Week 1 of this brand new NFL season is already in the books, and injuries and other issues may be keeping your drafted starters out for this week's games. Teams may be using their star players differently then you expected before the season. In these cases, it may be time to hit the waiver wire and dig deep for a spot start for your Week 2 line up.

Before we look at potential spot starters for this week, let’s take a quick look at how my picks for last week did. Benny Cunningham (RB, STL) – 122 total yards for 14.2 points – Correct; Allen Hurns (WR, JAC) – 60 receiving yards for 6.5 points – Could have been worse; Benjamin Watson (TE, NO) – 19 receiving yards for 3.4 points – I probably should have picked someone else here.

So, for the first week of the season, it was solid results considering the types of players we're looking at. I do not think I did that bad. Let’s see who is available in week 2 in case you need a spot start in a deeper league.

 

1) Karlos Williams - RB, BUF vs. NE

Owned in 15% of Fleaflicker leagues

This one will be the most risky of my picks for the week. Williams is on a team that features LeSean McCoy and Anthony Dixon, but McCoy is questionable to play this week because of injury. Regardless of who else is on the team, Williams was able to rush for 55 yards and a touchdown against the Colts. Indianapolis may not have a very strong rush defense, but Buffalo is set on running the ball this season.

New England is said to have one of the stronger front sevens in the league, but 32-year-old DeAngelo Williams gashed them for 127 yards in the Patriots’ opening-week win against the Steelers. The combination of McCoy, Dixon and Williams should be able to produce more than the old legs of DeAngelo Williams.

The Bills ran the ball 36 times against the Colts, and only attempted 19 passes. Not to say that the team does not trust QB Tyrod Taylor (they did name him the starter for a reason), but the Bills are going to run the ball. That is what head coach Rex Ryan does, and unless he plans on running McCoy 36 times Williams is going to get his fair share of carries against New England.

Prediction: 8 carries, 45 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown

 

2) Cole Beasley - WR, DAL @ PHI

Owned in 13% of Fleaflicker leagues

We have all heard enough about the injury to Dez Bryant, but no one knows exactly how long he will be out of action for. What we do know is that he will miss at least this week and probably a lot more. Beasley was already the team’s main slot receiver before the injury to Bryant, and with the injury Beasley should expect to see a lot more targets coming his way.

The fourth-year man saw six targets in the team’s season opener against the Giants, a game in which QB Tony Romo threw the ball 45 times. This week, the team goes to Philly to play an Eagles team that threw the ball 52 times against the Falcons on Monday night. This means we are probably going to see a shootout between these two teams this week.

With Dez out, the team will turn to Terrance Williams and Jason Witten primarily in the passing game. But, if Romo needs to air it out as much as he did against New York, he is going to need some additional people to target, Beasley the primary among them. This should be one of Beasley’s biggest game of the season, and all of his big games should come while Dez is still on the injury report.

Prediction: 7 receptions, 80 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown

 

3) Jared Cook - TE, STL @ WAS

Owned in 18% of Fleaflicker leagues

Cook is always a name that is extremely inconsistent in terms of fantasy play. In real life, he has been a reliable tight end for both the Tennessee Titans and the St. Louis Rams. Last week, against the Seattle Seahawks, fellow tight end Lance Kendricks was the recipient of the game-tying touchdown, a target that should have been aimed for Cook. Regardless, Cook finished with five catches for 85 yards.

This weeks, the teams heads to Washington to play the questionable defense of the Redskins. While the ‘Skins played tough against the Miami Dolphins, they still surrendered 77 yards receiving to the Dolphins’ tight end, Jordan Cameron. This means that there should be plenty of room for Cook to operate this weekend.

The only question mark is the targets in the redzone and the scoring opportunities that Cook may or may not receive this week. Since joining the Rams in 2013, Cooks has only been able to find the endzone eight times in 33 games while bringing in almost double the amount of receptions that Kendricks has. Unfortunately, Kendricks has been able to find the endzone nine times in that span while playing in one fewer game. We know the targets and the yardage should be there for Cook, but it will be his inability to score touchdowns that make him a risky play each week.

Prediction: 5 receptions, 75 receiving yards

 

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