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Tuesday will feature the waiver wire pickups post week one. Before the dash to click the add/drop button in your league there are a few things to consider. And no, waiver wire priority order is not one of them. Pick your spots before being one of those fantasy managers that is enamored with the waiver wire every week. Here are this weeks one week wonders.
Quarterbacks
Robert Griffin III- His dazzling week one performance is going to be attached to his career for quite awhile. Credit Mike Shanahan for fantastic play calls. He called specific options or run plays for Griffin that the defense seemed unprepared for. Game tape is always a young quarterbacks worst nightmare. Griffin will keep having solid games, but one without turnovers consistently will be hard to imagine. Worthy of a waiver pickup if he is out there, but do not expect to start him for at least another month.
Mark Sanchez- The Jets went from incapable of scoring a touchdown in the preseason to lighting up the Buffalo Bills. Sanchez and the offense seemed in the flow of things, and Buffalo gave them whatever they wanted. The performance of the Jets offense is not typical of a Rex Ryan coached team and will not continue. Turnovers led to a good portion of Jets points which they were able to capitalize off of.
Kevin Kolb- Kolb came in for one drive after John Skelton went down to an apparent gruesome injury. With teammates seemingly looking affected by the injury, Kolb was unflustered. He came in and looked prepared and ready to seize command of the game. He did just that, shaken off Whisenhunt running onto the field for a timeout, and throwing the game winning touchdown. Skelton’s injury looks like a season ending, and Kolb will have the duties for the year if so. With Kolb though he is the type of quarterback that just can’t put four quarters together.
Russell Wilson- I’ll add Wilson to this list based on hype. He was favored on the road against Arizona based on his preseason performance. A condensed NFL preseason experience is not going to mean a great career or regular season. Wilson seemed bothered by pressure, falling backward in the pocket at times. It does not look like Pete Carroll will expect Wilson to do more than be a game manager for a length of time.
Running Backs
CJ Spiller- Whenever an injury occurs to a top twelve fantasy back, immediate action is to pickup the next guy. Especially one that ran wild as Spiller did with 156 yards. As long as Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to be shaky with his arm, defenses are going to drill in on the ground game. Spiller is not a heavy work load back, which means he has to make the most out of twelve to fifteen carries.
Alfred Morris- The young back ran his heart out and demonstrated why Mike Shanahan wants to have him as their main back. He falls forward and carries defenders on his back. That’s the problem with Morris as he does not seem to have the ability to make a cut and give an extra burst. Shanahan is not afraid to use his full roster of running backs throughout the season. If RG3 is going to continue to have success he is going to need a back to average better than 3.8 yards per carry.
Wide Receivers
Kevin Ogletree- Ogletree will likely still be a solid contributor for the Cowboys, but week one will by far be his best game of the season. Tony Romo even stated he had become use to Ogletree with Witten and Austin out in training camp. He had eleven targets from Romo, which can’t be a weekly occurrence for someone that will be the teams fourth option.
Mike Williams- Williams has seemed to turn into a tier three tight end of sorts. A red zone specialist and that’s it. All other parts of the football game he just can’t be a factor. Since his rookie year in 2010, Williams has dropped off the radar considerably. A touchdown here and there is not going to cut it.
Stephen Hill- Of Mark Sanchez’s three touchdowns two went to Stephen Hill. Hill has outplayed veteran Chaz Schilens for roster depth, and appears to have developed the Plaxico Burress threat they are looking for. A big target that can haul in deep balls, Hill will be a factor in certain instances. Besides being a big play threat, Hill is going to have a tough time being a consistent every down threat. He is still learning the nuances of the game and developing at the receiver position.
Cecil Shorts- Even with Jacksonville likely to have an increased passing attack with the maturation of Gabbert, their receivers having a fantasy impact are going to be minimal. Marcedes Lewis and Justin Blackmon should be the only two Jaguar targets on your fantasy roster. Laurent Robinson has struggled since becoming a Jaguar but between him and Shorts, they’ll offset between decent fantasy noticeable games.