Pick up K. Moreno? If so, drop who?

[steelglam]

I'm having a hard time deciding if I should put in a waiver claim for Knowshon Moreno this week. I am #1 in the waiver claim order, so I'll be sure to get him if I put in the claim. But I'm wondering if, given my roster, he will be useful to me, or if I should instead sit tight and hold on to the #1 claim in case I need something in the coming weeks.

With two weeks to go in the regular season, I am currently in 5th place in my league, fighting to get into 4th in order to make the playoffs.

If you think I should pick up Moreno, who would you suggest dropping?

I am currently weakest at the WR position, and I feel like Moreno will get me more points than any of my WRs. But at the same time I'm in a tough situation because I really have to play matchups at that position given that all the guys are about equal fantasy-wise this year, so it's good to have several on the bench to swap in and out. I also don't want to get rid of Seattle's D yet because it's got two better matchups than Chicago's in the coming several weeks, and with the injuries that the Bears' defense and special teams suffered this week, there may be a dropoff in its fantasy productivity. In terms of my RBs, even though Reece and Bryce Brown have been productive, they both will return to backup roles once McFadden and McCoy, respectively, return (it doesn't look like McCoy will return this week but McFadden might). So, maybe Moreno is more valuable than one of those guys, since barring injury he will probably be the starter for the rest of the season in Denver.

Here's my roster. We start 1 QB, 2 WRs, 2 RBs, 1 flex (RB/WR), 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 DEF.

QB: R. Griffin III, E. Manning
WR: L. Fitzgerald, H. Nicks, C. Shorts, B. Hartline, D. Alexander
RB: C. Johnson, T. Richardson, A. Bradshaw, M. Reece, B. Brown
TE: O. Daniels
K: J. Hanson
DEF/ST: Chicago, Seattle

Thanks for your thoughts!

[hotpocket]

I'd say you're pretty stacked at RB. Might be worth dropping Hartline for him though imo.

[bisklimpkit]

Now that Desean Jackson is on the IR, you may want to grab Maclin if he's available. If not, I'd probably sit tight. Moreno isn't someone you'd start over pretty much any of the RBs you've got.

[steelglam]

Thanks, folks. Unfortunately, Maclin isn't available...trust me, I checked!

I was thinking of axeing Hartline as well, but he has some pretty good matchups coming up, so I think I may want to hang onto him. The worst part is that he's been more reliable than both Nicks and Fitzgerald, who have been extremely frustrating to me this year. Their poor play (fantasy-wise...I know in reality it was not their faults) has single-handedly caused me to lose at least 2 games this year.

What about dropping Reece and picking up Moreno? I know that Reece has been good, but if McFadden comes back this week, do you think Moreno would be a better option than Reece moving forward? I imagine Reece will move to the backup when McFadden is back. I'd like to hang on to Bryce Brown because I doubt that LeSean McCoy will be back this week.

I'm thinking of a situation here where in several weeks, Reece and Bryce Brown may be both returned to backup roles and will not be valuable, in which case it might be good to have Moreno around in case Bradshaw has a bad matchup or something.

Then again, I could wait to use the waiver claim on a WR that emerges or someone drops. At the same, I don't know how probable that is this late in the season.

[hotpocket]

I think Reece has played well enough that he might earn some touches and maybe play on third downs with McFadden starting, but Moreno will probably be more valuable as long as McFadden is available to play.

I think it's a toss up between dropping Reece or Brown then. Just go with your gut. Both are good plays when the starter goes down, but they will both be getting limited touches once the starters come back.

[broseph jacobs]

First question: is Michael Bush available in your league? I might consider getting Bush ahead of Moreno.

If not, get Moreno. You can always pick up another DST if you had a droppable RB (if DMC or Shady come back and knock Reece/Bryce down a few pegs), but you CAN'T go out and get either of the RB's again once you've dropped them. Keep in mind that other teams need RB's as well, so picking him up can help ensure they don't gain strength at this critical time in the season. (Mean, right?)

Drop Seattle and get Moreno, imho. You have the highest scoring defense in fantasy history; no need for a second. Are you ever going to bench an explosive fantasy defense like Chicago? Don't drop any WR's or RB's. They (especially the RB's) are precious commodities. And hotpocket is right: Reece and Brown (especially Reece) still have value even if the first-stringers return. Reece has earned his keep. He won't vanish when Run DMC returns.

And I agree: Hartline is not a weak receiver in fantasy by any stretch. He's the #1 target in pass-happy Miami, he has big-game potential, and he is one of the highest targeted receivers in the league this year (14th overall). Plus, Miami's schedule is pretty cherry for the passing game from here on out.

[steelglam]

First question: is Michael Bush available in your league? I might consider getting Bush ahead of Moreno.

If not, get Moreno. You can always pick up another DST if you had a droppable RB (if DMC or Shady come back and knock Reece/Bryce down a few pegs), but you CAN'T go out and get either of the RB's again once you've dropped them. Keep in mind that other teams need RB's as well, so picking him up can help ensure they don't gain strength at this critical time in the season. (Mean, right?)

Drop Seattle and get Moreno, imho. You have the highest scoring defense in fantasy history; no need for a second. Are you ever going to bench an explosive fantasy defense like Chicago? Don't drop any WR's or RB's. They (especially the RB's) are precious commodities. And hotpocket is right: Reece and Brown (especially Reece) still have value even if the first-stringers return. Reece has earned his keep. He won't vanish when Run DMC returns.

And I agree: Hartline is not a weak receiver in fantasy by any stretch. He's the #1 target in pass-happy Miami, he has big-game potential, and he is one of the highest targeted receivers in the league this year (14th overall). Plus, Miami's schedule is pretty cherry for the passing game from here on out.

Thanks for the reply. Bush isn't available in my league, I checked.

As for Chicago's D, they had three starters go down this weekend, and Devin Hester is out. It is conceivable that they won't exactly be the same fantasy defense/special teams for the rest of the season. If Chicago falls off, playing Seattle's D against the Cards in Week 14 and against the Bills in Week 15 seems really attractive. Especially since Chicago plays the Packers in Week 15. If I dropped Seattle, the next best defense available in my league is....the Browns.

That's my concern.

[sfninersfan1981]

I agree with dropping the Seattle D for Moreno. I'm starting Chicago's defense in almost any situation anyways. Plus even though Seattle's top 2 corners will play THIS week, there's a solid chance they miss the next 4 games.

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[broseph jacobs]

I agree with dropping the Seattle D for Moreno. I'm starting Chicago's defense in almost any situation anyways. Plus even though Seattle's top 2 corners will play THIS week, there's a solid chance they miss the next 4 games.

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There ya go: two Niners fans telling you to drop Seattle HAHA!
But seriously, I really would do that.

Also,Don't worry about Bush not being available. Upon further investigation, I would NOT take Bush over Moreno. It's close, but I think Moreno's lasting value is certainly higher.