Top 4 Fantasy One-Hit Wonders From Week 2
After taking a look at the top waiver guys already today, it's time to flip the script and take a look at the one-hit wonders from week 2. I'm not saying to avoid these guys, I'm just saying that picking them up will give you some bragging rights for having a guy on your team putting up nothing but 0's or 1's. OK fine, I'm saying explicitly to avoid them. There are just better options out there. In this week's One-Hit Wonders version, we have two running backs that will be pushed right back down the depth chart, and two wide receivers who are owned in half of ESPN leagues but are fools gold because of their lack of targets. I've got a Hankering for some Hankerson knowledge: let's get it going.
Four Fantasy Football Week 2 One-Hit Wonders
RB Jackie Battle - San Diego Chargers
Week 2 Fantasy Points: 18
Week 3 Projected Points: 1.31
Leagues Owned: 0.3%
After Curtis Brinkley was removed for playing like Curtis Brinkley and Ronnie Brown was barely put into the game because he's Ronnie Brown, the Chargers had no other choice but to give Jackie Battle a shot on Sunday against the Titans. And wouldn't you know it, it actually kind of worked. Battle ran for 69 yards (a 4.5 ypc average) and two TDs on his way to being the 7th highest scoring running back in all of fantasy football in week 2. But that's where the good news about Battle stops. By most indications, Ryan Mathews should be seeing his return to the field on Sunday against the Falcons; numberFire already has Mathews as the #9 RB in our week 3 projections. And if Mathews does indeed get a majority of the carries, that San Diego backfield is going to be just too crowded. Battle was only moderately effective as a spot starter in KC last year, with a -0.11 NEP per rush and a 29% success rate. There is no reason for the Chargers management to use Battle to steal carries, and there is no reason for you to take week 2 as anything other than a flash in the pan.
RB Lamar Miller - Miami Dolphins
Week 2 Fantasy Points: 12
Week 3 Projected Points: 0.87
Leagues Owned: 2.4%
Lamar Miller could very well be a solid pickup in the future... if Reggie Bush gets injured. But with the Burning Bush (Get it? He's on fire!) receiving an NFL-leading 37 fantasy points on Sunday, why would the Dolphins go away from him right now other than idiocy? You know, like the type of idiocy that leads you to put in a rookie QB that only played at the position three years of his life before being drafted. But I digress. Miller received most of his carries and his touchdown late, after the Dolphins were already up by more than two TDs over the Raiders. In week 1, Lamar Miller had... nothing. Not even a jersey. He was inactive for the game, with Daniel Thomas as the backup. Thomas was out for week 2, which gave Miller the opportunity, but now Thomas is listed as questionable for the Dolphins' week 3 game against the Jets. Miller could be pushed down to spot duty or even inactive once again. He's not worth a spot on your fantasy roster right now, especially with Andre Brown and Daryl Richardson available in most leagues. numberFire even has Dolphins back Charles Clay, who received three targets from Tannehill on Sunday, as a higher upside potential play than Miller this week.
WR Leonard Hankerson - Washington Redskins
Week 2 Fantasy Points: 12
Week 3 Projected Points: 3.25
Leagues Owned: 58.3%
Consider the Redskins receiving corps as Green Bay Packers-lite: you never know which receiver is going to break out. In week 1, it was Pierre Garcon and Aldrick Robinson, who both had double-digit fantasy points and a TD. In week 2, Garcon didn't play and Robinson only two catches; it was Leonard Hankerson who took the reigns with his 68-yard TD catch. However, despite me wanting him to succeed so I can write the name "Leonard Hankerson" every week, he's just not a solid pick-up, and perhaps should even be dealt if you are one of the people in 58.3% of ESPN leagues who have him on your team. For one, besides that long pass play, he had one other catch. That catch was for zero yards. In week 1, he also had zero yards; he didn't even have a target in that game. How much do you trust a guy who, because of his QB throwing to everybody within the D.C. metro area (12 different players targeted through two weeks), only has had the ball thrown his way three times and only has one catch for positive yardage? For me, the answer is none at all. Those fluke TDs are only going to come Hankerson's way every once in a while, probably with even less frequency if Garcon comes back to play this week. numberFire has him as only the third-best Redskins receiving option for week 3, all the way down as the #76 WR overall.
WR Mike Williams - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 2 Fantasy Points: 11
Week 3 Projected Points: 6.15
Leagues Owned: 55.4%
Of all the players on this list, if you're going to feel strongly about one, it's Mike Williams. With his touchdown catch in each of weeks 1 and 2, Williams currently sits at #28 of the WR leaderboard with 18 total points in a standard ESPN league. Looks pretty good, possibly even starter-worthy, right? Not so fast, my friend. Instead, take a look at his targets. Williams has only been thrown to a total of eight times this season (15% of Josh Freeman passes), which is second on the Tampa Bay squad but 102nd in the entire NFL. On that overall targets list, Williams is behind such Pro Bowl-worthy names as Jeff Cumberland, Armon Binns, and the always excellent Ronnie Brown. (With how much I'm bashing Ronnie Brown in this article, I feel like I owe somebody an apology. Go War Eagle?) To make matters even worse, of those eight targets, Williams has only caught five, tying himself on the Bucs with Dallas Clark and fullback Erik Lorig in receptions. In total, Mike Williams has 71 yards on the season; 41 of those yards (58% of his total) came on the one TD pass he caught against the Giants. And with his catch rate sitting at an abysmal 50% in 2010 and 51% in 2011, I don't expect him to improve much or catch Freeman's eye as the season goes on. Vincent Jackson and his 27% of all Freeman targets is the only Bucs receiver I want to think about until proven otherwise.
