It's time for a look at the sleepers. Before going forward it should be noted, none of these guys are going to replace Peyton Manning or Julio Jones in your lineup. I understand, they both let us down on Monday Night. No need to be impetuous, though.
Jamaal Charles and Chris Johnson? You're on notice right now. But enough about that, let's get to the sleepers.
Danny Amendola, WR, St. Louis Rams: Amendola and Wes Welker will always be compared to each other and it's for one obvious reason nobody ever wants to talk about -- they both went to Texas Tech. But here's a question for you, would you rather have Welker or Amendola right now?
Sam Bradford attempted eight passes in St. Louis' opening drive on Sunday. Six of those attempts went to Amendola. That didn't let up for the entire day.
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Welker has been buried on the bench by Bill Belichick and if not for an injury to Aaron Hernandez, Welker might not have seen the field.
(We'll talk more about Welker in Like/dislike this week. As an added tease, which WWE superstar has been inspired by Belchick?)
Daryl Richardson, RB, St. Louis Rams: The official word out of St. Louis is Steven Jackson suffered a groin injury and that's why he was pulled from the game. Though, some might have originally thought it was Shanahanigans. Whatever the reason, Richardson looked pretty good in the second half. St. Louis will face Chicago this week, so it's not an ideal matchup, but Richardson is somebody to have on your bench. Especially if you have Steven Jackson.
Andre Brown, RB, New York Giants: Rookie David Wilson apparently hasn't recovered from his opening-day fumble against the Cowboys, as it was Brown who got the majority of the workload when Ahmad Bradshaw went down. (I'll let you make your own joke about crying right now. Hit me up on Twitter.) Here's the deal though, Brown will be the guy if Bradshaw can't go on Thursday night. And with such a short turn around, Brown could see a lot of work. It's a great matchup and everything.
Andrew Hawkins, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: Hawkins has created quite a buzz on Twitter the past couple of weeks, he's like the NFL version of Zack Ryder. But Hawkins had a touchdown in Week 2, so now he's on a lot of fantasy enthusiasts' radar. And he's a nice sleeper for those who need depth at receiver. The Bengals play the Redskins this week, and Washington showed against St. Louis that it has some problems stopping the pass. The Redskins have allowed the third-most points to fantasy quarterbacks in the first two weeks. So he's definitely worth a look.
Alex Smith, QB, San Francisco 49ers: Remember when 49ers coach Mike Singletary benched Alex Smith for Troy Smith? Oh man, I miss Singletary. The NFL just doesn't have enough bat (expletive) crazy for my taste. In any event, a lot has changed since those days. Alex Smith is now one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the league. Oh, and Smith has a fantastic matchup against the Vikings this week. The Vikings have allowed 32 touchdown passes in their last 13 games, including two last week to Andy Luck. I wouldn't start Smith over Manning or Matthew Stafford, but if you have a need for a quarterback (and I don't know what that could possibly be), give it a go.
Andre Roberts, WR, Arizona Cardinals: Don't panic on Larry Fitzgerald. He's Larry Fitzgerald, he's going to be fine. But at some point we have to take Roberts seriously after he scored his second touchdown in consecutive weeks. Be careful with him this week, the Eagles have been tough on fantasy receivers this year, so Roberts is a stash guy.
Jonathan Dwyer, RB, Pittsburgh Steelers: You might not have been impressed with Dwyer's stat line against the Jets in Week 2, and that's cool. But here come the Raiders, who were walloped by the Dolphins. In fact, the Raiders have given up the fifth-most points to fantasy running backs in two games. And that includes one game against the Ryan Mathews-less Chargers.
Kevin Ogletree, WR, Dallas Cowboys: If you listened to me last week, you were advised to grab Ogletree off the waiver wire, but keep him on your bench. The matchup against Seattle was miserable. Now the matchup is extremely favorable as the Cowboys play host to the Buccaneers. You remember the Buccaneers, the team that allowed Eli Manning to throw for 243 yards - in the fourth quarter of their Week 2 loss? This is a great spot for Ogletree if you're in a bind for a receiver. But hey Tony Romo, watch yourself if you're lined up in the victory formation.
Kendall Wright, WR, Tennessee Titans: Wright scored the first touchdown of his NFL career against the Chargers in Week 2. With Kenny Britt and Nate Washington not looking so hot, I like Wright as a sleeper option going forward. And here's some good news, he's going against the Lions this week. That should help.
Donnie Avery, WR, Indianapolis Colts: I won the NFL Experts League in 2010, thanks in no small part to the inspiration of Avery, who was lost very early in the year. And with Rank's Tanks being the class organization that it is, Avery was added to the roster in Week 16 so he could be a part of the organization when we defeated the Evil Empire (Fabiano). Avery has been targeted like crazy and continues to emerge as a huge part of the offense. The Jaguars are pretty tough on receivers this year, so you might not need him until after the Colts' bye week in Week 5.
Sidney Rice, WR, Seattle Seahawks: The Packers seemed to have solved their problems on defense; at least they looked great against the Bears. But Rice would be a nice sleeper option this week playing at home. Rice has scored six touchdowns in eight career games against the Packers. And the game is on Monday night. You know I love my Monday night guys.
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL Fantasy Live, Michael Fabiano or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL Fantasy Live has 70,000 followers, and Fabiano has 60,000. Me? Just 13. See, the odds are better I will answer your question, so hit me up both via Twitter or via Facebook (oh wait, I told you to stop going to Facebook). Go instead to Google+. Also be sure to catch the latest "Dave Dameshek Football Program."
