Fantasy NFL
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups, Week 2: Who To Grab To Dominate The Wire
by RotoExperts.com | 4:06 pm, September 11th, 2012
We’ve enlisted the help of a man who knows his fantasy, RotoExperts.com’s managing director Scott Engel, an inaugural member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association’s Hall of Fame, to identify the players you should add — and the ones you should drop — each week. Follow his advice, and you should be golden.
Every week, we make you look like “The Turk.” That’s football talk for a coach who comes to inform a player he has been cut. In fantasy football, it’s an easier task, because you don’t have to personally face these giant human beings.
Yet we also make you look good: we tell you who to give fantasy jobs to . Here are 11 waiver moves to strongly consider for Week 2.
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1. Add Alfred Morris, RB Redskins
This is an obvious one, so rather than telling you to get Morris, we’ll inform you just how to get him if you really want him, or what to do with him if someone else in your league nabs him, which is a very good possibility if you are not first in the waiver order. If you really want Morris badly, then trade for prime waiver position with the guy who has the No. 1 spot. Not enough Fantasy owners are proactive enough to make such a bold move. If you don’t need him, put in for him anyway, because you want depth to make a trade from. Besides, do you really want a Redskins RB on your roster? Morris could be deactivated regularly by Week 5 or so.
2. Add Kevin Ogletree, WR Cowboys
This is another obvious one. Each week, though, we tell you not just who to pick up, though, we also give you deeper strategies to consider once you acquire the player. With Ogletree, you are not going to start him right away, as defenses will now be more aware of him after his breakout season opener and could put the clamps on him. So if you get Ogletree and have good WR depth, deal him while his value is high.
3. Add Blaine Gabbert, QB Jaguars
Don’t rub your eyes or send an angry e-mail to me at RotoExperts.com. That is not an error. Gabbert was a laughingstock last year, but now he is showing everyone why the Jaguars want to build around him. He is a different QB this year, one who is no longer shaky in the pocket and throws confidently downfield. Gabbert threw two TD passes in the opener and is going to be very efficient all year long. If you need a solid backup QB, and we all do, there is no more pain with Blaine.
4. Add Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Steelers
My subscribers know I have been touting this guy since the spring. That’s why I now also get my tips featured and my ego blown up on Sportsgrid now, too. But seriously, it’s all about helping your team and that’s why we are here. Isaac Redman made Ron Dayne look like Earl Campbell by comparison on Sunday night. Dwyer has finally gotten himself into respectable shape and has nice spring in his step for a big guy. Rashard Mendenhall may be out at least until the end of the month, so here’s a quality runner for you to add, especially if you lost Fred Jackson this week.
5. Add Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Falcons
He is available in some leagues, and if he’s not, trade for him now. Michael Turner looked very “over the hill” against the Chiefs, and would probably need help to get over a hill at this point of his career. Rodgers is going to overtake him on the depth chart this year, you read it here first, or were at least heavily coaxed into acquiring him here first. Rodgers fits the new high-powered Atlanta attack much better than Turner, and he is the next in a line of small but ultra-strong near the goal line guys who have arrived in the NFL over the past few years. You’ll be starting him by Week 7, if not sooner.
6. Drop Beanie Wells, RB, Cardinals
He has been getting banged up more and more every year, and injuries have started to rob him of his skill set. Wells runs upright and doesn’t slip tackles very well anymore. Once the much more potent and exciting Ryan Williams fully gets into the flow of the offense, Wells can consider wearing a Beanie instead of being called one. No one is going to care what he does with his extensive time on the sidelines.
7. Add David Wilson, RB Giants
This is a move to make after the initial waivers process runs, and some reactionary, impatient type gets rid of the weepy Giants rookie. Tell Wilson not to cry, you’ll wipe away his tears and give him a roster spot. The ones who drop him will be sobbing to get him back later in the season. Once Wilson settles down and plays with more patience, he’s going to be a real playmaker. Especially if Ahmad Bradshaw goes down, which has happened often in the past.
8. Drop Doug Baldwin, WR Seahawks
He dropped the game-winning touchdown against the Cardinals. Now, you drop him too. Baldwin was impressive last year in spurts, but somewhat overrated, even as a WR4 in fantasy. He’s a slot receiver on an offense that appears to be in transition from the passing perspective. Baldwin will prove to be a nice complementary piece for the Seahawks once they start to get things moving in the right direction, but he will not help your fantasy team much this year.
9. Drop Greg Little, WR Browns
He was shut out in the opener, and even if the passing game improves, you’ll never want to start him on your fantasy team. Little is miscast as a No. 1 NFL WR, as he has to face top cover cornerbacks and heavy defensive attention every week. He does not have enough quality complements in the Browns passing game and would be better off on a team with quality veterans to draw some attention away from him. But he is in Cleveland, and that means he should be off your roster.
10. Drop Isaiah Pead, RB Rams
He was a preseason darling, as Pead’s electric moves on film built considerable hype, and Steven Jackson was a perceived age and injury risk. But Pead had a poor preseason, and fellow rookie Daryl Richardson has actually looked much better and displays some pretty moves himself as well. There is no clear handcuff to Jackson right now. If you don’t own Jackson, you don’t need Pead. But we may revisit him down the line.
11. Add T.J. Graham, WR, Bills
Buffalo lost David Nelson for the season, and it’s not like Donald Jones will step forward and accomplish much of anything. Graham is the long-sought after downfield complement the Bills have longed for opposite Stevie Johnson. He may take a few weeks to get more comfortable, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is an erratic deep thrower, but Graham has considerable upside and should be stashed if you have the room.
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