WR Watch: Week 5

Miles Austin - Cowboys: 10 catches - 250 yards 2 touchdowns
The preseason sleeper woke up and had a career game against the Chiefs.  He should move in as Romo's second favorite receiver which means more targets, though don't expect many more 10 catch games.

Chris Henry - Bengals: 3 catches - 91 yards
He has been a non-factor thus far, but finally showed up with a big 73 yard catch.  There are too many targets in Cincinnati, but at least keep an eye on Henry.

Mike Wallace - Steelers: 2 catches - 52 yards 1 touchdown
It is hard to get excited about a Steeler #3 wideout, but he is putting up decent numbers.

Eddie Royal - Broncos: 10 catches - 90 yards
He finally came up big in PPR leagues, but his value is steal shaky with a conservative Bronco offense and a slightly above average Orton throwing to him.  Nevertheless, he has been cut and is worth a look if you can snag him.

Donnie Avery - Rams: 5 catches - 87 yards 1 touchdown
Avery is the real-deal, but the Rams aren't.  Still, they can improve a bit as the season progresses and Avery will be the man in St. Louis.

Hakeem Nicks - Giants: 4 catches - 49 yards 1 touchdown
Nicks has the knack for finding the end zone, but with Manningham and Smith playing well, starting him would be a roll of the dice unless a starter is injured.

Jeremy Maclin - Eagles: 6 catches - 142 yards with 2 touchdowns
He showed his big-play ability by scoring on deep passes of 51 and 40 yards while starting in place of Kevin Curtis.  Good bye Kevin Curtis.

Austin Collie - Colts: 8 catches - 97 yards 2 TD's
He's has surpassed Garcon in fantasy value and could keep Gonzales out of the starting line if he continues to play well.

Josh Morgan - 49ers: 4 catches passes 78 yards
Back-to-back solid games for Morgan makes him a viable low-end fantasy receiver.

WR Watch: Week 4

Mike Sims-Walker - Jaguars: 7 catches - 91 yards 2 TD's
He has taken over as Garrard's #1 target and is on his way to a 1,000 yard season. 

Johnny Knox - Bears: 5 catches - 31 yards - 102 yard TD Kickoff Return
He is getting the targets, even though 31 yards won't pay the bills, but a return TD will.

Josh Morgan - 49ers: 2 catches passes 39 yards 1 TD
He has done very little to excite fantasy owners, but him and Shaun Hill both have room to grow.  Keep an eye on him.

Micheal Crabtree - 49ers:  Agrees to 6-year deal.
Missing camp and preseason makes 2009 a inconsequential year for Crabtree.  At best he may catch some deep passes or contribute late in the season.  Not worth a look for at least a month.

Austin Collie - Colts: 6 catches - 65 1 TD
He's splitting time as the second receiver with Garcon and could have a good game on any given week if you are in need.

Mohamed Massaquoi - Browns: 8 catches - 148 yards
The rookie has some chemistry with Derek Anderson and now Braylon Edwards is gone. 

Kenny Britt - Titans: 7 catches - 105 yards
It is looking as if he may become the #1 receiver in Tennessee, but Titans' passing game is dreadful right now.  Still, Britt has huge upside.

Donnie Avery - Rams: 3 catches - 47 yards
The preseason prospect is healing up from his injury and is again the #1 in St. Louis.  Now if somebody could only throw it to him.

Pierre Garcon - Colts: 3 catches - 71 yards
Not helpful in a PPR league, but has 2 TD's in 4 games.

Replacing Anthony Gonzalez

Indianapolis Colts receiver Anthony Gonzalez sprained multiple knee ligaments in Sunday's Week 1 win over Jacksonville.

The Colts are saying Gonzalez could be off the field for as much as 8 weeks. This is a big loss for fantasy owners, who were expecting big things from the 3rd year pro out of Ohio State.

Gonzalez was taken at an average draft position of 92 (28th among WR) making him a third receiver for most players and a very early 10th round pick.

Gonzalez owners, however, were for the most part expecting to get better than 3rd receiver value from Gonzalez, who was expected to be a bigger part of the Colts offense with the loss of Marvin Harrison. This year marked his first chance to crack the starting line up for the Colts super powered offense.

In the absence of AGonz the Colts have a few places to turn. For one, they just signed veteran receiver Hank Baskett, who while experienced, is best known these days for his Playmate wife. Lucky bast... nevermind. Baskett gives them some size on the outside that they lack with the other guys on the roster but, he doesn't know the offense yet, so may only see limited time for the next couple of weeks.

That brings us to the other two, more likely to succeed options: Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie.

Garcon is a second year guy who Peyton Manning seems to like and who caught three balls in the season opener. Plus, let's be serious, how fantastic of a name is Pierre Garcon?!

Collie is a rookie wideout out of BYU that the Colts really seem to like and who had a very solid camp.

If you listen to Manning, and I do, it seems like Garcon is the more promising option. He was quoted as saying:

"Pierre is going to be a big part of our game plan, Austin Collie, too, no question... But this is the NFL. You can't just draw up a play and say this ball has got to go to Dallas Clark. Pierre has worked hard over here, I think he spent six hours over the last two days studying film and Austin has done that as well."

Personally, if I had a roster spot to spend, or if I had been a Gonzalez owner in a deeper league looking for a viable replacement I'd take a flier on Garcon and keep my eye on Baskett and Collie.

We all know the Colts offense is a place for any offensive skill player to shine. Don't let those guys shine one someone else's roster.

PCB Scout

Questions? Comments? Random nonsense? Email me: pcbscout(at)gmail.com