Sammy MorrisMorris had six carries for 19 yards last week and got two touches inside the Bills 10-yard line. A Bill Belichick favorite who can do all the little things (like pass blocking), Morris could sneak away with the goal line job. Remember, though, that the Patriots are more likely than most teams to go to an empty backfield in goal-to-go situations, so the "goal line back" could end up with very few opportunities. Keep Morris on your radar, though he'll probably just be the team's designated leech.
Fred TaylorTaylor has just 11 carries in the last two games and suffered a toe injury against the Bills. If you drafted him, hold onto him until you know the full extent of the injury; he could still play a significant role if he returns. Otherwise, stay away from him.
Aaron HernandezFlorida Gators fans know Hernandez well: he was
Tim Tebow's favorite receiver over the middle, catching 68 passes for Florida in the 2009 season. Hernandez is a superb all-purpose athlete who averaged 180 receiving yards per game and scoring 24 touchdowns as a high school senior while racking up 12 sacks at defensive end. He has become one of Brady's favorite targets, with 15 passes thrown to him in three games. Hernandez is a great fit in the Patriots offense because he not only works the middle of the field well but can block for Welker and others on screens. That means he will be on the field a lot, which will give him many opportunities. This is a great time of year to address your tight end depth, and Hernandez should be affordable.
Rob GronkowskiThe other Patriots rookie tight end. Gronkowski is bigger and a better blocker than Hernandez, and he already has two touchdowns. Gronkowski caught 10 touchdown passes while battling strep throat and mono during his junior year at Arizona (let's hope they let him keep the ball) but missed his senior season with a back injury. Gronkowski has only been thrown to six times, and chasing those goal line touchdowns by second tight ends is a great way to wind up with
Matt Spaeth on your roster. If you are itching for a tight end, pick Hernandez instead.
Brandon TateA talented runner-receiver-return man whose college career was cut short by an ACL injury, Tate has a kickoff return touchdown this season but also fumbled a reception away against the Bills. The Patriots are using him on reverses and as an alternative deep threat to Moss, but Tate has no real fantasy value.
Julian EdelmanLast year's Welker clone has been targeted five times and caught four passes for 14 yards. If you drafted Edelman as Welker insurance, he's worth keeping around. Otherwise, he's just another "work the middle" threat on a team that has a glut of players vying for that role.
Meanwhile, in DenverIf you are holding on to Maroney hoping that he will emerge as a goal-line specialist in Denver, last week's performance was a bad sign. In one series, Maroney got the ball on the one-yard line three times but failed to punch it in (the final attempt was called a touchdown, then overturned). On their next trip into the red zone, the Broncos elected to throw two passes to Gaffney on 2nd-and-1 and 3rd-and-1. Both passes were incomplete.
Maroney scored seven touchdowns in goal-to-go situations last year, but he also fumbled near the goal line twice and was stuffed at the one-yard line twice. In a game against the Jets, he needed three tries to punch the ball in. In other words, he's not much of a goal line runner. When
Knowshon Moreno returns, Maroney will probably find himself filling the same role he occupied in New England: talented disappointment who rarely plays.
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The 2007 Patriots are long gone.
Laurence Maroney and
Jabar Gaffney are in Denver.
Ben Watson is in Cleveland.
Kevin Faulk is out for the year.
Tom Brady,
Randy Moss and
Wes Welker may still be around, but most of the supporting cast of the team that scored 589 points three seasons ago is now scattered around the league. In their place are guys with names like BenJarvus, Green and Ellis. Wait, that's one guy. You get the point: there are a lot of unknown commodities playing for the Patriots right now.
This year's version of the Patriots may not rack up 6,580 yards of offense, but they've already scored 38 points in two different games, and with Brady at quarterback there are sure to be fantasy opportunities for players other than Moss and Welker. The trick is to sort out the one-game wonders from the guys who will have a regular role all season long. Here's a rundown of some of the guys who have been getting the ball in New England and what their fantasy impact will be in the weeks to come.
Editor's Note: For early rankings every Tuesday morning, tons of exclusive columns, subscriber-only chats, full projections updated all week and much more, get our award-winning Season Pass.BenJarvus Green-EllisGreen-Ellis rushed 15 times for 98 yards and a touchdown last week, but that production comes with a major caveat. Green-Ellis carried the ball just twice in the first half, then rushed nine times in the fourth quarter as the Patriots tried to deflate the ball in a blowout win. That means that much of Green-Ellis' production, including his touchdown and a 22-yard run, came late in the game against a bad opponent.
Green-Ellis has been the garbage man in New England for three years. He gained 69 yards in the Patriots' 59-0 blowout of the Titans last year, gained 65 yards (all in the second half) in a 47-10 rout of the Broncos in 2008, and also rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown in a 20-10 win over the Bills in 2008 that wasn't as close as the score. He had exactly one red zone touch last season, and that came from the 15-yard line. A guy can earn a good living in New England by beating up on the Bills and mopping up blowouts, and the injuries to Faulk and
Fred Taylor should provide Green-Ellis with more opportunities. But don't blow all of your waiver points on him: he's a terrible receiver, which makes him a bad fit in both the Patriots system and PPR leagues, and the Patriots have other red zone options. Make a low bid; your owners may be distracted by some of the other commodities (see below) on the waiver market.
Danny WoodheadThe spunky, plucky, scrappy Woodhead got a lot of attention after carrying three times for 42 yards and a touchdown while showing lots of grit, moxie and heart. A running back/receiver tweener who spent last season with the Jets and got more HBO face time than Ari Gold on Hard Knocks, Woodhead has the receiving chops to replace Faulk as the Patriots' often-used receiving back.
Now the bad news: Woodhead was on the field for 10 plays against the Bills, knows only a fraction of the playbook, and is getting a disproportionate amount of media attention because he has ever-so-much gumption-determination-pepper. Faulk was a fine player, but he was only useful in deep PPR leagues: he hadn't rushed for more than 80 yards in a game since 2004, and his touchdown production was unpredictable. If Woodhead is 80 percent as good as Faulk, he's not worth a fantasy selection.
Editor's Note: Pick a new fantasy team just for today and win real cash with Snapdraft!Sammy MorrisMorris had six carries for 19 yards last week and got two touches inside the Bills 10-yard line. A Bill Belichick favorite who can do all the little things (like pass blocking), Morris could sneak away with the goal line job. Remember, though, that the Patriots are more likely than most teams to go to an empty backfield in goal-to-go situations, so the "goal line back" could end up with very few opportunities. Keep Morris on your radar, though he'll probably just be the team's designated leech.
Fred TaylorTaylor has just 11 carries in the last two games and suffered a toe injury against the Bills. If you drafted him, hold onto him until you know the full extent of the injury; he could still play a significant role if he returns. Otherwise, stay away from him.
Aaron HernandezFlorida Gators fans know Hernandez well: he was
Tim Tebow's favorite receiver over the middle, catching 68 passes for Florida in the 2009 season. Hernandez is a superb all-purpose athlete who averaged 180 receiving yards per game and scoring 24 touchdowns as a high school senior while racking up 12 sacks at defensive end. He has become one of Brady's favorite targets, with 15 passes thrown to him in three games. Hernandez is a great fit in the Patriots offense because he not only works the middle of the field well but can block for Welker and others on screens. That means he will be on the field a lot, which will give him many opportunities. This is a great time of year to address your tight end depth, and Hernandez should be affordable.
Rob GronkowskiThe other Patriots rookie tight end. Gronkowski is bigger and a better blocker than Hernandez, and he already has two touchdowns. Gronkowski caught 10 touchdown passes while battling strep throat and mono during his junior year at Arizona (let's hope they let him keep the ball) but missed his senior season with a back injury. Gronkowski has only been thrown to six times, and chasing those goal line touchdowns by second tight ends is a great way to wind up with
Matt Spaeth on your roster. If you are itching for a tight end, pick Hernandez instead.
Brandon TateA talented runner-receiver-return man whose college career was cut short by an ACL injury, Tate has a kickoff return touchdown this season but also fumbled a reception away against the Bills. The Patriots are using him on reverses and as an alternative deep threat to Moss, but Tate has no real fantasy value.
Julian EdelmanLast year's Welker clone has been targeted five times and caught four passes for 14 yards. If you drafted Edelman as Welker insurance, he's worth keeping around. Otherwise, he's just another "work the middle" threat on a team that has a glut of players vying for that role.
Meanwhile, in DenverIf you are holding on to Maroney hoping that he will emerge as a goal-line specialist in Denver, last week's performance was a bad sign. In one series, Maroney got the ball on the one-yard line three times but failed to punch it in (the final attempt was called a touchdown, then overturned). On their next trip into the red zone, the Broncos elected to throw two passes to Gaffney on 2nd-and-1 and 3rd-and-1. Both passes were incomplete.
Maroney scored seven touchdowns in goal-to-go situations last year, but he also fumbled near the goal line twice and was stuffed at the one-yard line twice. In a game against the Jets, he needed three tries to punch the ball in. In other words, he's not much of a goal line runner. When
Knowshon Moreno returns, Maroney will probably find himself filling the same role he occupied in New England: talented disappointment who rarely plays.
Editor's Note: For early rankings every Tuesday morning, tons of exclusive columns, subscriber-only chats, full projections updated all week and much more, get our award-winning Season Pass.