Fantastic week 2: Options and views

Week 1 is done and the usual collection of high scoring fantasy surprises greeted us. Now is the time to hit the waiver wire, at the same time do not panic your season is not over after even week 3 so there is time to really find out who is going to go the distance. As GM for the Gents fantasy teams, I won 3 out of 4 of my week 1 teams. Hats off to Gent Dylan who won convincingly in the auction league. Let us look at who is worth a deeks for week 2, including for the first time individual defensive players.

I will confess that in two other leagues, I did not win and was royally Gronked in one. As supposed fantasy expert I feel a 50% success rate is not good enough.

Fantasy pick of last week

My fantasy pick of last week goes to Carson Palmer with honourable mentions to Marcus Mariota and Julio Jones. I know Carlos Hyde scored more points, but he is generally someones no.2 or even no.1 RB. Carson Palmer showed himself to be a solid QB last week, picking up somewhat from how he did before getting injured last season. He was up there as a top 5 fantasy QB last week. Julio Jones gets a mention because he has shot up to the no.1 spot for fantasy WR. And in many auction leagues he was available quite late on and could be picked up at a bargain price and considering in the Gents auction league many players including Antonio Brown, Andrew Luck, Dez Bryant and the ilk went for over $65 at $50 Jones was a point steal. If repeated Jones probably won’t get mentioned again. Marcus Mariota  shone for the Titans and was fantasy gold. He was probably on most peoples benches but no worries, the Jets were pass happy against a surprisingly docile Browns secondary and I think Mariota has shown signs enough that he can get the ball out better than Fitzpatrick.

Who to look out for

Waiver wire speculation time now. Obviously I will recommend Palmer, available in 21% of leagues and Mariota is still available in 80% of leagues. Pick up both, depending on your no.1 QB bench them for week 2 but I think you could start both this week.

Titan’s RB Bishop Sankey had a good week 1. Again looking at the Jets, they were able to run the ball somewhat with Chris Ivory working his way through. If the Titans o-line keeps that performance going then I think he is a viable option. He is available in 42% of leagues. Tidy.

Packers veteran WR James Jones has shown he has a good chemistry with Aaron Rodgers especially in the towards the end zone. He will probably be this weeks waiver wire favourite. If Chancellor does not play, then it would seem we are likely to see the Seahawks vulnerable again to the passing game. At time of writing he was available in 92% of leagues and during the update is now available in 42% of leagues.

I have picked up Ronnie Hillman. In anything above a 12 man league he does offer some options especially during bye weeks. Week 1 was unremarkable but he has got the potential especially against teams that lack any run defense, to do some damage. Think maybe against the Raiders. Owned in 89% of leagues.

Chargers RB Danny Woodhead is available in 48% of leagues. He had a very good game against the Lions in week 1. Everyone was quite downbeat on Danny, and so he was picked up quite late in many drafts. He is main recommendation is in PPR leagues as he gets a good number of targets. What is interesting is that it seems the carries are split between him and Melvin Gordon. Woodhead’s stock could easily fall but his demonstration of goal line prowess will hold him in good stead against the Bengals, who did allow late touchdowns to Marcel Reece. I suspect the same could happen with Woodhead.

Another RB, this time in the shape of Benny Cunningham of the Rams. He is their third string but what a replacement for Mason and Gurley. 122 yards in total against the Seahawks, which is no mean feat. This week he is up against Washington who did seem to cause the Dolphins no end of problems. At the same time, the Rams will be feeling confident after a great win and I would favour Benny to get another week of carries and targets. Him and tight end Lance Kendricks could be good picks for this week and possibly future weeks.

With Dez Bryant out for the Cowboys, receiving duties fall on Terrence Williams. He and Witten will be Romo’s main targets (especially after Beasley’s little mishap) and though production won’t be the same, he will probably been picked up by most Bryant owners. Though currently showing he is available in 82% of leagues I suspect this will  change to 82% ownership.

Decent tight ends are in some short supply, however, there are six that have caught my eye. Tyler Eifert had a good game against the Raiders for the Bengals and I suspect this will continue as in 2013 he showed signs of promise. Up against the Chargers who should be a sterner test, I would still think Eifert will be targeted as A.J. Green will be the main focus of any defense. Ladarius Green is a good pick for the next 3 weeks, as was shown on Sunday. Kind of similar for Eifert, the Bengals will be a stern test but Green showed enough (with a touchdown and 74 yards receiving) that he can provide points for owners.  Jordan Reed showed that he can connect and work with Cousins for Washington and with Desean Jackson looking like he is going to miss the game against the Rams, Reed will get targets and points. Darren Fells of the Cardinals also had a good game against the Saints and I would expect him to be used again by Palmer against the Bears. Again some good yards and a touchdown. Eric Ebron from the Lions continued his pre-season good performance with a reasonably solid game and an 18 yard touchdown. Because of a poor rookie season he is available in 88% of leagues. This week he is up against the Vikings, it is going to be tough, but I think he should get a touchdown and a few yards, so maybe not quite as many points as last week but still above 6. And finally I will mention Austin Steferian-Jenkins of the Buccaneers. Mike Evans is out for now and Austin was one ray of light for TB fans and fantasy owners alike. They are up against the Saints but Darren Fells picked up some good points and had a good game, the Bucs will likely rely on Austin for their points through the air. I would say this is a bit of a risk but the Titans D are probably a bit better than the Saints, so possibly lean on the side that he will get points. Risky starter.

Our Quidditch style league (of which I won the Gents first game) does include individual defensive players (IDP). Though broadly for defenses, it is a week on week match up decision, with IDPs, good players will always get you points.

For defensive lines men the selection is actually quite big. Last week the Chiefs Allen Bailey was third highest scoring DL in the league and isn’t owned at all. Mario Addison of the Panthers and Henry Anderson from the Colts also scored highly (Anderson had 8 tackles, one less than JJ. Watt, though admittedly no sacks). Kyle Emanuel of the Chargers also scored more than 6 points. So options are available and there are still a few who scored more than 4 points further down. Personally if I did not have Aaron Donald I would go with Allen Bailey. Currently I have Mario Williams who did not see much or any action last weekend but should be busy against the Patriots.

My DL pick of the week is Allen Bailey I see him being busy against Denver.

Defensive backs the choice is pretty massive. Though Josh Norman had a good week last week, he is unlikely to repeat the performance week on week, saying that he is against the Texans and it is possible that there will be picks a plenty from either Mallet or Hoyer. Ditto for Jimmy Smith who is up against the Raiders. I think Aqib Talib will be busy but the Alex Smith doesn’t really throw many picks so I think his score will drop.

My two top choices who are available in pretty well all leagues are the Giants Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie who is up against the Falcons and I think could pick Matt Ryan off or easily recover the odd fumble and get a good number of pass deflection, and Reshad Jones of the Dolphins. He is up against the Jaguars who last week, Josh Norman scored so well against. I still have faith in this Dolphins defense overall and think Jones could get some good points. Saying that the depth at the position is pretty ridiculous, even if you need two DB, I think you have so much choice.

Pick(s) of the week

This is going to sound a bit strange but I am going for Percy Harvin. The Colts secondary were meant to be good, or at least ok, with Vontae Davis carrying them. They were shown up short, not least by what looks like good chemistry between Tyrod Taylor and Percy, he managed 79 yards including an impressive 51 yard touchdown from five receptions. He also had a 9 yard carry. The Steelers did show that the Patriots are vulnerable to the passing game, so I think if Taylor can continue his good passing form, Harvin could see a few more receptions and the odd big play.  Available in 82% of leagues.

Donte Moncrief is available in 69% of leagues. T.Y. Hilton is questionable and certainly is carrying an injury. This puts Moncrief and Johnson as Luck’s main targets, but I think Moncrief is likely to get more.

Thank you for reading, I appreciate for just one week of football this has taken up quite a bit of your time. If you think different, hit us up on Facebook or on twitter. Good luck for this week.

Toodle pip.