Week 3: Pickups of the Week
WR Denarius Moore, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%FANTASY PROFILE / STATS & MORE
If there was a silver lining for the Silver and Black in last week's heartbreaking loss to the Bills it was the emergence of Denarius Moore. On a receiving corps decimated by injury, Moore stepped up in a big way with a touchdown on 146 receiving yards and a flashy 25 yards on a reverse. This performance spotlighted Moore as a capable alternative to Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Raiders'(consummately underachieving) deep threat. True, he did most of his damage in the fourth quarter and will have a tougher fight for targets once Heyward-Bay, Jacoby Ford, Kevin Boss and Louis Murphy are all healthy. Still, the speedy wideout is on the fast track up the Oakland depth chart and well on his way to weekly fantasy relevance.
TE Scott Chandler, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%FANTASY PROFILE / STATS & MORE
Buffalo currently owns the league's highest-scoring (and most surprising) offense. We know about the primary components -- Fitzpatrick, Fred Jackson, Steve Johnson -- but most of us had never heard about emerging red zone specialist Scott Chandler. Let's take a peak at this journeyman's circuitous route to waiver stardom --
Drafted in 2007 by the Chargers, never played a down and was waived in 2009, picked up by the Cowboys, waived again, re-signed to their practice squad, signed by the Giants late in 2009, waived again in 2010, signed once more by the Cowboys where he cracked the active roster for a few months before being cut in December and eventually signed by the Bills, who decided to give this road warrior a crack at a starting job.
Through the first two weeks, Chandler has shown two things: limited athleticism and a sneaky scoring touch. He's no superstar, but he holds value as the outlet valve on a high-octane passing attack.
TE Ed Dickson, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%FANTASY PROFILE / STATS & MORE
Dickson is a work in progress who is getting more looks every week. He continues to build a solid rapport with QB Joe Flacco and is second on the team behind Anquan Boldin in targets. Those targets didn't amount to much in Week 2, but Dickson has clearly distanced himself from fellow TE Dennis Pitta and is displaying a lot of growth potential. He makes a good stash-on-the-bench or TE2 candidate in fantasy leagues.
PK Jason Hanson, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%FANTASY PROFILE / STATS & MORE
The Lions have been electric this young season and have launched Jason Hanson as a prospective league scoring leader. On the strength of his extra points alone, Hanson is positioned as a weekly fantasy contributor, but his avenue to fantasy success is paved as much by the Lions' stalwart defense as their brilliant offense. Detroit has no qualms about settling for field goals because they know their D can keep them in any ball game.
And never mind that Hanson is 41 -- it's not like the act of kicking a football requires much athleticism anyway.
Arizona
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%FANTASY PROFILE / STATS & MORE
I know I ripped on them last week (and I'll probably do it again a few times before the season is over), but the Cardinals have a chance next Sunday for some redemption against an offense that's setting a new standard for futility. The Seahawks can't run, can barely pass and have failed at protecting their QB. Even in the comfort of Qwest field, their outlook is grim.
Remember to read all our columns for this week and use our Who To Start Rankings
