Fantasy Football Week 2: The Hedge Returns

Andrew Hedglen
Staff Writer

Welcome to a new year of fantasy football, where I, The Hedge, will be here to help you out each week when you need a plug in. Heading into week two, we already have some big questions and drama unfolding in the world of fantasy. Steven Ridley and David Wilson both got benched for putting the ball on the ground, and big stars like C.J. Spiller, Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and Dez Bryant didn’t do much.

But I’m not here to tell you to start A.J. Green and sit Ryan Tannehill, for both would be obvious. What I am here to do is give you weekly plug-ins to lead your team to weekly success, which doesn’t mean start Terrelle Pryor over Aaron Rodgers.  But if you have a hole in your lineup, you get the idea.  Let’s get to it for week two:

Terrelle Pryor (Raiders QB) – I never would have thought that I’d be putting Pryor on this list prior to last week (pun intended), but here we are heading into week two. Last week he dazzled with his legs, rushing for over 100 yards in his debut. Oh, and he can throw too. Pryor threw for a respectable 217 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL game. If you’re in a deep league and are in need of a quarterback, he’s up against the Jaguars at home. I expect him to put up at least another 20 fantasy points. Quarterbacks that are a rushing threat are extra valuable, and he’s only owned in 20 percent of Yahoo leagues.

DeAngelo Williams (Panthers RB) – After a disappointing 2012, Williams came out with 86 rushing yards against arguably the best defense in the league that is Seattle. Offensive Coordinator Mike Shula wants a more conventional run game this year, so he’ll be the workhorse of the backfield, especially with Jonathan Stewart out for at least a month. What’s better is that Carolina heads to Buffalo this week, who gave up the sixth-most fantasy points to running backs last year.

Ben Tate (Texans RB) – It is now news that head coach Gary Kubiak wants Arian Foster and Ben Tate to split carries, and that Tate ran much better than Foster in week one. The latter half of that sentence is stating the obvious; however, the first part of that sentence is good news for Tate owners. An explosive runner like Tate given half of the carries this week on a run-first offense on the best rushing team over the years warrants a fantasy start this week. This is also given the fact that Foster hasn’t been 100 percent healthy, and the Titans run defense is nothing to be scared about.

Marlon Brown (Ravens WR) – With Jacoby Jones out, and Brown’s success in preseason and week one, things bode well for him this week against Cleveland. Stud corner Joe Haden should be draped all over Torrey Smith, which will leave Marlon brown as the X receiver opposite Smith to do some damage. Brown played 68 of 91 snaps in week one, including every snap once Jacoby Jones left the game. He ended with 65 yards and a touchdown, and the sky is the limit for the rookie.

Michael Floyd (Cardinals WR) – While out-targeted by Andre Roberts 9-6 in week one, Floyd grabbed four balls for 82 yards against a strong Rams secondary. At home against Detroit’s heavy offensive attack this week, it should make for a passing heavy shootout between the two teams. There has been as much buzz about Floyd making the second-year transition in Arizona as ever, and he’ll continue to produce at a high level across from Larry Fitzgerald. Teammate Andre Roberts (8/97/0 in week one) is a great player, as well as the slot receiver in Bruce Arians’ pass heavy offense using many three receiver sets, but Floyd has more upside.

Brandon Myers (Giants TE) – Myers caught seven passes for 66 yards and a touchdown in week one.  Against Denver in week two, the Giants will have to throw the ball plenty to keep up with Peyton Manning and his offense.  Myers did great things in Oakland last year, and he’s already developed somewhat of a nice chemistry with Eli Manning.  Myers was a very strong player this week, and should remain a low end TE1 with high touchdown upside.