Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Fantasy Football Pickups And Drops Week Seven 2011

It's pickup and drop time here for week seven.  The pickups are a little late to help most of you with your waiver claims, but it should still help you navigate free agency throughout the week.  Not all of these moves need to be made, and you should always consider your team before doing anything, but here is a short list of guys for you to be picking up or dropping this week...



Quarterbacks
Pickups
  • Tim Tebow (40.5% Owned in ESPN Leagues) - Denver Broncos - It's Tebow Time!  He's not going to put up great passing numbers, but he was a great fantasy start late last season because of his numbers on the ground, and should be owned in every league now that he has the starting job for the Broncos.  He's a borderline top ten fantasy quarterback for this week at the Miami Dolphins.
  • Carson Palmer (0.2%) - Oakland Raiders - With the trade to the Raiders, Palmer should soon be starting.  Unfortunately, I don't trust him to do much as a starter right away.  He has no experience in the Raiders' system and probably won't be fantasy relevant for a few weeks.  If you can wait on him though, he's worth picking up now for what he might do for you come fantasy playoff time.

Drops
  • Mark Sanchez (85.5%) - New York Jets - He's been in this space for weeks, but he's still owned in 85% of leagues, so I'm going to keep including him here.  The last thing you want from your quarterback is a dud, and Sanchez has the highest dud rate of anyone so far early this season.  You're not going to start him, and could be fixing the spot with a guy like Tebow or Palmer.

Running Backs
Pickups
  • DeMarco Murray (3.3%) - Dallas Cowboys - Murray should be the starter in Dallas this week, and that makes him the top pick up for this week.  Who knows how long Felix Jones will be out, or when he'll be hurt again, and Murray has a prime match-up this week home against the St. Louis Rams.  The Cowboys should be up and milking the clock in this one, and that makes Murray a nice flex play right now.
  • Montario Hardesty (15.4%) - Cleveland Browns - Peyton Hillis might not be out too long with his hamstring injury, but Hardesty should probably be picked up.  It's not just the hamstring with Hillis, as all of the contract talk seems to be rubbing the Brown organization the wrong way.  Hardesty could be taking over any week now if Hillis doesn't get out of the doghouse.
  • Bernard Scott (5.0%) - Cincinnati Bengals - He's on a bye next week, but it's time to think about picking him up.  He's going to be starting for two or three weeks one week (according to sources today) when the suspension finally comes down on Cedric Benson, and the Bengals have already started to work him into the offense to prepare for that eventuality.  Also, I think he's a flat out better running back than Benson, and with three one weeks as a starter, he might just take that job away.
  • Roy Helu (19.0%) - Washington Redskins - This one is all speculation, but I think Helu is going to be next up for the job in Washington.  Ryan Torain had a stinker on Sunday, and was replacing an ineffective Tim Hightower.  Helu has looked good in limited action, and could be due for more carries soon.  Remember, Mike Shanahan never sticks with a back for long.

Drops
  • Joseph Addai (91.6%) - Indiapolis Colts - The Indy running attack isn't going to be fantasy relevant until Peyton comes back, and especially considering he's hurt right now, Addai doesn't deserve to be rostered until then.


Wide Receivers
Pickups
  • Torrey Smith (22.2%) - Baltimore Ravens - After a dud game against the Jets, Smith picked it up with a second solid game in his last three with Baltimore.  Smith moving into the starting lineup seems to have helped Anquan Boldin, so I don't see Lee Evans bumping him from the lineup any time soon.  Smith should keep it going the next few weeks and be useful if you need him as a flex during your bye weeks.
  • Danario Alexander (4.4%) - St. Louis Rams - He would be the top pick up of the week at receiver if not for the trade for Brandon Lloyd.  Alexander was the top target for the Rams in week six, and picked up 91 yards on six receptions.  He will be a valuable fantasy contributor in the bye weeks going ahead, but his value is going to be tampered by Lloyd's arrival. 
  • Devin Hester (17.5%) - Chicago Bears - We've seen this before from Hester, blowing up big for one week, but he's been so hot in the return game this year that he deserves mentioning here.  Even if he doesn't do a good job in the receiving game, he can always score you some points in the return game, making him a viable flex play.

Drops
  • Plaxico Burress (96.7%) - New York Jets - Just like Mark Sanchez, I keep listing Burress here, but he's still owned in far too many league.  Three weeks straight of single digit performances, with no end in sight.  If you watch him play, it's fairly obvious that he has no real burst or acceleration left, and needs to push off to get separation.  Let him go and save yourself the trouble.

Tight Ends
Pickups
  • Jake Ballard (2.1%) - New York Giants - The Giants came into the season needing someone to step up at the tight end position for them, and over the last three weeks, Jake Ballard has stepped up in a big way for them.  He's also scored 9, 13 and 8 points in each of the last three weeks, and deserves a roster spot if you don't have one of the elite tight ends, or if you need a tight end for the upcoming bye weeks.
  • Lance Kendricks (0.4%) - St. Louis Rams - Kendricks finally delivered with a a four catch 71 yard game, and I'm high on the turn around of the Rams offense.  They looked good yardage wise coming out of the bye, and should score more points in future weeks.  Kendricks has already gotten red zone looks early and will contribute fantasy wise soon.

Drops
  • Marcedes Lewis (66.3%) - Jacksonville Jaguars - Lewis wasn't a good play even before Blaine Gabbert was starting, and now he's not touchable even in deep leagues.  He was a sneaky touchdown play last season, but hasn't shown up at all yet this year, scoring just 8 points in 6 weeks.

That's a wrap for the pickups and drops today.  Feedback is welcome and appreciated, either in the comment section below or via email at bigderfsports@gmail.com

-Fred "Big Derf" Tobin

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