Week 1 Reviews: Fantasy Pickups

GO GET THEM!

Louis Murphy WR Oakland Raiders- He had 5 catches for 87 yards and a touchdown going against the Chargers on Monday night. As it stands right now, he is the most reliable wide receiver in the Raiders offense and has shown a decent rapport with Russell when no other wide out has. He should have scored two TD's but a truly horrible rule allowed the booth, upon review, to determine otherwise. Look, his fantasy relevance could be shortlived since, upon Chaz Schilens return in probably week 3 or 4, he will likely be relegated to slot receiver. But still, he's been reliable throughout preseason and the first regular season game, and Russell's strong arm means he can find Murphy deep 1 or 2 times a game, if Murphy continues to find ways to get open deep as he did in the first game.

Benjamin Watson TE New England Patriots- He caught 6 balls for 77 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Bills. I have been waiting for Watson to come around ever since he was drafted in the first round a couple years back. Watson may still have games where he is rarely targeted due to the fact that Brady likes to spread the ball around and they often go to 4 and 5 WR sets. But Watson is talented enough to split out as a WR, and the fact that he caught two TD's including the game winner means that Brady should have more confidence in looking to him in clutch moments or moments where he is under duress.

Joe Flacco QB Baltimore Ravens- Had three touchdown passes in a strong effort against the KC Chiefs. He may already have been drafted in your league. But if you are not in a deep league, and he is available, he should be picked up immediately and should continue to be a top 12 QB for the rest of the year.

Patrick Crayton WR Dallas Cowboys- Again, he is another player who is probably already unavailable on the waiver wire. However, if he is picked up he could develop into a very nice WR2 given the fact that he has Tony Romo at QB. He caught 4 balls for 135 yards and a TD so he offers nice big-play ability.

DON'T BUY IN YET

Robert Meachem and Deverey Henderson- Both players had huge games against a porous Detroit secondary that simply couldn't account for all the offensive options on the Saints offense. However, don't buy into Meachem and Henderson just yet for exactly that reason. Coming into the season, Colston, Bush, Moore, and shockey were all considered better fantasy options than Meachem and Henderson. Both offer big-play ability but the fact that Brees has so many options to work with means that both receivers could have big performances followed by multiple game stretches where they only catch 1 or 2 balls. If nothing else, this tempers the potential of other more reliable fantasy options like Colston, Bush, Shockey and Moore.