| Injuries are a fact of life in fantasy football. Owners who
drafted Steve Young, Terrell Davis or Jamal Anderson know this all too well. But how you
deal with injuries goes a long way toward determining late-season fantasy success. With
that in mind, here’s an update on several skill-position fill-ins. We’ll look at
how they rate right now and what kind of staying power they might have. Players are listed
alphabetically.
RB Kenny Bynum, Chargers — This is one of my guys. I’ve been
a Bynum fan since he put up a solid effort vs. the 49ers as a rookie. He hasn’t
gotten many chances since, but a solid NFL Europe performance this spring has gotten him
another look. With Natrone Means sidelined for 2-4 weeks, Bynum and Terrell Fletcher will
get most of the carries for the Bolts. Bynum is worth picking up for now, although I
don’t see him putting up monstrous numbers while in the lineup. He should not be a
fantasy-league starter except in an absolute emergency.
TE Byron Chamberlain, Broncos — If you’re in a league that
requires starting a tight end every week, Chamberlain is a good option. He’s a
receiving threat with a little burst (as he showed vs. Oakland). The Broncos will use all
of their tight ends, but Chamberlain is the one to watch in fantasy terms. Starter Shannon
Sharpe isn’t expected back until the last few games of the season, so
Chamberlain’s long-term value is relatively high.
QB Jeff Garcia, 49ers — Now that Steve Young has been all but
declared out for the rest of the season, it looks as though Garcia is in the lineup for
good. With the weapons he has at his disposal, the former CFL signalcaller should be an OK
fantasy backup. Garcia does have some mobility, so rushing touchdowns are a possibility.
RB Olandis Gary, Broncos — Gary has done well in his first three
starts after taking over for Davis, who is out for the season. In larger yardage leagues,
the rookie has become a very good No. 3 back and an acceptable No. 2. But Derek Loville, a
veteran who was expected to have first crack at taking over for Davis before injuring a
hamstring in practice, looks to be close to returning to the field. How will this affect
Gary? I expect Gary to continue to get the bulk of the carries, with Loville seeing more
spot duty and perhaps taking a third-down role. Gary may slip a bit in fantasy terms, but
he will still be a solid yardage-league contributor.
RB Leroy Hoard, Vikings — I’ll be the first to admit I
have never been a believer in Hoard. (I think it has something to do with the fact that
the Panthers, who I was following closely at the time, cut him in their first season when
they were starved for a running back.) But with Robert Smith down with his annual injury
(if you had hernia in this year’s pool, you win), Hoard becomes a factor. He’s
an effective short-yardage back, and offensive coordinator Ray Sherman seems predisposed
to call Hoard’s number a lot. He should be an every-week fantasy starter until Smith
returns.
QB Damon Huard, Dolphins — So far, so good for Huard, who has led
the Dolphins to back-to-back wins since moving into the lineup. Huard hasn’t set the
world on fire with his passing, but he has done an OK job, and his scrambling ability is a
plus. It looks as though starter Dan Marino will be out for a couple more weeks at least.
Huard is an acceptable fantasy backup, especially for teams that have Marino. But in the
long term, Huard’s value will drop off quickly.
WR Peerless Price, Bills — The rookie out of Tennessee had a big
day vs. Seattle last week, but he also had a couple of big drops that really hurt the
Bills. Don’t read too much into his Week Seven stats either, because the Bills were
trying to overcome a huge deficit, which forced them to throw like crazy. I like
Price’s potential, and he showed a penchant for making big plays in big games in
college. But once Eric Moulds returns this year (that should be a couple of weeks from
now), Price’s fantasy value goes down dramatically. Price’s keeper value depends
on what veteran Andre Reed decides to do. As long as he’s around, Price is
Buffalo’s third wideout.
WR Marcus Robinson, Bears — With Curtis Conway sidelined the last
couple of weeks, Robinson has stepped into the breach. His size and speed are impressive,
although he is still far from a polished product and his hands are still a little shaky.
Still, even after Conway returns, Robinson will probably get a little action, and he may
be worth a long look in keeper leagues since both Conway and fellow starter Bobby Engram
are unrestricted free agents after the season. |
