Fantasy Football Pickups And Drops Week Four 2011

Another week in the books means it's time for new pickups for your fantasy team.  While the studs on your team are important (so important that I have a whole weekly column talking about them) it's also very important to optimize your bench every week, and keep yourself in good shape in the case of an injury to a starter.  That's the purpose of this column, to give you the information on the best guys to add to give your fantasy team the depth of a championship team.  Be sure to check out the prior columns in this series, as some guys aren't covered here that might still be available in your league.

This week we have a few speculative plays due to starting running back issues, and a few receivers that could also step up going forward....

Also, as every week, while they aren't numbered the pickups are listed in the order I would be trying to pick them up.

Quarterbacks
Pickups
-Matt Hasselbeck (18.4% Owned in ESPN Leagues) - Tennessee Titans - Hasselbeck looks better and better as he gets more comfortable in Tennessee and even with his main target out, I still think he'll be a good play for your fantasy team.  Chris Johnson still needs to get going, and until he does, Hasselbeck is going to have to throw the ball.
-Jason Campbell (33.1%) - Oakland Raiders - It wasn't a great day against the Jets, but there are better matchups coming up in the next few weeks.  He should be able to score more than fifteen in each of these games.  Not huge upside, but definite 20 point potential.
-Mike Kafka (0.5%) - Philadelphia Eagles - I think that if Vick doesn't play, it's going to be Kafka out there on Sunday, and Andy Reid has manufactured good quarterback play from worse players against better teams than the San Francisco 49ers.  There are worse plays this week, when you think about the weapons he'll have at his disposal on Sunday.


Drops
-Kevin Kolb (94.8%) - Arizona Cardinals - He hasn't taken advantage of any of his peachy early matchups, and it gets much worse over the next four weeks.  Cut him now instead of doing it after week eight.
-Sam Bradford (92.9%) - St. Louis Rams - Look I love his talent and upside, but right now, the Rams offense doesn't look good, and the schedule doesn't ease up on them any time soon.  I'm not saying run to dump him, but if you need someone to start over the next few weeks, Bradford is not beyond a pink slip.


Running Backs
Pickups
-Kendall Hunter (1.1%) - San Francisco 49ers - They say Frank Gore is going to play, but anytime a stud goes down with an injury, you have to get right to picking up his backup.  If Gore doesn't play, Hunter is going to get fed carries, because there isn't much else going on in this offense.
-Stevan Ridley (1.0%) - New England Patriots - He's a lottery ticket pickup right now, but this year's preseason hero looked good this week on six carries.  If you have the space, stash him now in deeper leagues.

Drops
-Reggie Bush (96.5%) - Cut this man. Cut him now before he somehow taints the rest of your fantasy team with his awfulness.  He's averaging 2.6 ypc while Daniel Thomas is averaging 4.9 ypc behind the same offensive line.


Wide Receivers
Pickups
-Nate Washington (8.6%) - Tennessee Titans - Kenny Britt going down means that Washington is going to be the top guy in Tennessee for the forseeable future, and Matt Hasselbeck has already gone Washington's way to the tune of 21 catches over the first three games.  He's just going to see more targets with Britt out of the lineup.
-Torrey Smith (0.2%) - Baltimore Ravens - The emergence of Smith really has more effect on Anquan Boldin's value than it does to his own fantasy value, but he's definitely worth the first speculative pickup here. He could become the number two player in that offense and the vertical target, and be a flex play with potential to explode for 15 to 20 points a game.
-David Nelson (27.6%) and Donald Jones (0.0%) - Buffalo Bills - Nelson is the first guy you want because he's turned up in three straight games. Jones's definitely more of a deeper league/lottery ticket style play, but he had 101 yards this week and fighting for the number two job in Buffalo. Surprisingly, that's where you want to be looking for breakout fantasy players.
-Victor Cruz (0.3%) - New York Giants - Cruz had a great game on Sunday, but it's hard to expect similar results.  Mario Manningham will be back next week as a starter, and that means that Cruz will be off the field, because he is not a very good slot receiver.  There is speculative pickup potential here, but he's really the fourth option for the Giants going ahead.

Drops
-James Jones (60.5%) and Jordy Nelson (100%) - Green Bay Packers - The fourth and fifth options in the Packer offense aren't good enough for you to be running out there.  Barring an injury to a starter in Green Bay, you aren't going to win starting either of these guys.

Tight Ends
Pickups
-Brandon Pettigrew (60.0%) - Detroit Lions - He's a little bit over my normal 50% owned line, but he should be rostered in every league.  He's one of Matthew Stafford's favorite targets, and is going to turn in plenty of big fantasy days this season, assuming both him and Stafford stay on the field.
-James Casey (0.1%) - Houston Texans - Casey had a huge day against the Saints, and that makes him worth a flier here in most leagues, but don't get too excited.  I think the targets will drop for Casey once Arian Foster comes back.

Drops
-Zach Miller (65.7%) - Seattle Seahawks - Tarvaris hasn't gotten him the ball, or anyone else other than Sidney Rice really.  Hopefully he comes back because he has talent, but he isn't doing anything for anyone in fantasy now.