QB Jake Locker (Tennessee)

Percent owned (ESPN): 18.0%

Locker left with injury, but it sounds like he’ll be fine for week 2. I was really high on Locker and the Tennessee offense before the season started, particularly in fantasy, and Locker certainly didn’t do anything to prove me wrong, completing 23 of 32 for 229 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. He should certainly be owned as QB2.

RB Alfred Morris (Washington)

Percent owned (ESPN): 10.0%

I had a suspicions throughout the week that Morris would get the start over Roy Helu and Evan Royster and I was proven right. Morris carried the load, carrying it 28 times for 96 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns. Helu and Royster were limited to 7 combined touches. Of course, Mike Shanahan is inconsistent with his backs on a weekly basis so while Morris didn’t do anything to lose the job, he’s no lock to start next week. Still, he’s worth a waiver claim if you can get him and he’ll probably lead the team in rushing this season. You’ll just have to monitor his status before the game if you own him.

WR Kevin Ogletree (Dallas)

Percent owned (ESPN): 0.5%

Ogletree had a breakout game with 8 catches for 114 yards and 2 touchdowns in the opener against Dallas. He fit the Laurent Robinson role (54/858/11) like a glove. The issue is that Robinson, and Ogletree last night, only had that kind of production because of injuries to other guys. Robinson stepped up in the absence of Miles Austin last year and Ogletree stepped up with Austin and Jason Witten both playing hurt last night. Once all 3 of the Cowboys’ top receivers, Bryant, Austin, and Witten are healthy, which could be as soon as next week, there simply won’t be enough targets to go around for Ogletree to be a consistent fantasy starter on a week to week basis. However, he’s definitely worth a waiver claim and if you get him, you can trade him high and pick up a more consistent performer (we don’t use waivers in one of my leagues, so I picked him up right after the game and traded him for Ronnie Brown, who I desperately needed because my top 2 backs, Ryan Mathews and Jonathan Stewart, were hurt).

TE Kyle Rudolph (Minnesota)

Percent owned (ESPN): 14.2%

Lacking a true #2 wide receiver, Christian Ponder threw to Kyle Rudolph early and often this week, as the tight end caught 5 passes for 67 yards on 7 targets against the Jaguars. Ponder loved throwing to his tight ends last year, but Rudolph is now the lead guy at that position and in his 2^nd year in the league, he should post low end TE1 numbers throughout the season.

WR Stephen Hill (NY Jets)

Percent owned (ESPN): 2.9%

Hill may be a raw 2^nd round rookie, but he looked like their best receiver in the preseason and that continued in the opener as he caught 5 passes for 89 yards and, like Plaxico Burress and Braylon Edwards before him, was a popular target in the end zone, hauling in two touchdowns. The Jets had a great day offensively and while I’m not convinced that will continue all year, their receiving corps is no longer “off limits” in fantasy.

WR Alshon Jeffery (Chicago)

Percent owned (ESPN): 15.0%

Jeffery looked very good against the Colts, catching 3 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. He only had 5 targets, which is somewhat concerning, but the rookie will see more snaps and be more frequently targeted as the season goes on and he earns the respect of the coaching staff and his quarterback. He might have already done that. The Bears’ passing offense is good enough to support two wide receivers in fantasy, if one can establish himself as a #2 receiver, since they don’t throw to the tight end much, so Jeffery has plenty of upside.

WR Danny Amendola (St. Louis)

Percent owned (ESPN): 18.2%

St. Louis’ passing offense isn’t very good, but Amendola is the St. Louis receiver to own. He was targeted 9 times this week, catching 5 of them for 70 yards. He’ll get a lot of volume yardage and lead this team in receiving. If he stays healthy, he might be able to approach 1000 yards now that he’s a starter and not just a slot receiver.

WR Randall Cobb (Green Bay)

Percent owned (ESPN): 13.9%

Cobb actually led the Packers in receiving and targets against the 49ers, hauling in 9 catches for 77 yards. Ordinarily I wouldn’t list him here because Green Bay has so many weapons it’s going to be tough for anyone other than Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson to be consistent on a weekly basis, but Jennings is hurt and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to go on a short week against Chicago on Thursday Night Football.

RB Kendall Hunter (San Francisco)

Percent owned (ESPN): 12.7%

So much for LaMichael James and Brandon Jacobs. Hunter was Frank Gore’s primary backup against Green Bay, rushing for 41 yards on 9 carries. Why is this important? Well, the 49ers will run a lot so he’ll get carries even as a backup. On top of that, Gore is an injury prone, 29 year old running back, who averaged just 3.5 YPC in the 2^nd half of last season. If/when Gore struggles or gets hurt, Hunter, a talented back, will be the primary beneficiary.

RB Jonathan Dwyer (Pittsburgh)

Jonathan Dwyer got just 11 touches to Isaac Redman’s 13, but he had 54 yards on his, while Redman had just 27. It seemed like Dwyer became more involved as the game went on and next week, he could be the starter. He’s worth picking up because Rashard Mendenhall probably won’t play until after the week 4 bye and even when he returns, he could split carries because Todd Haley runs a two back system. Dwyer, the more talented of the two backs, would be most likely to be that 2^nd back and would be the beneficiary of any further Mendenhall injury.

WR Aldrick Robinson (Washington)

Percent owned (ESPN): 0.0%

Pierre Garcon tore up the Saints’ secondary with 4 catches for 109 yards and a touchdown on just 8 snaps before leaving with his injury. Robinson, a similar style player, came in and picked up where Garcon left off, leading the team in targets and catching 4 passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. Robinson is the type of receiver that Griffin loves, dating back to his days at Baylor (think Kendall Wright) and Garcon might not be able to go this week. If he can’t, Robinson might be a nice flex option. He’s worth a pickup for Garcon owners.

TE Heath Miller (Pittsburgh)

Percent owned (ESPN): 6.3%

Heath Miller is one of the most underrated players in the league. Miller was 3^rd on the team with 7 targets against the Broncos, catching 4 passes for 50 yards. It’s not exciting production, but the Steelers mentioned getting Miller more involved in the offense in the offseason and he’s always been a nice bet for consistent low end tight end production throughout his career.

TE Martellus Bennett (NY Giants)

Percent owned (ESPN): 22.4%

Eli Manning has always loved throwing to his tight ends and that was once again the case with Bennett in the opener. Bennett was targeted 6 times, 2^nd highest on the team, and though he only came away with 4 catches for 40 yards, he was thrown to on the goal line and caught a touchdown and if Eli and the Giants’ passing offense had a better game, which they’re certainly capable of, he would have had a very solid night. He’s a TE2 with TE1 upside in deeper leagues depending on the matchup.

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