The Fantasy Football Blog

In this week's fantasy football column, I warned to beware of good No. 2 wide receivers who change teams and become the go-to guy. Peerless Price (ATL-WR) was one who busted, Alvin Harper went from Dallas to Tampa Bay in 1995 looking to become a breakout star and struggled big-time. There are examples of this from virtually every year.

But there are exceptions to every rule. And this year's could be Plaxico Burress (NYG-WR). Burress has a few things going for him. For one, he's playing with Eli Manning (NYG-QB), who should progress into a good starter this year and (potentially) a great starter in the next few years. Secondly, Burress is going to a more wide-open offensive system. The Steelers like to pound the ball with the running game behind Duce Staley (PIT-RB) and Jerome Bettis (PIT-RB).

Last season, with both teams starting rookie QBs (Ben Roethlisberger for the Steelers) and Pittsburgh having much better WRs, the Giants attempted 475 passes to the Steelers' 358. This year, the gap may be even bigger and Burress should be the primary target. He'll be a No. 3 fantasy WR when you draft him, but he could turn into a strong No. 1 or 2.

DEEP SLEEPERS -- Some leagues start up to four WRs per team, which means that NFL team's No. 2 and No. 3 guys are needed to fill out your roster. Obviously, you need to be looking at potential sleepers in these leagues:

• Antwaan Randle El (PIT-WR) is the most likely player to take over for Burress as the No. 2 for the Steelers, who may throw more now that Roethlisberger is in his second year. Randle El is undersized, but he's a great athlete and could be a game-breaker if he wins the job outright.
  
• Tyrone Calico (TEN-WR) is one of those third-year guys who may make the leap. Calico is supremely talented and a big, big target. He missed the final 15 games of last season with a knee injury, but has been getting rave reviews in the preseason and could become Steve McNair's (TEN-QB) favorite target.
  
• Joey Galloway (TB-WR) hasn't been an exciting pick for years, but he'll be steady if he remains healthy. You can assume 40-55 catches and five or six TDs, not bad for a spot starter you'll only use on bye weeks.
  

INJURY RISK -- Rod Smith (DEN-WR) and Jimmy Smith (JAX-WR) have been very steady and productive over the years. Neither has missed much time in recent seasons, but both scare me. It's not that they will definitely break down because of their respective ages (Rod is 35, Jimmy is 36), but their rankings at Nos. 18 and 19 among wide receivers feels high because of that risk. I'm not sure it's worth taking them where you must. If they fall to your third starter, you'll be getting much better value.

UPDATED CHEAT SHEETS -- Some more minor movement with Andre Davis (NE-WR) dropping off the list after being traded from Cleveland. Rookie Ryan Moats (PHI-RB) moved into Correll Buckhalter's (PHI-RB) spot after it was announced Buckhalter would miss the season. Mike Anderson (DEN-RB) seems to be at least the No. 2 guy in Denver, so he took over for Quentin Griffin (DEN-RB). I'm giving the Broncos situation one more week before dropping Tatum Bell (DEN-RB) way down and moving Anderson way up. Also, Antonio Gates' (SD-TE) numbers were dropped by 1/16th since he's suspended for Week 1 and Tim Rattay (SF-QB) took over for rookie Alex Smith (SF-QB) as the No. 30 QB, but with lower expectations, since he won't hold off the No. 1 overall pick.

INJURY UPDATES -- Keep your fingers crossed this weekend as Week 3 of the preseason is generally when the starters remain in the games the longest. If they get through this week, most will play very, very little in Week 4.

An ankle injury will sideline Lee Suggs (CLE-RB) for this weekend and his status for Week 1 is still up in the air. Suggs was expected to emerge from camp as the team's No. 1 back, but Reuben Droughns (CLE-RB) and William Green (CLE-RB) still have a shot. We could also be looking at running back by committee.

Check back here during the day Friday for injury updates in italics. The next new post will come Monday morning.