Hi everyone,
Hope that you enjoyed the first weekend of NFL action and that the fates went easy on your teams this weekend injury-wise. Then again, I’m guessing I’m not the only one who had Ryan Grant and Matthew Stafford on many of my fantasy teams and thought I’d gotten a pair of draft-day bargains. In one 2 QB league I actually started Stafford and Kevin Kolb and had Grant as my RB. Needless to say, I came in second in that matchup.
But you didn’t come here to get a detailed description of how my fantasy teams did last weekend (or at least I hope not). You’re here because you want to know how to best fill in the gaps in your lineup or to speculate on a free agent or two. So without further ado, let’s get to it:
Quarterback
This position was undoubtedly hit the hardest Week 1 (as it often is). Stafford is out at least 4-6 weeks with a shoulder sprain, Kevin Kolb and Matt Moore suffered concussions, and Jake Delhomme has an ankle injury that may keep him out for Week 2. So, should you pick up Shaun Hill, Michael Vick, Jimmy Clausen, and/or Seneca Wallace? Not necessarily. Before adding any of those backup signal-callers to your roster, check first to see whether David Garrard, Matt Hasselbeck, Alex Smith (yes, he looked horrible Sunday - it’s just one game), or Josh Freeman is available.
Assuming none of the low-end starters are available (actually, I think Garrard is much more valuable than that, but mine seems to be a minority opinion), I’d rank the backup options Hill > Vick > Wallace > Clausen. Plan accordingly.
Running Back
Ryan Grant’s season-ending ankle/leg injury, while not on par with Tom Brady’s Week 1 injury in 2008, is the most difficult of the Week 1 injuries to deal with. If you don’t have the top waiver wire priority in your league, you won’t get Grant’s replacement, Brandon Jackson. If Cleveland’s Peyton Hillis is available, he’s a great consolation prize with the potential to be much more than that. For whatever reason Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini and his staff don’t appear sold on the idea of Jerome Harrison being an every-down back, in spite of his having rushed for 286 yards last season in a December contest against the Chiefs (who, coincidentally, are Cleveland’s opponent for Week 2). If they did view Harrison as an every-down back, they wouldn’t have drafted Montario Hardesty with their second-round pick, and they wouldn’t have given Hillis an equal workload in Sunday’s loss at Tampa. By the way, how good was that Arkansas backfield in 2007 that featured Hillis, Darren McFadden, and Felix Jones? Unbelievable - we may never see the likes of that again.
If neither Jackson nor Hillis are available to you, consider going with Rashad Jennings, Javon Ringer, or Bernard Scott instead. All back up running backs who saw a heavy workload last season, and all figure to get more touches this season. To be sure, they’re all speculative pickups, but ones with the potential to be fantasy stars should something happen to the guys ahead of them. Finally, today’s trade that sent Laurence Maroney from New England to Denver obviously hurts Maroney’s fantasy value, but it doesn’t have much impact on either his new Denver teammates (Moreno and Buckhalter, though not 100%, will still be ahead of Maroney on the depth chart, at least for the time being) or his former New England teammates (Fred Taylor’s value gets a slight boost, but he’s still an aging, injury-prone running back on a pass-happy team).
Wide Receivers
Not much news on the injury front, unless you were holding out hope that Anthony Gonzalez would return to his 2008 form. Still, if you have the roster room, consider speculative claims on Brandon Tate, Danny Amendola, and Laurent Robinson in addition to the more obvious targets such as Mark Clayton and Nate Washington.
Tight Ends
Kevin Boss’ concussion may require action on the part of some fantasy owners in deeper leagues. See if Jermaine Gresham, Bo Scaife, or Marcedes Lewis are available in your league.
Final Thought
You’ll see many fantasy pundits blowing the dust off their “Don’t overreact to Week 1 results” editorials this week, and for the most part they’re right, especially when it comes to players like Brett Farve, Shonn Greene, and Randy Moss. However, in fantasy football a “shoot first, ask questions later” approach is often the best. You should always have a roster spot or two that you would feel comfortable turning over if you are so moved. Holding onto a second Defense or Tight End isn’t likely to help you win your league’s championship - speculating on quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers just may.
Have a great week!
The Sherpa
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