Back from the Dead

During the fantasy draft, the first three picks are probably the most important. Those players are your breadwinners. They get you points every week. Well, at least they’re supposed to.

Sometimes injuries can mess up a player’s production. Other times, they simply don’t get there.

For some teams, week one looked great. Their stars put up good points and everything was fine. Then all of a sudden, nothing. A couple straight weeks of three-point games from a player can really bug a fantasy owner. Well now there’s hope.

This week, some players that you may have written off for dead, are in line to have a solid week 6.

Quarterbacks

Jake Delhomme – Carolina Panthers

So far this season, Delhomme has 3 touchdowns and 8 interceptions; not a good statistic to have. He’s thrown at least one interception in every game, and the most touchdowns he has thrown in a single game this year is one. Needless to say, he’s available in your league.

This week, Delhomme goes up against a terrible Tampa Bay secondary that allows opposing quarterbacks a 109.9 rating. They’ve given up 12 passing touchdowns – third most in the league. Don’t start Jake Delhomme over your normal starter (unless your normal starter is Kevin Kolb). But, if your number one guy is on a bye week and your backup plays a tough defense, it’s Jake to the rescue.

Jason Campbell – Washington Redskins

Jason Campbell has been a slightly better producer than Jake Delhomme. He’s at least thrown 6 touchdowns to go along with his 5 interceptions. Last week, against the Panthers, he actually went the whole game without a pick. Well this week, Campbell plays the Chiefs. Kansas City gives up 270 passing yards and allows an average of two throwing touchdowns per game. If Campbell is going to have a great game against anyone, it’s them. But again, don’t put him in over someone like Aaron Rodgers or Matt Schaub.

Running Backs

Brian Westbrook – Philadelphia Eagles

Due to injuries, Westbrook only has one touchdown thus far. It came last week against the Buccaneers. In that game, he only managed 6 rushes for 18 yards. He also had two receptions for 17 yards. With these stats, a lot of people worry that LeSean McCoy will be seeing more and more carries. Not this week.

On Sunday, the Eagles go up against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are ranked 31^st against the run and have allowed 7 rushing touchdowns so far. They also give up an average of 161 rushing yards per game. Look for the Eagles to take advantage and hand the ball off to Westbrook more than six times.

Knowshon Moreno – Denver Broncos

So far this year, Moreno has been doing pretty well for his rookie season. Last week, as the go-to-guy, he managed 88 yards on the ground and 36 through the air. Correll Buckhalter may return this week against the Chargers, but expect Moreno to put up good numbers; better than his performance last week. San Diego has given up 6 rushing touchdowns, and that includes their bye week. Look for Moreno to find the end zone and get close to 100 yards.

Wide Receivers

Steve Smith – Carolina Panthers

When Jake Delhomme does poorly, so does the original Steve Smith. But, that holds true both ways. So when Delhomme goes up against a bad pass-defense, so does Smith. So far this year, Smith only has 20 catches for 255 yards. He has yet to find pay dirt. Expect that to change this week.

Greg Jennings – Green Bay Packers

Going into the season, Jennings was one of those big name receivers that was probably taken third round in your draft. So far, he’s a bit of a disappointment. His best game was week one, where he had 6 grabs, 106 yards, and a touchdown. Since then, 5 catches, 134 yards, no touchdowns. If there’s anytime for Jennings to get back on track, it’s this week against the Detroit Lions. The Lions have had an abysmal pass-defense so far in 2009. They’ve given up a league-high 15 passing touchdowns. Don’t be surprised if Jennings gets close to 100 yards and pulls in at least one touchdown.