AccuScore On SportsFanLive

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.

Andrew Bogut suffered a gruesome fall Saturday night resulting in a sprained wrist, broken hand, and dislocated elbow. The center had been having an All-Star caliber, and was helping lead the Bucks to a surprisingly successful season.

With only six games remaining in the regular season, the impact of the loss of Bogut is minimal. Milwaukee is currently 6th in the East, ½ game behind the Heat. With or without their center, the Bucks were projected to finish in that spot.

Per game however, the impact of the loss of Bogut is readily apparent. Bogut was averaging 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and was one of the main reasons for Milwaukee’s terrific defense (6th in defensive efficiency) by anchoring the middle. The Bucks are 10% less likely to win a night without Bogut virtually ending any hopes for a first round upset.

Using the Playoff Simulator, AccuScore has the injury costing the Bucks any real chance of making noise in the playoffs. Their chances of a first round win went from a reasonable 21.2% to just 10.1% in a forecast match-up against Atlanta.

Milwaukee had beaten Atlanta two weeks ago at home and went to overtime in a road loss at the end of February. NBA fans have been robbed of a potentially exciting first round series because of this unfortunate injury.

Everyone loves the new guy.  It’s especially true for back-up quarterbacks, and in baseball it’s true for hotshot prospects every spring.  Every year though, fantasy players jump a bit overboard looking for the next big thing and reach for prospects without defined roles, are too far from the majors, or simply not as good as their press clippings.  Here is a quick look at some rookies that could be interesting in fantasy this season.

Jason Heyward – OF, Atlanta
If there is one rookie to own in fantasy this year, this is the guy.  Conventional wisdom would say Heyward would return to the minors at least to start the year, but this is not a conventional player.  Universally seen as the top position player prospect in baseball, Heyward is a freak of nature.  He is still just 20 years old, but stands 6’4’’ and is up to 235 lbs. He also has been crushing balls this spring drawing rave reviews from everyone, and leading to comparisons to Albert Pujols from opposing managers.  Currently AccuScore has a conservative projection of 50% playing time with close to a .300 average and 13 home runs.  If he wins a job out of spring, he should be the true breakout star fantasy owners are looking for.  With Melky Cabrera, Matt Diaz and Eric Hinske being his main competition, RF looks like the perfect spot for Heyward in 2010.

Desmond Jennings – OF, Tampa Bay
Here is the classic case of a top prospect that fantasy owners should temper expectations for.  While viewed as a top 10 prospect, Jennings might not see a major league field this season.  Carl Crawford and B.J. Upton have two OF spots locked up, and Matt Joyce, and Gabe Kapler are very serviceable.  Jennings isn’t draftable in all but the deepest mixed leagues (unless you’re in a keeper/dynasty league of course).

Scott Sizemore – 2B, Detroit
Sizemore is the likely starter at 2B, and playing time is the key to success for any prospect.  He is not flashy, but put up solid numbers in the minors hitting .297.  More importantly he had a career .383 OBP which could lead to a decent run total in Detroit.  Sizemore has average speed, but could get you around 15-20 stolen bases with a full season of work.  He’s worth a look in AL-only leagues.

Brandon Wood – 3B, Anaheim
It’s probably now or never for Wood with the Angels. The loss of Chone Figgins leaves the 3B job to Wood, and we project him to hit .265 with solid power about 20 home runs. His problem has always been a long swing that leads to strikeouts, something he improved on last season. Wood is probably ready for a major league role, but I personally get the feeling the Angels don’t trust him and that Mike Scioscia flat-out doesn’t like him (as a player). For some reason, Scioscia seems to prefer Macier Izturis. A trade to another team would probably improve his fantasy outlook.

Drew Stubbs – OF, Cincinnati
Stubbs will probably face some competition for the CF job from Chris Dickerson, but he is likely to win a starting spot. We currently project Stubbs for a .277 average with 30 steals and more than 80 runs.  That is a useful fantasy player.  His does have a problem with strikeouts, and hit just .202 on the road in about 200 major-league at-bats last season. However, he is just 25 and will have time and opportunity this season.  He could be a nice late-round pick-up.

Tommy Manzella – SS, Houston
The fact that he will be the starting SS for the Astros should be an indictment on the entire franchise.  Manzella posted a career .321 OBP in the minors.  He is all-glove and no-hit, somebody you don’t want to own in fantasy.

Michael Brantley – OF, Cleveland
The signing of Russell Branyan might leave Brantley without a job pushing Matt LaPorta to LF. Still, Brantley is a name to remember for later in the year.  He hit .313 during a September call-up, and is a career .300 avg / .383 OBP hitter in the minors with plus speed.  With a full season of work he could hit for a solid average with 40 steals and good run totals (but without much power).