Fantasy Scrambler: Sleepers and Relievers

Week two is in the books and it’s already time to start thinking about working the waiver wire.

Injuries are a fantasy owner’s biggest obstacle and how we maneuver around them, be it through trades, free agent pick-ups, or with shrewd lineup manipulation, is the key to winning championships.

This is the point in the season where drafting hand cuffs and sleepers really pays off. Being a savvy owner means paying attention to depth charts and being able to prey on the lesser informed owners in your league. It also means having the foresight to know who among your non-starters is going to produce in a given match up. It’s not enough to just put out your top ten draft picks and hope that they will get the job done each and every week.

Based on Monday night’s performance, it’s time to get Giovanni Bernard off your bench and into your starting lineup. To me, he has been showing steady improvement in both rushing and receiving. Trust me, if I’m noticing, then so are his coaches. They purposely have eased him into his rookie campaign and are gradually going to increase his work load. Get ahead of the Bernard “increased touches wave” and play him next week.

Another guy who is begging to come off of your bench is Eddie Royal. This was supposed to be Philip Rivers’ swan song as a relevant fantasy quarterback, being relegated as most people’s bye week spot starter. However, Rivers has looked like his old self and for some reason has looked Eddie Royal’s way in the red zone. Royal has five TD’s so far and now that Malcom Floyd is out indefinitely with a neck injury, he is poised to get even more targets. Ride the Rivers resurgence and put Eddie Royal in your starting lineup.

For those of you who handcuffed Ray Rice with Bernard Pierce, congratulations. Your draft day intuition looks like it will pay off. Rice was knocked out of this week’s game with an injured hip flexor. Last time I checked, running backs kind of need healthy hip flexors. Pay attention to the injury report in the upcoming days to see how much this injury will affect Rice’s ability to play next week. It is my belief that Pierce should be your starter for next week even if Rice starts the game. The coaching staff has already been using Pierce more and more to spell Rice this season, so there is no reason to think that this strategy won’t continue with Rice nursing an injury.

Oh, and for those of you who drafted MJD, sorry. Jacksonville’s fantasy talent is almost as barren as the New York Jets’. I advise you to look elsewhere for your MJD induced headaches. This includes trading Jones-Drew for anything you can get.

One deep sleeper to consider this week includes James Starks, who became fantasy relevant again with his 168 total yards, one touchdown performance on Sunday. Thanks to Eddy Lacy’s concussion, Starks became the Packers’ first 100 yard rusher in 44 games. Ryan Tannehill also deserves a nod here. He was 23 of 34 for 319 yards and a touchdown while guiding the Dolphins to their second straight road win, something no one outside the greater Miami area saw coming. He is an improving quarterback who, if you have an open spot on your bench, is worth stashing until your starter goes down or has a less favorable match up than Tannehill.

Keep working those waiver wires. Idle hands…, you know the rest.

Good luck Scramblers and remember to follow me on Twitter @MaahsScrambler for any fantasy advice and news you need.