Week 2 Waivers: Keepers, Sleepers, & Jeepers

Football is back, Brainiacs!  And with the new season comes new waiver wire considerations and the same strategies we always talk about here at the Brain.  Adam Filadelfo (@Frostt24) is back for our new waiver wire series called "Keepers, Sleepers, & Jeepers."  In this series we are going to sidestep some of the trendy waiver pickups and focus on guys that we feel like still have solid value and maybe a few that look like fool's gold.

Keepers - These are players you should hold onto despite their lackluster performances.  And, if they are available on your wire they are probably still worth a roster slot despite their recent performance.  If you add some of these players from the waiver wire, they should continue to help your team down the stretch.

Sleepers - These players may not hold much value now but could be a bit more useful later in the season. They are more of the variety that could help owners in need of their position.

Jeepers - These players are players that may show up on waivers and may appear to have value, but you should steer clear from them at all costs. Either sell high or just plain drop for better options while you still can.

Week One of the fantasy football season saw some outstanding performances and some not so outstanding performances. Part of being a fantasy owner is being reactionary but also knowing when to be patient. Owners need to know when to hold onto a certain player or when to pull the trigger and move on from another player.

Keepers:

Shane Vereen - With the news coming out Monday afternoon that Vereen played most of Sunday's game with a broken bone in his wrist only shows what he can do and what his fantasy value can be. He will miss multiple weeks but don't cut bait. Vereen is going to be an important part of the Patriots offense and quite honestly, the rest of the backfield is a bit of a mess. Since this is a wrist injury and not a leg or knee, there is no reason to think Vereen will not pick up where he left off when he returns. If Vereen can manage 159 yards on just 21 total touches (6.14 yards per touch) with a broken wrist, imagine what he can do when healthy.

Anquan Boldin - One of the more dominant performances from week one. 13 receptions for 208 yards and a touchdown to go with it, Boldin needs to be a must add if he isn't owned yet. He's clearly Kaepernick's favorite receiver and while he won't put up staggering numbers like this every week, he's clearly the top target without Crabtree there.

Julius Thomas - While Thomas may have been on some fantasy owners radars prior to week one, he's no doubt on every owner's radar after. Coming off of his shredding of the Ravens defense where he had 5 receptions for 110 yards and two touchdowns, he clearly is a must play versus the Giants. It's hard to imagine Thomas having games like that every week with all the mouths to feed but it is clear he will get targets and Peyton trusts him. He could easily be a top ten tight end by the end of the season and tight ends seemed to be all the rage in week one.

Julian Edelman - Edelman may just be the top free agent to own in your league. While his impressive week one performance was reason enough to add him, reports are Sudfeld is dealing with a hamstring issue, Vereen is out with a broken bone in his wrist and Amendola is doubtful with a groin injury. Edelman is one of the few healthy options in New England right now and a top target for Brady. He played 83 of 94 snaps and should see even more snaps this week. In those 83 snaps, Edelman finished with seven receptions for 79 yards and two scores. Look for that trend to continue in week two versus the Jets.

Marlon Brown - While it took an injury to Jacoby Jones in order for Brown to see action, Brown was a bright spot for the Ravens against the Broncos. He finished the game with four receptions for sixty five yards and a touchdown on only six targets. Now that Jones is expected to miss four to six weeks with his knee injury, Brown will see more action and should continue to help what looked like a very poor passing game.

David Wilson - Coming off Sunday night's poor performance where he had two lost fumbles, owners may be ready to rid themselves of Wilson out of panic. If you are a David Wilson owner, be patient. There is still upside here and he hasn't lost the starting job yet. Even if the Giants sign another running back, Wilson still should be the lead back but it's still too early to hit the panic button yet. If you have other options, leave Wilson on your bench but don't sell low on him.

Joique Bell - Bell will be a top waiver wire pickup heading into week two based on his two touchdown performance. A lot of owners forget he can be a PPR weapon as well. With Bush clearly an injury risk at some point, Bell would step right in should Bush miss time. Even with Reggie playing, Bell could be a great flex play versus Arizona.

Sleepers:

Andre Roberts - Coming off his eight catches for ninety seven yards game, Andre Roberts still isn't getting much consideration in fantasy circles. The Cardinals are up against the Lions this week and we all know the Lions can score with the best of them. Palmer will have to throw a lot to keep up with Stafford and considering Roberts had nine targets last week, he should have the same amount or more this week. He has to be a top pick up in PPR formats especially.

Fred Jackson - So much for giving Spiller the ball until he throws up. While Spiller will still be the workhorse for the Bills, Jackson has to be considered if you need running back help. Jackson had 108 yards on only seventeen touches which comes out to 6.35 yards per carry. While owners shouldn't expect that each and every week, he could be helpful to owners with little running back depth and will make use of the few touches that he sees.

Brian Hartline - Hartline should continue to see more targets with Wallace commanding most of the attention on the outside. Hartline finished with nine receptions for 114 yards and a score against Cleveland and has another favorable matchup against the Colts in week two. While he isn't capable of producing games like week one often, he will be helpful certain weeks.

Terrelle Pryor - After only one game, Pryor leads all rushers with 112 yards. He could help owners again this week when the Raiders play the Jaguars and could be a helpful pickup for owners in need of a quarterback. He's a great play against a Jaguar team that looked completely inept and non competitive.

Geno Smith - With Geno the confirmed starter for week two, he outperformed all expectations in week one and isn't a bad pickup for owners. He completed 24 of 38 passes for 256 yards and a touchdown. Granted he did throw an interception but so did Brady, Brees and Rodgers. He may be in for another big week against the Patriots secondary that didn't look all that great against the Bills and their rookie signal caller.

EJ Manuel - While Manuel may not have been as impressive as his division counterpart, he was still impressive nonetheless. He finished his debut with 18 of 27 completed for 150 yards and a score. He also added twenty three yards rushing to go with it. He plays Carolina this week who did hold Russell Wilson and the Seahawks in check in week one but Manuel should be a sleeper going forward.

Jeepers:

Mark Ingram - How many more chances is this guy going to get? He needs to be dropped in every league at this point. He was barely roster worthy before week one but after finishing with eleven yards on nine carries, he's proved to me he can't help owners at all. He provides no upside and you are just wasting a roster spot at this point. He gets the Tampa Bay defense in week two who happens to be very good versus the run.

Danny Amendola - Amendola made this list simply because he's way too injury prone not to. I realize he finished week one with 104 yards on ten catches but he's already doubtful for week two against the Jets. When Amendola does play, he's going to get his owners plenty of fantasy points but his injury history makes him difficult to put up with. The idea here is that you are going to want to sell high on him after his week one performance while he still has value, but if you own him in the first place you probably

Zach Sudfeld - A lot of owners were high on Sudfeld in drafts (including me). While there is still hope for him, he put up a goose egg for owners in week one. And now with reports saying Gronk is expected back in week three and the emergence of tight ends in week one plus the hamstring injury Sudfeld is dealing with at the moment, owners can do better.

Denver Backfield - The whole thing.  Not one of the three backs in Denver did much to win the job outright going into week two. While I believe Ball still ends up as the lead back later in the season, right now it seems like the Broncos are set to throw a whole lot making the running backs virtually useless for fantasy owners.