AFC East
New England – LaMont Jordan, RB – The Pats want to rotate in backs to keep Maroney fresh, and even with that plan Maroney will probably get hurt. That makes Jordan – who was once the biggest bust in fantasy football – a possible starting RB for possibly the best team in the league.
Miami – Chad Pennington, QB – Hey, stop laughing. The Dolphins’ have talent at WR (Ted Ginn, Derek Hagan) even if they haven’t shown it yet and they’ll need to throw the ball because they’ll be behind in every single game. In larger (12+) leagues, he’s a legitimate backup QB. In smaller leagues, somebody will use him as a bye week fill-in.
Buffalo – James Hardy, WR – Hardly a sleeper, but people may be underrating him due to his hamstring injury and the uncertainty around Trent Edwards. He won’t get a lot of yards but he should be the target once Marshawn Lynch moves the team into the red zone.
NY Jets – Dustin Keller, TE – Yes, the Jets have Chris Baker and Bubba Franks at TE, but the Jets didn’t draft Keller in the first round so he can sit behind a retread like Franks. Favre loves throwing to the TE and he’ll probably need to a lot this year.
AFC North
Pittsburgh – Limas Sweed, WR – Hines Ward is back from injury, but the Steelers are going to take it easy with him and that opens up playing time. Nate Washington will see time, but Sweed is the one who will make the highlight reel.
Baltimore – Ray Rice, RB – RB Willis McGahee is injured, slow, and quickly wearing out his welcome. The Ravens drafted Ray Rice as the future, and the future may start in Week 1 due to McGahee’s injury. Serously, I'm really, really concerned with McGahee.
Cleveland – Josh Cribbs, WR – Joe Jurevicius is going to miss the first six weeks of the season with an injury, so the Browns need somebody to step up. They’ll need two people to step up if Dante’ Stallworth doesn’t pan out. Enter Josh Cribbs, who made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist but will be playing WR this season. He may start off slowly due to his own injuries, but you’ll hear his name before midseason.
Cincinnati – Chris Henry, WR – Are you worried about the WR situation in Cincy, with TJ Houshmandzadeh grumpy and Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco both banged up and grumpy? Well, the Bengals sure are, because they took a huge PR hit and re-signed troublemaker Chris Henry. Henry could be a starter for the Bengals by Week Three or Four.
