toiling away on the waiver wire. That is good news for you if you need a plug and play QB for the championship week, as Bradford is coming off a game where he went 35 of 55 for 377 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and a lost fumble. Great numbers in fantasy football if you can get them and Bradford has a chance to repeat those numbers, as the Saints play the Bucs this week. The Bucs are the league’s worst ranked passing defense having given up a league high 4,349 yards through the air. They are also tied for second worst in the category of passing touchdowns allowed, yielding a total of 27 to opponents this season. It might seem like a cringe worthy idea to start Bradford this week in your championship match but it could be the move that wins you the title. At least think about it if your quarterback situation is iffy.

RUNNING BACK

Mark Ingram. The former first round pick Ingram is a player we know can produce when given a chance and this past Sunday versus the Bucs Ingram was given 14 carries and Ingram rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown on those carries. In his past two games he has carried the ball at least 13 times and averaged 5.2 and 6.4 yards per carry in those two games, respectively. The only problem with starting Ingram in fantasy football is that the Saints don’t have a true #1 running back and Ingram has to contend with the likes of Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles for touches. If you’re desperate for running back help though Ingram could be the answer.

WIDE RECEIVER

Brandon Gibson. The Rams are having a season they would probably like to forget and move on from so that they can focus on their future, which does look promising. Before that can happen they have to finish this season and luckily for them they get to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Teams that play the Bucs this year are pretty happy because they know that they can be thrown on. The Bucs just can’t stop the pass and last week Bradford was able to throw for 377 yards and 3 touchdowns. A team leading 76 of those yards went to Gibson. Targeted eight times Gibson caught six of those targets and if Bradford can target him repeatedly on Sunday versus Tampa Bay it could potentially lead to a pretty good game for Gibson, especially if the Bucs focus most of their attention on stopping Danny Amendola.

Riley Cooper. The Eagles aren’t that great of a team. Let me get that out of the way first. But you don’t need to be playing on a good team to make an impact in fantasy football. In some instances it’s all about the match-ups and with a Week 16 showdown versus the Redskins the Eagles have a chance to put up some points due to the fact that the Redskins can’t really stop the pass. We’ve seen what Nick Foles can do when he’s up against a bad pass defense and Cooper could be the beneficiary of that. Against the Bengals last Thursday night Cooper was second on the team in targets with seven and while he was only able to haul in three of those targets for 20 yards one of them was a touchdown. Cooper could have WR3/Flex potential this week.

TIGHT END

Dennis Pitta. This week’s hottest waiver wire add looks to be Pitta mainly due to how inconsistent the tight position has been in fantasy football all season long. Pitta went off in Week 15 against the Broncos to the tune of 125 yards and two touchdowns. With so very few quality TE1 options this season Pitta looks to be a solid option at the position this week with the Ravens taking on the Giants. If Torrey Smith’s concussion holds him out this week Pitta will be sharing top pass catching duties with Anquan Boldin.

DEFENSE

Carolina Panthers. The Panthers are coming off a 31-7 demolishing of the San Diego Chargers. You might not think of the Panthers as a defensive juggernaut and they really aren’t but they did force Chargers QB Philip Rivers to the fumble the ball four times, two of which he lost, and they were also able to sack him six times. This week the Panthers play the Raiders and their offense led by Carson Palmer doesn’t scare anybody and if they can get to the quarterback they can force Palmer to turn the ball over, something which he has done 19 times (14 INTs and 5 fumbles lost) this season.

Whatever your situation is right now believe me when I say that there are thousands of other people feeling the exact same way as you. If you’re one of the fortunate ones who gets to play another week congratulations! You still got work to do to keep your roster’s momentum going. If you lost and your season is over I’m sorry for your loss and just remember you always have next year! And if you lost because of the Seattle Seahawks defense just know that there was nothing you could do about it.

Below you’ll find some names to check out on the waiver wire of your league that may help you out the next few weeks if you’re still in the hunt for your league’s championship

QUARTERBACK

Nick Foles. I think it’s safe to say that pretty much any quarterback can have a decent fantasy day against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their horrendous pass defense. It’s quite a contrast to their dominant rush defense but that’s just the way they like to do it in Tampa Bay. When you let Nick Foles complete 32 of 51 pass attempts to the tune of 381 passing yards and two passing touchdowns and then also let him run for an additional 27 rushing yards and score on a 10-yard run then you know your pass defense has problems.

Foles isn’t going to light it up like that every week and with a Week 15 match-up versus the Bengals on tap Foles isn’t a recommended start unless you are really desperate for help at the QB position but in Weeks 16 and 17 the Eagles play the Redskins and Giants, respectively. Two teams that have been known to give up a ton of passing yards, which is something to consider if your starting QB gets rested in the final weeks of the fantasy football playoff season.

RUNNING BACK

Shane Vereen. Stevan Ridley has been the workhorse back for the Patriots this season and with good reason. He’s been producing. The only issue with Ridley is that he likes to fumble the ball. Luckily for him and his fantasy owners is that he’s only lost one fumble this season, which has allowed him to stay in coach Bill Belichick’s good graces. Well, on Monday night versus the Texans Ridley fumbled on a goal line carry, which was ultimately recovered by teammate Aaron Hernandez, but that didn’t matter much as Ridley barely saw the field after that and did most of his damage in garbage time. The Patriots are loaded at the running back position and Vereen was actually drafted one round earlier than Ridley. There have been flashes of good play by Vereen here and there and Ridley’s loss might be Vereen’s gain. If you own Ridley then Vereen is a must add right now.

David Wilson. Any Giants fan knows exactly how dangerous Wilson has been for the team on the kick return team. Sunday afternoon was another example of that with Wilson taking one kick return 97 yards to the house for a touchdown and running back three other returns for a total of 227 kick return yards. On top of that Wilson also rushed the ball 13 times for 100 yards and two of those carries went for touchdowns. Not a bad day overall for the rookie and with Ahmad Bradshaw dealing with knee issues Wilson could be in line for more work if Bradshaw misses this week’s game. Monitor Bradshaw’s status to see if he’ll play this week or not.

WIDE RECEIVER

Joseph Morgan. Only two passes were thrown Morgan’s way in the Saints’ blowout loss to the Giants on Sunday but Morgan was able to haul in both of those passes for a total of 106 yards. One catch was for 62 yards and his other reception went for 44. With this season shaping up to be a lost one for the Saints it’s not out of the question for the Saints to see what Morgan has to offer and whether or not they have something special in him. Morgan only has 7 catches on the season but 6 of them went for at least 33 yards.

TIGHT END

Tony Scheffler. The Lions are losing pass catchers at an alarming rate. First Ryan Broyles gets put on season ending IR with an ACL injury, then Titus Young gets put on season ending being stupid IR, and now in this past Sunday night’s match-up versus the Packers Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew left the game with an ankle injury in the first quarter never to return. Whether Scheffler takes over starting tight end duties or not he’s the team’s third best pass catcher at worst and can see some time in the slot. The tight end position in fantasy football has been a wasteland this year and Scheffler could be a sneaky start.

DEFENSE

Detroit Lions. They play the Arizona Cardinals. The same Cardinals offense that gave up 40+ fantasy points to the Seattle Seahawks fantasy defense in Week 14. You’re probably not going to get that many points from the Lions this week but if you stream your fantasy football defense every week then you will be hard-pressed to find a better option than the Lions this week.

Week 14 in the NFL is the first week of the playoffs in most fantasy football leagues and if you were among the fortunate owners to clinch a spot in your league’s playoffs congratulations are in order!

Nov 29, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) drops back to pass against the New Orleans Saints during the first quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Josh D. Weiss-USA TODAY Sports

With an eye on the playoff prize now is not the time to become complacent in the land of fake football. Anything can happen from week to week in the NFL, which can have a major impact on your fantasy team. The waiver wire is still going to include some intriguing names and you have to be willing to tinker with your line-up until the season is over.

For example, your studs like Matt Ryan or Julio Jones have taken you this far but you never know if the Falcons might start resting players and you have to be prepared for such an event. Hopefully some of the names in this week’s waiver wire column will help you out in the weeks to come.

QUARTERBACK

Greg McElroy. The quarterback position is usually a settled one in leagues that only start one QB; you have your starter in place and a QB on your bench that you plug in based on match-ups or byes. With the bye weeks over and done with most teams tend to just have one QB rostered and roll with him for the rest of the season. However, in leagues where you start two quarterbacks you’re always on the lookout for a QB to add to your roster just in case and this week McElroy might be that guy.

In the event that the Jets end up starting McElroy, who in relief of Mark Sanchez against the Cardinals on Sunday went 5 of 7 for 29 yards and a touchdown, then you might want to consider taking a gamble on him based on the match-up. The Jets play the Jaguars on Sunday and they just finished letting Ryan Fitzpatrick throw two touchdown passes and run for an additional touchdown against them.

RUNNING BACK

Jonathan Dwyer. The Steelers running back situation has been a mess this season with the likes of Dwyer, Isaac Redman, Chris Rainey and Rashard Mendenhall all getting touches. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin seems to have finally settled on one guy and that guy is Dwyer, who was named the starter in their game versus the Ravens this past week. While Dwyer didn’t exactly light up the Ravens, he only totaled 57 yards on 19 touches he did score a rushing touchdown. Starting running backs in fantasy football this late in the season are hard to find and we might just have found one in Dwyer.

WIDE RECEIVER

Donnie Avery. Avery was probably a guy many have picked up and dropped throughout the course of the season, as he has had his ups and downs. With T.Y. Hilton getting hot lately Avery has been an afterthought in the Colts’ offense but this past Sunday against the Lions Avery had a huge game catching five passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns. Luck has been targeting Avery a ton this season and the Colts will continue with their pass heavy offense down the stretch. We’ve seen a lot of pass catchers on the Colts be targeted by Luck this season so there shouldn’t be any worries that there aren’t enough looks to go around in Indy.

Golden Tate. What might be surprising to find out about Tate is that he has quietly been playing at a high level these past few weeks scoring touchdowns in three out of his past four games with a multi-touchdown game thrown in. Against the vaunted Chicago Bears defense Tate caught five passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. Tate’s a guy that’s available in a lot of leagues and with Russell Wilson improving weekly and his trust in Tate being at a high level that could make for Tate to be an every week fantasy starter the rest of the way.

Chris Givens. You only want to be adding Givens to your roster for now and not starting him with confidence unless Danny Amendola is out, which is something that might happen again this season. We’ve seen Rams QB Sam Bradford have lockdown tunnel vision this year, which is usually reserved for Amendola. However, with Amendola sitting out the game versus the 49ers on Sunday Bradford’s favorite WR was Givens, as he was targeted 14 times. Givens caught 11 of those targets for 92 yards and would make for a great WR3/Flex start against the Bills this week if Amendola doesn’t play.

TIGHT END

Tony Scheffler. The tight end position in fantasy football this season has been a crapshoot. Unless you drafted one of Aaron Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham or Tony Gonzalez you have been stuck with one of the many tight ends that have been just okay on a week-to-week basis and possibly also starting a different tight end each week based on match-ups.

The reason I mention Scheffler’s name isn’t because he’s suddenly become a stud in that Lions passing game or that he has surpassed Brandon Pettigrew as the starting tight end in Detroit. Nope. The real reason why Scheffler’s name is mentioned in this column has to do with Ryan Broyles’ season ending injury. You see, the Lions are depleted at the WR position after Megatron and with Broyles out and Titus Young being benched for being an idiot the Lions are losing bodies. The person to benefit the most from Broyles’ injury is Scheffler, who should see an increase in looks and more time lining up in the slot. Basically you’re getting a WR designated as a TE in Scheffler and in fantasy football this year that could be huge!

DEFENSE

If you’ve been starting a different defense each week based on match-ups this season Week 14 brings you a few good options. The Jets, Cardinals, and Browns would be at the top of my one-week plug-and-play rankings, as they go up against the Jaguars, Seahawks and Chiefs respectively.

Nov 25, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte (22) is injured during the second half against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. The Bears won 28-10. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Forte left Sunday’s game against the Vikings on Sunday during the third quarter, never to return. It was nice he didn’t need the assistance of a cart, as we was able to walk off the field on his own accord, but the bottom line was that he got hurt. To make matters worse for those that started Forte in fantasy football this past weekend was that his backup Michael Bush scored two touchdowns.

It seems that Forte’s inured ankle is the same one that he injured earlier in the season, which could lead to some questions marks about his availability this weekend. If you own Forte hopefully you also own Bush and if you didn’t it’s time to pick him up, that is if he’s still available.

Another big injury happened to a member of the New York Giants, as backup running back Andre Brown left the game against the Packers Sunday night and it turns out the news is pretty dire. Brown will miss the remainder of the season with a broken left fibula. For those of you thinking about rushing out and picking up David Wilson, thinking he will see an uptick in touches you might want to hold off on that thinking. Wilson doesn’t see much time on the field because of his poor pass protection and until that improves he should be a fantasy football afterthought.

So, to recap, yes to Bush, no to Wilson. Below you’ll find a few options to consider when deciding who to use your waiver wire priority on for the upcoming Week 13 in the NFL season.

QUARTERBACK

Colin Kaepernick. There were many skeptics out there regarding Kaepernick and his quick ascension to the thrown of top signal caller in San Francisco. He took care of the Bears in his first start and the Saints were no match for him either, as he went 16 of 25 for 231 yards passing and one passing touchdown. He also added 27 yards rushing on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Kaepernick is the real deal and can be a fantasy football difference maker down the stretch. If you’ve been starting the likes of Cam Newton or Philip Rivers all year long I would recommend picking up Kaepernick and starting him for as long as the 49ers do.

RUNNING BACK

Michael Bush. If Forte is out Bush will become the man.

Knowshon Moreno. It wasn’t the much buzzed about rookie Ronnie Hillman that was given an opportunity at the running back position in Denver after Willis McGahee was put on I.R. Instead Moreno, most recently seen as inactive on the Broncos just last week was given a surprise start and a shot at redemption. The word around the NFL is that Hillman isn’t good enough in the pass blocking skills department and for a team that has Peyton Manning slinging the rock each week that’s a big no-no. Moreno and his pass blocking expertise took his shot and ran with it, gaining 85 yards on the ground and 26 yards through the air for a total 111 yards on 24 touches. Moreno is the starting running back in Denver for now and is in a good spot to be a weekly producer.

WIDE RECEIVER

Greg Jennings. The Packers’ former #1 wide receiver is expected back for Week 13 just in time to take part in the team’s divisional clash with rivals their the Minnesota Vikings. Jennings can be found on a large number of free agency pools around the fantasy football land and now is the time to pick him up. He’s no longer the team’s top pass catching option, as that role now belongs to both Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb but look for Jennings to slide right back into the groove of things and become one of Aaron Rodgers’ favorite targets, as long as he’s healthy. All you James Jones owners out there should be concerned about Jones losing targets to Jennings.

Pierre Garcon. We all saw what a health Garcon could do this season when he went for 109 yards and a touchdown in one quarter of play in the first week of the NFL season. Garcon is a burner with exceptional hands and when healthy he is a legitimate WR1 in fantasy football. The only thing holding him back was the foot injury that he has been dealing with all season long.  Garcon returned to action in Week 11 but he wasn’t much of a factor catching three passes for a measly five yards. Many owners picked him up hoping he would produce and then start him rest of the season but those that took a flier on him more than likely immediately dropped him. Well, the next week the Garcon of old was back catching five passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. The best news regarding Garcon’s performance against a very good Cowboys secondary is that he came out the game without any setbacks. If Garcon is still available in your league pick him up and start him without any concern.

Mohamed Sanu. The Bengals have been sorely lacking a consistent threat at the wide receiver position behind A.J. Green and it looks like they may have finally found one in Sanu. The rookie from Rutgers was a major red zone threat on Sunday for the Bengals, as he hauled in two red zone touchdowns. His receiving yards production wasn’t much, just five catches for 29 yards, but his two touchdowns make up for it. Sanu looks to be the Bengals #2 wide receiver for the rest of the season and if Dalton keeps targeting him, especially in the red zone, he might become a very useful WR3/Flex play for the rest of the season.

TIGHT END

Heath Miller. The Pittsburgh Steelers offense has been left for dead by many football observers thanks in large part to the absence of franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Miller was at the forefront of the shunning since many believed he wouldn’t be as involved in the passing game with Byron Leftwich/Chaz Batch at the helm but on Sunday Chaz Batch targeted Miller a surprising eight times, which resulted in six catches for 63 yards for Miller. There are reports that Roethlisberger will be back as early as this week and even if he’s not a Week 14 can’t be out of the question. Miller was producing as a top five fantasy football tight end up until Big Ben’s injury and once Roethlisberger was out many were quick to drop Miller. If he’s available pick him up and start him once Big Ben is back. Going into Week 12 Miller was among the league leaders in red zone targets and that trend will continue once the best quarterback on the Steelers roster is back.

DEFENSE

New York Jets. I highly doubt that the Jets defense isn’t available in your league and if they are and you are in need of a defense/special teams this week in fantasy football, owners of the Seattle Seahawks defense I’m looking at you, then you would be foolish not to consider the Jets. Yes, I know these aren’t the same ferocious and intimidating Jets of prior years but there still are some playmakers on that side of the ball for the Jets like Antonio Cromartie.

The main reason why I recommend the Jets this week is mainly due to the fact that they will be playing the Cardinals and their atrocious starting quarterback Ryan Lindley. The same Lindley who threw a total of four interceptions against the St. Louis Rams in his starting debut this week, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Whatever your playoff chances are one thing for certain is that you can always look to improve your team. No matter how perfect your team is anything can happen within a matter of seconds. Just imagine your team was in first place and you had been riding both Rob Gronkowski and Willis McGahee all year long. Nothing to worry about, right? Well, we all know what happened on Sunday and it looks like both Gronkowski (broken forearm) and McGahee (torn MCL, broken leg) will be missing at least the next four weeks and could both possibly be out for the rest of the regular season.

Nov 18, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) reacts after his touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts 59-24. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-US PRESSWIRE

Those two injuries were the biggest ones to happen this past week in the NFL and if you lost either one below you’ll find my waiver wire pick-up article for the week that will hopefully help you out for the upcoming slate of games. Oh, and don’t forget that thanks to Thanksgiving this week there will be three football games on the schedule on Thursday: Texans @ Lions, Redskins @ Cowboys and Patriots @ Jets. You better set your line-up accordingly…

QUARTERBACK

Chad Henne. Want the best example that Week 11 was fantasy football bizarro world? Matt Ryan threw for 301 yards and 5 interceptions while Henne threw for 354 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Playing for an injured Blaine Gabbert Henne lit up a Texans defense that was heralded as an elite unit and his play has already given him a vote of confidence from the coaching staff, as Henne has been named the starter this week against the Titans. This season the Titans are allowing quarterbacks to throw an average of 266.2 yards against them this and have given up a total of 20 passing touchdowns; both in the bottom ten of the league. It’s not out of the question that Henne could have another big game this week and if you’re feeling risky Henne just might provide you with a huge return.

Colin Kaepernick. In a battle of the backup QBs, Kaepernick vastly outplayed Jason Campbell. Kaepernick’s play was pretty darn good and he may have taken the starting job away from Alex Smith. Kaepernick was 16 of 23 for 243 yards and two touchdowns and he also added 12 yards rushing. When 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked who’ll be the starting QB for the Saints this week the response wasn’t good for Smith: “I usually go with the hot hand.” Well, nobody’s hand was hotter than Kaepernick’s Monday night and if he is given the starting job he could be a top ten fantasy QB the rest of the season.

RUNNING BACK

Ronnie Hillman and Lance Ball. I covered the McGahee injury earlier in the article so you know he’s out for a long time. Hillman and Ball played in relief of McGahee once he left the game on Sunday against the Chargers. Hillman totaled 14 touches for 61 yards and Ball had a total of 9 touches for 56 yards. Hillman has been getting more involved in the run game for the Broncos and looks to be the guy to replace McGahee but Ball will also be in play and we can’t forget about Knowshon Moreno as well. If you want the home run pick it’s Hillman but don’t be surprised if Ball takes a chunk out of Hillman’s touches.

Beanie Wells. The Cardinals rushing attack has been a joke this year, even though La’Rod Stephens-Howlins rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown versus the Falcons on Sunday. Two of LSH’s 27 carries totaled 92 yards, which means he averaged 1.86 yards per rush on his other 22 rushes. Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt has said that Wells will be coming off the short term I.R. designation this week and should be good to go against the Rams this Sunday and should take back the starting job.

Bryce Brown. The season just keeps getting worse and worse for the Eagles and the latest bad news for them came on Sunday when starting RB LeSean McCoy was knocked out of their game against the Redskins with a concussion. There’s no guarantee that McCoy will be medically cleared Sunday and if he isn’t Brown will get the starting nod. If you own McCoy you better pick up Brown.

Jalen Parmele. Rashad Jennings didn’t do much as the starting RB for the Jaguars while he was starting in place of the injured Maurice Jones-Drew and on Sunday head coach Mike Mularky benched Jennings for Parmele against the Texans. Parmele responded by rushing for 80 yards; not spectacular numbers but the Texans run defense is stout so Parmele actually did not too bad if you think about it. Jones-Drew likely won’t be back this week, giving Parmele at least one more game as the Jaguars’ starting running back and in Week 12 that start would be against the Titans who have given up an average of 132.8 yards rushing to opponents this year, good for 5^th worse in the NFL.

WIDE RECEIVER

Danario Alexander. Since being given significant time at the WR position in San Diego and eventually being named a starter for the team Alexander, known as DX, has taken his opportunity and ran with it. In three games with the Chargers DX has totaled 17 catches, 289 yards and three touchdowns, including the 96 yards and 2 touchdowns he had against the Broncos this past week. DX led the Chargers in targets for a second straight week and that could be a trend for the rest of the season that won’t be going away. If you need something else to tip you over the edge the Chargers play the Ravens this week and that secondary just lost safety Ed Reed to a one-game suspension.

Julian Edelman. Edelman played more than Brandon Lloyd in two-wide sets on Sunday and that could continue to happen going forward this season. In Edelman’s favor was his play Sunday, as he totaled 222 all-purpose yards (58 yards receiving, 47 yards rushing and 117 return yards) and recorded two touchdowns (1 receiving, 1 punt return). With Gronkowski out there will be more targets to go around and Edelman might be more of a beneficiary over Lloyd.

T.Y. Hilton. There has been no question that Hilton has the talent to be an every week WR3 in fantasy football. The only thing holding him back has been Donnie Avery. Both players have been vying for the attention of Andrew Luck’s targets and with Avery suffering a concussion on Sunday Hilton should get an increased number of targets going forward. Against the Patriots Hilton caught 6 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns and this week the Colts play the Bills, which is a great match-up for the Colts’ passing attack. If Avery is out this week Hilton makes for an attractive WR3 play.

TIGHT END

Dwayne Allen. The Colts play the Bills this week and the Bills rank in the bottom of fantasy football when it comes to fantasy points against tight ends. There has been talk that Coby Fleener will return from his injury this week but if he doesn’t Allen will continue to dominate the tight end targets. If you’re a Gronk owner looking for an answer Allen could be your man. Against the Patriots this past Sunday Allen was targeted 11 times and caught six of those targets for 69 yards.

Garrett Graham. Even though Owen Daniels came back from his injury for the Texans on Sunday and they scored 43 points against the Jaguars Daniels wasn’t able to get it on the scoring fun. He did catch six of nine balls thrown his way for a total of 57 yards though. The man throwing Daniels those balls, QB Matt Schaub had one heck of game throwing for 527 yards and five touchdowns, three of which went to tight ends not named Owen Daniels: two to Garrett Graham and one to James Casey. Picking up Graham won’t necessarily result in fantasy points, in fact he might not get another touchdown all year, but if you have the roster spot he’s worth adding, as you never know when Daniels might be out again.

DEFENSE

Cincinnati Bengals. If you’ve been employing a week-by-week strategy at the defensive position in fantasy football then last week you probably started the Cincinnati Bengals. The reason being that they were going up against the Kansas City Chiefs; a team that was yielding the highest amount of fantasy points to opposing defenses. While the Bengals didn’t pay you back with a blowout fantasy performance they only allowed the Chiefs to score 6 points, recorded three sacks and added a fumble recovery. Not a bad day at the offense.

They’re not playing the Chiefs again this week, that would be the Denver Broncos, who should already be owned in all fantasy leagues, the Bengals are playing the Raiders. Carson Palmer has been a respectable quarterback so far this season and the thinking going into the Raiders’ Week 11 match-up against the lowly Saints defense was that Palmer would rip them apart but that didn’t quite happen. It’s true that Palmer threw for over 300 yards and 2 TDs but he was also picked off twice, one of which was a pick-six, and he was also sacked three times. If the Saints could do that to Palmer just imagine what an opportunistic Bengals defense might do to him? Roll with the Bengals for at least one more week.

Nov 11, 2012; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Victor Butler (57) sacks Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles (9) during the fourth quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. The Cowboys defeated the Eagles 38-23. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

For more fantasy football talk and to see which players you should be targeting this week on the waiver wire in your league keep reading…

QUARTERBACK

Jake Locker. The Titans injured quarterback didn’t exactly light up the Dolphins’ secondary on the Sunday completing only 9 of 21 passes for 122 yards. But two of those passes went for touchdowns and he also added 36 yards on the ground rushing. Locker won’t help you this week, as the Titans have a bye in Week 11 but he could be plenty useful down the fantasy football playoff stretch and would make a good bench stash for now.

Ryan Tannehill. I recommended Tannehill as a Week 10 bye-week replacement to anybody who would listen to me, which hopefully didn’t turn out to be too many people, and even traded for him (giving up James Jones in a 1-for-1 trade) in a 2-QB league to cover for RG3’s bye. The thinking was that he had a very good match-up against a suspect Titans secondary that just one week ago was lit up by the Bears. Well, fast-forward to Sunday afternoon after the Titans-Dolphins showdown and the stats will tell you the whole story. Tannehill was 23 of 39 for 217 yards and three interceptions. Not the greatest day in land of fantasy football but just know that I went down with the ship as well if you want to blame me for your fantasy football troubles.

So, why am I recommending Tannehill again? It once again has to do with his match-up, which this week sees him going up against the Bills on Thursday night. The Bills’ pass defense might actually be worse than the Titans and Tannehill could have a nice rebound game. If you need a starting quarterback to replace the likes of quarterbacks on byes like Russell Wilson or Eli Manning Tannehill should do the trick this week.

Nick Foles. Andy Reid and the Eagles haven’t officially come out and ruled out starting quarterback Mike Vick for their Week 11 division clash with the Redskins but all signs are pointing to Foles making his first ever regular season NFL start this week. If you look at the game time you’ll see a rookie QB thrown into the fire without much preparation the week leading up to gameday and there were plenty of mistakes made by the rook (1 fumble lost and 1 pick-six). But he did make some nice plays and his pocket awareness didn’t seem as brutal as the man he replaced. What Foles has in his favor is a match-up against the lowly Redskins and plenty of offensive weapons around him to be considered a high upside fantasy play this week.

RUNNING BACK

Daniel Thomas. There’s been a downward trend when it comes to the play of Reggie Bush and his benching Sunday against the Titans for fumbling in the first half didn’t help his cause much. Even before the game Thomas was out-snapping and out-touching Bush and if there were any week to start Thomas in the flex spot it would be against that Bills defense that can’t stop the run at all. Thomas also has to contend with Lamar Miller taking away touches but there’s no denying that Thomas has been seeing the field more and can also be considered the team’s goal line back.

Marcel Reece. The 2012 fantasy football debate between Marcel Reece and Taiwan Jones is over and we have a landslide winner. All the talk was that Jones would be the starting tailback replacing an injured Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson for the Raiders but if you read the reports from various fantasy football expert sites the Raiders coaching brass had absolutely no trust in Jones whatsoever. Reece was the man they were going to feature and that’s exactly what happened.

Reece touched the football 20 times (13 rushes, 7 receptions) on Sunday versus the Ravens for a total of 104 yards compared to Jones’ three touches. If both Run DMC and Goodson are out again this week Reece is the man you want to start; especially going up against the Saints and their putrid defense.

WIDE RECEIVER

Danario Alexander. Right before gametime on Sunday Norv Turner announced that Alexander would be starting in place of the disappointing Robert Meachem and that in-game play would decide who would see the most snaps. Well, Alexander made sure he wasn’t the one watching from the sideline, as he took a pass early in the game and turned it into an 80-yard catch and run touchdown. He ended up with a 5/134/1 line and led all Chargers in snaps. Alexander has always had the talent but has been injury prone his career but is worth picking up and riding the rest of the season, as long as he stays healthy. Rivers has always looked for those tall, speedy receivers and Alexander could become Rivers’ new Vincent Jackson.

TIGHT END

Brandon Myers. Myers didn’t score two touchdowns again this week and he only caught five balls for 57 yards but the Raiders play the Saints this week and Myers is in the TE1 discussion this week based solely on his match-up. What you have to worry about though is that he suffered a concussion, the fourth of his career and second this season, and might not be able to suit up this week. Read the practice reports to see what his condition is like throughout the week

Dwayne Allen. Coby Fleener doesn’t appear likely to suit up this week, which makes Allen an interesting pick-up. The Colts battle the Pats this week and without Fleener in the line-up Allen is the main TE target of choice for Luck. Against the Jags Allen was only able to haul in 2 passes for 31 yards on 2 targets but the Jags have done a good job stopping tight ends this year. The Pats defense can be thrown on and they have given up either at least 50 yards and a touchdown or both to seven tight ends this year; eight if you count Scott Chandler twice.

DEFENSE

Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals took it to the Giants this past weekend and if they can keep up their level of play they should be in the consideration as a top five fantasy defense in Week 11, as they go up against the Chiefs. Whether it’s Matt Cassel or Brady Quinn at the helm for the Chiefs in Week 11 the Bengals should be able to put up enough pressure to force a decent number of turnovers. If Adam Jones is able to play for them their special teams return unit will also make the Bengals an attractive waiver wire pick up.

St. Louis Rams. The Rams held the 49ers in check on Sunday and while they didn’t walk away with a win, neither did the 49ers, we saw that the Rams defense is legit. And that was without the play of rookie CB Janoris Jenkins who was benched for disciplinary reasons. In Week 11 the Rams play the Jets, who for some reason are still clinging onto the notion that Mark Sanchez is a starting caliber quarterback in the NFL and if that’s the case the Rams’ tenacious front four should be visiting sack city quite a few times Sunday.

There’s been plenty of breakout players this season that you should be able to pick up as a free agent in your league.

If you have any of the following players you should be keeping your eye out for free agents you can add to your roster.

Week 6                  

Chicago Bears: Jay Cutler, Matt Forte & Brandon Marshall

Jacksonville Jaguars: This shouldn’t be an issue unless you have Maurice Jones-Drew…

Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton, Greg Olsen & Steve Smith

New Orleans Saints: Drew Brees, Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston & Mark Ingram

Week 7                  

Miami Dolphins: Reggie Bush, Ryan Tannehill and Brian Hartline.

Philadelphia Eagles: Michael Vick, Brent Celek, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, & Jeremy Maclin

Atlanta Falcons: Matt Ryan, Roddy White, Michael Turner, Julio Jones & Tony Gonzalez

Denver Broncos: Peyton Manning, Eric Decker, Knowshon Moreno, Willis McGahee & Demaryius           Thomas

Kansas City Chiefs: Dexter McCluster & Dwayne Bowe

San Diego Chargers: Phillip Rivers, Robert Meachem, Ryan Mathews, Jackie Battle & Malcom Floyd

Week 8                  

Buffalo Bills: Fred Jackson or CJ Spiller

Baltimore Ravens: Ray Rice, Torrey Smith & Joe Flacco

Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton & AJ Green

Houston Texans: Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson & Arian Foster

Week 9                  

New England Patriots: Tom Brady or Rob Gronkowski

New York Jets: Hmm… Not sure this will effect your team much… Unless you rely on Shonn Greene.

St. Louis Rams: Steven Jackson

San Francisco 49ers: Alex Smith, Vernon Davis, Mikchael Crabtree, Randy Moss, Frank Gore

Week 10

Washington Redskins: RGIII, Pierre Garcon

Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson

Green Bay Packers: Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson, Michael Finley & Cedric Benson

Arizona Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald, Ryan Williams & Michael Floyd

Week 11

New York Giants: Eli Manning, Ahmad Bradshaw & Victor Cruz

Minnesota Vikings: Percy Harvin & Adrian Peterson

Tennessee Titans: Kenny Britt & Jared Cook

Seattle Seahawks: Marshawn Lynch or Sydney Rice

It’s that time of the Fantasy Football season that most owners dread; between the injuries & under-performing players you have enough to deal with. Now you have to add in bye weeks!? This is where things can start getting tricky.

Don’t panic though, there’s always a viable backup option on the waiver wire. Below is a suggestion for free agents in each position you may be looking to fill a void.

Quarterback

Ryan Tannehill – Dolphins

If you are struggling in the quarterback position, or if your mediocre QB isn’t living up to your expectation, make sure you add Tannehill as soon as possible. This rookie from Miami is putting up impressive numbers every week & after Sunday’s performance with Brian Hartline, it seems those two could be a force to be reckoned with.

Running Back

Jackie Battle – Chargers

I’ve had my eye on Battle for a few weeks now and even added him to my roster last week. I’ve been kicking myself for two days for not starting him! In my defense how should I have known he was going to rush for 39 yards & a rushing TD, accompanied with 42 receiving yards & a TD. It’s unclear whether you can expect this kind of performance out of Battle every week but if you are in need of a running back, you should scoop him up quickly.

Wide Receiver

Brian Hartline – Dolphins

As I stated above, Miami has a new dynamic duo: Tannehill & Hartline. On a whim last week I picked up Hartline to replace a WR on bye week. Would you believe he scored be 30+ points?! #winning If he is still available in your league, I
definitely suggest adding him to the roster.

Tight End

Greg Olsen – Panthers

After a slow start to the season, Olsen recorded six catches for 89 yards & a touchdown versus the Falcons this weekend. He’s only owned in 17.6% of fantasy leagues, so if you are in need of a TE he should be available in your league.

Defense – Chargers

In Week 4 the Chargers defense managed to rack up six turnovers which helped them record over 21 fantasy points. While that may have only been one week, the Chargers defense has been putting up solid numbers this season & are worth the
pick up if your defense is under-performing this season.

It’s only the 4^th week of the NFL season, yet it seems  Fantasy Football starters are dropping like flies. If it’s not your running back tearing his ACL in one league, it’s your wide receiver with a foot injury in the other.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Luckily for you, when one door closes another one opens. Here are just a few suggestions for players you need to pick up on this week’s waiver wire if you are suffering from serious injuries on your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

Andy Dalton (CIN) – Owned in 87.4% of leagues

If you are struggling in the QB position, you need to jump on Dalton immediately. In just three games he has averaged 289 passing yards, with six touchdowns & only three interceptions. Next week he travels to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars mediocre defense. With two 300 yard games already under his belt this season, chances are we could be seeing another one.

Running Back

Daniel Thomas (MIA) – Owned in 57.8% of leagues

With Reggie Bush out for 3-4 weeks, there are a lot of people scrambling to replace that hole in their lineup. Thomas is just the answer you were looking for. He finished yesterday’s game with 19 carries for 69 rushing yards with a touchdown to top it off. Even though the Dolphins couldn’t pull out the win in OT, Thomas is clearly a great replacement for Bush.

Tashard Choice (BUF) – Owned in .3% of leagues

It’s no surprise that Choice is probably only owned on his own fantasy team before this weekend’s performance. With CJ Spiller & Fred Jackson on the depth chart, no one expected Choice to receive legitimate playing time this season. That was until the two star running backs were injured, leaving Choice to take on the rushing work load. In Sunday’s game he had 20 carries for 91 yards. This is just the beginning for the running back that could see some serious playing time this season.

Wide Receiver

Ramses Barden (NYG) – Owned in .7% of leagues

Fantasy owners are feeling the pain from Hakeem Nicks foot injury. It’s not clear how serious the injury is or if he will miss any more time this season. However, if you are looking to fill a void in the wide receiver slot, Barden is a great option and should be available in almost every league. Barden has nine catches for 130 receiving yards on Thursday versus the Panthers.

Tight End

Heath Miller (PIT) – Owned in 27.5% of leagues

For me the tight end position is always hit or miss; so if you have an under-performing TE, it’s time to pick up Heath Miller. With four touchdowns in three games, it’s clear this TE is putting up some serious points this season & will be an intricate part of the Steelers offense.

Kyle Rudolph (MIN) – Owned in 17.1% of leagues

Another TE to pick up while he is still available is the Vikings TE Rudolph. In just three games he has managed to score three touchdowns. In Sunday’s game versus the 49ers he had five catches for 36 yards with two touchdowns.

QUARTERBACK

Honestly, there aren’t any quarterbacks worthy enough to mention in this spot. Most QBs worth having on your fantasy football roster, either starting or stashed on the bench, shouldn’t be available on the waiver wire. One name to keep on an eye on is Chad Henne. Jaguars starting QB Blaine Gabbert had to leave the game against the Texans this past Sunday because of a leg injury. If his injury sidelines him for any period of time consider picking up Henne if you’re very desperate for a fantasy QB. The Jags do play the Colts this Sunday so the match-up ain’t all that bad.

RUNNING BACK

Bilal Powell. Jets RB Shonn Greene had to leave the Jets’ game versus the Steelers on Sunday because of a head injury/possible concussion. He left the field after a helmet-to-helmet hit and most observers figured his day was done. Powell came on in relief of Greene and rushed for 33 yards on nine carries but Greene eventually and surprisingly returned to the game.

Not eye-popping numbers for Powell but Rex Ryan is in love with him and wouldn’t hesitate putting him in the starting line-up if need be. Powell might not be a must add now but if you own Green you should stash him on your bench if you can.

Andre Brown. The Giants will be awaiting word on starting RB Ahmad Bradshaw, who had to leave the game against the Bucs with a neck injury. It wasn’t rookie David Wilson who took over for Bradshaw. Nope, Andre Brown was the man given the opportunities and he took advantage of them rushing for 71 yards, one touchdown and one two-point conversion on 13 carries while filling in for Bradshaw. He also had two receptions for 19 yards. If Bradshaw can’t go against the Panthers on Thursday Night then Brown would be an adequate substitute an any Bradshaw owner must own Brown.

Sep 16, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants running back Andre Brown (35) picks up yardage before being brought down from behind by Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Lavonte David (54) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim O

Daryl Richardson. One thing we learned about the Rams’ running back situation is that rookie 7^th rounder Richardson is the back-up to starter Steven Jackson; not highly touted 2^nd round rookie Isaiah Pead. Jackson didn’t play for must of the game against the Redskins either because he was benched for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty or he injured his groin; probably a little bit of both. In his place Richardson touched the ball 17 times (15 rushes, 2 receptions) for a total of 102 yards. If Jackson is healthy he’s the starter but if he can’t go look for Richardson to be the go-to guy until Jackson returns.

WIDE RECEIVER

Donnie Avery. While everybody waits for the return of Austin Collie (concussion) Avery has been doing a wonderful job as the Colts’ #2 WR behind Reggie Wayne and he might even get to keep the job if or when Collie returns. In the Colts’ first game Avery made three catches on eight targets and scored a touchdown. In their second game Avery caught nine out his ten targets for a total of 110 yards (all team highs) and even added a couple of rushes. Avery probably won’t see as many targets as he did this past week but the Colts are a passing team and if Avery can keep his play up at a high level he could become a weekly WR3 start in fantasy line-ups.

Julian Edelman. In two receiver sets for the Pats’ on Sunday against the Cardinals it was Edelman who got the majority #2 WR snaps over Wes Welker. Edelman saw 15 out of 18 two wide-out snaps and that indicates that he has possibly jumped ahead of Welker on the depth chart in New England. It’s a situation worth monitoring but now that Aaron Hernandez is out for at least six weeks the Patriots will more than likely run a whole lot more three wide-out sets, which will hurt Edelman’s productivity.

TIGHT END

Dennis Pitta. The Ravens tight end situation was one many have avoided because the team has two quality options at the position and neither Pitta nor Ed Dickson stood out over the other. That has changed after the team’s first two regular season games with Pitta emerging as Flacco’s #1 TE option. In week 1 Pitta was targeted nine times and caught five balls for 73 yards and a touchdown. In Week 2 he was targeted 15 times and caught eight balls for 65 yards. Dickson in both games has been targeted a combined seven times, making a total three catches for 45 yards and zero touchdowns. In a case like this the stats don’t lie; Pitta is the one to own and could make for a suitable replacement if Aaron Hernandez was your team’s starting TE.

Brandon Myers. Myers is an unknown name in fantasy circles bus that might change soon. After two games Myers has combined to make 11 catches on 11 targets for 151 total yards. He doesn’t have a touchdown but Palmer has been looking for him and he’s a name to remember the longer the season goes

KICKER

I don’t usually mention kicker a whole lot in my fantasy football columns but Ravens rookie PK Justin Tucker is looking like the real deal. In the Ravens’ game against the Eagles he booted field goals of 48, 51 and 56 yards. Tucker has a powerful leg and if your kicker has been underperforming you should snatch him up.

DEFENSE

Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals play the Eagles this week in Arizona and they could turn in a sneaky defensive performance. After two games the Cardinals rank 11^th overall in opposing pass yards (218) and 13^th in opposing rushing yards (102.5). They have given up less than 20 points in their contests against the Seahawks (16) and Patriots (18) and have a total of two interceptions and seven sacks in those games. Not to mention that Patrick Peterson is always a threat to return a punt or kickoff back for a touchdown and you have a potentially top ten D/ST fantasy unit in Week 3. Plus, Mike Vick this year in two games has thrown six interceptions, fumbled the ball three times and lost one of those fumbles.

-Colts DE Dwight Freeney is out, which could help the Vikings pass situation by not having to face the all-pro Pass Rusher. Vikings TE Kyle Rudolph could benefit the most from a Christian Ponder who has time to throw.

July 26, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews (right) and center Nick Hardwick (61) walk off the field after practice during training camp at Charger Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-US PRESSWIRE

-It’s still early but don’t look for Chargers RB Ryan Mathews to suit up today. Last week Ronnie Brown was THE name to replace Mathews and we all saw how that turned out. Best to avoid the Chargers run game if you can in fantasy.

-Arizona QB John Skelton is inactive and the quarterbacking duties have once again been placed on the shoulders of Kevin Kolb. The Cardinals play a much improved Patriots defense this week so there’s really no point in starting Kolb this week, not like that was going to happen anyway.

-Colts WR Austin Collie is officially out due to concussion symptoms. Collie’s battle with concussions might not see him play at all this year so if you have him and can stash him on your bench do so, as he does have Top 30 WR talent. If you need the real estate on your team cut him loose.

-The following relevant players were already ruled out before today: Raiders WR Jacoby Ford, Saints WR Devery Henderson, Bills RB Fred Jackson, Jets TE Dustin Keller and Bills WR David Nelson. Look to Raiders WR Rod Streater and Saints WR Lance Moore to have bigger roles for their respective teams. Bills RB CJ Spiller should be owned and started in every league.

-Patriots RB Shane Vereen inactive, leaving RB Stevan Ridley another opportunity to run away with the starting RB job in New England.

-Eagles wideouts DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are both active and starting.

-Giants WR Hakeem Nicks is active and starting.

-Carolina will have the services of both WR Steve Smith and RB Jonathan Stewart.

-Browns RB Brandon Jackson is inactive. He was the team’s 3rd back last week and with him out that could leave rookie RB Trent Richardson to play all downs this week against the Bengals.

-Bengals RB Bernard Scott is inactive, leaving more workload for BenJarvis Green-Ellis.

-Raiders WR Denarius Moore is active but might be on a snap count so if you have other options at WR play them. Look for Moore to be no more than a WR3 play this week.

-Jets CB Darrelle Revis is out for today’s game against the Steelers, making the Steelers WRs Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown more appealing options to start in fantasy.

-As of right now Redskins WR Pierre Garçon is unlikely play but monitor his situation closely. Redskins play in the late game and he might convince the coaches to let him play. Aldrick Robinson would make for a nice fill-in if you have no other options.

• 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.

Any good fantasy football GM knows that once the draft is over their real job begins and it’s all about managing the team throughout the season. Whether it’s benching an early round pick or cutting a sleeper all GMs have to make the tough decisions if they want to win their league. What makes GMing in the world of fantasy a little easier is all the resources at hand that provide you with as much information as you need to make the right call.

And with the debut of this latest column at GMEN HQ titled “Before You Start” we plan on bringing you relevant fantasy football  information that will aid you in putting together your starting line-up. Look for this article to be posted before every Monday and Thursday night game and each Sunday morning. We’ll be bringing you the fantasy football news you need such as late minute scratches, injury news and anything else that might alter the state of your fantasy football starting line-up.

Aug 30, 2012; Detroit, MN, USA; NFL referee Henry Zaborniak gestures in the fourth quarter in a preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-US Presswire

So, how about we get to it then and give you the information you need before you start setting your line-ups for tonight’s Cowboys @ Giants opening night game!

Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten isn’t expected to play tonight due to a lacerated spleen but there’s a rumor going around that he wants to play so badly that he’ll sign a medical waiver to get in on the action. If he’s on your team you should monitor the situation but even if he does play we recommend looking into other tight end options for the week.

UPDATE: Twitter reports state that Witten’s on the field, in cleats and stretching. Something worth monitoring as game time bears closer.

Miles Austin is expected to play tonight after an injury plagued preseason. Place him in your line-up as no worse than a WR3.

In return yard leagues you might get some extra rewards out of Dez Bryant, as he might be returning some punts. But they will only be in vital game situations.

Ahmad Bradshaw is listed as “probable” due to his hand situation but he should be the Giants starting running back tonight.
Hakeem Nicks has had a remarkable injury recovery journey this off-season and his preseason appearance means that he’ll be playing in tonight’s game.

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