Anyone can see the value in drafting Priest Holmes,
but it takes a discerning eye
to distinguish the unheralded or unused players
primed for breakout seasons. On the eve of the 2004
Season here are some lesser known names that we
think you'll want stashed on your bench. Keep an
eye on these guys. They turn fantasy teams into
fantasy champions. Thanks Paul Tagliabue, for starting
week one on a Thursday in Foxboro with the Indy
triplets in town. Thanks Marshall Faulk, for playing
the Cardinals on the opening Sunday. Thanks for
the Cowboys D vs. Daunte Culpepper. Football’s
back. Exhale. Let’s quit with the foreplay.
This is our waiver wire pick-ups column. The WagerOnFootball.com
staff will scour the free agent pools in fantasy
land for the best available talent every week. Availability,
of course, depends on the league. We’re using
12 team, 15 roster spot leagues as the median, but
we’ll look for roster candidates for leagues
of all shapes and sizes.
GREAT PICK UPS
The Great One Gets Greater - Emmitt Smith
is doing what Jerry Rice did when he left the 49ers
and joined the Raiders - enhancing his legacy. Emmitt
tourched the Saints floundering defense for 127
yards on 21 carries including a 29-yard touchdown
run and added an 18-yard catch and his first touchdown
pass, a 21-yarder to fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo.
It was by far his best performance since joining
the Cardinals and his 290 yards rushing this season
ranks 18th, which puts him ahead of players like
Fred Taylor, Travis Henry and Kevan Barlow. He wasn't
ranked among my top 35 running backs prior to the
start of the season but his fast start has quickly
made him a legitimate fantasy starter. Can he keep
this up? Does he have more 100-yard games in him?
Probably not which makes him a great Trade-Now-While-His-Value-Is-High
candidate. But then again I said the same thing
about Curtis Martin.
RB Amos Zereoue, ARI - Word out
of Oakland is that Wheatley could have easily gone
back into that game last week. The fact that the
Oakland coaching staff recognized Amos’ outstanding
play is a good hint that his workload could increase
exponentially.
Mewelde Moore, MIN - With Michael
Bennett out at least another 2 weeks and Onterrio
Smith likely out serving his 4-game suspension the
guy you think you want to pick up has got to be
Moe Williams. But now we hear he might be out this
week too so scrap that idea. We've all seen what
he hasn't done as the featured back in the past
and if he is the only healthy back he would become
a legimate starter until either Bennett or Smith
or Williams returns. If he isn't quite ready for
all this action, look for rookie Moe to dress and
get in there to spell Moore, and see a little playing
time.
RB Troy Hambrick, ARI -Yes, Emmitt
was great this weekend, but Hambrick quietly racked
up over 70 yards and a TD. If you own Emmitt, grab
Troy Hambrick and rest assured that he will be an
adequate replacement if/when Smith goes down. He’s
also worth a look for those of you with room on
your roster.
WR Reche Caldwell, SD - It’s
hard to overlook Caldwell’s three TDs. He’s
got a great amount of talent, and, like my boy Hymes,
is a sleeper talent on a weak passing offense.
QB Byron Leftwich, JAX - Watching
the Jags game this pass weekend, it was evident
that Leftwich has four good options at WR for which
to throw. He makes a solid backup because he makes
very little mistakes and is good for about 200 yards
and a TD a game.
TE Shad Meier, TEN - He caught
9 passes for 31 yards and a TD against the Jags,
and while he isn't a classic pass-catching tight
end he will continue to see a lot of the ball until
Erron Kinney returns from a badly injured calf.
TE Terry Jones, BAL -Tight ends
are dropping like flies this year. If you are totally
stuck, Jones is not a bad pickup. He’s taken
over for Heap and saw a handful of balls thrown
his way last night.
CASE OF THE DROPS
RB Ron Dayne, NYG - If you own
Barber and don’t need the roster space then
hang onto “Thunder,” but if you own
him for any other reason he is waste. He’s
averaging less than 3 yards a carry after a great
preseason and Tiki is so much better than him it
is almost embarrassing for Dayne on Sundays.
WR Dante Hall, KC - Simply put,
Hall has been a bust this season. He was sleeper
material when he was awarded the starting WR job,
but unfortunately he has done nothing with it. Morton
is the man to own in the KC WR corp.
RB Garrison Hearst, DEN - Was that
really Droughns getting the carries in relief of
Griffin this weekend?? It’s clear that Shanahan
has no faith in Hearst. Griffin will be replaced
soon (hope you dealt him when I suggest to) but
his successor should be the talented rookie, Tatum
Bell, not the veteran Hearst.
Green Bay DT - This unit was actually
a quality fantasy defense and have a favorable schedule,
but they have played just awful and are not even
worth starting against weak teams.
