A new football week is about to begin, and I hope that it will be as exciting as the last one was.
The highlight of last week’s games involved Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts defeating former Colt great Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. The Broncos, although down late in the fourth quarter, showed why they were undefeated to that point and came very close to tying the game, falling short right before the end.
One bright spot that the Broncos can take out of the loss is the continued emergence of tight end Julius Thomas. Thomas, a third-year player, had only one career reception coming into this season. At the Week 7 mark, he has an impressive eight touchdowns and has become one of Manning’s favorite targets.
He is rapidly becoming a fantasy monster, and should be added to your team if he is available for some reason. There is a good chance that he will not be available to pick up off of waivers, since he is owned in 99.2 percent of ESPN fantasy football leagues.
However, I would not hesitate to trade for him if one of your league-mates offers. I feel that he will continue to produce at a rapid pace for the Broncos that should win many more games this season.
The members of the wide receivers corps of the Colts just got a bump in fantasy value, as No. 1 receiver Reggie Wayne tore his ACL and meniscus in Sunday’s game. T.Y. Hilton seems to be the player that will get the biggest boost, since he should become the No. 1 receiver in Wayne’s absence.
Luck is one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, and the combination of the fact that he likes to pass the ball a lot and that the Colts are having a great year means that the wide receivers will presumably see many receptions for lots of yards.
Aside from Hilton, the only other wide receiver of note on the roster is Darrius Heyward-Bay, the former first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders. Heyward-Bay may now become fantasy starter material, since he will become the No. 2 receiver and have a chance to see many more passes than beforehand.
Other than these two, a third receiver may separate himself from the fold, so I would watch out for a breakout player, just in case.
Sam Bradford tore his ACL on Sunday, almost entirely diminishing any value that St. Louis Rams players might have had fantasy-wise. In my column from last week, I referred to the fact that Chris Givens and Tavon Austin, two wide receivers from the Rams, were diminishing in value, but could still rebound later this season.
Without Bradford at the helm of their offense, and not many great quarterback replacement options in free agency, I don’t see any way that these players can rebound, and would recommend looking elsewhere for useful players. This is also true for all other fantasy players on the Rams. While it is true that running backs Daryl Richardson and Zac Stacy may get more touches without a good starting quarterback, defenses will be able to play a run-heavy scheme, which will limit the effectiveness of these two players.
Finally, one star player is returning from an injury and should be added to your team if somebody else has not scooped him up already. Percy Harvin was traded by the Minnesota Vikings to the Seattle Seahawks during the offseason, but the talented young player hasn’t gotten a chance to prove his worth yet since he has been sidelined with a hip injury until recently.
He returned to practice on Monday, and may start for the Seahawks as early as this upcoming Monday, giving the team an immediate boost. He is a very fast and dangerous player, and is often drafted very highly as a result.
Since he was injured for so long, he was not drafted in many leagues, including my own. I have gone out of my way to pick him up, since I feel that this is one of the few times that a star can be had on the waiver wire. I would recommend picking him up as soon as you can, because he should be a valuable asset even if he does not play in Week 8.
That’s all for this week, I’ll see you next Wednesday with more tips and advice.
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