By MV October 12th 2015
Injuries are one of the most painful parts of fantasy football. They are the true wild cards of the game, nearly impossible to predict and they can shift your team in a day. Injuries present an opportunity for the next man up to step in and show that they can help their team and thus become fantasy viable. As it is, that’s why in-season management and waiver wire activity is the difference between a championship or not.
This week saw one of the best RB’s in the game go down with his second torn ACL. Jamaal Charles has been an awesome fantasy stud for a long time and we hope he can make another comeback. So who do you pick up? His handcuff Knile Davis did nothing wrong to lose the reins, rather Andy Reid believes that Charcandrick West is more of a direct replacement comparable to Jamaal Charles ability. For the sake of complete confusion the Chiefs will be working out Pierre Thomas and Ben Tate tomorrow.
Remember not to over spend your FAAB on 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
Blake Bortles JAX – We have been talking about Blake for a few months now. Blake had a 300 yard game and 4 TD’s. He also suffered a mild shoulder injury which he played through. He will be fine, and he is progressing exactly like we thought he would.
Jay Cutler CHI – Jay has 4 TD’s and 533 yards and 2 wins over the last 2 weeks. Believe it or not, the Bears are still in this with a huge win Sunday in Arrowhead. I know right? Hopefully the win will help Alshon Jefferey finally find the field. With Forte, Alshon, and Bennett this is still a pretty dynamic offense.
Running Backs
Charcandrick West KC – West figures to be the lead back in Kansas City with Charles out (ACL) for the season. As mentioned above Andy Reid believes that he is a good fit to fill the void. According to reports some in the locker room believe that Knile Davis is a better fit, it doesn’t matter. Don’t drop Knile Davis just yet in deeper leagues. Also keep a close watch on Pierre Thomas and Ben Tate who will both work out for with the team on Tuesday. My guess is that Pierre will come in and could make some noise as a PPR back in this offense. Sounds to me like a running back by committee in the making for the remainder of the year.
Theo Riddick DET – What a complete debacle this offense is. Still they will be playing from behind and Theo will get a ton of looks in the passing game. He hauled in 10 of 13 on Sunday and they figure to be playing behind in a bunch of contests this year. Theo’s a good bye week, PPR plug in.
Darren McFadden OAK – Run DMC figures to get all of the Dunbar check downs in the passing game. A change at the QB position this upcoming bye week to Matt Cassel could help this offense out, doubt it, but it could. Still even if it doesn’t look better Darren will be targeted an awful lot every game.
Cameron Artis-Payne CAR – Fresh off the bye and nobody is thinking about this one. Why? Well it’s not very exciting. Jonathon Stewart will get hurt, be prepared and grab the Artis formerly known as Payne on your roster and you will have a starting RB for a bunch of games down the stretch.
Thomas Rawls SEA – Tom Rawls had 23 carries for 169 yards, that’s 7.35 yards per carry against a good Cincinnati defense. That is beast-mode. Marshawn should be returning this week but there are no guarantees that he will remain healthy.
Buck (Javorious) Allen BAL – This is a deeper league option only but he seems to be the handcuff to Justin Forsett who suffered in ankle injury this Sunday. Forsett is considered day-to-day.
Wide Receiver
Leonard Hankerson ATL – Hankerson is clearly the #2 WR in this offense now and is involved. He will be a good fantasy wide receiver three this year. Really, Roddy only got 4 targets this week?
Brian Quick STL – Brian was targeted 3 times in his second game back and has the talent to emerge as the best wide receiver on the Rams. As he gets healthier and more in sync with Foles he will become much more productive. He is a great bench stash.
Dorial Green-Beckham TEN – We like DGB simply because of his big play ability. He has difference making talent and could be the guy to own down the stretch if you’re in a deep league and need a homerun.
Ty Montgomery GB – Ty is making the most of his opportunities by catching TD’s in back to back weeks. His targets increased to 5 this week
Marquess Wilson CHI – It’s good to see the Bears win which means they may postpone their plan to dismantle this roster in season. Wilson is 6’4 and is beginning to look like a legitimate wide receiver. He will be a decent fill in option as a flex during bye weeks as long as Jay Cutler is heaving the ball around and while Alshon is sidelined.
Willie Snead NO – If you did not believe him (or us) the last few weeks and he is still available, grab him. Is it blasphemy to believe that he will out produce Brandin Cooks this year?
Brandon LaFell NE – Just someone to start thinking about as he is eligible to return after Week 7. Currently Danny Amendola and Aaron Dobson are the #2-3 WR’s in this offense. Weird, considering Brady will have 35+ touchdowns this year.
Jamison Crowder WAS – Jamison had another great performance in PPR hauling in all 8 of his targets. He looks superfast out there too, only if Kirk Cousins peewee arm could get it out there for him.
Kamar Aiken BAL – Kamar had 9 targets this week and with Breshad Perriman reaggrivating his PCL tear and Steve Smith breaking three ribs Kamar sets in as Joe Flacco’s number one option in a Marc Trestman offense.
Tight End
Gary Barnidge CLE – Barnidge proves to be the real deal, I guess. He definitely has made the most of his opportunity and collected 8 of his 10 targets last week.
Jacob Tamme ATL – Julio Jones is questionable for Thursday’s game and I am sure that even if he suits up he will be a decoy in the divisional matchup against the Saints. Tamme is not a superstar but this is a game about opportunity and the Falcons will give him some good volume while Jones is out.