The first round of fantasy football playoffs is in the books. Round two, fight! From what I’ve seen across the internet, there were a lot of tightly contested games with despair and remorse. The “what if’s” circulated and the tiny voice in your head, and experts alike, told you to start the limping Ryan Tannehill over the surging Matt Ryan. Cam Newton decided to have the game of his season when he belonged to a lot of failed fantasy teams, and if you made it to the playoffs with Cam Newton in tow, you likely didn’t get there because of him. You probably benched him, and why not? On the other hand, your surefire starters, like Bronco combo Peyton Manning and Demariyus Thomas, singlehandedly snuffed out your playoff dreams. Tragedy and calamity are at large in the fantasy realm this year and we want to hear your stories. Send me a tweet and a snapshot of your heartbreak/triumph scenario.
Let’s get back to business and pick up these studs on the waiver wire.
Tune-up Tuesday: Round Two of the Fantasy Playoffs, Fight!
Jake Locker, TEN QB- Now I know what you’re going to say. Actually I don’t, but I’m guessing it’ll be somewhere along the lines of health and inconsistency. Both of those categories fit the bill for young Locker, but with the heir apparent, Zach Mettenberger, on the sidelines Locker should get a chance to feast on the dreaded Jets secondary this week, and a friendly matchup with the Jaguars next week. Locker collected 764 yards, four TDs in his four starts, before his extended vacation on the bench behind the rookie (expected to miss the rest of the season). These past two weeks have looked atrocious for the QB, but plus matchups could be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Johnny Manziel, CLE QB- Touched on this last week, but we miffed by the coach’s delayed response to who would start that week. Looks clear cut now that Manziel will get the nod and just in time for a critical divisional game. Especially after Bengal’s Head Coach Marvin Lewis called Manziel a “midget”. This could be good.
Derek Anderson, CAR QB- With the sudden news of Cam Newton’s car crash we all have a very human reaction, “Is he ok?” After the dust settles and we find out that he is in good health sans a couple transverse process fractures the fantasy reaction, “Is it bad?” It may keep him out a game or two, but we won’t know for a couple days. The reason why you should consider Anderson as a plug-n-play? The matchup. Tampa Bay has allowed the 25 touchdowns and 3,237 yards to opposing quarterbacks which tie them to the back third of the league in pass defense.
Nate Washington, TEN WR– Since his single reception, 80 yards for a touchdown game against the Steelers, Washington has been targeted 18 times with a total of 180 yards and a touchdown. His circumstances have been elevated since sophomore Justin Hunter was placed on the IR, and team mate Kendall Wright is hobbled. His next two matchups are juicy, see Jake Locker above, and I’d like to think that he’ll extend the four game streak with 50+ yards until we close the fantasy season.
Marquess Wilson, CHI WR- The ineptitude of the offense play prevents me from endorsing this player completely. You’ll see some experts shine a light on the second year wideout, but beside his raw talent we have seen nothing, professionally, that would suggest he is going to be productive in Brandon Marshall’s place.
Preston Parker, NYG WR- It appears that Reuben Randle hasn’t run away with his several opportunities. First, he failed at carving out a solid role in the first four games that Odell Beckham Jr. was recovering from injury. Second, once Victor Cruz hit the IR, he missed on a stronghold of the no. 1 receiver duties. Parker hasn’t done much to unseat Randle, but he stole five looks last week and turned them into 60 yards. BONUS if your league counts return yards.
Kerwynn Williams, ARI RB- Now that Andre Ellington will be laid up for the rest of the season, a new running back has to take the reins, right? Apparently not. On Sunday, Arizona shucked the fantasy connotations from their backfield and fed the ball to something called Kerwynn Williams. This is probably the ugliest three headed monster since the Cleveland Browns last year when they had a revolving door with the likes of Willis McGahee, Chris Ogbannaya, and Fozzy Whitaker. I don’t imagine that Williams will always out touch teammates Marion Grice and Stepfan Taylor on a regular basis, but if you HAVE to go with one, it will likely be Williams.
Jonathan Stewart, CAR RB- Told you to start him last week, did you listen? My opponent did. Now I’m out of the playoffs. Still available in over half of yahoo leagues. Grab him, start him.
Charles Clay, MIA TE- Clay returned to the field after a two week injury hiatus and caught a couple passes for 41 yards. Revis Island has come from the dead and has been locking up and throwing away the key on notable opposing no. 1 receivers. This could translate into a favorable matchup in this heated divisional battle.
Long Shot
Andrew Quarless, GB TE- It’s never easy trying to figure out who is going to get the targets outside of Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson, but in the past four games Quarless has averaged 38.5 yards a game and that has been better than some of our highly touted tight ends that we employ.
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