Sneaky Starts: Week 1

Sep 06, 2013

All but the luckiest fantasy owners at some point need to find the proverbial diamond in the rough -- a waiver wire or bench player who is capable of putting up some points in a pinch. This weekly feature is dedicated to that part of fantasy football. It's not pretty, but it's part of the game.

At 4for4, we use Adjusted Fantasy Points Allowed (aFPA) by position heavily in our rankings and analyses. For more detail, click here.

Note: These recommendations do not override our weekly rankings, which are updated throughout the week and weekend.

Texans QB Matt Schaub (@ SD)
Schaub was pretty mediocre in 2012, but has a long track record of solid quarterbacking, finishing in the top 15 in PPG from 2008 to 2011, including two top 7 finishes. He has a nice matchup with the Chargers, who struggled against the pass last year. Plus, the Texans added first round WR DeAndre Hopkins to give him another weapon in the passing game.

Chiefs QB Alex Smith (@ JAX)
Smith was a very efficient thrower in San Francisco and he’s about to see a big jump in pass attempts under new HC Andy Reid. The Jaguars were poor against the pass last season, so this is shaping up to be a good matchup for the Chiefs’ passing game.

Raiders QB Terrelle Pryor (@ IND)
Pryor is likely to take off and run quite a bit for the Raiders and he has the speed and size to gain some yards on the ground. Don’t be surprised if he runs for 50-75 yards and gains another 150-200 yards through the air. If he scores a couple of touchdowns then we’re looking at 18+ fantasy points in standard formats.