Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Two weeks of football are now behind us in this young season and injuries impacting the fantasy playing field are already starting to pile up. I know this first hand after getting burned by early game injuries to Jonathan Stewart and Arian Foster just to name a few!  Regardless of if you've been unfortunate to lose key players on your fantasy team to injury or not, this advice is geared to help better position yourselves with waiver picks for both the short and long term.

Note: all waiver picks listed here will have only been owned in 50% or less of Yahoo leagues at the time of publication.

Quarterback

Ryan Tannehill (MIA) - 29% owned - Tannehill was involved heavily last week against the Patriots, netting 389 yards and 2 TDs on 45 pass attempts while also adding another 35 yards on the ground from 6 carries. With Foster's status up in the air for week 3 you should expect similar results from Tannehill against a beatable Cleveland defense.

Honorable mention: Joe Flacco (BAL) - 29% owned

Running Back

Jerick McKinnon (MIN) - 24% owned - It's been announced that Adrian Peterson suffered a torn meniscus in week 2 which should leave him sidelined this coming week if not longer. This makes McKinnon a must add as the favorite for early down work in the Vikings backfield. The only downside is history has shown McKinnon will lose goal-line touches to Matt Asiata which limits his touchdown potential.

Fozzy Whittaker (CAR) - 5% owned - After Jonathan Stewart injured his hamstring last week Whittaker entered the game and put up 100 yards rushing on 16 carries while adding another 31 yards on 3 receptions.  Stewart is expected to miss either one or two games with his injury which makes Whittaker a good bet to start while he is sidelined. The matchup isn't ideal against a tough Vikings defense, but if you are in a bind and need a starting running back for the week Whittaker is available.

Honorable mention: Matt Asiata (MIN) - 2% owned

Wide Receiver

Tyrell Williams (SD) - 48% owned - Williams looks to be the number two passing option in San Diego after the season ending injuries keep piling up to the Chargers skill players; Danny Woodhead was the latest victim after they already lost Keenan Allen and Stevie Johnson. As long as he can avoid the injury curse going around he is a good bet for week to week fantasy production on a pass happy team with a terrible defense.

Victor Cruz (NYG) - 37% owned - Cruz has been showing signs of life after missing the last season and a half from a patellar tendon tear, putting up 8 catches on 12 targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. I still think he needs to show a little more before I would trust him in my line up, but I also think this is the week to invest and put a waiver claim since it could pay off big if he can return to his old form.

Honorable mention: Jamison Crowder (WAS) - 6% owned

Tight End

Dennis Pitta (BAL) - 11% owned - Pitta has had an extremely injury-riddled career but he is healthy (for the moment) and looks to have a big role in the Ravens offense after grabbing 9 receptions for 102 yards on 12 targets. This type of volume would put him in the weekly TE1 conversation if it were to continue so he's worth a grab.

Honorable mention: Jacob Tamme (ATL) - 6% owned

Defense/Special Teams

Miami Dolphins (MIA) - 7% owned - The Dolphins defense are an interesting streaming play this week since Cleveland is forced to start their rookie 3rd string quarterback Cody Kessler. History shows Kessler is likely to make mistakes in his first start which means Miami is a good bet to rack up fantasy points

Week 10 starts off with the Chargers and Raiders on Thursday Night Football, and while the QBs aren't rated particularly high (Philip Rivers at 9 and Derek Carr at 15), I do expect there to be a lot of points scored in this game between players like Hunter Henry, Tyrell Williams, and Josh Jacobs. Good luck this week!

Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck this season and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!