The Future is Now – guys to lean on for the rest of the season

Quarterbacks
Carson Palmer
Ok, so Palmer isn’t exactly someone you thought you’d have questions about but with Brett Favre, Philip Rivers, Michael Vick, and Jon Kitna all outscoring him thus far, I am sure there are a lot of you who question whether he is the same guy many of you drafted extremely highly. Well I am here to tell you that despite tough matchups coming up against Baltimore twice, San Diego, New Orleans, Denver, and the surprisingly effective Raiders, Palmer now has most of his weapons at his disposal and will probably be good for at least 200 yards and 2 touchdowns per game.

Philip Rivers
Rivers also has a few tough matchups coming up, but he has shown that a tough matchup when you have studs like LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates is not the end of the world. While Rivers probably wont put up Carson Palmer-like numbers, he will be good for 200 yards and 1-2 TDs per week.


Running Backs
Leon Washington
The former Florida State standout has really come on and has taken the starting job from an inept Kevan Barlow. Washington started the year as the No. 4 RB, No. 5 if you wanted to consider Curtis Martin, but his stellar play has led to some happy days for many fantasy owners. While some may not want to rely on him on a week-to-week basis, the Jets only face 3 more tough defenses this season (Patriots and Bears in the two weeks following the bye week, and the Vikings in week 14). Benching Washington during these matchups might be a good idea, but he should be safe to play as a No. 2 RB otherwise.

Willis McGahee
Willis has fallen from stud RB status, but with his final stretch of games, and with Jason Peters moving to left tackle, he could rise again down the stretch. McGahee has tough matchups in weeks 12 and 13 at home against the Jags and Chargers respectively. McGahee’s play is often tied directly to that of QB JP Losman’s, but with the soft schedule, especially against the run, look for McGahee to produce, even where Losman fails.

Joseph Addai
Addai is just beginning to get the bulk of the carries and he has been producing. Addai put up 93 yards on 17 carries and 5 catches for 37 yards in the Colts win over Denver, while Rhodes seems to be fading out of the offense getting only 3 carries for 0 yards, though he did have 3 catches as well totaling 43 yards. On the season, Addai is averaging 5.1 yards per carry and with his solid running and good blocking, he is quickly making Colts fans forget about Edgerrin James. Look for his numbers to continue to rise and for Addai to end the season with 1000+ yards and 5-7 TDs.

Maurice Drew
Drew has been running along with Fred Taylor in the Jacksonville backfield and while his totals haven’t been great, he is averaging a respectable 4.3 yards per carry and he has 5 TDs in 7 games. Drew will continue to be the smallest goal line back in the league, and with his running style and power, he will continue to be successful. Drew may not put up huge numbers, but he will continue to put up solid and respectable No. 2 or 3 RB stats.

Ocho Cinco
Bald is back. Cinco lost a bet to DeAngelo Hall and was forced to shave his Mohawk. Now he is back to the fun-loving, in your face, dominating Chad Johnson… or Ocho Cinco… Whatever he wants to be called, the return of Chris Henry frees up Cinco to make big plays and lead the Bengals back to the playoffs and lead fantasy owners to their players.

TJ Houshmandzadeh and Chris Henry
To go along with Cinco, the No 2 and 3 receivers for the Bengals will also have a strong finish to the season. TJ might not put up numbers like he did to start the season, but there shouldn’t be too much of a drop-off. Henry has produced in every game he has played in since week 1. Look for him to stretch the field and be beneficial to both TJ and Ocho. Henry probably wont have the same consistency level, but his big play ability will be enough to use him as a low-end No 2 or high end No 3.

Javon Walker
Walker has put up good numbers despite Jake Plummer and with the Broncos pass offense struggling and the team pushing to win the AFC West, we might soon be blessed by Jay Cutler. With rookies, Matt Leinart, Bruce Gradkowski, and Vince Young all starting for their teams, look for Cutler to get his shot. The one thing that could hold him back is that the three rookies mentioned above all play for losing teams. Mike Shanahan might not want to put the pressure of a playoff race on the rookies shoulder, however, I don’t think there is a better way to build character. With his big arm, Cutler could move Javon Walker back into 1,200 yard 10-13 TD territory.


Tight Ends
Randy McMicahel
Since Joey Harrington has started for Miami, he has been looking for the big tight end. McMichael has not disappointed averaging over 70 yards per game. McMichael has always had a ton of potential, but with Harrington at the helm, we might actually be seeing his potential turn into value.

Ben Watson
As anticipated in the preseason, Ben Watson has become Tom Brady’s favorite target. Watson is good for at least 50 yards per game, which for a tight end is actually quite good. Lately, Watson has been the target of even more of Tom Brady’s looks. Look for this trend to continue.

Continue to Part II