Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only guys eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.
Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.
David Garrard (20.4)
Always underrated, Garrard performs much better at home (195 y-40 TD-17 INT in 39 games) than he does on the road (172-26-22 in 33 games). (Nice split find by ESPN, BTW.) With Mike Thomas and Marcedes Lewis emerging, he now has a few weapons in the passing game.
Alex Smith (23.1)
I still like Smith, though I can understand the trepidation after Week 1. If he can’t produce against the Saints, Chiefs and Falcons over the next three weeks, then he probably shouldn’t be on fantasy rosters. He did play well last season, right?
Kyle Orton (35.0)
He has what looks to be a nice matchup this week against SEA (though Alex Smith might argue with that) but then he has a fairly brutal schedule over the next several weeks.
Michael Vick (3.6)
Vick is probably the best option for Kolb owners looking for answers. He was always a pretty good fantasy QB and he proved against the Packers that he still has the wheels to be a major threat in the running game.
Derek Anderson (12.3)
Anderson’s completion percentage in W1 leaves something to be desired, but once he and Fitzy get on the same page, he could be a solid fantasy QB.
Jason Campbell (12.2)
With STL, ARI and HOU up next there’s no reason that Campbell can’t post respectable fantasy numbers.
Matt Hasselbeck (6.7)
Hass was sharp against the 49ers in W1 and has a pretty nice upcoming schedule. Hopefully his back will hold up.
Matt Cassel (12.2)
He only threw for 68 yards, but the Chiefs had the lead for most of the game and conditions were horrible. (However, that didn’t stop Phillip Rivers from throwing for 298-2.)
Shaun Hill (0.0)
Hill proved in San Francisco that he was a capable backup and with all the weapons in Detroit, he should put up decent numbers.
Sam Bradford (14.3)
Bradford has a nice second half schedule, but all rookies have their ups and downs.
Josh Freeman (3.4)
It could be an ugly couple of weeks with Carolina and Pittsburgh coming up.
Matt Moore (3.5)
Jake Delhomme (2.3)
Mark Sanchez (29.2)
Like a lot of people, I’m just not sold on the Sanchize, and he didn’t do anything on Monday night to make us feel any better about him.
Dennis Dixon (2.4)
Trent Edwards (0.8)
Brandon Jackson (1.1)
With BUF, CHI and DET coming up, Jackson looks like he’ll be a RB2 as long as Ryan Grant is out. Click here for more info. Update: Grant is reportedly out for the year. Jackson is the top waiver wire pickup this week.
Fred Taylor (21.6)
The clear RB1 in NE posted 77 total yards on 16 touches. He should get the goal line work as well.
Peyton Hillis (3.6)
Hillis out-touched Jerome Harrison 13-to-10, but Harrison outproduced him on a per touch basis and Hillis fumbled twice (losing one). This looks like a true RBBC, so Hillis should be rostered.
Kevin Faulk (2.7)
Faulk takes his regular role as solid bye week fill-in in PPR leagues. He posted 70 total yards on Sunday.
Bernard Scott (30.0)
He produced 50 yards on nine touches (6 carries, 3 catches) and was more effective than Cedric Benson.
Earnest Graham (0.4)
With six carries to Kareem Huggins’ zero, it appears that Graham is in fact the RB2 in Tampa behind the rather injury-prone Cadillac Williams.
Mike Williams, TB (43.7)
5-30-1 in his NFL debut with a near-miss on another deep ball — Josh Freeman took the blame — and why is this guy still on more than half of waiver wires?
Legedu Naanee (38.7)
5-110-1 against the Chiefs, but keep in mind that his 59 yard TD came on a blown coverage. I don’t know how many games like this he’ll have as the Chargers’ third option in the passing game, but he looked good on Monday night. He did have two more targets than Antonio Gates (8 vs. 6).
Mark Clayton (2.4)
Straight from the airport the guy racks up 10-119 on 16 targets. Good things to come in STL.
Eddie Royal (52.8)
Jabar Gaffney (51.3)
Royal has upside again, yay! Both of these WRs are startable in PPR formats, at least until Demaryius Thomas makes his debut.
Mohammed Massaquoi (34.8)
2-46-1 indicates a lot of upside and a lot of downside, especially with Jake Delhomme passing to him.
Jacoby Jones (53.7)
He looked good, but Kevin Walter caught the TD and the strong running game means that HOU may not look to pass as much this season. Did out-target Walter 6-to-2, which bodes well.
Mike Thomas (2.8)
His seven targets were four more than the next Jaguar (not Mike Sims-Walker). He posted 6-89, which means he now has 19 catches in the last three regular season games.
Danny Amendola (1.7)
A poor man’s Wes Welker in PPR format? 6-67 on nine targets playing for a team that will often be playing from behind.
Louis Murphy (21.0)
Murphy should be better than 4-28 as the Raiders’ WR1. There are some nice matchups coming up (but TEN was supposed to be nice).
Jerricho Cotchery (46.0)
Cotch only managed 2-18 on five targets against the Ravens and the Jets’ passing game looked brutal.
Chris Chambers (10.9)
Chambers killed down the stretch last season but Dwayne Bowe is out of Todd Haley’s doghouse.
Davone Bess (2.1)
Where’s Brian Hartline? Bess turned seven targets into 6-51.
Dexter McCluster (13.4)
Mario Manningham (42.7)
Will be a WR3 if Steve Smith 2.0 or Hakeem Nicks were to go down.
Kevin Walter (12.5)
Caught a TD but was only targeted twice — and what happens when Owen Daniels starts playing full-time?
Devin Hester (14.2)
One target? Really?
Deion Branch (1.1)
Early Doucet (34.7)
Nate Burleson (42.4)
Jordan Shipley (2.8)
Roy Williams (10.6)
Josh Morgan (6.5)
Nate Washington (2.5)
Brandon LaFell (0.5)
Todd Heap (15.7)
I know owners have ‘fantasy fatigue’ with Heap, but on Monday he went for 6-72 on 11 targets, the most of any Ravens receiver. He’s healthy and is a great fit for owners waiting on Owen Daniels.
Jermaine Gresham (14.5)
6-25-1 on 10 targets is pretty nice from the rookie, but don’t expect Carson Palmer to throw it 50 times every game.
John Carlson (41.5)
He was targeted five times, second only to Mike Williams, and posted 3-36.
Dustin Keller (19.2)
The Jets’ passing game looked awful against the Ravens, but I don’t know if it was so much Baltimore’s defense as it was Mark Sanchez’s decision making.
Tony Scheffler (2.5)
He was the second most-targeted Lion after Calvin Johnson, turning seven looks into 6-43.
Bo Scaife (1.9)
He has always posted decent numbers (3-37-1) with Vince Young at QB.
Jeremy Shockey (27.2)
Shockey made the most of his three targets (3-23).
Kevin Boss (21.9)
The kid takes some hits across the middle. If he’s healthy, he’ll be a factor.
Aaron Hernandez (3.0)
Rob Gronkowski (8.7)
Which of these NE TEs is going to have the most fantasy value? Because right now it looks like they’re canceling each other out.
Marcedes Lewis (3.0)
The good? Lewis posted 2-31-2. The bad? He was only targeted twice. How consistent can he be?
Tony Moeaki (0.1)
Matt Cassel looked his way four times on Monday night and he delivered with 3-21-1. There’s some upside here because the Chiefs need guys who can catch the ball.
Anthony Fasano (3.4)
3-46 on three targets is what it is. Bye week filler.
Evan Moore (0.5)
Ben Watson (3.9)
