Meant to get this posted yesterday after starting the topic, but got busy with other stuff... Here's the list of guys I'm keeping a close eye on, if not already stashing.
QBs:
Ryan Mallett Couldve been added and subsequently dropped after getting his shot in Houston, then getting hurt. Ive always thought he just might have the talent to be a pretty useful fantasy QB, and his first start showed that. He was hurt in warm-ups for his second game, in which he looked pretty bad. Im willing to give him a pass for that and see what happens this offseason.
Brock Osweiler Believe it was EBF that said he was very inconsistent when he played at ASU, yet he was still drafted in the 2nd round by a team thats done a fairly good job in the draft. The following year, there was talk hed have been in play first the first QB taken, had he stayed in school another season. Not much better place for development than learning behind the GOAT for 2 years, and while Manning likely plays 2015 (I think he will) at his age, you just never know. Maybe they win it all, and The Sherriff decides to ride off into the sunset. Osweiler may not be Aaron Rodgers, but the weapons will be elite, and he may be pretty good himself.
RBs:
Theo Riddick Mentioned by others, but Ill add my 2 cents here as Ive had Riddick stashed most of this season. I think hes shown quite well as the passing game back when Bush has missed time. Ill also add that Bush gets expensive after this year, with his cap hit rising to $5.3MM with $2MM in dead money, meaning (if Im not mistaken) the Lions can save $3.3MM by letting him go and giving that role to Riddick. They could even designate him a June 1 cut and spread that $2MM over 2015 and 2016 if they want, thereby saving over $4MM against the 2015 cap. Its a realistic outcome IMO, and Riddick would be the clear beneficiary as the lighting to Bells thunder.
Joseph Randle Likely owned by the Murray owner, but if not, pounce. Murray has stayed healthy, but hes also been run into the ground this year and is a FA next year. I would expect the Cowboys to do everything they can to keep him, but they dont exactly have the cleanest cap situation. Randles looked strong this year with his opportunities (a lot of that due to the OL no doubt), and conceivably could be in position to take over in the event of a Murray injury or Murray not coming back due to contract issues.
Lorenzo Taliaferro May have been dropped with his lack of carries the past few weeks, but remember Taliaferro came from a small school and may take longer to transition to the league. Hes big with a good short-yardage skill set, but he also has some receiving ability which makes for a pretty nice package in fantasy. Forsett isnt the long term answer, and Pierce doesnt appear to be that good. Taliaferro may start getting more chances as the Ravens red zone back after their struggles scoring TDs the past few weeks. Regardless, holding here may pay off big time in 2015 hes a good fit for that offense.
Glenn Winston May need to move quickly here with Crowell banged up and West in the doghouse. Winston has been rumored to get carries this week potentially, and has been rumored for a while to have quite a bit of talent. His off-field red flags were serious, so its no surprise theres no draft pedigree here. From my understanding, including google and twitter searches to find anything, hes built like a brick ####house and the Browns are high on him (claiming him off waivers immediately after the 49ers released him at final cuts). Theres even some posts on twitter suggesting Browns FO personnel have hinted things like, If you like what youre seeing from Crowell and West, just wait till Winston gets the ball. Who knows if thats true, but in that running game Id like to find out.
Antonio Andrews Utterly bombed the combine (4.8 40, sub 30 Vert, sub 9 Broad), but prior to that some in the draft community thought he had some talent. Ended up with Tennessee as a UDFA and made the practice squad, and was then added to the active roster to prevent Buffalo from stealing him (which tells me at least 2 teams see talent there). I have no idea why Tennessee continues to play Shonn Greene outside of possibly trying to save face for an atrocious contract to a dude thats just not good, but you have to think they give Andrews a shot at the big back role pretty soon and its not like Sankey is really blocking the way to feature back duties.
Zurlon Tipton Deep league special here, but at Central Michigan he played quite well as a junior, rushing for over 1500 yards and 20 TDs before breaking his ankle in his first game in 2013. Made the Colts as an UDFA (subsequently sent to practice squad after a roster crunch)and is a big kid at nearly 6 and 225 lbs. While he lacks long speed (4.7 flat 40 at his pro day), hes a pretty good athlete with a 32 Vert, 911 Broad, and a 3-cone of 6.89. The Colts are souring on Trent (hes just not getting it done), and right now Tipton stands one spot away from a big piece of a big-time running game. If Trent or Herron went down, we could see some action. As for 2015 and beyond, who knows?
Lache Seastrunk
