Monday, September 8, 2014

Week 2 fantasy moves to make now


What an exciting Week 1. Regardless of how you fared, you need to get active on waivers. Some will say hold the course and don't panic if players didn't produce – that's true, but at the same, he who hesitates is lost. 

Here are some potential free agent pickups to focus on during your league waivers this week. 

Allen Hurns who? Well he made my rankings this week FYI, and Hurns will be moving up. Two touchdowns in the first quarter will have everyone working hard to acquire the Jacksonville rookie wide receiver. You should do the same. Hurns led the NFL in pre-season with 232 receiving yards. Hurns is worth some waiver wire premium if he's on the waiver wire of your league. 

Not far behind Hurns, and arguably he should be ahead in your queue, is Cleveland rookie running back Isaiah Crowell – Crowell also made my rankings this past week and he will be moving up as well. Ben Tate (knee) is out for an undetermined amount of time but regardless with his injury history pattern Tate can't be expected to be a long-timer. With Tate out, Terrance West would get the start (I am assuming he is on a roster) and Crowell would be heavily involved. Crowell was considered the No. 1 running back coming out of high school (by Scout.com) and he was the SEC Freshman of the Year at Georgia before being dismissed from the school (weapons charges) and finishing his career at Alabama State. 

Consider grabbing the Tennessee defense. The entire Titans' team was super impressive under new head coach Ken Whisenhunt. After dismantling the Chiefs at Arrowhead, the Titans will have their season home-opener this week and get to feast on Tony Romo who did not look ready for primetime in Week 1 with three interceptions. I will cover Week 2 sleepers later in the week but quarterback Jake Locker to wide receiver Justin Hunter could be ripe to hit this week. Locker looked exceptional in Week 1. 

After adding 84 yards on 16 catches, Justin Forsett has a very good chance to start Week 2 for Baltimore this week at home against Pittsburgh. Ray Rice has now been released so Forsett could be in-line for more work after Benard Pierce was benched last week for fumbling, but bear in mind that Forsett is a soon-to-be 29-year-old running back who has never had more than 118 carries in a season. Rookie Lorenzo Taliaferro from Coastal Carolina is also a must watch as a deep sleeper. 

Are you looking at a dud kicker? Make a move. Consider adding Shayne Graham (New Orleans) or Mike Nugent (Cincinnati) if they are on your waiver wire. Having a kicker for the high-flying Saints makes sense. They "waived" Graham before Week 1 but he was planned to be re-signed all along as the Saints needed to manage its roster over the short-term. The Bengals are a division-winning type of team that oddly converted touchdowns at a very high rate last year (twice as many touchdowns as field goals last year), and that can quickly turn. Nugent collected five field goals this week. 

Other fantasy notes 
Did you see the Antonio Brown's karate kick? First – it's an impressive and wild play, and Brown lit Cleveland for another 100-yard day and a score. However, delivering a high-flying kick to the punter's head might not sit well with the Commissioner's office. Brown was flagged on the play and could very well face some league discipline.

Injuries were a major story of the day with several fantasy starters leaving games early.  Doug Martin (knee), Alshon Jeffery (hamstring), Ben Tate (knee) Jordan Cameron (shoulder), and Jordan Reed (hamstring) were all forced to leave early. Of those five, Jeffery seems to be in the best shape as far as a quick return. The situation is a lot murkier for the rest and owners will need to be prepared to miss these guys for Week 2 and perhaps beyond. You may want to consider adding Tampa Bay backup Bobby Rainey

It was a rough Week 1 for Jamaal Charles. I listed Charles outside my Top 6 and for a few reasons: Kansas City lost several lineman this off-season, the Chiefs over-played last year on an easy schedule, and they added no new talent to the offense. Charles collected 19 yards rushing on 7 attempts and just 15 yards on four receptions. Don't panic if you drafted Charles, but if you can get 90-95 cents on the dollar in a trade I would do it. 

I have been saying this all off-season, the 2014 rookie wide receiver class is going to be  unprecedented (and not to plug but you really should check out our 70-page, formatted PDF rookie fantasy football guide at Fantasy Football Warehouse). We have never seen a wide receiver class like this in "Fantasy History" and it very well could end up being one of the best in NFL history. Some have quickly made their mark. Brandin Cooks helped pace the Saints' attack (7 receptions, 77 yards, 1 nifty TD), and Kelvin Benjamin continues to look super impressive (6 receptions, 92 yards, 1 TD).

Oakland's Derek Carr was the only rookie quarterback to start and he did well completing 62.5 percent of his passes with 2 TDs and zero interceptions. However, give the kid a running game! Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren McFadden combined for 26 yards. The other rookie quarterbacks (Blake Bortles, Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel) may have to wait a little bit as each of the veterans on Jacksonville, Minnesota and Cleveland, respectively, played well in Week 1. 

Le'Veon Bell not only proved his worth as a starting RB, he finished as the best running back for the week. After slipping a bit in drafts due to usage/disciplinary concern, Bell quickly erased the doubts by converting a lion's share of touches into 197 total yards from scrimmage. 

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