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Each Wednesday, Notjustagame.com will take a look at key fantasy football contributors to upgrade and downgrade based on the past week. When placing these labels of course these upgrades or downgrades can be viewed as short term and long term.

Upgrades

Andre Ellington
I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong on Ellington. Arizona has had key defensive injuries, suspensions, and was without Carson Palmer in week two. Ellington shook off a foot injury that was first reported to keep him out to suddenly becoming a dominant force in his second season. Teams haven’t figured him out yet, and the Cardinals are off to a 2-0 start.

Antonio Gates
Even if Gates season drastically declines he has already put up borderline tier one/tier two tight end stats. His week two performance against Seattle was one for the ages. He’ll look back at it as one of his many career moments. This from a tight end some fantasy analysts had ranked in the high teens to start the season.

Bobby Rainey
It doesn’t look like Doug Martin’s health will ever be to the level of a number one tailback. Whether that’s on the field health or playing with the injuries he has endured in his young career. Rainey on the other hand showed last year he can fill in admirably and did so in last week’s start.

Others: Mohamed Sanu and Eric Decker

Downgrades

Shane Vereen
Vereen can be a PPR monster but New England has made it clear that Ridley is their main tail back. Unless Ridley’s fumble woes resurface you have to take the Patriots back field for what it is. With Gronkowski back in the fold, Vereen’s pass catching value is diminished.

Hakeem Nicks
Nicks just doesn’t seem to have close to the skillset he had just four years ago as a Giant. He can still be a red zone threat, but between the 20’s he isn’t even a top 75 fantasy wideout. It’s time to move on from Nicks unless you’re in extreme deep fantasy leagues.

Jake Locker
It’s a shame that Locker can’t nail down the number one intangible of being an NFL quarterback, accuracy. It’s plagued his NFL career and eventually will lead to his starting role being taken away. Locker missed wide open receivers Sunday at home against the Cowboys. For the strong skills he has such as athleticism, passion, and leadership, he just does not have the accuracy to be in the NFL.

Others: Ben Tate and Anquan Boldin

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Arian Foster’s decline a year ago has been seen time and time again from the position of running back. Outstanding seasons suddenly get abruptly halted from injuries. Foster had shaken off a few injury bugs in prior seasons to still perform. In 2013 though they piled up to the brink that he told Hannah Storm in a recent interview he pondered retirement.

The tread on Foster’s legs and body is definitely not the same from most 27 year old backs. In college Foster was a four-year guy and carried the ball enough to break all-time records at Tennessee. Though undrafted, Foster ended up in a prime position in Houston with the likes of Steve Slaton.

Not too often will you find a second year back not drafted as the feature back. He relished the role and received a mega contract most backs don’t get until his current age now.

Foster’s track record sort of gives the vibe that he is a 30 year old back. Fantasy owners are likely leery of the Texan back, but I’d give him strong upside as a top tier fantasy back. Even though the Texans do not have a stud quarterback, the offense will still move fluid enough to garner Foster a higher ranking than he currently is averaging (10th).

For those not registering the possibility of Foster being a top five back again, consider this. Jamaal Charles fell back pretty hard in rankings when he suffered a serious knee injury and missed an entire season. He came back at full strength and now is considered the top fantasy back with his duel abilities.

His climb back to the top has left an absent minded void to perennial fantasy football owners. The age of Charles and Foster are the same, 27.

If Charles can return from a far and away more serious of an injury, than why is Foster receiving such a steep downgrade? Sure he doesn’t offer the same bang for the dollar that he once did out of the backfield, but he is still a great rusher and double digit type of touchdown producer.

Houston felt comfortable enough to part ways with Ben Tate and allot room for a downgrade in the second running back position in Andre Brown. I look for Foster to quiet his skeptics and work his way back into solidifying himself as a top five fantasy running back. Consider him a steal if you get him in the early to mid second round.

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Perhaps no team in football has been as tortuous as the New Orleans Saints to figure out their stable of running backs. Pierre Thomas has had the highest prime value for the Saints. He went from a high carry back to an inordinate amount of carries. Last year his fantasy worthiness almost came exclusively out of the backfield.

The Saints have used a platoon of running backs intermittently that drives fantasy owners nuts. With Darren Sproles departed to the Eagles, it leaves the same backfield of players. Is the Saints backfield being overlooked from a fantasy standpoint because of this? Likely so.

It seems odd to think about, but Darren Sproles has been a main key to Brees career. Out in San Diego, Sproles played the lightning bolt to LT. When he became a free agent the Saints went after Sproles to replace Reggie Bush’s role. He filled it admirably.

Now who will Brees have to be his Reggie Bush or Darren Sproles?

Both guys were fantasy havens for PPR leagues and combined yards of rushing and receiving. It was a toss up between Sproles and Pierre Thomas for more effective fantasy running back. Neither lit the fantasy scoreboard on a weekly basis, but did just enough to be fantasy running back three or four.

Who is going to catch the out of the backfield receptions for the Saints? Sproles had over 70 catches for the Saints each of the last three seasons.

Based on the Saints current roster, you’d have to believe the Saints are planning on reducing Pierre Thomas’s carries some more. They dwindled quite a bit last year as he boosted his performance out of the backfield. Last year he caught 77 passes for over 500 yards. Before that career season he had over 40 catches just once in his eight year career. His yards per carry dipped to a career low of just 3.7 yards last season. This should be clear evidence that the Saints want to use Thomas as their Sproles/Bush 100 percent.

That leaves the big void of whom will be the Saints main tail back for rushing the football. Mark Ingram has been nothing short of a disappointment in his stint as a Saint. The former Heisman Trophy winner has struggled with injuries and consistency. One bright sign from Ingram was his finish to the 2013 season. He had two games in which he came close to 100 yards, including in a playoff victory over the Eagles. In the divisional round he did have a costly fumble against the Seahawks though.

The Saints other two running backs are Khiry Robinson and Travaris Cadet. Robinson had spots a year ago where he looked like he would overtake the main running back duties. It just never materialized and left fantasy owners regretful on taking a flyer on him.

Maybe that was a move warranted for this upcoming season. Robinson will likely have a fair amount of carries with Ingram. For now it’d be hard to rank one higher than the other. You’d expect the Saints to give Ingram every chance to gain the upper hand on the time split, but Ingram’s proven to drop the ball when given opportunities.

I’d still downgrade Ingram and have an asterisk on Cadet stealing some thunder from both. New Orleans has too many receptions and carries available to have fantasy eyes drifting. If you’re anti-Ingram take your shot in later rounds on Cadet or Robinson.

Best Ratios of Catches to Targets Week Eight

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Ted Ginn Jr
Ginn Jr has had sprinkled results of success during the Panthers recent rise over the last four games. He adds the dimension of speed that is the perfect neutralizer to keep defenses on their heels against a Panthers effective run game. Ginn caught five of six targets week eight.

Calvin Johnson
Johnson ripped apart the Cowboys fans’ hearts with a day for the ages. His stats alone were out of the ordinary. What made his day even more remarkable is that Dallas could not halt Johnson’s catches to targets a tad. He had fourteen catches on sixteen targets.

Dexter McCluster
Five to ten years ago safety valve targets for a quarterback came via tight ends and preferred slot receivers. Nowadays teams have primary check down backs to get in the open field. McCluster has made a niche on the Chiefs roster as an open field threat to go long distances. Sunday he caught seven of ten targets.

Stevie Johnson
The best attribute to Johnson this season has been his maturity. He was starting to live up to the new age diva NFL receivers that were accustomed to showboating. He has toned that down and also kept quiet to the media. Sunday he finished with seven catches on eleven targets.

DeSean Jackson
Throughout the quarterback carousel in Philadelphia, DeSean Jackson has remained a fantasy football haven at wide receiver. Each week he is providing a different element. In years past you just couldn’t depend on Jackson from a consistency standpoint. This past week he bypassed double digits in fantasy points by catching eight of eleven passes.

Cecil Shorts III
Even though the Jaguars haven’t done enough to get a win this year, they’ve been a different ball club offensively with Chad Henne at quarterback over Blaine Gabbert. Part of that had to do with Justin Blackmon’s return from suspension, but mostly it’s the attributes Henne has over Gabbert. Shorts caught seven of ten targets Sunday.

David Nelson
Geno Smith’s weeks at quarterback are as unpredictable as your drunk buddy playing darts. Each game (round) may be different because with sporadic play. Smith clearly does not even have a number one target to throw to which is hurting his development. Any game the Jets are down double figures the Jets chances for a comeback are gone out the window. Nelson was the latest receiver to join Smith’s target list catching eight of twelve throws Sunday.

Others: Reggie Bush 8 catches/9 targets, Jordan Cameron 4 catches/4 targets, Scott Chandler 7 catches/11 targets, Victor Cruz 7 catches/10 targets, Emmanuel Sanders 7 catches/11 targets, Antonio Brown 9 catches/13 targets, Jordan Reed 8 catches/14 targets, Demaryius Thomas 7 catches/11 targets, Wes Welker 6 catches/10 targets, Harry Douglas 12 catches/18 targets, Jarrett Boykin 5 catches/6 targets,

Poor Results: Vincent Jackson 5 catches/13 targets, Terrance Williams 3 catches/10 targets, Mike Wallace 3 catches/10 targets, Justin Blackmon 4 catches/10 targets, AJ Green 3 catches/7 targets

Post Week Three Waiver Wire

Follow@cimini It’s time to scour those waiver wires. Bye weeks are upcoming and some of you might be in desperate situations for personnel. Take a peak on who to seek for your waiver wire deadlines this week.

Quarterbacks

Jake Locker Anytime you can be a threat with your legs as a quarterback you have a shot at being fantasy worthy. Locker’s arm is a whole different story but he outperformed many top tier quarterbacks Sunday with near 300 yards passing. His consistent fantasy threat will be with his legs. His creativity to scramble helped keep drives alive and opened up the passing game a bit. One Week Wonders: Geno Smith

Running Backs

Jonathan Franklin In a bizarre fate of Green Bay running backs the mystery of falling backs continues. I found it awfully weird how Franklin hardly received any carries in preseason, and had zero in the first two weeks and one quarter. Sunday that changed due to injury and Franklin made the most of his time on the field. Packers fans won’t be happy with his fumble but fantasy owners can only be pleased with his stats. Bilal Powell Powell had the biggest surprise day of any back. New York’s running game had been abysmal last year and to start this season. Powell though had a surge for the ground attack against the Bills, which allotted the Jets to use play action passes for some big plays. Now for Powell can he keep his legs churning week to week with a high amount of carries (27 Sunday)? LeGarrette Blount This isn’t an immediate waiver wire pickup. If you’re in a position to take a flier for potential, than Blount is an option to test for a few weeks. Stevan Ridley has hit a wall of sorts and the lack of rushing attack has been part of the blame for the Patriots lighter scoring performances. Blount did okay in fill in duty Sunday, and is just a few years removed from his breakout rookie campaign. Once Shane Vereen comes back though Blount’s share of the carries should diminish to where they were at the start of the season. Jacquizz Rodgers Atlanta’s had no problem moving the football. Their woes in scoring position have cost them two games that could have easily been decided with one extra touchdown. They’ll have to get that corrected either by advancing the running game or getting targets to the right people. Rodgers may see an increase in carries even with a healthy Steven Jackson, as the Falcons look for long term protection if they make the playoffs.

Tight Ends

Andrew Quarless Quarless is a familiar name in the fantasy football world as he has had to fill in before when Jermichael Finley went down a few seasons ago. Based on the severity of Finley’s concussion Quarless should see some field action once again. Keep on eye and see if Finley’s status is doubtful before picking up Quarless. A Packers tight end is an automatic upgrade if you do not have one of the top six to eight tight ends.

Wide Receivers

Sidney Rice Jacksonville’s secondary continued to be woeful Sunday and that led to Rice having a big day. Yardage is something we can tend to expect Rice to be fantasy worthy once in awhile. He seems to be healthier now and if he can find the end zone more frequently he can be a welcomed edition to fantasy rosters. Santonio Holmes Disregard Stephen Hill completely. If the Jets are going to keep throwing the football and have established success, it’ll come on the hands of Holmes. If Holmes is back to the capabilities the Jets expected of him when they signed him, than Hill can be a deeper league fantasy asset. One thing to love about Geno is he looks to throw the football down the field and take chances. Mohammed Sanu I’ve listed Sanu for a few weeks now and will continue to do so. He is underrated in an offense that has a lot of growing to do still this year. Sanu’s size makes him a prime target to continue to improve week to week and blossom for fantasy playoff weeks. He did have a key drop Sunday but had a solid day otherwise. Josh Gordon Gordon’s availability in 30 percent of Yahoo leagues likely had to do with his two game suspension. I would tab Gordon as a one week wonder except that he has shown enough even as a Brown to be fantasy worthy weekly. Minnesota had no answer for him Sunday as their secondary looked awful from start to finish. With rumors that the Browns are looking to deal Gordon, he could end up on a more prolific offense. Darius Heyward-Bey I’ve been impressed with Bey’s demeanor and the way he has handled his role as a Colt. Other first round picks told to have a smaller role on a new team might have fizzled and got themselves cut. Bey is the Colts second receiver and has taken considerable value away from TY Hilton as a fantasy receiver. Bey is showing to be more polished than the home run or bust tag he had in Oakland. Maybe Reggie Wayne is rubbing off on him. Kenbrell Thompkins Thompkins flourished for the Patriots in red zone packages as the Buccaneers seemed to blanket Edelman in that area. With Danny Amendola’s injury history it may still end up being up to Thompkins or Aaron Dobson to pick up the slack. Thompkins did it week three and may have gained the Brady trust for future games. Brandon LaFell LaFell’s been a cellar fantasy wide receiver. If he is on a fantasy team, he is likely on a fantasy team that has issues at wide receiver. Carolina’s offense has been up and down the last few years, but defeating the Giants could be the turn up they need. It seemed the Panthers allowed Newton to do some early designed runs. After that the offense seemed to pickup all around. LaFell has a golden opportunity with the decline of Steve Smith and a speed threat also on the field in Ted Ginn Jr. One Week Wonders: Donnie Avery

Week Two Wonders

Follow@cimini Think before pulling that waiver wire trigger or assuming you're going to get solid stats from a player on your roster. Here are names of some players you need to hold caution on before considering a waiver wire move or prominent position in your fantasy football lineups.

Quarterbacks

Sam Bradford Once the Falcons had a three touchdown lead it looked as if the Falcons defense relaxed to the lead and played lacksadaisical. Bradford took advantage and mounted a solid comeback effort that was too little to late. The talent the Rams have is going to cause issues for opposing defenses. Bradford needs to be more consistent from the onset of games to be a higher fantasy backup value. RG3 RG3 still looks like he is in preseason mode while the rest of the league is at full speed. If calculations were factored into RG3's Sunday performance, he likely led all fantasy players with the amount of garbage fantasy points he accumulated. Philip Rivers The Chargers have been pass happy the first two games of the year. In week one it failed in the fourth quarter when Rivers threw a pick six. Week two the Chargers slowed things down and carved up the Eagles defense. The Eagles were unable to get pressure on Rivers which is what he struggles against. Credit the Chargers for running a quicker rhythm offense to alleviate some of the pressure off of Rivers. I'm still not sold he can maintain it as the Eagles will be ranked towards the bottom of total defense all season long.

Running Backs

Knowshown Moreno Moreno has stepped up surprisingly after being written off with the drafting of Hillman a few years ago, and then Montee Ball this offseason. Moreno kept working and it looks like the work ethic of Denver's former back in Willis McGahee has paid dividends. The yards per carry he averaged against the Giants is definitely a sign of a one week wonder. Charles Clay Clay had his best game as a pro Sunday with a one yard touchdown run and heavy damage out of the backfield with over one hundred yards receiving. He looks to be overtaking Daniel Thomas as the Dolphins second option at running back. That role may be bounced back and forth as Miami truly wants Thomas to have the job, but he doesn't seem to be fit to handle it. James Starks We will all have to see the extent of Eddie Lacy's injury. The rookie has been brittle while at Alabama and during the offseason with the Packers. Even if he makes a quick recovery Starks has cemented a higher share of carries by being the first Packer running back to eclipse 100 yards in over forty games. Still the Packers are a strong pass first team and have a very bland running attack. Starks's yards came with a very large lead and the Redskins defense giving a lackluster effort. Ben Tate Tate has outproduced his fellow partner Arian Foster to start the year. With the Texans protecting their star back in Foster it may be until midseason for the Texans to give Foster the load that we are accustomed to seeing from Foster. Tate's average may stay high as the Texans try to wear defenses down with their dominating backfield. He just won't have very many games of over ninety yards rushing.

Wide Receivers

DeSean Jackson Jackson has not had this type of fantasy impact in quite awhile. His stats have been padded greatly by two horrific performances by the Redskins and Chargers secondary. Jackson's big plays came all on go routes in which he roasted the Chargers defensive backs with his speed advantage. The way the Eagles offense is tiring out teams Jackson will likely have a career year. Just not games of near 200 yards receiving again. Eddie Royal Credit new offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, for utilizing the Chargers receivers much better than the Chargers have in years past. Eddie Royal was practically non-existent a year ago, and now is being utilized in a proper role offensively. The quick routes have been there for Royal, but it'll be shut down in the upcoming weeks now that it has been so successful. DeAndre Hopkins It's good to see the rookie shine in a major way week two. But rookie wide receivers tend to fade more than they shine throughout a sixteen game schedule. Hopkins should never crack your lineup unless injuries have taken a major toll to your team.