RB Start ‘Em:

Brian Westbrook vs Seahawks, Peyton Hillis vs Bills, Chris Johnson vs Colts, Rashard Mendenhall vs Bengals, LeGarrette Blount vs Redskins.

Sleeper:   Tim Hightower vs Broncos

RB Bench ‘Em:  

Cedric Benson vs Steelers,  Mike Hart vs Titans, Jahvid Best vs Packers, Brandon Jacobs vs Vikings.

QB Start ‘Em:

 Ben Roethlisberger vs Bengals, Aaron Rodgers vs Lions, Eli Manning vs Vikings, Josh Freeman vs Redskins, Michael Vick vs Cowboys.

Sleeper:  Alex Smith vs Seahawks

QB Bench ‘EM:  

Matt Schaub vs Ravens, Carson Pamler vs Steelers, Matt Ryan vs Panthers, Brett Favre vs Giants.

WR Start ‘Em:

Mike Wallace vs Bengals, Roddy White vs Panthers, Steve Johnson vs Browns, Brandon Lloyd vs Cardinals,  Anquan Boldin vs Texans.

Sleeper:  Jacoby Ford vs Jaguars

WR Bench ‘Em:  

Devin Hester vs Patriots, Mike Sims-Walker vs Raiders, Santana Moss vs Buccaneers, Brandon Marshall vs Jets. 

TE Start ‘Em:

Greg Olsen vs Patriots, Jacob Tamme vs Titans, Ben Watson vs Bills, Tony Gonzalez vs Panthers, Antonio Gates vs Chiefs.

Sleeper: David Johnson vs Bengals 

TE Bench ‘Em: 

Bo Scaife vs Colts, Visanthe Shiancoe vs Giants, Andrew Quarless vs Lions, Joel Dreesen vs Ravens.

DEF Start ‘Em:

Steelers vs Bengals, Jets vs Dolphins, Ravens vs Texans, Titans vs Colts, Falcons vs Panthers.

Sleeper: Patriots vs Bears 

DEF Bench ‘Em:

Bengals vs Steelers, Houston vs Ravens, Dolphins vs Jets, Lions vs Packers, Vikings vs Giants.

Fantasy wise, this puts the values of Moss up significantly, considering that Moss will be the only reliable  receiver on the struggling Vikings pass offense until Sidney Rice comes back from a hip injury that is supposed to keep him out until at least week 6, probably longer. 

This also raises the value of Brett Favre, who has disappointed fantasy owners thus far with only TE Visanthe Shiancoe as the Vikes only pass catcher who has proved reliable in the first 3 games of the Vikings season.  Having Moss to throw to figures to make Favre’s numbers much better.  This goes up even more when Rice returns.

On the New England side, WR Brandon Tate, who has wowed everyone with his extraordinary soecial teams play has a major increase in his value as well, as he reportedly will become the Pats #1 receiver.  Tate should be added in every league, and he is probably available as of this writing at almost 10 am Wednesday.  Get him if you can.  He may not be what we expect, or he may save your season.

If Portis goes down (which is very likely), Torain is a good stash in a deeper leagues if you have room on your bench.  It’s worth noting that Torain received the same amount of carries as starter Clinton Portis, and had 2 more yards than Portis. 

Former backup Larry Johnson was released by the Redskins last week, and Willie Parker was released several weeks ago.

Also worth noting is that coach Mike Shanahan has a reputation of getting career years out of most any RB in his offensive system.

Gradkowski loved throwing the ball to Louis Murphy last season.  Gradkowski played 4 full games after getting the nod over Jamarcus Russell and before going down with an injury in week 14.  In those 4 games, Gradkowski threw 6 TD passes.  3 of those 6 were to Murphy.  Murphy without Gradkowski?  1 TD. 

Yardage wasn’t that much for Murphy even with Gradkowski, so I wouldn’t make him a starter at WR if you have better options until you see more yardage production.  But if you are looking for a flex play in a 12 team league or some extra depth at WR, Murphy is a good pickup if you can get him.  Grab him now if you want him.

As for the Eagles; Kolb owners (especially those who took him early in drafts) are not happy today.  I hope you had the sense to draft a quality backup if you drafted Kolb without knowing how good he’d be.  If you didn’t, try to grab Vick if he’s still availabe.  If not, see if you can get Vince Young, Josh Freeman, Alex Smith, or Chad Henne off of the waiver wire.  If not, make a trade.  You might get a guy like Joe Flacco cheap right now and relish in it when he finds his rhythm.

Bump up DeSean Jackson in value, as well as Jeremy Maclin now that Vick is in.  Brent Celek may be valued lower, as Vick doesn’t usually go to the Tight End as much as Kolb or McNabb.  So grab a good backup TE if you don’t have one. 

As always, ask questions if you like, and I will answer them as I see them.  Look for Start ‘Em and Bench ‘Em for week 3 in the next couple of days.

1. Antonio Gates – SD

2. Dallas Clark – IND

3. Brent Celek – PHI

4. Jason Witten – DAL

5.Vernon Davis - SF

6. Owen Daniels - HOU

7. Jermichael Findley - GB

8. Tony Gonzalez - ATL

9. Visanthe Shiancoe -MIN

10. Zach Miller – OAK

1. Kenny Britt WR (Titans): Britt was in my 5 fantasy players on the rise just over a month ago, as his promise was evident late last season. Word from Titans camp that he has been dealing with numerous small injuries and is having a pretty bad camp, however lands him on this list today. I’d stay away from Britt until at least the 7th or 8th round.

2. Rashard Mendenhall RB (Steelers): T Willie Colon is out for the season with a torn achilles and that spells trouble for an already uncertain offensive line. The Steelers hope that rookie C/G Maurkice Pouncey can become the player they need him to be – and fast! With the O-Line’s best player out of the fold and an uncertainty in the passing game while Ben Roethlisberger is out, that means less and smaller holes for Mendenhall. The Steelers RB is going in rounds 2-3 in most mock drafts and I’m telling you that is much too high. Take a pass on him unless you get him at a great bargain.

3. LeSean McCoy RB (Eagles): Brian Westbrook he is not and he didn’t show much last year to suggest that he can handle the starter role. Perhaps more importantly is the Eagles’ penchant for using too many RB’s, especially near the goal line. This offseason, the Eagles signed RB Mike Bell who played with the Saints last year and vultured many a TD from Pierre Thomas.

He figures to do the same this season as reports are saying that Bell has the #2 RB spot locked up. He’ll steal touches and TD’s from McCoy, especially at the goal line, and the Eagles also employed FB Leonard Weaver last season at RB many times who also took some TD’s. With such a committee in the Eagles’ offensive system, McCoy will be lucky to have 800 yds and 6 TD’s. Respectable, but not what you’d want from a #1 or #2 RB in a 10 team league.

4. Kevin Walter WR (Texans): Not that he was going to be a top 100 guy anyway after doing nothing last year, but Walter is also being pressed hard for his #2 WR spot on the team thanks to Jacoby Jones showing flashes of being a very good receiver last season. Walter had a very good season in 2008, but those days are gone.

5. Kyle Orton QB (Broncos): WR Brandon Marshall is gone, leaving Orton with Eddie Royal, Jabbar Gaffney, or Demaryius Thomas as the #1 WR, and Brandon Stokely and Brandon Lloyd on the bench. Orton was a repectable QB last season for the Broncos, but the seemingly schizophrenic coach Josh McDaniels is coy when asked about his QB situation after drafting Tim Tebow in the 1st round and trading for Brady Quinn. McDaniels won’t even say who the starter will be when the season opens, and with this type of situation, even if Orton starts the first few weeks, if he performs in a manner that is less than stellar, McDaniels may yank him for one of his shiny new football throwing toys.

If you do listen to what he speaks, you’d believe that this is a man in limbo pondering his future.  All he will say is that he is considering it and talking it over with his family.  That’s Favre-glish for “I’m pretending to be undecided until maybe the last 2 weeks of training camp, maybe later to avoid going through ‘two a days’.”

Favre has given his sign for the year (as if we needed one) that he will indeed be back for a 20th NFL season.  He first had surgery on his left ankle to clean up some scar tissue and bone spurs.  Now, he’s back to practicing football with high school kids at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg, Miss.

Favre will continue to ‘decide’ for at least the next 2 weeks.  After that, he will officially announce to all people who do not understand Favre-glish that he will be returning.

Brad Childress and the Minnesota Vikings, myself, and every other NFL writer out there have known this for months.

Click for an updated version of my 2010 fantasy mock draft!

http://nfldraftmock.com/2010-nfl-fantasy-football-mock-draft/