Every week of this fantasy football season I will bring to you the latest and greatest waiver wire pickups for the upcoming scoring period. In this article we will look ahead to week 3 of fantasy football 2012, and who will be the hottest pickups once waivers open after week 2.
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All % owned numbers are from Yahoo fantasy football
ST. LOUIS – OCTOBER 31: Danny Amendola #16 of the St. Louis Rams scores a touchdown against the Carolina Panthers at the Edward Jones Dome on October 31, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams beat the Panthers 20-10. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Danny Amendola – WR – STL (47% owned)
Amendola should be the top pickup out of week 2, as the player with the most upside for the rest of the season. Amendola is locked in as a PPR machine, and he totaled 160 yards receiving with a TD for 20 fantasy points on Sunday. Going forward Amendola should be a WR3 at worst as Sam Bradford’s favorite target in STL, where we expect him to get 10-12 targets a week.
Andre Brown – RB – NYG (10% owned)
Fantasy owners looking for the hottest running back pickup of week 3 need look no further than Andre Brown of the New York Giants. There hasn’t been much word out of New York as to the extent of Ahmad Bradshaw’s neck injury which is being referred to as a “stinger” but Brown handled the starting RB duties for much of the game on Sunday vs. the Bucs. Now on a short week, the Giants will be facing a Panthers team that isn’t exactly stout against the run, and Andre Brown could have some fantasy relevance here. While we still expect the faster David Wilson to eventually become the go to back behind Bradshaw, it would appear the coaching staff for the Giants trusts Brown more at this point as he galloped for 71 rushing yards, 1 rush TD, and 19 receiving yards in week 2. This could be a decent spot start for your squad. If you need to know whether to start him over one of your other struggling guys (i.e. Chris Johnson) log in to the forums where the community will always be there to assist.
Pierre Thomas – RB – NO (48% owned)
Lost in the backfield of New Orleans is Pierre Thomas, who had a huge game in week 2 as he totaled 127 rushing yards and 45 receiving yards en route to a 17.20 fantasy point day. It is important to note that Darren Sproles did not have a single rush in week 2, as he caught 9 passes on Sunday, so it looks like the majority of handoffs will be going to Pierre Thomas and Mark Ingram going forward this year. While Thomas may not have a big game like this every week, he is a decent option in deeper formats if you need some RB depth on your fantasy roster.
Michael Bush – RB – CHI (78% owned)
As you can see from his ownership numbers, fantasy owners were well aware that Bush was a solid handcuff, and it looks like he should be a major factor in week 3 as Matt Forte deals with a sprained ankle, that apparently is not of the high ankle sprain variety. If you are in one of the leagues where Bush is available, he should be added immediately.
Waiver Wire Duds – Guys who will be picked up, but have little to no fantasy value
Week 2 saw some big performances by guys that will be just a flash in the pan, and you should pass
Dante Rosario – TE – SD (2% owned)
As previously mentioned in another article, Dante Rosario could be the TE du jour of week 3, but Antonio Gates is expected to return, and Rosario should fade back into special teams obscurity. Keep in mind that while he did score 3 big TD’s for the Chargers as Philip Rivers favorite red zone target in week 2, he only racked up 48 yards, so he wasn’t exactly an open field threat. Leave Rosario on waivers where he belongs.
David Wilson – RB – NYG (45% owned)
Wilson’s fantasy owners were no doubt excited on Sunday when it appeared one of the favorite fantasy running back sleepers of 2012 was finally going to get his chance. Sure enough, Andre Brown was brought in to the feature back role for the New York Giants… wait that can’t be right. Fantasy owners clearly favored Wilson by a 4-1 ratio as evidenced by the ownership numbers, but Wilson totaled just 10 rushing yards and a fumble for -1 fantasy points in week 2. While many managers will be rushing to add Wilson for week 3, it would appear that Andre Brown is the better fantasy add at this juncture, and he is more widely available.
Brandon Tate – WR – CIN (2% owned)
Tate is currently owned in 2% of yahoo fantasy football formats, which is probably all leagues that account for return yardage. In week 2 Tate went for 74 yards and a TD, and many fantasy owners may be quick to jump on the WR for the Bengals. Tate was fifth in targets on a team that doesn’t figure to pass for a ton of yards this season, and he is too buried on the Bengals depth chart for fantasy owners to consider him a legit option for week 3 and
Jackie Battle – RB – SD (1% owned)
Battle racred for 69 yards and 2 TD’s in week 2, when he was only owned in 1% of yahoo fantasy leagues. Battle totaled 18.90 fantasy points for the period, but with Ryan Mathews expected back for week 3, Battle is nothing better than a handcuff as Mathews will see the lions share of carries. I do expect Battle to gain the job of change of pace back ahead of Brinkley and Ronnie Brown who have done nothing to secure the job for themselves.
