Upgrades/Downgrades for Roster Flex, Bench Depth, and Borderline Starters

Follow@cimini The vital last few spots that you consider for your fantasy lineup can propel or derail your fantasy season. Each week I'll break down player's that you should upgrade or downgrade based on their value as a flex, borderline starter, or bench depth. Here is a look based on week one's performances.

Upgrades

Reggie Bush Bush has made big plays for fantasy owners since his days with Miami. Entering with a new team in Detroit it was not known how much he would be involved. After Sunday's all around stellar game, those questions are already quelled. Bush has to be seen as a huge upgrade on any team that he is owned on. Fred Jackson When CJ Spiller said he wanted to get 2,000 yards, Doug Marrone said they would give him every opportunity. After Jackson's thirteen carries to Spiller's seventeen Sunday, it looks like Marrone was bluffing. While coaching at Syracuse, Marrone was key on using a duel backfield heavily. So expect Jackson's week one carries to be similar to what he gets on a week to week basis. Shane Vereen The Patriots have to happy with the way their backfield is panning out. It grew by leaps and bounds with Vereen and Ridley over Woodhead/Green-Ellis. Vereen had another gear on Sunday and seems to be ready to blossom with whatever role the Patriots offer on a week to week basis. As a flex starter Vereen seems to fit the bill perfectly. Hakeem Nicks I was highly concerned on how NIcks would play early on in the season. He was limited throughout preseason and it looks like it was all precautionary to protect his health. The green light is back on Nicks for now. If you have great depth at wide receiver and are concerned about his longevity, see if you can earn a solid trade for him. Julian Edelman Brady loves to spread the ball around and at least early in the season it looks like Edelman has the nod over Aaron Dobson who had zero catches and Kenbrell Thompkins who had only four. It could shift as the season goes on, but Edelman should hold solid flex value currently. Kyle Williams He did not have a big game statistically but Williams was involved in the passing game more than you'd expect. Anquan Boldin is not going to have huge games every week, and that is going to leave the door open for someone like Williams. Williams has chemistry with Kaepernick from repitition last year and seems to have a leg up on the rest of the 49ers receivers. See if he is on the waiver wire and build your roster depth at receiver. Miles Austin It was only a few years ago that Austin made the most of his opportunity and pieced together incredible games. The past few years Austin took a step back due to injuries. Now he is in a different role as Dez Bryant has cemented himself as a top receiver. Austin can now feed off of Bryant's attention from defenses to still be a main threat. With DeMarco Murray's inconsistencies and Dallas's love of throwing the football, Austin is a highly rated WR3 or flex for your fantasy team.

Downgrades

Ben Roethlisberger Just because someone has a name and history does not mean it will be his/her year. That seems to be the case with Big Ben as the Steelers seem to already be unraveling with frustration a week into the season. Coordinator Todd Haley and Ben are going to have to patch things together quickly or it might be one of the uglier years for Pittsburgh. Ben's old tricks of being a fantasy subsitute starter seem to be dismal for 2013. There are much better options to find than Big Ben at this point. Cam Newton We've seen this type of start from Newton last year. Newton feeds off of how he is performing. If he is playing poorly it'll be followed up by bad games, and vice versa. Fantasy owners must consider starting their backup quarterbacks over the next couple of weeks over Newton. If not he will dig you into an 0-3 hole just like he did a year ago. David Wilson Wilson's two fumbles Sunday may leave him in the tough minded head coach Tom Coughlin's dog house. You can not be a feature back and fumble the way Wilson has when he has been given a chance. Wilson's role in the future will surely be downgraded to a much lesser extent in the Giants offense. Ronnie Hillman It's only going to be a matter of time before Montee Ball takes over the head committee role that Hillman was supposed to have. Even Knownshown Moreno seems to be surpassing him. At this point, Hillman should be disregarded unless injuries occur in the Broncos backfield. TY Hilton The Colts are going to run more two tight end packages and that is going to hurt Hilton. Hilton struggled Sunday and had only twenty yards receiving. Teams know when he is on the field that they need to have the deep ball covered. Greg Jennings For fantasy drafts Jennings value was really up in the air. More than likely you got him for a bargain with upside. Well that upside is going to hinge on Christian Ponder, and Ponder is ranked towards the very bottom of all starting quarterbacks currently. Until Ponder shows a couple of games of successful starts, Jennings may need to be benched in your leagues.

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