Fantasy Football Week 9: How Braylon Edwards Can Salvage Your Season

Is Braylon Edwards your saving grace?

OK I don’t think anybody has asked that question before, but this guy is about to be a must-start every week receiver.

An odd thing to say about a guy that has yet to register 100 yards on the season, but watching him catch four balls for 42 yards on seven targets against the Browns Sunday is all I needed to see.

He hurt his knee in Week 2 and underwent surgery to repair it. By the looks of the way he was running routes, everything is fine. He has been “limited” in practice this week, but there is little doubt that he’ll suit up according to Rotoworld.

The speed is still there, and he didn’t magically shrink. The 6'3" receiver is one of the taller receivers in the game and has instantly turned into the go-to receiver inside the 20-yard line. He was second in targets to Michael Crabtree last week, but I anticipate that as Smith develops better chemistry with Edwards, that will be changing soon.

Crabtree has never fully justified being a top-10 pick and he can be very inconsistent for large chunks of game action. He certainly doesn’t have the impressive track record of Edwards.

The seventh-year receiver out of Michigan has racked up 5,232 yards and 39 TDs in his career while dealing with mediocre to awful QBs in Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn and Mark Sanchez throwing him passes. Even Smith is an upgrade over Anderson and Quinn.

With horrific pass defenses in Seattle, Arizona (X2), St. Louis (X2) and the New York Giants still on the slate…Edwards is going to have plenty of juicy matchups.

As the chemistry builds and Edwards develops more trust in his knee to make more precise cuts—this is the sort of pickup that you’ll look back at and smile while hoisting your fantasy trophy.