Cam Newton – Cam Newton exploded onto the fantasy scene with 422 yards passing with 2 TD’s through the air and one on the ground. He did the unthinkable and became the first rookie in history to throw for over 400 yards in his debut and also had the game in his hands down the stretch. Newton is available in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is a solid pick up as a QB2. He has tons of upside and if he can prove to be consistent he will have no problems solidifying himself as an QB1.
Devery Henderson – Henderson looks to be the Saints top wideout with Marques Colston out for 4-8 weeks and Lance Moore also nursing an injury. Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham may beat him out for targets but in the Saints spread the love offense Henderson has a chance to creep into WR3 territory. He is currently a rock-solid flex option and is worth the waiver claim. Henderson is available in 78 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Cadillac Williams – Cadillac Williams got the call after Steven Jackson injured himself on the first play from scrimmage and did not disappoint with 91 yards on 19 carries and 49 yards off of six receptions. Hopefully you S-Jax owners handcuffed Jackson because if you did not you stand the chance on losing his all important backup to waiver priority, that is if he has not already been rostered by someone else. If Jackson’s injury proves to be serious consider Caddy a flex option in standard leagues and a low-end RB3 in PPR leagues. Williams is currently available in 93 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Darren Sproles – Fresh off of a seven reception, one return touchdown game the diminutive Spoles is still available in 41 percent of Yahoo! leagues. Darren Sproles is an emerging PPR stud in the Reggie Bush vain. As we mentioned here last week Sproles was set to assume the Bush role in the Saints offense and he did not disappoint on offense or on special teams. Standard leagues players should view Sproles as nothing more than a flex2 while PPR league managers should consider him a solid flex option.
Ben Tate – Ben Tate exploded for 116 yards and a touchdown off of 24 carries and has RB2 potential as long as Arian Foster is sidelined. We were never high on Arian Foster due to the presence of an arguably more talented backup and we got a glimpse of Tate’s potential this past Sunday. Even when Foster returns a timeshare will likely be employed though it should, still, hopefully be in the 80/20 range in favor of Foster. As Tate showed today he is one of the highest upside backups in the entire NFL. Tate is still available in 57 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Randall Cobb – Cobb exploded on opening day and was able to turn two mistakes into remarkable TD’s; one where he ran the wrong route and still manged to haul in the pass from Rodgers and score the TD and one where he defied team rules by trying to return a kick more than 5 yards deep into the end-zone and than proceeded return the kick for an NFL record 108 yards. Randall Cobb will not have big weeks like this every week as the Packers 4th receiver but as he showed on Thursday night football he has game breaking ability and only needs a few touches to make a fantasy impact. Cobb is still available in 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is worth the bench stash in deeper leagues as his role should expand as the season wears on. His talent is undeniable..
Jermaine Gresham – A tight end is a rookie quarterbacks best friend and Dalton and Gresham proved to be no different with the skilled tight end hauling in six of his eight targets for 58 yards and a score. His eight targets trailed only Jerome Simpson who had nine. Gresham is still 85 percent available and is a solid TE2 with TE1 upside.
Robert Meachem – Meachem opened the season with a five catch, 70 yard and one touchdown performance on Thursday night football and his role is destined to expand. Meachem is available in 43 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is someone who should be added with news that Marques Colston will be out for 4-8 weeks being confirmed. Meachem is a more explosive receiver than Henderson and may receive the most WR targets as long as Lance Moore is also out. Meachem is a flex option while Colston is sidelined. Meachem is a WR3 while Moore is out and a high upside flex2 or low-end flex when Lance Moore returns.
Deji Karim – MJD’s backup got a eye-opening 17 touches against the Titans, and the Jags have confirmed that they plan to keep Karim rotating in to keep MJD healthy and fresh. Seventeen touches is more than anyone could have projected for Karim and as an explosive player he could prove to have some flex2 value. Karim is available in 89 percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Honorable Mention: Bills TE Scott Chandler (5-63-2); Eric Decker, Chad Henne; Jacoby Jones; Fred Davis
