+3
Roy Helu is only owned in a handful of fantasy leagues. Now's a good time to pick him up, because he'll be seeing more action with Tim Hightower sidelined.
If you're a fan of the Washington Redskins, then you know the story by now. Despite DeAngelo Hall's reputations as one of the top cornerbacks in the league, the Redskins tend to give up huge fantasy numbers to their opponents' top wide receivers. We saw it last week with Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers. We saw it in previous weeks with Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals, Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys and Hakeem Nicks of the New York Giants. And now we'll probably see it again this week with Stevie Johnson of the Buffalo Bills.
Fantasy football project site numberFire lists Johnson as the 10th rated wide receiver this week, with an expected point total of 11.00.
What's worse for the Redskins is that Hall, along with starting safety Oshiomogha Atogwe are both listed as questionable for the Redskins vs. Bills game. This all adds up to a big game for Johnson, as well as his quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
The Washington Redskins will face the Buffalo Bills this weekend, but the real matchup is on the Internet where your hilariously named fantasy football team will face that jerk who always forgets to pay the entrance fee. Should you play any Redskins in that matchup? Let's run it down with help from our friends over at numberFire.
John Beck: The Washington quarterback struggled for much of the first half against Carolina but put things together in the second half and played much better. But that still doesn't mean that he is worth playing in most if not any leagues. He is a game manager, not a game changer, and the changers are the ones that win your league.
Roy Helu/Ryan Torain: If anyone knows who is going to get the carries I would love to hear that information. Seriously, I have both on my team and Shanahan always plays it wild and loose with his running backs. Torain is projected to only get 7.5 points by numberFire while Helu is projected to get even worse than that. Someone has to get the carries that Tim Hightower is leaving on the field. As for which guy that is going to be, your guess is as good as mine.Of the two, Helu has the better chance to break out if given the opportunity because of his speed. So maybe he is the better play if you absolutely need him.
Redskins wide receivers: None of 'em. Don't play them at all. Don't even think about playing them. With Santana Moss out of the lineup, Beck will probably just throw it to anyone who is open, which means everybody loses a little value. Everyone except...
Fred Davis: He's been the biggest producer this season of all the Redskins pass catchers, and he continues to be a strong play. numberFire projects him to get about eight points, which isn't bad at all for a tight end.
Tim Hightower's season-ending knee injury is bad news for the Washington Redskins and for many fantasy football teams. For those employing the injured Washington Redskins running back, and for many others, this is the time to scan the waiver wire and find a fill-in option. If you're looking for help in that regard, might I suggest one of Hightower's replacements: Roy Helu.
The fourth-round pick has been impressive in limited action this year, and is owned in just 18 percent of Yahoo's leagues. He is averaging 4.9 yards a carry this season, and in the 33-20 loss to the Carolina Panthers, he was on the field for the majority of the team's snaps. Helu was out there for 33 plays, two more than Hightower and 30 more than fellow backup Ryan Torain. Torain is also injury-prone, so even if Mike Shanahan turns to him in the short term, there's a good chance Helu will be the starter at some point this season.
Brian Murphy of Homer McFanboy explains why Helu should be the Redskins' starter going forward.
Given the choice between the two, I’d love to see Helu elevated to the starting lineup. The rookie has shown flashes during his limited time in Washington, and he clearly has more upside than Torain.
With seven different runs of 50 yards or more his senior year at Nebraska, Helu has shown he’s much more of a home-run threat than the Torain.
Shanahan is notorious for platooning his running backs, but Helu is definitely good enough to put up numbers, and now he'll have more of an opportunity. Snag him now before it's too late.
For more on the Washington Redskins, visit Hogs Haven.
Fantasy Football Week 8 Projections For All Redskins Players
The past two weeks have been disappointing ones for fantasy football players who happen to own any members of the Washington Redskins. The changing of guard at the quarterback position for Mike Shanahan's team hasn't resulted in very much offensive production quite yet, and that downward trend is expected to continue in this Sunday's trip to Toronto as the Redskins take on the Buffalo Bills.
Much like the Redskins' defense last season, the Bills give up plenty of yards (they are ranked 31st in the league), but not too many points. This bend-but-not-break style can be notoriously risky to play against for fantasy football owners.
The fantasy football projection site numberFire brings us a complete list of how the Redskins' skill players are expected to perform this week, and the outlook isn't very good.
Ryan Torain remains a risky play as usual for the Redskins, although he's sure to get the majority of the carries this week with Tim Hightower headed to injured reserve.
Speaking of the IR, the best fantasy bet for the Redskins this week may be Fred Davis. Without the risk of Chris Cooley sharing the load at tight end, Davis is expected to earn 7.62 fantasy points, making him the sixth highest ranked tight end this week.
Oct 29 1:30p by Martin Shatzer