Each week our fantasy football guru Todd Prinz will drop some knowledge on you to help you set your fantasy football lineup and eventually bring home the cold hard cash up for grabs in your fantasy league. You can also chat live with the guru each Thursday from 7pm-8pm on WHAS11.com. In his latest blog the guru lists some waiver wire pickups that will help you win you league:
The Talent Agency: Evaluating Free Agents
Looking at prospects
Pats WR Julian Edelman: Filling in for Wes Welker, He caught 98 yards and 41 return yards in the slot machine role. Like Welker, Eldman has solid hands and good quickness. I wouldn't pick him up, but keep an eye on him especially if Welker goes down for an allotted amount of time.
Seahawks RB Justin Forsett: The Cal product gained 35 yards rushing, 57 receiving, and 27 returning. The Seahawks' offensive coordinator, Greg Knapp, is maybe coming around to seeing that Forsett is similar to Warrick Dunn, his running back in Atlanta. Forsett's speed and quickness is ideal for Seattle's zone-blocking scheme. It probably is a time share with Julius Jones, but I believe eventually Forsett and his talents will unseat Thomas's little brother. Keep tabs on him, but don't snag this prospect.
Bringing them in for a work out
Eagles TE Brent Celek: In two weeks, Celek has put up consistent numbers. He had 37 yards receiving and a touchdown against the Panthers and 104 yards receiving against the Saints. I would snatch him up if you're in a 12 person league and feel uncertain about your tight end.
Jags WR Mike Sims-Walker: With Troy Williamson getting injured, Mike Sims-Walker came off the bench and dropped 106 yards and a touchdown on the Cardinals in garbage time. At 6'2"and 214 lbs, Sims-Walker has solid speed and good hands. The only knock on him is he gets nicked-up all the time. He is healthy and gets the woeful Texans' pass defense this week. Sims-Walker is a good plug and play this week, but probably nothing more.
Getting the name plate for their locker
Bears WR Johnny Knox: Since Sid Luckman, Bears fans feel they haven't had a franchise quarterback. After the bizarre fallout between McDaniels and him, the Broncos shipped Jay Cutler to the Bears for two 1st round draft picks and 2009 3rd round pick. Besides Cutler, Denver also gave Chicago a 5th round pick that became Johnny Knox. With 4.3 speed and good hands, Knox is already carving out playing time. Knox caught 82 receiving yards against the Packers and 70 yards and a touchdown against the Steelers. He leads the Bears in receiving with 151 yards and averages 19.0 yards a reception. Also these numbers will probably dip, but Cutler is averaging 37 passes a game, so the Bears are no longer a running team. They will try to get a balanced attack, but they just won't lean on their running backs. Knox will get his targets. Snatch him for your bench in a 10 person league, and see if he unseats Hester or Bennett as an every-down player.
Rams WR Laurent Robinson: The Rams offense is woeful, but there is some value in that. Rams will have a lot of garbage time against teams playing prevent, so that means easy receiving yards. Robinson had 87 receiving yards against the Seahawks and 54 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Redskins. He has been targeted 19 times through two weeks. He is worth a stash in a deeper league.
Pushing them on to the playing field
Giants WR Mario Manningham and Steve Smith: The main knock on the Giants last year was that Eli didn't have a go-to receiver after Burress shot himself. On a day that was supposed to focus on the debut for Cowboy Stadium; however, Manningham and Smith stole the spotlight. They both caught 10 receptions apiece, 284 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns. Mannigham had 58 yards receiving and a touchdown against the Redskins and 150 receiving and a touchdown against the Cowboys. Steve Smith had 80 yards receiving against the Redskins and 134 receiving and a touchdown against the Cowboys. Pick up either in any league size.
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