Dr. Stat's Buy Low/Sell High: Week 2

As Week 2 of the NFL season approaches, it's time to assess the value of certain players on your roster. Whose value is low enough right now that you get them for less than they are worth? Whose value might be at its highest point of the season? I'll feature some players that fall under both categories here.

BUY LOW

Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and Roddy White

These three big name receivers combined for six catches in Week 1. Yes, they all had poor fantasy weeks, but don't label them as busts. In Edwards' case, he dropped more balls than he caught, and that won't be a weekly occurence. The Browns passing game looked out of sync for much of the game, Derek Anderson looked rusty and Donte Stallworth was out with an injury. Be patient with Edwards if you own him and don't be afraid to trade for him if his owner is in panic mode in your league.

As for Holmes, Hines Ward stole the show for Pittsburgh in Week 1, but Holmes is still the number one. Ward hasn't played 16 games in a season since 2004 and I don't expect him to this year. Also, Ward is known for several multiple TD-games each season, but he blanks more weeks than he scores. He caught seven TDs in 2007, but had two two-touchdown games. He had six TD catches in 2006, but three of them came in one game. In fact, he's only scored in consecutive weeks three times over the past three seasons. Look for Holmes to get back on track against a pathetic Cleveland secondary (even worse without Sean Jones now) this week.

In White's case, Atlanta ran the ball like crazy and Matt Ryan only attempted 13 passes in Week 1. The Falcons won't post huge leads like that many times this season, meaning they'll be forced to throw the ball a lot more to stay in games. White is the clear number one, as evidenced by the fact that no other receiver caught more than two passes and Michael Jenkins lucked out on a lone catch that went for a 62-yard touchdown.

Lawrence Maroney, New England Patriots

With Tom Brady out, the Patriots are going to be forced to move away from their drop back and throw it approach and move into a more conservative style of play. This will finally give Maroney the chance to prove his worth. He's always been considered a good running back on a pass-happy team and has a career average of 4.4 yards per carry in 28 career games. Sammy Morris will see carries as well and is Belichick's choice on passing downs and goal-line situations, but Maroney is primed for his first 1,000 yard season. Don't break the bank to get him, but his value as a RB2 rose considerably as Brady crumpled to the ground.

Other good buy-low candidates include Steve Slaton (Ahman Green is out with a high ankle sprain) and Earnest Graham (Jon Gruden says the Bucs will use him more). In deeper leagues, try trading for Julius Jones. While I don't have high expectations for Jones, a Maurice Morris knee sprain makes Jones the featured back. With Marques Colston out 4-6 weeks, the value of both Devery Henderson and David Patten just went up too.

SELL HIGH

Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks

Seattle's offense looked dreadful in Week 1 and now their receiving corps is even more banged up since they lost Nate Burleson for the season. I'd trade Hasselback while I still could, not so much because of him but more due to the fact that his weapons are either hurt or wouldn't be starting on any other team.

Torry Holt, St. Louis Rams

Holt caught one pass for nine yards on Sunday and didn't have the ball thrown his way even once outside of that. While his eight consecutive 1,100+ yard seasons deserve the benefit of the doubt, there's no ignoring the flashing "Bumpy Road Ahead" sign that looms over the Rams passing game. The Rams have lost Drew Bennett for at least six weeks and signed Eddie Kennison, who is even older than Holt, to replace him. Holt's stock is slipping, and it will plummet if Weeks 2 and 3 finish with similar results.

Wes Welker, New England Patriots

When Brady went down, no other player's value took a hit as hard as Welker's did. Moss saw his value drop too, but he can survive on sheer athletic ability and speed. Not that Welker isn't talented, but many of his 112 receptions last season were a result of Brady's precision in delivering him the ball in the slot. As I mentioned before, New England will be forced to run the ball more, and Welker's value, which hinged on 90+ catches, drops a little every time they hand the ball off in situations where Brady would have stepped back and nailed Welker over the middle.

Selvin Young, Denver Broncos

I'll say it again; Mike Shanahan must hate fantasy football. Four different Denver running backs (and one WR) received carries on Monday night. Young started, but got just seven touches. While he did score, it came in the fourth quarter with Denver up by 20. Michael Pittman got two goal-line carries for scores and Andre Hall led them all in rushes and yardage. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see Hall emerge as the starter and Pittman remain as the goal-line back, leaving Young to pick up whatever scraps remain. Trade him while he's still the number one running back on the depth chart.

I'M NOT GIVING UP ON

Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh

Sunday's game was beyond ugly, as Baltimore tamed the Bengals offense. Palmer had the worst game of his career, dragging his Pro-Bowl receivers down with him. I have seen too much from this crew to just give up on them after one week. However, I am seriously concerned and have them on a short leash. There aren't many bright spots in Cincinnati's schedule (if you haven't seen it, things don't get much easier until around Week 14) and fantasy owners don't have luxury of waiting for an easy matchup. This offensive unit needs to show some serious improvement in Week 2, not that it would be hard to improve on Sunday's travesty.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Don't overpay for Bears RB Matt Forte or Broncos WR Eddie Royal. Both had spectacular games in Week 1, but don't overreact. Forte faced a ho-hum Colts rushing defense (15th last season, improved by a healthy Sanders and Freeney, but still not spectacular) and his stats were greatly inflated by a 50-yard run. Outside of that, he had 22 carries for 53 yards, a 2.4 average. As for Royal, he won't catch nine passes (or face DeAngelo Hall) on a weekly basis, especially with Brandon Marshall returning this week. Teams will be more prepared for him, as no one expected that type of game out of the rookie. I can't wait to see how both Forte and Royal do in Week 2.

Michael Turner is the real deal, but don't go trading LT for him or anything like that. His 220 yards came against a terrible Lions defense and were helped by a 66-yard run. He's quick and has breakaway speed, but five of Atlanta's next six games are against much tougher defenses. I'm half-convinced that Jerome Bettis could piggyback ride Tiki Barber and rush for 100 yards against the Lions.

About the author:
Dr. Stat is a resident writer for rootzoo.com and many call him the best fantasy writer on the web. He gives some of the best advice on rootzoo's fantasy sports forum all for free. He creates some of rootzoo's best sports polls and is one of the biggest sports fans around.