Curtis Painter QB: COLTS – You may be tempted to wait another week on waivers but Jim Irsay admitted it’s unlikely Manning will play this year. Silverback Collins was a waste of a signing so I think Painter is the guy for the majority of the season. With this supporting cast, his upside is huge. If you have the space and are thin at QB he’s worth a stash on your bench. It’s going to take some time for the Colts to learn to play without Peyton as he was a pseudo head coach but I think the team is rounding into shape. If they can hang with the Steelers they have a shot in any game. With 12 team leagues and everyone having at least 2 qb's and only 32 starters, owning any starting QB becomes a premium as the season gets a bit long in the tooth. Owning the QB in this offense could pay huge dividends. I’m not saying Painter will be a stud, but you don’t have to put a lot of scratch together to find out.
Stevan Ridley RB: PATRIOTS– I’ve owned this kid in a keeper league I’m in since draft day. And I already like what I see. Belicheat has inserted Ridley at key spots of the game the last two weeks. We’re not talking garbage time reps here. He’s basically garnered at least a 65/35 share of the RB reps and last week he led the team in rushing with 7 rushes for 44 yards and added one catch for 8 yards. If you missed it this kid lit it up in preseason and I am a firm believer that he becomes the lead back in this RBBC. Now the beauty of this kid’s skill set is he won’t be marginalized by Brady throwing it 50 times a game. He’s got great hands and can contribute mightily in the passing game. Woodhead and BJGE get downgrades this week and Ridley gets a HUGE upgrade. He’s my (POW) Pickup-Of-the-Week.
Antonio Brown WR: STEELERS – He was my POW last week but in case you missed it or you just ignored my advice I’m putting him on here again. He didn’t disappoint with a 4 for 75 performance. Back to back weeks putting up decent stats now… he was targeted a team high 8x by Roethlisberger this week. It’s only a matter of time before he BREAKS OUT and you want him on your team when that happens. I’m begging you, if he’s still available in your league, put a claim in. He’s going to be starting in your lineup sooner rather than later.
Jared Cook TE: TITANS– I was high on this kid in the preseason and he’s disappointed me and everyone else since. And it’s not because the passing game wasn’t clicking. Hasselbeck has been a great addition for the Titans. The loss of Britt for the season means someone has to pick up the slack. Nate Washington seems to have a great rapport with Tim but the remaining depth chart leaves something to be desired. Lavelle Hawkins, Damian Williams? C’mon… please. They’ll probably sign Justin Gage who’s a free agent and maybe Randy or TO’s agents will get a call. Either way the running game is struggling and the main benefactor of Britt’s untimely demise will be Jared Cook. Another repeat appearance on this list along with Brown means two things. If you picked him up, don’t drop him based on his weak performance the last three weeks (5 for 56 and zero td’s on the year). That’s on the order of what I will come to expect to be an average DAY for Cook going forward. Secondly, if you didn’t pick him up, he might not be high on your competitions waiver priority lists so you might be able to grab him as your second waiver addition of the week.
Hopefully you already own Brown based on my recommendation last week. This week it’s time to add Ridley first and foremost and then Cook if you can. Ridley is the priority add this week.
