Every week in this little special, I do a section about who to pick up. In that section I focus exclusively on running backs and wide receivers. There are a few reasons why I ignore the other positions.
First of all, backs and receivers are the two positions in Fantasy Football that experience the most turnover. This is because they get injured frequently, and experience dramatic spikes in production more often than quarterbacks and tight ends.
WHO ARE YOU NICK FOLES??? WHAT IS A CASE KEENUM??? It sounds like a kind of backpack, or a stylish attaché. Nope! Surprise! It’s the third best quarterback in Fantasy Football last week.
Now if you follow Fantasy Football at all, then you are going to read or hear a lot about those two guys in the coming days, but let me throw my two sense in there before we move on to the ho-hum of pick-ups for the flex position.
Nick Foles – He threw for 45 points. That’s a lot of points, and he’s done this kind of thing before, surprisingly. He threw for 29 points in week six! Do you know how many points he got in week seven? Five! And then he got benched. So it might come as a surprise that I think he will actually keep being a good option. I especially like him against Green Bay this week, although I think the absence of Aaron Rodgers makes this game a lot less of a shoot-out. Temper your expectations, but I still think he’s startable.
Case Keenum – 28 points isn’t half bad either. More importantly, he wants to throw downfield, and he wants to throw a lot. It’s looking like a whole new Texan’s offense, and if Gary Kubiak hadn’t been hospitalized they might have beaten the colts on Sunday night. I think that he starts to throw more picks, but I think the volume of deep looks he takes will keep him relevant, and I think he beats Nick Foles out for the rest of the year.
Now, back to our usual suspects.
Running Backs
Mike James – I mentioned him last week as a guy to own, but I wasn’t very high on him. This week I’m in pretty much the same boat as before. I think we’ve seen his best outing of the year, and I don’t think he’ll get many touchdowns, but he has a starting job and is worth owning if you’re short on runners. He’ll be back to single digits next week.
Darrel Young – …is the reason why I want to punch Mike Shanahan. He hates giving Alfred Morris touchdowns, but Darrel is not worth owning. Don’t pick him up. He’s never going to do that again, or even come close. He’s a mirage.
Oh and by the way, Zac Stacy scored 29 points… told you so. Also this is your last chance to grab Andre Brown, add him now, but wait and see how he does this week don’t just throw him in to your line-up.
Wide Receivers
What did I tell you about Aaron Dobson? This kid looked really smooth on some long balls from Brady, and I think now that Gronk is back and Dobson has a handle on this offense, things will be looking up for New England. Dobson is a good play going forward, go out and get him.
Riley Cooper – He rode the Nick Foles train to 32-point day. I don’t expect him to keep being that good, but I think he is worth picking up if you need wide receiver help. He’ll probably pull a Marvin Jones though and go crashing back to earth with six points and you’ll cry yourself to sleep at night thinking about the Bengals losing on a safety…
Marlon Brown and Jericho Cotchery – I like Marlon a little better, but really neither of them will be good unless they catch a TD, which will happen less often than you like. I wouldn’t bother.
Nick Brown, Sports Editor