Fantasy Football: Five Players to Upgrade and Downgrade

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Upgrades

Russ Wilson
Wilson was impressive in orchestrating a rout against the Green Bay Packers Thursday. He seems to be ready to elevate his game to another level that should be fantasy friendly. He has always talked the talk with proper interviews and now it’s translating onto the field.

Andy Dalton
The Bengals could have folded as a team offensively with the way the game tracked. In fact most of the time when you see teams give away a lead they fold with under six minutes to go. After five first half field goals and a missed sixth attempt, the Bengals found themselves down 16-15 with under six minutes. Dalton stayed poised and delivered a game winning touchdown bomb to AJ Green. He may not be a post season quarterback just yet, but he has shown through the years to be a steady fantasy quarterback in the regular season.

Codarrelle Patterson
Maybe the Vikings have something going that the rest of the league will follow suit with. They originally drafted Percy Harvin for his speed and shiftiness in the open field. It worked for a few seasons out of the backfield and at wide receiver before he ended up in Seattle. It looks like the Vikings had another route in mind when they landed Patterson. His speed and open field ability is on another level. Fantasy owners that got him as a relative mid round pick are grinning from ear to ear.

Markus Wheaton
It wasn’t the offense of the Steelers that impressed me, it was the defense. From a fantasy football players perspective you have to love the fact that the Steelers defense is still in shambles. They nearly allowed the Browns to come all the way back and win the game. But knowing that the defense is still a work in progress means that the Steelers will continue to throw a lot offensively. That boosts Wheaton who had nearly 100 yards receiving on six catches Sunday.

Pierre Thomas
Most draftees of Thomas were able to land him as their fourth running back and best flex option. The Saints have shown that they don’t mind feeding the ball to Thomas out of the backfield, as he was great in this area last season. When they decided to bring him back many people were not sure if it would be in the same capacity. After seven carries for 30 yards and seven catches for nearly 60 yards, those questions have been answered.

Downgrades

Ben Tate
Tate owners are extremely displeased with his early season injury against the Steelers. Though he will likely return soon he already has the injury bug tabbed on him from his Houston days. Owners better find a way to trade for Terrance West if you do not have him already. West came in and showcased that he can handle the load with sixteen carries for 100 yards against the Steelers.

Vincent Jackson
The problems with Tampa Bay’s week one performance are not going to resolve themselves in one or two games. Josh McCown had a couple of awful interceptions and really never got back into gear after the first turnover. Obviously if McCown continues to struggle it’s going to have a downgraded effect to Jackson. You have to move him down until the team shows better promise. Right now the offense would rank dead last from what I saw this week.

Doug Martin
Doug Martin seems to be heading down Steve Slaton territory. He came out of nowhere to have one stellar season. Owners drafted him high last year with injuries ending that season. Promise for a comeback based on his season two years ago looks far fetched after week one. He ran the ball nine times for just nine yards. A bad game against the Panthers isn’t something to overreact about, but Martin has a steep hill to climb to get anywhere near the value he was drafted for.

Trent Richardson
Richardson seems to be attacking aggressively but just doesn’t have the gear to get out of the hole. It’s hard to tell if Richardson can get in gear if Indianapolis always digs themselves a hole. But his downward progression has been going on for over a year now. Sooner or later the Colts are going to run out of patience as fantasy owners are.

Jamaal Charles
Last month I profiled how backs falter under Andy Reid. It’s been a problem for over ten years. Kansas City’s offense was the second worst in week one behind the Buccaneers. Charles is the type of back though that can have five or six great games to offset this type of performance. His low carries though from week one have to be alarming.

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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.

Post Week Eleven Waiver Wire

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EJ Manuel
The spotlight on Sunday’s game was entirely on Geno Smith’s horrid performance. But who caught my eye was EJ Manuel who came back strong after a poor return against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After a rough first quarter the Bills ignited thanks to a long sideline throw by EJ Manuel. If he can get back to the level he was playing pre-injury Manuel can be a definite fantasy football asset to a team.

Josh McCown
The longer Cutler is declared out the more the hype around McCown grows. McCown led another comeback win Sunday over the Ravens. This time it was in horrendous field and weather conditions. This Bears offense is setup to produce points and will do so on a weekly basis.

Bobby Rainey
You could see this coming. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had instant success with running backs over the last few years with Cadillac Williams, LeGarrettte Blount, Doug Martin, Mike James, and now Bobby Rainey. The reason Rainey wasn’t high on many fantasy football writers waiver wire lists before was uncertainty on the amount of carries he would have. Based on thirty carries from Sunday, that has been answered. If running to the waiver wire was practical, owners would be scurrying in a marathon sprint type of fashion.

Donald Brown
I’m not going to completely write off Trent Richardson like every sports fan in America. But clearly the Browns disliked Richardson and cast him off to the Colts to get their investment of a first round pick back. To get more consistency at running back the Colts have turned more to Brown. Brown is what the Colts need to sustain a constant and serious threat to keep Andrew Luck and the Colts in playoff contention.

Daniel Thomas
After two total yards rushing against the Buccaneers Miami committed to the run game against the Chargers. It resulted in less pressure on the Dolphins offensive line and better protection for Ryan Tannehill on drop backs. Thomas should continue to see carries as they try to make a wild card playoff push.

Shane Vereen
Vereen is active again and though he will be brought along gradually you can expect the Pats to utilize him quite a bit. Before his injury Vereen was on his way to a stellar season. Even at this point of the season fantasy owners can get a fair amount of value by adding Vereen.

Rashard Jennings
Jennings was a sleeper start of the week and he delivered on the road in Houston with 150 yards rushing and a touchdown. Who would of thought the top two fantasy running backs of the week would be Bobby Rainey and Rashard Jennings? Oakland offers a high opportunity to the starter and right now that is Jennings with McFadden out with injury. With either McGloin or Pryor under center the team values and protects play calling with volume run calls.

Jerricho Cotchery
The Steelers have resorted to Big Ben in hopes of getting back in division and playoff contention. They’re letting Ben throw upwards of fifty times a game to help spark a team that’s ailing defense is surrendering too many points. Cotchery has seen an increased role as the team continues to run and gun for wins.

Michael Floyd
Floyd’s done this before with strong play in the back half of the season. I predicted that Carson Palmer should finish the second half of the season stronger and in turn boost the performance of all the Cardinals receivers. Palmer finally had a turnover free game Sunday and had only twelve incomplete passes. Floyd had the biggest play of the day on a catch and run touchdown in which he shredded several defenders.

Coby Fleener and Delanie Walker
Both tight ends shined in Thursday night’s game. Fleener has had a poor season thus far but figures to have a vital role with Reggie Wayne out. Walker on the other hand will also see more targets with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback over Jake Locker. While in Buffalo, Fitzpatrick even made Scott Chandler a viable fantasy performer.

Week One Wonders

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The waiver wire is going to be flooded like it typically is after week one. Should you over bid for certain player’s or should you let the feasting to be desired by the rest of the league? Here are some players that I believe were week one wonders.

Geno Smith
With all the New Yorkers out there I’ll go ahead and keep it simple for you. Geno Smith delivered a drive before half from near the fifty yard line, and then another twenty five yard drive that setup their game winning field goal. Besides that Smith was sporadic and ran a simplified offense. At the end of the day it’s hard to see how he accumulated over 250 yards passing.

Russ Wilson
The day I see Russ Wilson as my opponent’s fantasy starting quarterback, I’ll know instantly I have one position won. Wilson has the Tim Tebow flare because he plays his best late in games and in fourth quarters. He has quarterbacking skills but I believe they’re vastly overrated from where they should be. He may get to that level but lets cool his rankings a bit. 300 yard passing games are not going to be the norm from Wilson.

Rashard Mendenhall
People do not always just look for the yardage and fantasy numbers from a player to consider him a worthy waiver wire pickup. Mendenhall had sixteen carries Sunday, and that looks fantastic for owners looking for quality backs. The problem was that Mendenhall only averaged 3.8 yards a carry. His best days are long behind him. It will only be a matter of time before the Cardinals platoon a higher ratio of carries in a crowded backfield.

Jackie Battle
Tennessee is a team that is not goin to light up the scoreboard offensively. That has always made the Titans a one man fantasy backfield. Lendale White had a bit of success but that was years ago with a better all around offense. If Fitzpatrick becomes the Titans quarterback than Battle may be worth looking at. For now ignore his touchdown Sunday, even though he is the goal line back of the Titans.

Brian Hartline
Hartline is included in the waiver wire column this week as well. His outbreak this week might end up being his best output of the season. Ryan Tannehill is obviously most comfortable with his only receiver that sees the field that was on last year’s team. It’ll take some time for Tannehill to develop the same chemistry with Gibson and Wallace. Once it happens Hartline will likely just be a depth filler.

Doug Baldwin
The Seahawks have not had a 1,000 yard receiver since Bobby Engram in 2007. Baldwin has flirted with fantasy rosters in the past. Owners hopefully learned last year that he is not fantasy roster material. His 90 yards week one will surely be his high of the year. If he surpasses 600 yards receiving it’ll be a big surprise. Baldwin’s biggest contribution for the Seahawks is on special teams.

Marlon Brown
I profiled the Ravens dilemma at receiver a bit in the waiver wire article post week one. Brown is figured to be the next guy in line to fill in for Jacoby Jones over the next month. He’ll be used intermittently but I believe the Ravens are going to lean more in the veteran directions of Brandon Stokely and Dallas Clark.

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Fantasy playoffs are nearing. Now is not the time to be content with your team. Keep making those extra necessary moves to give your team the expected edge.
Quarterbacks
Ryan Fitzpatrick

Though Fitzpatrick has struggled that’s when he typically begins to bounce back, when he is at a low point. If it were not for that, Fitzpatrick would never have lasted this long as a starter. His time may be dwindling due to inconsistency, but at this point of the season Buffalo has no one else to turn too. Fitz may have a few solid games left in this season to boost your fantasy playoffs if you enter with a low caliber quarterback.
Chad Henne

Sometimes the front office needs to realize they made the wrong decision in a high draft pick. The Jaguars offense has been completely different with Henne under center to what Blaine Gabbert has offered. For those that watched Henne fill in for Gabbert a few weeks back against the Raiders are probably doing double takes, as Henne was beyond awful in that game. His spark has turned a passing game up a few notches and involved their top ten pick Justin Blackmon, who was non-existent much of the season.
Ryan Tannehill

While all the rookie talk has been focused on RG3 and Andrew Luck, Tannehill is diligently playing effective games himself. He showed great composure to put the team on his back against the Seahawks, as the Seahawks defense did a great job at stopping the run. Tannehill undoubtedly has the least talented receiver corp, but is still putting up great statistics. You have to wonder if not having a big player such as Chad Johnson has benefitted Tannehill. From a mental standpoint he has not had to worry on who needs to get the ball. He just delivers solid throws to whoever is the open guy.

Running Backs
Beanie Wells

Wells is the back that pops on and off the injury report enough to think he was a distant NFL player from years ago. He stepped in Sunday and scored two touchdowns for the Cardinals. The team has been free falling, but had some momentum with the running game with LaRod Stephens-Howling. Quarterback play has been a different story. Wells is available in over half of leagues and should not be overlooked for playoff depth.
James Starks

We’ve seen this beat before from the Packers. Starks stepped in during their Super Bowl run to do a sufficient job. That’s what the Packers need and will test Starks again. He had a good game against the Lions a few weeks ago, and this week against the Giants game plan was over before it could even begin.
Bryce Brown

Chances are most owners protected their investment in LeSean McCoy and bid heavily on Brown. If somehow you were in a league that Brown slipped through the cracks with the holidays on most minds, you’ll get another fortunate shot at Brown. His display on Monday Night Football speaks for itself for the interim injury of McCoy.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Justin Blackmon

Blackmon was listed as a sleeper in the summer time, and developed into the epitome of one as he rode the waiver wire after getting dumped early this season. His talent has always been there but the consistency to get him the ball lacked. The Jaguars have an air attack offense that has not been threatened by the ground game. Blackmon will be a top pickup this week.
Mohamed Sanu

The big target from Rutgers is starting to get involved in the offense finally. As teams become more and more geared at stopping the automatic red zone touchdowns of AJ Green, the Bengals have devised pass plays for Sanu to suit the counter to Green’s attention. It has worked. Though Sanu only had five catches Sunday, he had nine targets.
Emmanuel Sanders

Big Ben is expected to come back within the next week or two. When he does the passing game should bounce right back. With injuries all around the team, Sanders is going to become a factor to step in and produce. He did okay with Charlie Batch Sunday, which should give you enough of a green light to go after Sanders on the waiver wire.
Dustin Keller

The Jets have not been pretty to watch offensively but as long as Mark Sanchez is under center you have to bank on history. History shows that he loves to target Keller. There may be a lot of key changes in the off-season in New York, but until than this tandem should produce semi-effectively.