Welcome in week three of the football season and week three of your fantasy season. Like last week I will go over the top five waiver wire acquisitions this week as well the top three matchups I like that could potentially help you get a win over your opponent.
The top player I see jumping off the boards this week is wide receiver Eddie Royal of the San Diego Chargers, who is owned in just over 62 percent of leagues. While I drafted Royal in a league where kick and punt returns get you points, I wasn’t shy about dropping the aging receiver before the season started. But just two weeks into the season, he looks to be on the rebound with quarterback Phillip Rivers. While I didn’t personally pursue the addition of Royal, since I am last in the waiver wire line, I would have attempted to go after him if I had a high pick. While I don’t see Royal catching 40 touchdown passes this year, (he has five through two weeks), I could likely see Royal eclipse 15, which is a good mark even if you are talking about Calvin Johnson who was the top receiver drafted in almost every league. I wouldn’t hesitate on going for Royal and playing him immediately as the Tennessee Titans are susceptible to giving up the big play.
The second best player I see coming off the boards this week is actually a defense, the Kansas City Chiefs defense, which is owned in just 30 percent of leagues. So they will allow more than 18-points at one point this season, but I could see them allowing less than 18 in quite a few matchups this week. Their schedule sees them face off against the Tennessee Titans, Oakland Raiders, Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills before their week 10-bye week, which means there are at least four favorable matchups to count on before you would even think about dropping them. If you have a defense like the San Francisco 49ers or Denver Broncos that has a bad matchup one week, the Chiefs would be an ideal one to stash for those weeks. If you are one of those owners who likes to pick up and drop defenses each and every week I implore you to take a chance and ride the Chiefs defense, who had recovered four turnovers so far this year, and turned one into a score.
The third player I like this week is Green Bay Packers running back James Starks. While I don’t see Starks having another giant week like he did last week against the Washington Redskins, I could see him having a solid week against the Cincinnati Bengals this week as starting running back Eddie Lacy is still dealing with concussion issues from last week’s game. While Starks, owned in just over 52 percent of leagues may not be the main back in the Green Bay offense for long, he will be this week and could provide a solid start for teams needing a flex or a secondary back.
The fourth player I would take a look at this week on the waiver wires is San Diego Chargers quarterback Phillip Rivers, who is owned in just over 42 percent of leagues. While I don’t see Rivers continuing his 7-1 touchdown to interception rate throughout the season, it isn’t impossible. Once upon a time, Rivers was ranked as a top five quarterback in the NFL, but has recently been relegated to the bottom 15 quarterbacks due to his tendency to throw interceptions. There are a few things that have helped Rivers get to his 7-1 touchdowns to interception rate. First, the resurgence of Eddie Royal receiving. Royal has five or Rivers seven touchdowns. Secondly, the poor Philadelphia Eagles defense, which allowed Rivers to throw for 419 yards with three scores and no picks. Third, tight end Antonio Gates. When Gates is healthy, he is Rivers safety blanket, which was evident last week as Rivers hit Gates for over 100-yards in the game. If you are going for Royal, or already have Gates, just need a bye week quarterback, or are in a two quarterback league, Rivers could be the man you need. If he stays in the form he has through two weeks, heck you might even want to trade your Matt Ryan or Cam Newton caliber quarterback.
The fifth player I like this week to grab off the waiver wires is Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who is owned in just over 77 percent of leagues. Hopkins has impressed me over the last two weeks with a seven catch, 13 target game against the Tennessee Titans going for 117-yards with a touchdown last week, which followed up a five reception, six target for 66-yards night against the San Diego Chargers in week one. While I don’t expect Hopkins to get 13 targets or even 10 targets a game for the remainder of the year, it was reassuring that he did what he did with the targets he got from quarterback Matt Schaub. Being in a run-heavy offense, and being opposite of Andre Johnson and tight end Owen Daniels, and getting those types of numbers doesn’t hurt his cause either. My expectations for Hopkins are more in the range of the week one numbers but could see those jump in certain matchups going forward as the Texans play the Jacksonville Jaguars twice down the stretch and the Oakland Raiders once. If you are looking for a flex receiver, or just someone to fill in for a bye week, Hopkins could be an ideal fit, especially if you have Matt Schaub.
Now that I have gone over the waiver wire acquisitions I will go over the matchups I like this week.
I will start with the Thursday night game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles. The game is being played in Philadelphia so I automatically want to give a nod to the Eagles offense at home, even with the great performances the Chiefs defense have put up so far. But this game is more than just two teams playing on a Thursday night; it’s Andy Reid, Coach of the Chiefs going against his old team, the Eagles coached by Chip Kelly, who is reinventing the NFL offense one week at a time with his smorgasbord hurry up offense.
The players I like this week are LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Michael Vick, Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe. I like the Eagles offense because I believe their hurry-up style will tire out the Chiefs, which could lead to fast players like Jackson, McCoy and Vick to run wild. I like Bowe because Bowe has size that quarterback Alex Smith will target on third downs. I like Charles because he is a strong runner going against a poor defense.
The second matchup I like this week is the Detroit Lions and the Washington Redskins. This matchup features a Lions team that is hungry for early season wins, and a Redskins team that does not look the same with an injured Robert Griffin III running the show. The matchups I would try to exploit in this matchup are ones the Packers exploited last week, running game, and the deep ball.
So it’s no shocker the guys I like in this game are Matthew Stafford, Reggie Bush and Calvin Johnson. I wouldn’t be shocked though if Joique Bell steals some goal line touches, but the big play ability of Bush doesn’t worry me about his points this week.
The last matchup I like this week is the Oakland Raiders and the Denver Broncos on Monday night. This is a classic AFC West matchup between rival teams. The Raiders are coming off a 19-9 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and are looking for their second win, which would be huge against a team that is a front runner to play in the Super Bowl, and in their same division. The Broncos are looking to continue their steamroll of the NFL with their very high-powered offense.
The players I like in this matchup include Peyton Manning, Wes Welker, Knowshon Moreno, Terelle Pryor and Darren McFadden. The Broncos will most likely have their way with the Raiders defense, so I could see Manning having another huge week, maybe not seven touchdowns, but it’s not out of the question, so all receivers are fair play for me. Moreno looks nice because the Raiders are leading the league in sacks, so I could see quick passes out of the backfield. Pryor looks like a good matchup because the Broncos are still without some key defensive players and is quick on his feet, and could help the Raiders continue to have the best rushing attack in the NFL. Which brings me to McFadden. If the Raiders get a lead, McFadden will pound the ball on the ground all game long. If the Raiders get behind, look for McFadden to catch the ball out of the backfield. Either way McFadden is a strong start.
That’s all for this week, check back next week when I go over five more waiver wire acquisitions and three games that could help you win your fantasy matchup!
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