Waiver Wire Pick-Ups - Week 2

  • Tuesday, September 14, 2010 4:39 PM
  • Written By: AccuScore

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Week 1 of the NFL is in the books, and already there are key injuries (Ryan Grant, Kris Jenkins) and even a trade (Laurence Maroney). Here are the best players available that you should be targeting on waivers for fantasy domination.

Brandon Jackson, RB, Packers
97.9% available on ESPN, 73% on CBS
Week 1 stats: 18 carries, 63 yds rushing, 2 catches, 12 yds receiving
Week 2 projection: 20 carries, 92 yds rushing, 0.79 total TD, 23 yds receiving

Ryan Grant is out for the season with a fractured ankle and ligament damage. Jackson was undoubtedly the number one pick-up this week, and this only further increases his value. He is worth spending the majority of your FAAB to get him. He has favorable match-ups coming up with Buffalo on Sunday and Chicago and Detroit in the following weeks. Jackson has moved in the top 15 fantasy running backs in our season long projections.

Fred Taylor, RB, New England Patriots
78.7% available on ESPN, 58% on CBS
Week 1 stats: 14 carries, 71 yds rushing, 2 catches, 6 yds receiving
Week 2 projection: 13 carries, 63 yds rushing, 0.48 total TD, 3 yds receiving

While New England will still rotate running backs, the trade of Laurence Maroney clears some room in the backfield. The trade can also been seen as a vote of confidence for the veteran Taylor. Taylor got 61% of the Patriots carries in Week 1, and should continue to see a similar workload as long as he remains healthy. With the way New England’s offense hummed in the opener, Taylor could be a nice secondary option at running back.

Mark Clayton, WR, St. Louis Rams
95.5% available on ESPN
Week 1 stats: 16 targets, 10 catches, 119 yds
Week 2 projection: 4.4 catches, 61 yds receiving, 0.2 TD
Danny Amendola, WR, St. Louis Rams
98.8% available on ESPN, CBS, Yahoo
Week 1 stats: 9 targets, 6 catches, 67 yds
Week 2 projection: 2.9 catches, 26 yds receiving, 0.11 TD

The Rams are going to be throwing the ball plenty this season. Rookie quarterback Sam Bradford went to the air 55 times against Arizona against just 24 rushing attempts with almost half those passes headed toward these two receivers. Bradford will struggle this year, but looks worthy of the number one overall selection which boosts the value of both Clayton and Amendola. Clayton is clearly the number one receiver receiving nearly twice as many targets as the next two players (Amendola and Laurent Robinson) combined. Because of this, Clayton is actually forecasted for a 1000 yard season. The Wes Welker comparisons for Amendola are inevitable. Both guys went undrafted, were incredibly successful playing at Texas Tech, and fit perfectly in the slot. Think of Amendola as Welker-lite; he’s on a worse team and offense but should still be able to put up numbers. Amendola has extra value in PPR leagues, just like Welker.

Austin Collie, WR, Indianapolis Colts
21.9% available on ESPN, 34% on CBS
Week 1 stats: 12 targets, 11 catches, 163 yds, 1 TD
Week 2 projections: 4.2 catches, 56 yds, 0.56 TD

You only need to look as far as Brandon Stokley to know that the 3rd receiver for the Colts can still be a dominant force in fantasy. Collie probably had his best game of the season in Week 1, but a repeat performance is never out of the question with Peyton Manning throwing him passes. Anthony Gonzalez is out for Week 2 with a high ankle sprain, an injury that is notoriously tough to recover from. Collie isn’t widely available, but I’m listing him here because he should be universally owned.

Legedu Naanee, WR, San Diego Chargers
61.3% available on ESPN, 71 % on CBS
Week 1 stats: 8 targets, 5 catches, 110 yds, 1 TD
Week 2 projections: 3.4 catches, 42 yards receiving, 0.41 TD

With Vincent Jackson out for the foreseeable future, Naanee is the primary beneficiary. Quarterback Philip Rivers has clicked quickly with receivers in the past – Jackson, Malcolm Floyd – so a solid for Naanee could be the start of a trend. Teams will be focused on stopping Floyd and Antonio Gates so Naanee should face plenty of single coverage this season.

Kyle Orton, QB, Denver Broncos
65% available on ESPN,
Week 1 stats: 21/33, 295 yds passing, 1 TD, 1 INT, 12 yds rushing
Week 2 projections: 62% completion, 251 yds passing, 1 TD, 0.76 INT, 5 yds rushing

The Broncos threw 33 times while running 25 times. The trade for Laurence Maroney seems like a cry for help for the ground game which means Denver will probably continue to be a passing offense. Orton finished among the top 15 QBs last year (standard scoring) and while he’s not elite he can be a solid back-up option. AccuScore projects him as the 16th best quarterback for the rest of the season.

David Garrard, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
79.6% available on ESPN, 64% on CBS
Week 1 stats: 16/21, 170 yds passing, 3 TD, 0 INT, 10 yds rushing
Week 2 projections: 63% completion, 208 yds passing, 1.04 TD, 0.7 INT, 18 yds rushing

Garrard posted a career high passer rating in Week 1 (138.9) in leading his team to a win against Denver. While he’s not a flashy name, or some hotshot rookie Garrard should be a nice steady option and a solid fantasy back-up. For the season he is projected to average better than 12 points per week the rest of the season, and ranks 15th overall according to our player rankings. If for some reason you were banking on Matthew Stafford, Alex Smith, or Mark Sanchez this year change your mind quickly and pick up Garrard.

Chiefs D/ST
99.2% available on ESPN
Week 1 stats: 14 points allowed, 1 return TD, 1 fumble recovery, 2 sacks
Week 2 projection: 19.7 points allowed, 1.3 sacks, 2.57 turnovers

The Chiefs are not world beaters by any means, but oftentimes with fantasy D/ST it all comes down to match-ups. And in this case, being in the AFC West is a very good thing. KC has a nice match-up in Cleveland this week, and then San Francisco for Week 3. Also looking ahead it has St. Louis in Week 15 just in time for your final playoff match-up. And with Javier Arenas and Dexter McCluster returning kicks, you could get just the boost your team needs.





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