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Week two injuries have caused euphoria of panic in the fantasy football world. I can’t recall a week in the last five years that saw as many noteworthy injuries. Countless fantasy football teams were left with a big fat zero points wise from their injured player. Luckily for some the injuries are not extreme, for others it’s time to make quick moves via the waiver wire.

Kirk Cousins
There is no doubt that Cousins will be the hottest fantasy football commodity as a waiver wire pickup this week. He has shown in the past to be a fantasy football viable starter in other starts via RG3 injury. How will the offensive playbook change effect Cousins on field performance? Against the weak Jaguars defense it was a non issue, but it may lurk in the upcoming weeks.

Khiry Robinson
The Saints lost another road game and in it Mark Ingram for four weeks to a hand injury. It comes at the wrong time for Ingram as he was seeing a nice resurgence to his overall career and fantasy contributions. Robinson and Pierre Thomas should see a considerable amount of looks now in one of the best fantasy football offenses.

Knile Davis
Jamaal Charles fantasy owners have already had it after the first two weeks of the NFL season. For some you may still have the opportunity to try and pick up Davis. Others that are out of luck may want to try and pry Davis via a trade. Charles has had enough ticky tack injuries already, to be on the lookout for a long term injury.

Niles Paul
Leave no doubt about it the Redskins are going to throw the football. With DeSean Jackson injured Sunday, Paul and former Cardinal Andre Roberts step up without a problem against the Jaguars secondary. We will have to see how long Jackson will be out to boost Paul for short term or long term consideration. Pierre Garcon will not be shut down like he was this week.

Bobby Rainey
Rainey showcased he can be a feature back last season for the Buccaneers and had a fine day yesterday in a loss to the Rams. With Doug Martin hurt once again one has to question if he’ll ever come near to the form he was a few seasons ago. It’s highly unlikely, making Rainey a huge pickup if available.

Donald Brown
With Ryan Matthews out a little over a month the Chargers will lean on Brown and Danny Woodhead. Brown’s been in spot starts before in Indianapolis but never could be that first round worthy talent the Colts drafted him at. Will see what Brown can do this time around.

Others: Delanie Walker, Steve Smith Sr, Allen Robinson, Larry Donnell, Brian Quick

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**Any players from MNF that are waiver wire worthy will be added to this article

When it come to the waiver wire the coverage amongst fantasy football websites has been outstanding. You’re not going to miss a name nowadays with the instant access out there. What is missing is detailing over reaction. After just one week do not overreact and go after multiple players. It’s like trading stocks. You can’t sell every week and expect to make gains. When you sell is when that stock reverts upward and helps your portfolio. Treat your team the same way. Go after value if it’s there but do not overreact off of one week’s results. With that being said, lets take a look at some players to pick up this week.

Quarterbacks

Jake Locker
It looked like Tennessee was going to win in ugly fashion as they typically have done under Jake Locker. It was a close game at halftime and 10-3 in the third quarter. Then Locker took control and beat a team on the road soundly in Kansas City. A team that has had strong success as a home team. This is a key year for Locker and will need to show consistency to become a viable regular starter. For now with what he can do with his legs and his maturation as a passer he is worth a stash if you’re in need of an upgrade at backup.

Joe Flacco
For all the negative attention Flacco draws, it’s remarkable how Baltimore stays in a majority of their games. One of the main reasons is that Flacco doesn’t allow his team to give up. With an inability to run the football for an entire half, Baltimore axed the game plan and went Flacco’s way. He had a complete reversal in accuracy and was throwing crisp balls. It was too late to attempt to get a win but if Flacco can avoid interceptions he is a top tier fantasy backup quarterback.

Running Backs

Carlos Hyde
Sometimes it’s not just all about jump out stats for a waiver wire addition. Hyde only had seven carries but made each one count Sunday. He ran for 50 yards and a touchdown. What’s impressive with Hyde is he showed the power the 49ers want in the second half with a back. Frank Gore was able to do it for years by himself but at his age the team needs a complimentary back. Hyde and Gore wore down the 49ers with Hyde showing he is well worth a second round pick.

DeAngelo Williams
The knock on Carolina backs is their goal line use. A lot of valuable touchdowns go to Cam Newton on dives and to big bruiser Mike Tolbert. With Newton’s rib injury being as serious as it is, we all have no clue how that changes the way Carolina runs Newton. Maybe they’ll tone it back in goal line situations to avoid Newton taking unnecessary hits. Williams can get the yardage but will need to see more attention in the red zone.

Chris Ivory
Ivory’s been on this waiver wire list for the past three seasons. The problem is once he gets added he gets re-dropped. New York won against Oakland Sunday but got a way with miscues from second year starter Geno Smith. Against a seasoned quarterback as opposed to a rookie in Derek Carr, things may have got interesting. Look for the Jets to make a commitment to running the ball with the likes of Ivory to keep Smith’s errors at a minimum. Smith had a couple of costly turnovers and an ill-advised sack in field goal range.

Mark Ingram
The game against the Falcons was as chaotic as it gets. Amongst the chaos was an all around great fantasy producing Saints team. Everyone seemed to be involved as Brees and the ground attack worked well. The Saints have been so heavy of an offensive passing touchdown team that their running backs get devalued. Sunday, the Saints rushed for three touchdowns with two coming by Ingram. It likely won’t be the norm, but it’s good to know a team that can score has an asset in Ingram who is available in nearly 50% of Yahoo leagues.

Wide Receivers

Ricardo Lockette
His stats did not jump out but he did find the end zone on Thursday night. Seattle is one of those teams that has had sneaky value from their wide receivers over the last couple of seasons. Russ Wilson hasn’t been a top tier yardage quarterback but you can see the transformation beginning. Seattle is entrusting him more with throws as they seem to be balancing the pass with the run. Before it was a run heavy offense and game managing Wilson because of their strong defense.

Kelvin Benjamin
Derek Anderson was the unheralded performer of the day Sunday. Carolina did not panic without Newton starting and likely made the announcement days earlier to the team. I firmly believe the Panthers made the right call in letting veterans Steve Smith and Brandon LaFell walk. They needed to add fresh talent and did so with Benjamin. But with any Carolina Panther offensive weapon you need to be patient with his results. Benjamin should be a quality fourth or fifth wide receiver for you in deeper leagues.

DeAndre Hopkins
Ryan Fitzpatrick has not been a top tier worthy fantasy starting quarterback, but on teams he has been on he has added value to the wide receivers. Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins both had solid games in their debut with Fitzpatrick. Hopkins got the majority of his big day on one catch, but that’s all you need in the fantasy football world. The Texans held things back offensively as their defense played well enough to protect a lead. That won’t always be the case and Fitzpatrick will need to throw the football more.

Steve Smith Sr.
Smith is only owned in under 40% of Yahoo leagues. Look for that number to climb into the 70th percentile after his week one performance. Everything was stalled for the Ravens offensively until they handed the ball to Joe Flacco to air it out. Smith surprised and made a key big play down the sideline that pulled the game within a few points. Smith has had big week one’s before. Obviously at his age his upside is limited. But if the Ravens can’t figure out the ground game and trail, it gives higher value to Smith. This is a completely different style of offense in Baltimore than the slow pace of the Panthers.

Allen Hurns
I’m putting Hurns name on here even though he’ll likely be a one week wonder. After one half Hurns name was buzzing on twitter on where did this guy come from. A good story sometimes is brief. Hurns didn’t make another catch in the game and finished with over 110 yards and two touchdowns. Jacksonville’s offense hit a major wall against a recharged Eagles defense that lacked focus out the gate. Maybe they thought it was going to be easier than anticipated in facing Jacksonville. At any rate be careful on rushing to the wire to pickup Allen Hurns.

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Last week I took a look at the AFC East division for win totals. Today I’ll take a look at the AFC North. In the north the Bengals, Ravens, and Steelers have all had their share of successes over the last five years. Baltimore got it done with their reliable defense and steady arm of Joe Flacco. Pittsburgh’s nucleus hasn’t changed much either with the arm of Big Ben.

Cincinnati though over hauled their team when Carson Palmer demanded out. Right about that time is when the Bengals saw a drastic difference in the way the team played. It doesn’t mean Carson was a poor quarterback, it’s just a mark on the time line of the franchise. They retained Marvin Lewis which many people disagreed on and made better personnel decisions with their draft picks.

Still, oddsmakers do not have them out in front by much in the division. Lets take a look at the division and give a pick on over/unders.

Cincinnati 9– Pick Over
Many are doubting Andy Dalton’s contract and ability. They can doubt but there is no doubting the core of talent on the Bengals. It’s a sound team that has youth and growing talent on both sides of the football. In Baltimore and Pittsburgh both teams still have aged talent and question marks from last season. Both should be better but the Bengals have in my mind the best team in the division. They’re a bit underrated from the oddmakers because of the continued love for Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

Baltimore 8.5- Pick Over
Things just were in complete disarray a season ago in Baltimore. The Super Bowl hangover was in full affect. A new offensive system with Gary Kubiak should help riddle the offensive woes that lacked the punch to help their defense. Ray Rice’s down season wasn’t just shocking to fantasy football owners but to the Ravens overall. They’ll have a new look this year and be able to gain an extra couple of wins because of it.

Pittsburgh 8.5- Pick Under
Sometimes an organization needs to gut things out and make tough decisions. Since Hines Ward retired this team has lost its identity offensively and got worse on defense. They’ve become faster on defense but that’s not going to alleviate big plays from happening. Offensively I still don’t believe there is enough premier talent to get them back atop this division.

Cleveland 6.5- Pick Under
A few weeks ago I liked the over here. Normally I wouldn’t let preseason play sway my conviction but I’ll go a different route here. 6.5 is a steep number for a team with large question marks at quarterback and with a surely suspended top receiver in Josh Gordon. If the set win total was 5-5.5 my hesitancy to stick with the over wouldn’t of swayed. It’s just too large of a number in a tough division.

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After last years fantastic all-purpose season by Jamaal Charles he has become the unanimous top back to get. Andy Reid has always ran a high velocity offense centered around the tailback. Success has been had in prior Eagles systems and running backs such as Duce Staley, Correll Buckhalter, Brian Westbrook, and LeSean McCoy.

A familiar link with all of those running backs is that there success was stymied eventually because of the heavy dosage they get. Duce Staley’s success started in 1998 and 1999 before injuries derailed him. He had a resurrection of sorts and become a capable fantasy backup with success out of the backfield in 2002 and 2003.

A similar pattern can be found in former star, Brian Westbrook. From quick memory you would of thought he had a great five year run as an Eagle. On the contrary he had two outstanding seasons followed up by a quick career burnout. In 2007 and 2008 he tallied career years with rushing yards of over 2500 combined and receiving yards of near 1200. Injuries quickly took their toll on Westbrook and he fell off quickly in a short stint with the 49ers.

LeSean McCoy was on his way to the same pattern in Philadelphia. His breakout seasons were in 2010 and 2011 before injuries took away a full season from him in 2012—-Andy Reid’s last year. Chip Kelly runs a high amount of plays but keeps has his players prepared for the volume and rotates them properly.

Now we turn to Jamaal Charles. In Charles first year under Andy Reid he saw a dramatic rise in his role as a Chief. His rushing numbers did come down a bit from the prior year but he caught 70 passes totaling nearly 700 yards.

This is looked on by fantasy football participants as gold. The old school workload that produces a gluttony amount of points in PPR leagues. Charles already had a serious injury that caused him to miss the 2011 season. A freak dorm exit injury has Charles currently with a bum foot.

That’s not alarming enough but I would have strong caution with everyone’s unanimous top fantasy pick. His utilization is bound to cause another Andy Reid overused running back to suffer during the season.

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Kirk Cousins- There is no surprise in the way Cousins handled himself in relief of RG3. He did a fine job a year ago and seems more than able to become a full time starter in this league. As many have said this time for Cousins is more of a mini audition as suitors will likely line up for a possible trade in the offseason.

Matt Asiata- It went from a possible start from AP to latching onto Toby Gerhart in case AP was out, all the way to Asiata getting the non anticipated bulk of the Vikings carries. Asiata will be the epitome of a playoff fantasy wonder, but utilize him if you can.

Marvin Jones- Cincinnati has never been a fantasy darling of a team, but they are a viable team to snatch a few fantasy upside players from. AJ Green has not had the stellar numbers he did to start the season, and Andy Dalton is finding others to spread the football around to. Jones was a fantasy haven a few months back that has waned a bit. Don’t be surprised to see a strong finish from him.

Trent Richardson- Yes there are some leagues that even Richardson was dropped in as owners impatience settled in. This is now two weeks in a row that Richardson has shown a bit of somewhat of an increase in the Colts offense. With Donald Brown a bit dinged up it appears that the Colts will have to lean on Richardson by default.

Brian Hartline- Hartline continues to be the Davone Bess type of possession receiver that the Dolphins can rely on. Probably no one in football gets as many quick slants as Hartline as the Dolphins seem to call the play frequently to get their quarterback settled in.

Others: Doug Baldwin, Jerrel Jernigan, and Rashard Mendenhall

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From here on out the waiver wire edition will primarily be to those in your fantasy football playoffs. That makes it even more vital to pay attention to matchups and seek advantages for one time use. Of course there is still opportunity in extended nfl.com and yahoo.com for folks when the real NFL playoffs start.

Here is a look at fantasy football players to pickup after week fourteen.

Da’Rick Rodgers-It has taken awhile for someone to emerge besides TY Hilton on the Colts roster. After Rodgers big game against the Bengals it appears that the Colts have found their guy. This is a short term buy that won’t have any long term value.

Marcel Reece- Either direction the Raiders head next year at quarterback, they have to be elated at what their backfield has been able to do this season. From Darren McFadden, Rashad Jennings, and now Marcel Reece they have all enjoyed solid success. Reece’s carries all depend on the status of injured backs Jennings and McFadden.

Rod Streater- Oakland is not going to have a quarterback that puts up gaudy stats with his arm on a week to week basis. What they do have is underrated fantasy football wideouts. One of them is Streater, who has had a great ratio of 100 yard games for the amount of passing yards his quarterbacks have had.

Julian Edelman- Depending on your league search for Edelman off waivers. If he is taken look to pickup the next best available Patriot wide receiver off of waivers. New England struggled to develop at tight end without Rob Gronkowski earlier in the year. To make up for it they used more packages at wide receiver. Expect the same throughout the rest of this season.

Daniel Thomas- Who would of thought that an underachieving running back would finally get his act together with an offensive line aching for bodies? Thomas has taken on the role of feature back well and it surmised in his first 100 yard effort in quite some time.

Charles Clay- Perhaps no team has dealt with injuries or suspensions better than the Dolphins. Their patched offensive line has held up well and without tight end Dustin Keller they’ve utilized Charles Clay out of the backfield. Quietly he is putting up solid tight end stats. His best effort came this past week against the Steelers.

Shonne Greene- Even in years past as a NY Jet this would be the time of year that Greene would start to warm up. He is a big physical cold weather back. If the Titans can keep scoring above 20 points a game, Greene has true playoff sleeper value.

Toby Gerhart- Chances are the Vikings will decide to rest Adrian Peterson for the remainder of the season following his minor foot sprain. There is no reason to risk further damage to a guy that has battled back from a devastating knee injury. Gerhart would then be one of the few sole feature backs in the NFL, making him one of the hottest waiver wire pickups of the week.