I tried this last week, but far too late (only about 15 minutes prior to kickoff). So obviously no one could benefit from my suggestions. But I'm back this week and a bit earlier to look at five names I could see stepping up this week and becoming waiver pick-ups come Tuesday. The purpose of this exercise is to rob potential values before the next week's waivers, and thus beat your competition to the punch.
Now this is not recommended in the slightest for teams that DON'T have a bench player burning a hole on their roster, doing nothing through five weeks. If your team is loaded top to bottom, feel free to ignore this. It is simply a suggestion of players (one, two tops) that could be stashed prior to the Week 6 games to replace dead weight, so if they hit, your team is all the better for it, and if they don't you can turn to waivers for a better player or wait a week if potential is shown.
So let's get on with it:
1. Jacoby Ford – Since he's likely owned only in the deepest of leagues right now, Ford could become the hottest pick-up following Week 6. He's extremely explosive, is back to full health and could become the forgotten weapon in a Raiders offense that is led by Darren McFadden and the emergence of two other dynamic receivers in Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore. Ford has only totaled 84 yards so far this season in large part because he was coming back from a broken hand in the preseason and then a tweaked hamstring in Week 1. But considering that he blew up last year beginning in Week 9 to the tune of nearly 550 yards from scrimmage and four TD's, plus three kickoff return scores, it's hard to imagine him staying quiet all season.
2. Donald Brown – Through the first two years of his career Brown has just under 1,200 total yards and five touchdowns, and has averaged a pedestrian 3.8 yards per carry. Those may not be the numbers that you'd expect out of a former first-round draft pick. But consider the fact that Run DMC totaled a little over 200 yards more at 3.9 yards per carry through his first two seasons with the same paltry five scores. And he did that on nearly 30 more touches. Now by no means am I saying Brown is as talented as McFadden or could break out anywhere close to the way DMC did last year. All I am saying is that Brown could still become very productive and he shouldn't be ignored. With Joseph Addai (hamstring) out, everyone is expecting Delone Carter to take the lead but he's averaging a measly 3.0 yards a carry and doesn't offer the same speed or overall athleticism that Brown does. Carter should get the goal line looks, but I could easily see Brown getting more carries and yards, as well as being involved a fair amount in the passing game. Bottom line is that Brown was drafted highly for a reason, and the talent the Colts front office saw in 2009 could emerge this year. If anything he should be more motivated then ever to prove himself after his early-season demotion to third string.
3. Devin Aromashodu – Despite receiving only four targets through three weeks and just one catch for five yards, Aromashodu has emerged as a big-play receiver for Donovan McNabb over the past two games. In those games he's received seven targets and racked up 115 yards on three catches, including a 34-yard TD grab against Kansas City in Week 4. He was an under-utilized asset in the Bears receiving corps prior to coming to Minnesota and he has the size (6-2, 201), deep speed and hands to become the No. 1 receiver for the Vikes. And that could become a legitimate asset once Christian Ponder replaces McNabb sometime in the not-too-distant future.
4. Naaman Roosevelt – Marcus Easley. Roscoe Parrish. Donald Jones. Two on IR, one out 4-6 weeks. Roosevelt steps in as the starter in the slot. In the past two games he's seen eight targets and caught six for 69 yards. He actually led the team in targets last week with seven against Philly. David Nelson is moving to the outside to replace Jones and has little pro experience away from the slot position, so there's no telling how he'll respond. That could open the door for Roosevelt to become Ryan Fitzpatrick's No. 2 receiver for at least a few weeks, if not the rest of the year. Buffalo has made no-names fantasy relevant at receiver the past two years like no other team around, so why not Roosevelt?
5. Kregg Lumpkin – Six catches, two carries, 49 yards. Not exactly numbers to make anyone see him coming, huh? But with LeGarrette Blount out and Earnest Graham pushing 32-years-old, Lumpkin could become a factor in a hurry. At 5-11, 228, he's actually about the same size as Graham, and brings excellent balance and good vision to the table. Not to say he'll find the same results, but his running style reminds me of the workmanlike play Fred Jackson has brought to the Bills since he showed up in 2007. I could see him out-producing Graham this week on fewer touches and then, if Blount should wind up missing up to four or more games, who knows what might be.