Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Fantasy Football Pickups and Drops Week Two 2011

You should have already read my Reality of Fantasy week one recap column and if you haven't go do that before you start here in the pickups and drops column.

This column is going to be very straight forward.  I'm simply going to go position by position and offer my pickup recommendations, listed in the order I would pick them up.  Then each position will have a section of guys who are owned in more than 50% of leagues that I would be comfortable cutting for the guys on the pickup list.  At some positions the lists will be longer than other positions, and the lists will vary greatly from week to week.  These fringe players only need a slight uptick or downtick of value to make them rosterable or unrosterable, so some of these players are going to bounce back and forth from rosters to free agency all season long.

All that out of the way, onto the content...


Quarterbacks
Pickups
  • Ryan Fitzpatrick (41.9% Owned in ESPN Leagues) - Fitzpatrick threw for four touchdowns on Sunday and looked to be doing a great job of spreading the ball around.  He made a fantasy impact during the second half of last season, and should be owned in all leagues. 
  • Chad Henne (7.1%) - That might have been Henne's best game all season, but he should still do a good job of contributing to your fantasy team.  He looks much better spreading the ball across all his receivers than last year, and also seems to have more of a green light to pick up yardage with your legs.  He'll help your fantasy team at some point this season.
  • Colt McCoy (19.2%) - McCoy should be much better than he was in week one, and he wasn't awful for fantasy purposes in week one.  Pick him up if the other guys aren't available.
  • Rex Grossman (5.7%) - I don't think he will keep it up long term, but if you need a player to start just for next week (if you are a still scrambling Peyton Manning owner for example) Grossman is probably the best option of anyone on this list.
  • Jason Campbell (32.3%) - The passing yard totals weren't great, but the offense seemed to be moving the ball and Campbell ran in one touchdown on the ground to bring his fantasy total up.  He should have a much better game in a better match-up next week.
  • Cam Newton (36.9%) - The hype went really far here early for Newton because he was the third highest scoring quarterback in week one, but there is no way I want to start him next week against the Packers with extra rest.  See how his average looks after the game against Green Bay, then think about rostering him.
Drops
  • Donovan McNabb (71.0%) - McNabb needs to be off your roster, and I would drop him for anyone else on this list.  Don't bank on him turning it around.  He's done.
Running Backs
Pickups
  • Cadillac Williams (14.3%) - With Steven Jackson basically ruled out for Monday Night, a featured Cadillac is the obvious top pickup here at the running back positions.  He should be the featured back once again in Jackson's absence.  Only the match-up keeps him from being an obvious starting play.
  • Ben Tate (33.5%) - If we knew that Arian Foster wasn't going to play, then Ben Tate would be my top pickup recommendation.  However, we know Cadillac will have carries, while Tate is just a maybe to get decent work.  Foster's return will ruin both Tate's and Derrick Ward's current fantasy value, but Tate is a decent play without him there.
Drops
  • Ryan Torain (93.3%) - Torain didn't see the field at all on Sunday, and Hightower didn't fumble or anything to lose his job, so Torain won't be giving you any fantasy value for the next few weeks, and isn't worth rostering until we hear he's going to be starting.
  • Thomas Jones (87.5%) - Jones got just two carries for three yards and the Chiefs offense just looked embarrassing all over.  Jones isn't worth the roster spot right now.
Wide Receivers
Pickups
  • Devery Henderson (15.1%) - Henderson is the easy top pickup at receiver this week because of Marques Colston's injury.  He's going to see more looks this week, especially if Lance Moore doesn't play again.
  • Early Doucet (2.1%) - It was definitely a stat line that looked like a one week wonder, but history has proven that the number two receiver slot across from Larry Fitzgerald tends to be a productive fantasy position.  Look for Doucet to get targets every week as the team has to pass plenty to get the ball to it's best player, but can't just throw the ball to Larry on every down.
  • Jabar Gaffney (2.2%) - Grossman was looking Gaffney's way fairly regularly on Sunday, and it helped Gaffney pick up a touchdown on the way to eleven fantasy points.  He is basically the number two receiver in Washington, and could have a decent season if Grossman remains the starter there.
Drops
  • Austin Collie (99.4%) and Pierre Garcon (95.4%) - While both of these guys had fantasy value with Manning leading this offense, it's fairly obvious that Kerry Collins is going to be unable to come close to running the Colts offense properly.  Until Manning returns or Collins makes one of these guys his go to receiver, neither is worth rostering.
  • James Jones (92.6%) - I don't know how Jones ended up on all the teams he did.  He's the fourth best receiver and fifth receiving option in Green Bay.  One catch one yard performances like Sunday's are going to be far more common than Jones showing up.
Tight Ends
Pickups
  • Aaron Hernandez (35.1%) - Rob Gronkowski is already owned in 89.1% of league, and Hernandez's ownership number should be much closer to Rob's than to his current number.  He'll get looks all season to stretch the field for the Patriots.
  • Scott Chandler (5.3%) - Chandler had a huge game on Sunday, and while he probably wont match that total again all year he should still be a reliable contributor from the tight end position.  Fitzpatrick seems to trust him, and that's basically all that matters in the Buffalo offense.  If Fitzpatrick trusts you, you put up stats.
  • Jermaine Gresham (8.4%) - Andy Dalton looked Gresham's way often on Sunday, and is expected to return to the lineup this week.  Gresham could be a top ten tight end this year if these two show a real connection.
Drops
  • Marcedes Lewis - (100.0%) - Lewis shouldn't be owned in every league now that Luke McCown is going to be starting in Jacksonville, especially with the news of his calf injury possibly keeping him out week three.  You generally don't need to roster a backup tight end, and you can't trust Lewis to start him right now.

And I'm not offering a defensive pickup list, because it would be kind of irrelevant.  Check back on the blog later in the week for my week two fantasy preview, where I'll share my streaming defense selections for this week.

-Fred "Big Derf" Tobin

1 comment:

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    ReplyDelete