Checkdown or Bust: Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson Approaching ‘Shutdown’ Status

With cornerbacks like Richard Sherman providing enough soundbites for journalists to meet their season-long quotas in a mere matter of minutes, oftentimes, stellar players slide under the radar. Simply put—this season, at least—Arizona Cardinals’ cornerback Patrick Peterson is one of those players. Sure, the Cardinals put up their first loss of the season against the […]

Leonard Hankerson has Solidified Himself as a Reliable Fantasy Option

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10- and 12-Team Leagues OWNERSHIP: 29% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: Just as the Falcons' offense has exploded, Leonard Hankerson has begun to surpass Roddy White on the depth chart. Since Week 2, Hankerson has 15 receptions on 25 targets for 225 yards and two touchdowns, while White has just two catches on five targets […]

Thursday a Potential Redemption Day for Texans’ QB Ryan Mallett

“Laying the hammer down” is one of those idiomatic power phrases reserved for the likes of Thor and Tim “The Tool Man” Taylor. In spite of what Texans’ quarterback Ryan Mallett’s surname might suggest, he doesn’t belong in the aforementioned group of macho men. However, Texans’ head coach Bill O’Brien couldn’t disagree more. In fact, O’Brien […]

Larry Donnell Takes a Giant Step in the Right Direction

It’s been an interesting year for the New York Giants. With good reason, Eli Manning’s facial expressions have been as diverse as his team’s up-and-down successes. Starting off the season with two consecutive fourth-quarter collapses, many had written the Giants off as early bust. However, after two impressive victories over the likes of the Washington […]

Ram Down: LB Alec Ogletree Out for the Long Haul

This season has been an up-and-down affair for Rams’ fans. From threats of moving the team to Los Angeles to beating the Seattle Seahawks on opening day, they’ve seen more than their fair share of drama. Today, continuing along with same undulating trend of emotional highs and lows, anyone and everyone involved with the Midwest […]

Eric Ebron May Miss Several Weeks With Knee Injury

Detroit Lions tight end Eric Ebron has been having a great season thus far, especially compared to his rookie season. Through just four games he already has 15 catches for 179 yards and two touchdowns; all of last year combined he only recorded 25 catches for 248 yards and one touchdown. Unfortunately, the increased playing […]

Time to Walk the Plank With Buccaneers' Mike Evans?

Straight out of College Station, both the NFL and fantasy football owners had high hopes for Mike Evans. After an impressive rookie campaign, it’s safe to say that the lanky wide receiver has lived up to the hype. However, this year, things have been different. Starting his sophomore season with hamstring issues has very much […]

Duke Johnson Can Be a Difference Maker off the Waiver Wire

BALLER MOVE: Add in 10- and 12-Team Leagues OWNERSHIP: 57% Fleaflicker ANALYSIS: The Browns seem to have finally realized Duke Johnson's ability as a pass-catching back. After not catching a pass through the first two weeks, Johnson has reeled in 15 receptions in the past two weeks, including a 9-85-1 line this past weekend against the […]

Keith Mumphery to See a Lot of Playing Time for Texans

Houston Texans fifth-round draft pick Keith Mumphery is expected to see a lot of playing time on Thursday Night Football against the Indianapolis Colts. The wide receiver will be asked to step up in a big way with Cecil Shorts (shoulder injury) and Nate Washington (hamstring injury) both doubtful for the game. The Texans could […]

Jimmy Graham has Subpar Week 4 Performance

What is tall, frequently complains and needs to perform better consistently? If your answer was Jimmy Graham, you are perfectly correct. After an impressive Week 3 performance which saw Graham nab seven catches against the loathsome Chicago Bears, many fantasy owners felt Graham had turned a corner, finally nestling into his role in Seattle. However, […]

Cecil Shorts III is Your PPR Injury Stash Special of the Week

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team PPR Leagues OWNED IN: 9% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Cecil Shorts III has never been a spectacular, big play receiver but what he has going for him is consistency. Over the last four seasons, he’s averaged nearly 4.5 catches per game and has been left without a catch in […]

Andre Ellington Expected to Play vs. Lions

The Arizona Cardinals and head coach Bruce Arians fully expect running back Andre Ellington to return to action for the team's week 5 contest against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Ellington has missed the last three weeks with a sprained PCL. Arians claims Ellington could played in week 4 against the St. Louis Rams, but […]

Charles Sims Earns Permanent Role With Bucs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Charles Sims may be behind Doug Martin on the depth chart as of right now, but he has earned a permanent role as a "jack-of-all-trades" with the team. Through the first four games of the season Sims has seen 128 snaps, 59 percent of those snaps were running pass routes, […]

College Football Rankings: NCAA Fierce 40 Poll Week 5

Fierce 40 - Top 40 College Football Teams as of Week 5 Check out all of RotoBaller's NCAA College Football articles, including top 40 team rankings and NFL draft rankings. A lot of big names dropped games this week and the rankings are getting tighter at the top!   Rank, Team, Record, Result Last Week […]

NFL Survivor League Picks – Survivor Pool Targets & Avoids (Week 5)

The first quarter of the season ended with Seattle narrowly escaping in a game that never should have been that close. If the Seahawks lost, many people would have been knocked out of their survivor pool. For my picks; the Browns lost to the Chargers because God hates Cleveland and the Cardinals were shockingly upset by Todd Gurley […]

Running Backs Sending Out Warning Signals Going Into Week 5

The running back position has been absolutely brutal this year. Whether it's ill-timed injuries or just plain under-performing, backs as a whole have once again been the most frustrating position to monitor. That brings us to the first RB-centric edition of our Warning Signals piece. If you've been following the first few editions you'll notice […]

Tavon Austin Is A Sneaky Waiver Wire Add

Another week, another Rams WR leads the passing game. Tavon Austin was excellent at Arizona, catching six balls for 96 yards and two scores while leading all WR in Week 4. He seven targets were enough to lead the team as the Rams only chucked the ball 24 times. The Todd Gurley Show was the […]

Scramble to Add Michael Vick in Week 5

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ or 2QB Leagues OWNED IN: 19% percent of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Vick’s first start with the Steelers wasn’t pretty, but I didn’t expect much. Being thrust into the starting role on a short week is incredibly tough. Especially so for Vick, who wasn’t signed until the end of August. Now he […]

Blake Bortles: Your Sneaky Week 5 Waiver Pickup at QB

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 31% percent of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Bortles hasn't been pretty but he has now provided three straight respectable fantasy weeks. During that span he has averaged 271 yards passing and has racked up 5 touchdowns to just 1 turnover. He has also run for 20+ yards in three […]

Alex Smith (QB, KC) Is a Strong Play Against Bumbling Bears

BALLER MOVE:  Add as Injury or Bye Week Replacement OWNED IN: 38% of Fleaflicker leagues ANALYSIS: It hasn’t been pretty, but aside from a matchup with the very elite Broncos defense, Alex Smith continues delivering solid fantasy performances. This past week he didn’t even score a touchdown, but in typical Alex Smith fashion he didn’t […]

Clay Harbor: Deep League Tight End Option in Week 5

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 2% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: Jacksonville’s offense is not being confused with Mike Martz’s “Greatest Show on Turf” teams these days, but the Jags’ young kids are beginning to show signs that they are headed in the right direction. While defenses focus the bulk of their attention […]

Larry Donnell (TE, NYG) Could Be Gold vs 49ers in Week 5

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12+ Team Leagues OWNED IN: 36% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: The New York Giants tight end has not been the fantasy force he was in 2014 when he came out of oblivion to rack up 63 receptions for 623 yards and six touchdowns.  This season has been an entirely different story, […]

RotoBaller Radio Podcast: Week Five Waiver Wire Sleepers & Analysis

RotoBaller is very excited about the launch of our very own radio station. You can now find our new shows on BlogTalkRadio live or on demand, and on iTunes under podcasts. Every Tuesday night, RotoBaller co-founder Real Talk Raph and co-host Anthony Aniano will be discussing the hottest waiver wire pickups, free agent sleepers and fantasy football injury news […]

Jacksonville Jaguars (JAX, DEF) - Waiver Wire Analysis

Yep, these two teams face each other this week. You can pick your poison if you're looking for a sleeper waiver wire defense because both of these teams have issues. Both quarterbacks are prone to getting sacked. Both quarterbacks are interception prone. Bother quarterbacks have weapons that can go off and completely ruin the choice […]

Atlanta Falcons (ATL, DEF) - Waiver Wire Analysis

We're going back to the well! The Falcons forced four turnovers last week in a 48-21 demolishing of Houston. They scored two defensive touchdowns as well, including a time-expiring fumble return to pad the stats. This week they get Kirk Cousins on the Redskins. Cousins is 1-6 on the road in his career and has […]

Is Gary Barnidge Actually A Viable Fantasy Option?

Barnidge fits our ownership requirements for waiver wire adds, and deserves to be acknowledged with his recent play. He followed up his breakout Week 3 with an excellent game Week 4, catching all six of his targets for 75 yards and a score. If you had no idea who Barnidge was before the season you're […]

Stream Josh McCown As A Bye Week Fill-In?

Have no fear Cam Newton owners, Josh McCown is here. Wait, what? That's right, I said start McCown. In his past two starts he has been carving, completing 60-of-90 passes for 697 yards and four touchdowns. Don't forget that McCown was leading the Browns on their opening drive at New York Jets until a helicopter fall […]

Charcandrick West (RB, KC) - Waiver Wire Analysis

BALLER MOVE: Stash in 14-16+ Team Leagues (or Jamaal Charles handcuff) OWNED IN: 1% of Fleaflicker Leagues ANALYSIS: We're going really deep here. The running back market is once again thin so we're going to have do some speculating. Roy Helu Jr. makes an interesting option considering the Latavius Murray injury/fumble benching in the second half, but I'm not buying […]

How Is Allen Hurns So Underowned? Add Him Everywhere

When a defense uses their top corner on the offense's best receiver, good things happen for the #2. That was exactly the circumstance for Allen Hurns on Sunday as the Colts shadowed Allen Robinson with Vontae Davis. Hurns responded by catching 11 of 15 targets for 116 yards and a score. Hurns has now scored in back-to-back […]

Waiver Wire Express - Week Five Lightning Round

Later today, and over the next couple of days, we will be publishing more in depth waiver wire analysis for all positions. But in efforts of bringing you timely information, as fast as possible, consider this the Week 5 waiver wire lightning round. Waiver pickups are in order of priority, broken out by each position, […]