Fantasy Football Radar: Four Players You Must Keep an Eye on

The second half of the season gets under way Thursday (so remember to set your rosters everyone) and one of the best parts of the second half is the insight we are afforded by teams that have no chance at making the playoffs.

Teams such as Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Detroit, are out of the race, and it’s around this time of year where teams who are no longer in the hunt begin taking a look at their future players and/or bench warmers for evaluation.

For those of you in Dynasty leagues, this offers a great way to take a peek into the possibilities of the future, while those of you in PPR leagues have the opportunity to take advantage of some players making some noise in the NFL, even if it is for just a short period of time.

Let’s take a look at three offensive players and one IDP player that should be on your watch list, and your team if you’re hurting.

Leonard Weaver-RB-Philadelphia Eagles: Weaver has had two weeks in a row where he was given eight carries in each game and has shown some glimpses into what he is capable of.

On the season, Weaver has been given 20 carries for 124 yards and a TD, he has also caught 7 balls for 35 yards and a TD out of the backfield, and even has an 18 yard kick return—and this guy is technically a fullback!

The most interesting part though, is in 10 years as a head coach, Reid has given his full backs a total of 59 carries proving there is something Reid really likes about Weaver.

Weaver is a very intriguing consideration for Dynasty leaguers and could be a short opportunistic pick considering the Eagles always use a two-back system.

Gary Barnidge-TE-Carolina Panthers: With Dante Rosario sidelined with a knee injury, and the Panthers feverishly trying to find another scoring threat other than their overused RBs, Gary Barnidge has suddenly become an interesting option in Fantasy.

He has proven himself the best receiving TE in Carolina, and when he sees three or more targets he is averaging just over 15 yards a catch.

The Panthers will give Barnidge more looks in the coming weeks with Rosario out, and he is worth a pickup for those desperate at TE. He should be kept in Dynasty leagues since the Panthers will undoubtedly be in rebuild mode next year.

Landon Johnson- WLB - Carolina Panthers: Thomas Davis is out for the year, and Landon Johnson is in at WLB and if you hurting in your IDP league you would be smart to pick this guy up.

The Panthers live on the Cover Two style defense with a lot of emphasis on the WLB position, this makes any player at that position in Carolina particularly valuable and he should be an immediate Fantasy impact player.

He should be on your waiver list, and you would be wise to grab him before it’s too late.

Lance Long- WR - Kansas City Chiefs: Lance Long led the Chiefs in total targets last week vs. the Jags and has taken over the slot position. Matt Cassel has shown trust in Long, and the coaching staff has already committed to giving him some extended playing time for further evaluation.

I don’t think Long is going to wind up being an everyday starter in the future, but owners in PPR leagues who need a receiver may want to consider picking him up since the coaching staff has basically given him the vote of confidence.

The slot is Cassel’s bread and butter since it’s his only real way of attempting to control the game making Long a nice pickup.

For Week 10 WR Start-Sit Rankings of over 20 players and FREE interactive Start Sit advice visit my column here !

Good luck this week everyone!