By MV September 28^th 2015

A whole lot of injuries and with the first round of byes upon us it is important to be active on the waiver wire. Here is a look at the best pickups for week four.

Remember not to over spend your FAAB on anyone player. Again the basic rule of thumb is to keep the cost beneath 20% of your total FAAB for anyone player. There are always exceptions in this rule and it is contingent upon a ton of variables; what week we’re in, situation, opportunity, etc.

Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ – Mr. Consistency? 283 yards and 2 TD’s help his cause for again making the list. That is 2 touchdowns each of the first three games for Fitzy and his beard. Brandon Marshall really makes this whole thing work.

Derek Carr OAK – He has been playing lights out the last two weeks and has had the best 2 game Raider performance since, well, I can’t remember. Derek threw for over 300 yards two weeks in a row with a total of 5 TD’s. He is shaping up to be a bright young star for the Nation.

Tyrod Taylor BUF – This offense continues to surprise in the first three weeks and it is beginning to look like Tyrod has the goods to be fantasy viable. He is definitely worth adding in leagues where your starting QB is not named Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Vick PIT – He is not who he was a few years back for one game, but he takes over for a number of weeks with the best offensive weapons in the NFL.

Joe Flacco BAL – After a pathetic Week 1 Joe has managed to have back to back 300+ yard games with a pair of touchdowns in each contest. We love Joe in Marc Trestman’s offense, we just hate his weapons. Still, the mediocre skill players will become more in sync with additional reps with Flacco and they will improve as a unit.

Brandon Weeden DAL – I feel like I stand alone on this one. Brandon slings the ball and has a good arm, he just makes a lot of mistakes. So far he is 29 of 33 with 305 yards in about 6 quarters of football. If he keeps his job over Matt Cassel (he should) he will be a decent fill in spot start quarterback.

Running Backs

Dion Lewis NE – Just in case he is still available in any leagues. Standard or PPR he should be rostered and starting.

Lance Dunbar DAL – Lance caught all ten of his targets and figures to be a PPR dynamo going forward.

Karlos Williams BUF – LeSean McCoy is more hurt than he and the team is leading on and is likely to miss Week 4. He also does not seem to be the best fit for Greg Roman’s play calling. Karlos has impressed with every opportunity he has been given and has scored in his first three games.

Thomas Rawls SEA – Well, I don’t believe this is much of much because Beast Mode was just taking a Bears rest, but this seems to be the next man up if Marshawn does miss time. Still Thomas showed off his ability rushing for over 100 yards on only 16 carries.

Jeremy Langford CHI – Chicago could be the worst teams in the NFL says the 49ers fan, but with the recent news of management shopping everybody on the roster; Matt Forte could be in a different jersey in the next couple of weeks. The rookie Jeremy Langford would then get a crack at being an NFL starting running back.

Alfred Blue HOU – A lot of owners cut bait on Blue after the first couple of abysmal performances and he shined in Week 3. I am not overly excited with Alfred as a player, but if Arian Foster has any kind of setback when he finally returns then Blue could settle in to the position. Starting running backs are hard to come by.

Wide Receiver

Leonard Hankerson ATL – Roddy was shut out for a second straight week. Hankerson will be a good wide receiver three this year.

Reuben Randle/Victor Cruz NYG – Some owners have dropped Reuben over the past couple of weeks. Victor may also be floating out there in some leagues. Both of these guys will prove to be inconsistent but could strike on any given week. You could do worse with a bye week flex option.

Rishard Matthews MIA – Rishard did it again with some garbage time stats. I have to believe that the Dolphins will do better than they have and Rishard should continue to get action. So far he has performed like a #2 fantasy wide out. He is currently 13^th in yards and 8^th in receiving touchdowns.

Dorial Green-Beckham TEN – His role has increased in each of the first three weeks and he will continue to get red zone looks and he has the ability to make big plays. I am confident that he will be a big time fantasy player at some point in his career and he may flash some of that greatness this year.

Ty Montgomery GB – Davante Adams reinjured his ankle Monday night and Montgomery slides in as the 3rd WR. The rookie from Stanford scored once and could develop into a nice bye-week flex option in an offense that can support a third fantasy wide receiver.

Deeper League Wide Receiver

Devin Smith NYJ – The rookie had 9 targets in Eric Decker’s absence and figures to work in even upon his return.

Willie Snead NO – Willie has been playing a lot better in the first 3 games than the preseason darling Brandon Coleman. He had 7 more targets in Week 3.

Tight End

Eric Ebron DET – Even though Pettigrew is back Eric is looking like a big target in this bad football team that will be playing from behind for much of the year. He is a great own in PPR leagues.

Gary Barnidge CLE – This week’s Crockett Gillmore award goes to: Gary Barnidge who had a 6 catch 105 yard performance on Sunday.

By MV September 28^th 2015

Some of these are truly deceiving. I absolutely will not fall for the Alfred Blue stat line and neither should you. He led the NFL with 31 carries and had a decent week. One of the golden rules of fantasy football is not to chase points. Do not start him next week just because you missed his points this week. With that, Blue’s performance was the best yet by any Texans running back and if he is available in your leagues due to being dropped he might be worthy of a stash, just don’t expect that performance to be duplicated all year.

Devonta Freeman went 30 for 141 and 3 Touchdowns. Wow, our 32^nd ranked offensive line did OK. Just goes to show how valuable Julio Jones is, or how big of cream puffs the Dallas defensive line is.

The Eagles gave Ryan Mathews the ball 25 times. Our sleeper call of Ryan Mathews being a better fit for this offense than DeMarco Murray is beginning to come to fruition.

All in there were only 7 out of 32 teams that had a running back go over 20 carries. “The times they are changing.”

By MV September 28^th 2015

Probably my favorite report every week is when I get to compile the targets to catch percentages. I watch every single game on Sunday through Monday to break down the schemes and most importantly how teams are going to utilize their skill players in specific game situations. It always surprises me the names that show up each week. There are definitely some mainstays, but there are always new names every week.

20 receptions for Julio Jones in Week 3, are you kidding me?

Mike Evans is back with 17 targets, but only hauled in 7 of the rookie Jameis Winstons’ passes.

Keenan Allen will be a 100 catch guy this year, easily.

Steve Smith caught 76% of his 17 targets. Will he be able to keep that going for his entire final year? The Raves have nobody to throw the ball too. Ravens rookie tight end Maxx Williams had 7 targets though and we will keep an eye on his progress the next several weeks.

Jeremy Kerley had 11 targets and of course, Quincy Enunwa was targeted 10 times. Huh?

Gary Barnidge, tight end for the Browns finished in double digit looks with 10.

Leading the running back list is Chris Thompson with 11 targets for the Redskins. Who the?

LeVeon’s back. 8 targets.

Dunbar caught 100% of his 10 targets. Impressive.

Fantasy Sports Central’s Michael Visconti and Steve Burr have now both won money in the first 2 weeks of the year in Daily Fantasy Sports entries. That makes us 4-0! Here is a screen shot of Michael Visconti’s page after the Monday Night Football game. You can win too. Try our projections for DFS this week. It works!

By MV September 21st 2015

Week 2 is in the books. It was a weird week with a lot of disappointing performances and injuries, but such is the NFL. Live to play another week, especially with the help of the waiver wire.

Remember not to over spend your FAAB on any one player. Again the basic rule of thumb is to keep the cost beneath 20% of your total FAAB for any one player. There are always exceptions to this rule and it is contingent upon a ton of variables; what week we’re in, situation, opportunity, etc.

Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ – He has done really well at securing the job going 2-0, and he has been rather consistent so far with 2 touchdowns in his first 2 starts with the Jets.

Tyrod Taylor BUF – Again a Daily Fantasy God this weekend while far outplaying his salary. You found Sammy Watkins to be useful too. Thank you. There was a lot of garbage time tied in with his stats, but his mobility makes him an intriguing option.

Deeper League QB Considerations

Brandon Weeden DAL – Read any one of my articles talking about opportunity. Sometimes it is all that matters in the NFL. Weeden is a gunslinger who makes a lot of mistakes but has a nice arm. I think he will do well in this offense and have some real nice games. I will try and own him in a couple of 2 QB leagues.

Luke McCown NO – See Brandon Weeden.

Running Backs

Karlos Williams BUF – So far we really like what we see from the rookie. He will be stuck behind McCoy, but if you have the room on your bench grab him.

David Johnson AZ – 5 carries for 42 yards and a TD score. Quit being such a d-bag Bruce Arians start the dam kid. He will make you look good. Oh, he also busted a 108 yard kickoff return to start the game. Cool Story Arians.

James Starks GB – Only because you have to if you own Eddie Lacy, or if you have a deep enough bench. If Lacy does stay out for any significant amount of time then Lord Starks will become a relevant starting tailback.

Dion Lewis NE – Two weeks in a row on this list and he does it again with 7 carries for 40 yards and catching 6 of 9 targets. Don’t crazy over this one with your FAAB budget, Bill Belichek is still in charge over there. Bill hates your fantasy football team.

Lance Dunbar DAL – The hits keep on coming. Dunbar had a decent Week 2 with 5 targets. He should be an excellent safety valve for Brandon Weeden for the unforeseen future.

Chris Polk HOU – This is a deeper league prospect, but he clearly led this garbage heap of a backfield with a total of 14 carries and 8 passing targets. If Arian Foster has health issues through the year, which is likely, than he could carry some fantasy relevance clearly passing up Alfred Blue on the depth chart.
Wide Receiver

Brandon Coleman NO – We still like him without Brees there. Luke McCown will be a decent backup and may prove to look better than Brees did the first two weeks with his mystery shoulder injury.

Donte Moncrief IND – Grab him if he’s there. The End.

Cole Beasley DAL – We still like Cole Beasley to be a huge target monster with Tony Romo out.

Leonard Hankerson ATL – Where oh where did our Roddy go? Where oh where can he be? Leonard out-performed the aging superstar and was targeted 11 times in this pass happy offense. Is he still available in your league?

Devin Street/Brice Butler DAL – Devin is 6’3 200 ponds and could be the number two with Dez Bryant out. Jason Witten has two broken ankles and for some reason it’s a quiet story. Recently signed from the Raiders, Brice Butler is 6’3 215 pounds and runs a 4.4 forty. Both are intriguing options and one of them will turn out as Brandon Weeden’s second favorite to Terrance Williams. If I was to choose today I would take Street because of the second team rep-rapport the two of them may have. They already know each other and their timing is probably better dialed in then with any other wide receiver on this team.

Kamar Aiken BAL – After dropping him in multiple leagues last week Kamar decides to catch 5 of his 7 targets this week. While Breshad Perriman is still recovering from PCL injury someone needs to step in. I will chalk this up to me possibly being right for drafting him, but being wrong by dropping him as quicklyas I did. I may have broken the rule of overreaction to week 1. I think Week 1 was a bigger anomaly then Week 2.

Rishard Matthews MIA – Rishard caught 10 of his 13 targets for a total of 149 yards and 1 touchdown so far. He looks to be Ryan Tannehill’s second best option in the passing game and we are taking note.

Tight End

Eric Ebron DET – EE was Third to only Greg Olsen and Rob Gronkowski on the target list with 10 for tight ends in Week 2. Love this guy this year as a top 10 tight end candidate.

LaDarius Greene SD – Still like what I see. When Gates returns he will still have a role in this offense.

Crockett Gilmore BAL – Crockett is a professional blocker that is forced to run routes because the Baltimore Ravens front office did the worst job possible bringing skilled-position players to the team. Horrible job, but still Crockett caught 5 of his 6 passes and even found pay dirt.

Richard Rodgers GB – Ah, never mind. He is on the Packers though. Ah, never mind.

By MV September 21st 2015

A great place to start when combing the wire for a relevant pickup is the target list. As I have said many times before it does not tell the whole story, but it is what we have to go off of. Take the data, research the next opponents and how they match up with the defense, evaluate the future opportunity and then use Fantasy Sports Central weekly rankings to confirm your findings!

Some of the notables for the week:

Edelman with 19 targets, whoa. That won’t slow down.
Jimmy Graham only had 2 targets, figure it out Seattle.
Leonard Hankerson, on our waiver wire pickup list from last week had 11 targets while Roddy White only had 1.
Jarvis Landry continues to dominate targets. He is an exceptional wide receiver and end will up in the top 12 among wide outs in total points by the end of the year.
Steve Smith Senior probably got super pissed off and threatened to kick some coach ass so he ended up with 16 targets.
Ted Ginn Jr. had a total of 9 targets and it seems like he may be the grossest wide receiver one in the history of the National Football League.
Eric Ebron, we are watching and you are impressing. I believe that you will be a top 10 tight end through 17 weeks. Keep it up.

A lot to look at here and there were quite a few surprises please enjoy the list.

By MV September 21st 2015

Looks like the Minnesota Vikings came to their senses and decided to ride their horse. Adrian Peterson led the NFL with a total of 29 carries. What doesn’t show in the stat line is the touchdown he scored which was called back.

TJ Yeldon also had a TD that was called back as he lands in the #2 spot for this week’s total carries. TJ looks to be carving out a nice little role in Jacksonville, and with Julius Thomas coming back from a hand injury and after the monster game from Allen Robinson I would expect the holes to open a little bit. I am looking forward to this offense mid-way through the year, or maybe I am just drinking the teal juice.

CJ Anderson had 12 carries to Ronnie Hillman’s 9 for week 2. That whole situation is a mess.

More notables were Matt Jones getting more carries (19) then Alfred Morris (18). There will not be that many carries to go around each week, but I Matt clearly looks like a better running back thus far.

Chris Polk ended up leading the Houston offense with 14 carries. He also had 8 receiving targets, don’t spend all your FAAB on him just yet, but he is clearly the shiniest piece of garbage in that scrap heap of a backfield.

Running back by committee was in full effect for week 2, my favorite. Enjoy.

These are my actual entries in Fanduel this week.
I had 4 lineups and 10 entries. I only used our Fanduel
cheatsheet to create the lineups. As you can see I cashed
in 8 out 10 entries. If you lost in Week 1, stop, get our
cheatsheet for next week and start winning this week!
The cheatsheet will be out tomorrow and updated
throughout the week.

By MV September 15th 2015

There is so much to factor in when picking up and dropping certain players. Our projections will give you a good semblance of what players to drop and which of these names to pick up. Not all of these guys will be available in your league; in fact, most were drafted in high-stakes (12 team 20 rounds) formats. Still most of our home leagues will have these guys available.

If you need to back up an injury then these are your guys, but be sure that the player you are dropping is not stuck in the “week one overreaction” fad. As for how to use your Free Agent Acquisition Budget dollars, a good rule of thumb is to keep each of these pickups under 20% of your total FAAB. Now of course the depth of your league dictates the amount you’ll spend. There is another thought process that early in the year the potential stars fall through the draft cracks and that you won’t get a better value than when you do in the beginning of the year. It doesn’t always work. I have seen guys blow their entire annual FAAB on a big Week 1 or an injury only to not hold the job. Be smart. Spread your cash out you’ll need it during bye weeks.

Quarterbacks

Marcus Mariota TEN – The #2 looked like the #1 and the #1 looked like JaMarcus Russell. Mariota looked poised to be a star in this league. I am sure his stats will correct themselves over the next few weeks, but we are pleased to see that Ken WisenPUNT has allowed OC Jason Michael to run an offense that is similar to the one Marcus ran in Oregon.

2 QB League Considerations

Ryan Fitzpatrick NYJ – This is a much better offense than in, well the last 5 years. Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall are two big time targets and the running back combo between Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell will make plays in this offense. Ryan is smart and competitive enough to overcome his little arm and big beard, but he will keep this team competitive thus keeping his job.

Tyrod Taylor BUF – Was a Daily Fantasy God this weekend while far outplaying his salary. That will be corrected. His wheels give him a huge bump in his projections, but he also showed some ability to stand up and throw an accurate deep ball. Why do you hate Sammy Watkins?

Running Backs

David Johnson ARI – It seems like Bruce Arians cannot stand David Johnson, but his talent is undeniable. David broke for a 55-yard touchdown and showed an incredible burst. Arians has dogged David in the preseason, then dogged him again yesterday saying that it is “not healthy” to throw rookies into a big role. Still, with Andre Ellington out 1-3 weeks with a PCL injury and Chris Johnson as the main guy, he could end up as the starting running back at some point.

Chris Johnson ARI – A long way from CJ2K, but he could manage to hold onto the starting role for the next few weeks. I would prefer to have David Johnson as a long term seasonal hold, but Chris will be the man to own of the two over the next few weeks.

Benny Cunningham STL – It is impossible to gauge the effectiveness of a running back returning from injury. Sometimes the best play is the healthiest play. With that, Benny got a whole lot of playing time. He ended up with 16 carries and 7 targets in the pass game. That is good volume against the Seahawks defense. There is no promise that Gurley will have a big role this year, and Tre Mason is still questionable.

Dion Lewis NE – If Dion has another goal line fumble we may never hear his name again. Still he looked like the clear-cut 3rd down back. He should still see plenty of targets now that LaGarette Blount is back from weed-smoke suspension. Lewis slides in as the replacement to Shane Vereen in a pissed off offense that should run up the score every single week.

Lance Dunbar DAL – When Darren McFadden gets injured his role should increase. In all seriousness, with Dez Bryant out for the next 7 weeks they will have to find people to fill the void in the pass game. Dunbar did just that catching all eight of his targets. He looked good.

Wide Receiver

Brandon Coleman NO – If he is still available in your league, grab him. He is the guy that made it palatable to part with Jimmy Graham. He is a freak of nature, and with Drew Brees heaving the ball down the field, he is going to love this target that has a reach and height that will forgive an inaccurate throw.

Donte Moncrief IND – Moncrief is a big wide receiver and is technically the backup to Andre Johnson, but with TY Hilton hobbled with a bruised knee Donte is sure to get some good looks this week in practice. He was tied for 8th for the most targets in week 1 with 12 total targets. Even with Hilton healthy he figures to play a role in this high-powered offense. He will be a great bye week play. I believe he will eventually find his way into a more regular role at some point this season.

Cole Beasley DAL – Targets, targets, targets. Cole is not as talented as Wes Welker or Julian Edelman were for the Patriots, but he’s going to be called on just as much especially with Dez Bryant out until week 8.

James Jones GB – What is this 2012? It looked that way. This will be the most popular pickup this week. Clearly Aaron Rodgers loves having him on the team.

Rashad Greene JAX – This is a wait and see, but I am taking note. Rashad Greene had 13 targets in an offense that is going to play from behind for a total of 13-15 football weeks.

Jermaine Kearse SEA – While everyone was clamoring over Tyler Lockett, Kearse managed to catch 8 of his 10 targets. This is a bye-week filler option only.

Jerricho Cotchery CAR – I know, but what the hell else are they going to do. It’s always about opportunity. Cotchery led all Panther wide receivers with 6 total targets.

Tight End

Austin Seferian-Jenkins TB – High-steppin’ to the end zone down by 5 touchdowns. Garbage time recipient Austin looked like a great athlete and as long as this team continues to play from behind they will be forced to throw. When Mike Evans returns it creates an interesting offensive unit between V-Jax, Evans and ASJ. He figures to be a great check down plus more option for JaMarcus Winston.

Eric Ebron DET – The second year tight end showed that he is finally grasping the game. Tight end has one of the biggest learning curves from college to pros in the NFL. He will ramp up nicely during the season after a confidence-boosting 4 for 5 catch performance in his sophomore debut.

Jordan Reed WAS – He has vowed to stay healthy for 16 weeks. You trust him too right? His talent has never been in question, and he did what he does on Sunday going 7 of 11 for 62 yards and a TD. Stay healthy bro, you are fun to watch.

Ladarius Green SD – Ladarius took full advantage of his opportunity by catching 5 of his 6 targets for 74 yards and a TD. We have all been waiting to see this for the last few seasons, and now it looks like he is getting in sync. When Gates returns they may have to work a double tight end offense to keep him on the field.

By MV September 15th 2015

So who didn’t have Alfred Morris, DeAngelo Williams, and Chris Ivory on the top of their list? Again, please do not believe what you see or read. There is much more to the story. Below is the breakdown of running back carries and yards per carry. Teams get into “real” football shape around week 3. This impacts every facet in the game, but most notably the big guys up front.

I guess the only thing that was truly surprising was Matt Forte with 24 carries. The rest you kind of just shrug your shoulders and chalk up as week one stuff. Enjoy.