Wide Receivers

Must Start:

Santonio Holmes @ CIN: In the last two games he has played, Holmes has looked great, pulling in 12 balls and scoring three touchdowns. The Bengals have allowed 15 touchdown catches, second worst in the league. In another week or two I won’t be able to include him here as he is getting way too well-known and reliable. The Pittsburgh plan to open up the offense this year has benefited him more than any other Steeler.

Kevin Walter @ SD: I happened to pick him up for one of my teams when Andre Johnson went down. It took Walter a couple weeks to get rolling and now it is almost like I have Johnson back. Except Walter doesn’t have half the talent of Johnson. But whoever is playing quarterback for the Texans has to throw it to someone and Walter has caught 18 balls for 257 yards over the last two games.

Laveranues Coles v. BUF: Coles had a ridiculous week against Cincinnati last week with eight catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns. While the Bengals defense is very bad, it isn’t like the Bills’ is much better. Wait. Buffalo is even worse. Coles should find lots of free running room against the porous Buffalo secondary.

Lee Evans @ NYJ: I’ve been foretelling of his resurgence for the last couple weeks and it is slowly happening, not nearly fast enough for his fantasy owners, but it is happening all the same. He now has two decent games in his last three and seems to be gelling with new starter Trent Edwards. I’m still waiting for the long TD catch that is Evans’ trademark. Maybe this week….

Going Out On a Limb:

Arnaz Battle v. NO: The 49ers haven’t been good for much in fantasy land this year. Preseason pundits had them marked as a young and rising team full of talent. The real games showcased an injury prone and inexperienced unit that quickly made its way to the waiver wire. Battle has been quietly putting up some decent numbers with nine catches and two touchdowns over the last two games. With his real quarterback returning this week and a cakewalk match up against the Saints, Battle is worth giving a shot if you are short on options.

Grab Some Pine:

Joey Galloway v. JAX: Galloway has been held to 50 yards or less in four of the last five games, including match ups with Detroit and St. Louis. Teams are figuring out how to shut him down and Garcia is not a good enough quarterback to get him the ball when facing double coverage. To make matters worse, the Jaguars are coming to town and have allowed only four receiving touchdowns all year, lowest in the league.

Ted Ginn Jr. v. NYG: What do a backup quarterback, second-string running back, and rookie wide receiver add up to? You are right if you said a defense’s dream, a pile of crap, or the Miami Dolphins. Miami has absolutely no talent on the offensive side of the ball and even the New York Giants defense will destroy them. Ginn was overrated as a prospect coming out of college (at least by the Dolphins’ front office) and, just because he is now a starter, doesn’t mean he should be anywhere near your lineup.

Santana Moss @ NE: There is one Moss in the Patriots-Redskins game that should be in your starting lineup and it is not Santana. New England is pretty darn good at playing defense and the Redskins offense is not exactly lighting the world on fire. Santana Moss’ stats over the last two games: two catches for eight yards. He might be fighting for a roster spot on your team if he doesn’t produce in the next two or three weeks….

Troy Williamson v. PHI: First the good news – Williamson was on the receiving end of half the wide receiver catches on his team last week. Now the bad news – Minnesota receivers only caught two passes all game. Two. I have no idea why this guy is continually ranked in the top 30 receivers each week. Anyone catching passes from Tarvaris Jackson is junk, even if he had some talent, which Williamson does not.

Vincent Jackson v. HOU: From hot preseason sleeper to waiver wire material in just a couple of months, Jackson has had a rough go of it. Everyone knew he would fall somewhere behind LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates in the Chargers pecking order. Now he isn’t even their best wide out. The fourth option is not worthwhile in the San Diego offense.