Every week during fantasy football season, we’ll give you a lineup full of sleepers to help you fill the gaps in your own starting crew. A brief caution: These picks are NOT intended to replace the actual starters you drafted. But if you’re weak somewhere, or battling injuries, this is a lineup full of high-upside plays that should be available in plenty of competitive fantasy leagues.
So… that was quite a start to the season. And now that half of your draft picks are busted—either literally or figuratively—it’s time to start fixing that mess you call a lineup. For our purposes, we’ll assume all the sexy options have been nabbed from the waiver wire, and all you can do is scour whatever is left. No problem, you don’t need the trendy picks, because we’ll keep you a week ahead of everyone.
If you picked up Joe Flacco and Mike Wallace, who both appeared in this space last week, hopefully you held onto them. Wallace looks like a new man with a QB who actually likes chucking it, and he could spend much of this season blowing the top off defences. And Flacco? Well, we’re sorry about his first week, but he should bounce right back against a Browns defence that let rookie Carson Wentz abuse them in his first-ever start.
Anyway, to the lineup!
QUARTERBACK
Jay Cutler, CHI: It’s always fun to roll with a Monday night quarterback, but Cutler has burned many fantasy owners before. In Week 2, though, matchups are pretty bad for a lot of marginal QBs, and it’s difficult to say whether the Eagles pass defence is any good, or if they just got lucky drawing RG3 and the Browns last week. We do know Cutler has Alshon Jeffery at full health, as well as Eddie Royal and Kevin White. This is a crew that won’t, collectively, last through the year, so if there was ever a time to start Smokin’ Jay, it’s now.
RUNNING BACK
Theo Riddick, DET: No, he’s not going to grab you two touchdowns every week, but he’s the Lion’s primary passing back and is still available in about half of Yahoo leagues for some reason. Riddick just inked a big contract, the offence clearly has plays that have been drawn up just for him and since Jim Bob Cooter took over play-calling duties for the Lions, Matthew Stafford and Co. have been one of the heaviest passing units in the game. Riddick will be used all over the field and is far more than a sleeper in PPR leagues.
Terrance West, BAL: West isn’t great. He also doesn’t have the job to himself. But this is a game-script call, as the Ravens should be thwacking the Browns by the second half and West fits the big, clock-killing grinder profile better than anyone else on the roster. Expecting 15+ carries and a garbage-time TD or two is not unreasonable.
RECEIVER
Tyrell Williams, SD: Travis Benjamin will get a lot of love in place of the injured Keenan Allen, and he’ll catch some bombs, but Williams might be the better own when all is said and done. He tore up the pre-season only to find himself behind on the depth chart, and while he struggled a bit last week (catching 2-of-5 targets for 71 yards) he’s clearly starting now and has the athleticism to become a major factor.
Eli Rogers, PIT: Somehow, Rogers was not a hot topic (just 19% owned in Yahoo leagues) on the waiver wire this week, despite being the clear go-to slot option in one of the NFL’s best offences. Maybe people were scared off by Markus Wheaton (who may or may not return this week, but will play outside when he does) or Sammie Coates (who actually supplied Rogers’s TD last week when the ball ricocheted off him and into Eli’s hands, at which point Coates stalked away without even congratulating his teammate, which never bodes well). The point is, Rogers has a clearly defined role, and aside from Antonio Brown, the other Steelers receivers do not. If Wheaton sits again this week, this play gets even better.
Davante Adams, GB: Another ignored option (just 12% in Yahoo!) in a good offence. Hey, I know we all want to hit home runs and look cool doing it and it’s always more fun to find a WR1 who can win you your league on the wire. But the chances of that happening are small. When push comes to shove and you’re desperate, you should be looking to guys like Rogers and Adams, who may not end up at the top of the depth chart, ever, but who have QBs who pass a ton and know how to get them the ball in a position to succeed. Yes, Adams was the Packers’ clear third receiver, behind Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb. He also had seven targets last week. Seven targets from Aaron Rodgers is worth… how many targets from Shaun Hill or Blaine Gabbert? Exactly.
TIGHT END
Virgil Green, DEN: The Colts give up a ton of catches to tight ends. Trevor Siemian doesn’t exactly air it out downfield. Green has next to no competition on the depth chart. He probably won’t dominate, but he’s shown a rapport with his QB, proficiency as a blocker and he’ll be at worst the third option in the air with a significant role in red-zone packages. That’s pretty much what you’re looking for from a sleeper TE.
DEFENCE
Baltimore: Here’s how you stream defences this season: Look at the three teams who are playing the Browns, Rams and Vikings, then pick the best D from among them who is still available on the wire. The Rams get the Seahawks (who are already owned in your league), the Vikings get the Packers and the Browns get the Ravens. The Ravens looked pretty good in doing a number on the Buffalo offence last week, and the Browns are basically the Bills on reverse-steroids. So yeah, we’ll go with Baltimore here.
KICKERS
Just pick one who plays in a dome already. C’mon.