Week one is over and you either find yourself 1-0 or already hitting the panic button. With the help of our new waiver wire page (still a work in process) it is time to take a look at what is available to fine tune your lineup for a W next week.
It is a little too early to be pulling the ripcord on your under-performers (except for LeGarrette Blount of course), but we have tagged a few with the dreaded down arrow on the waiver page. This week we'll focus on pickups, next week we'll start cutting the dead weight.
Top Benchwarmers
Before we dig into the pickups, let's first look at the hidden gems already sitting in your lineup. Surprisingly quite a few owners sat quarterback Joe Webb in week one. There are a few other owners kicking themselves for benchings last week. I can tell you Brian McDonald and myself are doing just that with Stephen Williams and Freddie Barnes.
Percent owned and start stats courtesy of U-Sports
QB Joe Webb, UAB (89% own / 52% start)
QB Blaine Gabbert, Missouri (75% / 12 % start)
QB Jerrod Johnson, Texas A&M (74% / 21% start)
QB Greg Alexander, Hawaii (80% own / 32% start)
RB Reggie Arnold (76% own / 33% start)
RB Dion Lewis, Pitt (68% own / 24% start)
RB Montel Harris, Boston College (54% own / 23% start)
RB Joe McKnight, USC (88% own / 55% start)
WR Stephen Williams, Toledo (86% / 25% start)
WR Freddie Barnes, Bowling Green (79% own / 19% start)
WR Greg Salas, Hawaii (59% own / 16% start)
WR Randall Cobb, Kentucky (86% own / 48% start)
WR Juan Nunez, Western Michigan (81% own / 22% start)
Quarterback
All of the players mentioned in this waiver section have at least 50 percent availability according to U-Sports.
If Navy's Ricky Dobbs can post 30+ fantasy points against Ohio State imagine what he can do against Western Kentucky, Rice, Army, etc. Dobbs is still going to be a streaky performer, but should make for a solid QB2 when the schedule is right.
If we learned one thing this weekend, Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is not afraid to run up the score. Jonathan Crompton burned us last year, so we'll use caution on this one. But his five touchdowns last week can't be ignored.
One of Jim's preseason off-the-record preseason picks was the Toledo Rockets. But we both saw this as more of a late season play when the schedule softens. Oops. Now I don't think you'll see 67 pass attempts out of Aaron Opelt again, but the Rockets aren't afraid to throw the ball.
Tate Forcier looked awfully good in his debut. Michigan and Notre Dame are flying high with confidence, and fans from both sides will be wearing their "Return to Glory" tees this weekend. It will be interesting to see how Forcier fares against a defense that surprisingly shutdown Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.
Looking for some super sleepers? Keep an eye on Louisiana-Lafayette's Chris Masson and Marshall's Brian Anderson.
Running Back
Ralph Bolden topped all running backs in fantasy production in week one. Averaging over 10 yards per carry on 21 carries will grab our attention. Ripping off a 78 yard touchdown on his opening carry helped pad his stats. But before we get too giddy we should note that Jaycen Taylor ripped off a 47-yard touchdown in the first quarter as well, and he finished the day with 14 carries.
There are number of new names topping the chart this week ,and this is making it hard to tell who is legit and who was just piling on against outmanned competition. One name I had my eye on before the week started was Central Florida's Brynn Harvey. If 31 carries for 111 yards and two scores is any indication of future performances, we have ourselves a new fantasy back from Orlando.
I'm cheating a little bit, but Virginia Tech's Ryan Williams was impressive on Saturday night. I was wrong as I pegged him as a change-of-pace back, but he can take it up the middle with the best of them. He ran hard in the loss to Alabama Saturday night, and I'm a believer (anyone want David Wilson?) A shockingly-low 57 percent owned indicates you could still get lucky and pick him up off waivers.
Wide Receiver
We mentioned at the outset of this season that Michigan State will go through a bit of metamorphosis this year as quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Keith Nichol take over. Blair White is still the steadiest of the receiving corps and that should be the case all year. We probably aren't talking double digit touchdowns, but solid production can be expected.
Sticking in the Big Ten, Junior Hemingway returns from a year absence and proved to be Tate Forcier's favorite target. The Big Ten is a hotbed for available wide receivers right now. Mainly because they were largely ignored on draft day. Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin all had receivers flex their muscles last week.
The question as to who is going to catch Ryan Mallett's passes may have been answered with Jarius Wright's six catch and 139 yard effort against Missouri State. With those numbers, touchdowns are bound to come. A pesky bye week in week two stings a bit though.
Frantrell Forrest is not getting much love from owners, but Joe Webb is going to keep up his torrid pace; he has to throw the ball to someone.
Freshman Darius Johnson got on the board for SMU and should continue to do so for the Mustangs.
Well hello Danario Alexander. We've been waiting for you!
Going a little further down the list, seeing Trae Johnson catch a touchdown pass was an encouraging sign.
Tight End
Alabama's Colin Peek didn't find the end zone but he sure looked good for the Tide on Saturday (you were right Corey). As did Michigan's Kevin Koger and Tony Moeaki of Iowa, two tight ends that have been on and off our radar in the past.
As for the true freshmen, Michigan State's Dion Sims looks nothing like a rookie. He has size and speed and caught his first of many touchdowns as a Spartan on Saturday against Montana State. However a logjam at tight end still exists for the Spartans.
None of these guys tickling your fancy? Than check out our new waiver wire page where you provide all the data for you to make your own calls.
Happy Labor Day!