Week 1 is always full of breakout receivers. Some keep it up, most crap out. But, there are also some guys who you own that you won’t be able to stand on your team anymore. I can understand that. It’s cleansing to boot them to the curb. Here are a few guys that might possibly be worth picking up after you chuck a few numbskulls, maybe.
Brandon Jackson: Ryan Grant got an ankle boo boo. Word was he was going to come back in the game, but it never happened and now it looks like he will be questionable for next week. I doubt they will risk him against the horrible, horrible Buffalo Bills, so I expect Jackson will get the start and be set up for a pretty big day.
Jordan Shipley: The Bengals receiving numbers are pretty skewed since they were playing from behind, but Shipley is the real deal. He is going to help Palmer’s numbers this season. He was targeted 7 times, catching 5 for 82 yards. I could see that number rounding out to 4-5 receptions, 50-70 yards a game. If that is helpful to your team, pick him up.
Brandon Lloyd: Where did this guy come from? He’s always looked like he had the skill, but just was never consistent. I wish I wish I could say this was the start of something big, but the Broncos have too many receivers and 2 good rookies that will soon be on the scene. He had 8 targets, and caught 5 of them for 117 yards. He’s worth a flier in deep leagues, but I’m not too bullish on him.
Mark Clayton: Bradford was all over Clayton, targeting 16 times. He caught 10 of them for 119 yards. He didn’t look all that great, but you can’t dispute 16 targets. That number should level out, but Laurent Robinson did injure himself once again. I wouldn’t expect huge games from him, but as long as his targets remain high he should be worthwhile in PPR leagues.
Eddie Royal: The Bronco’s wide receivers are not going to be clear cut anytime soon, but Eddie Royal showed he had a good connection with Orton, being targeted 10 times and catching 8 of those for 98 yards. I’d rather have him than Lloyd.
Austin Collie: The Colts had trouble keeping Peyton unmolested so Collie and Clark were getting a ton of quick passes. He ended up with 11 targets, 10 receptions, 131 yards and a TD. Anthony Gonzalez tweaked something again so it’s time to give up on him and focus on Collie, especially in PPR leagues.
Michael Vick: Don’t give up on Kolb yet. I kind of think Johnny Knoxville was filming Jackass 3 and replaced Kolb, but I could be wrong. Vick is not accurate, but he easily gives you fantasy points with his legs. He looks like the Vick of old who was a pretty good fantasy option, so he’s worth a speculative grab, especially if you are a Kolb owner.
Peyton Hillis: He split time with Jerome Harrison equally and then got looks near the end zone resulting in a touchdown. Mandingus is giving me the itis. Hillis is worth a pickup in most leagues, especially in deep leagues where you are scrambling to find warm bodies. I am starting Larry Johnson in a big league and it hurts me. It hurts me bad.
Jimmy Clausen: Matt Moore had/has a concussion and there is a chance he won’t play next week. Clausen will get his shot after a pretty poor game by Moore. If you are in a deep 2 QB league you should make a speculative pick up.
Danny Amendola: He was targeted 9 times and made 6 receptions for 67 yards. I think he will be the most consistent Rams receiver and is worth owning in most PPR leagues. Bradford made plenty of mistakes, but also looked good enough to keep drives moving and receivers in targets.
Jermaine Gresham: Targeted 10 times, Gresham ended up with 6 receptions, 25 yards and a TD. The targets won’t always be so high since they won’t always be getting blown out so badly, but he was targeted near the end zone and almost got a 2nd TD. That’s good news and makes him a high end TE 2.
Steve Breaston: Derek Anderson is not accurate by any means, so he had to get some shorter completions and YAC from Breaston, and he did. Breaston was targeted 7 times and caught each one for 132 yards. I was down on Breaston and I don’t think this will be the normal occurrence, but I did like what I saw, especially after the catch. He’s probably not on the waiver wire, but if he is, you know what to do.
Mike Thomas: Champ Bailey took Mike Sims-Walker out of the game, which opened up some real estate for Thomas. He was targeted 7 times, catching 6 of those for 89 yards. Sims-Walker had 2 targets and no receptions, so there is a good chance Thomas won’t be the leading receiver too often. It is good to know Thomas got the looks he did, but don’t drop anyone with upside for him.
Marcedes Lewis: He was only targeted twice, but both times resulted in touchdowns. It’s good to see him getting the looks in the red zone, but he’s probably already owned in leagues deep enough to own him in. Or something. This happens all the time with TEs. There is always some TE who grabs a couple TDs in week 1 and gets picked up and never repeats.
Brandon Tate: With Edelman out, Tate got some work on offense, but his real value is in return yardage leagues. I doubt he is available in return yardage leagues, but he looks like the real deal and will continue racking up yardage and possible TDs on returns.
Shaun Hill: He’s not so good, but he did figure out that tossing it up to Calvin Johnson is better than trying to use what limited skill he has and Matthew Stafford may be out 4-6 weeks. I’m in some deep, dynasty type leagues that any pulse at QB gets picked up quickly, so if you need to, grab him.
