Fantasy Football 2013: 7 Players Who Will Recover From Slow Starts

Fantasy Football 2013: 7 Players Who Will Recover From Slow Starts

Every season of fantasy football has its disappointing players. The challenging part is figuring out when enough is enough. Is it time to hit the panic button with one of your starters? If you have Ahmad Bradshaw, yes it is. He went from leading a shared backfield to being Trent Richardson’s handcuff in one move.

Bradshaw had a nice Week 3 performance, but make no mistake about it — the Indianapolis Colts didn’t give up a first-round pick to add someone to a committee. Once Richardson learns the offense, the backfield will be his.

But there are some other players who deserve your patience despite a sub-par performance to this point in the young season. These are the guys who you not only don’t want to drop, but also want to try to buy low if you can. Every league has their nervous Nellies, and it is your right and duty to take advantage of them. It will only make them better GMs in the future.

Around Week 3 or 4 is when you want to start trying to sell your overperformers and buy some underperformers via trade. Don’t be afraid to propose a crazy one — there are no dumb trade proposals, just dumb people who might accept them.

Now, I’m not saying that you should be a total vulture. If someone is new to fantasy football, don’t take advantage of their ignorance. Take advantage of the people who should know better by now. Champions don’t sit around and hope the draft and waiver wire will be enough to win — they fight for every inch. Here are seven players you should fight for because your league members may be losing their patience with them too soon.

Aaron Charles is a Kansas City Chiefs writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on twitter @aaroncharleskc or add him to your network on Google

7. Maurice Jones-Drew

There is a decent argument against this one. The Jacksonville Jaguars are a mess, plus Jones-Drew is already having injury scares. Regardless, I expect a bounce back from MJD. This would not be the first bad team that he will put up solid fantasy numbers with, and you could probably get him pretty cheap at this point.

6. Arian Foster

An average of 9.3 fantasy points through three contests is a pretty big disappointment for someone who was a top-five pick in most drafts. Last season’s leader in rushing TDs should find the end zone more consistently after a slow start. I wouldn’t give up the too much for him considering Ben Tate's solid play thus far, but he is still Arian Foster. If somebody is selling for a decent price, I recommend buying.

5. Dwayne Bowe

Bowe has only managed 90 receiving yards and one TD through three games, but that should turn around soon. The new-look Kansas City Chiefs are still finding their identity on offense and will develop better chemistry with time. The emergence of Donnie Avery should also help take some attention away from opposing defenses.

4. Roddy White

Is there anything better than a wide receiver who gives you a heads up when he isn’t going to perform well? Don’t be discouraged by his four total points this season -- White will be back. Once his ankle is better, he will be a top-10 level receiver again. If his owners seem tired of waiting for him, now is the time to make your move.

3. Chris Johnson

Johnson is having a decent year that hasn’t translated to big fantasy points yet. He is getting respectable rushing yards, but has caught just two passes and has yet to reach the end zone. Considering the Tennessee Titans' sub-par offensive output thus far, taking full advantage of CJ2K’s versatility should be in the cards soon.

2. Tom Brady

Rob Gronkowski’s return is just around the corner and it should be a huge boost to Brady’s lackluster season. On top of that, the chemistry between him and his inexperienced receivers seems to be getting much better. Brady should be back to top-tier status very soon so if you're going to take a shot at him, do it quickly.

1. Trent Richardson, Andrew Luck, Reggie Wayne, and T.Y. Hilton

It is doubtful many fantasy owners will want to give up Richardson now that he is on a team that will score consistently. However, there is a chance that the Richardson trade has put too many Colts on a few fantasy teams out there. Some GMs like having a high ceiling and therefore don’t like having too many players from the same team. Those who already had Andrew Luck, Reggie Wayne, or T.Y. Hilton as well as Richardson may be looking to shed one of them. These guys haven't exactly been dropping jaws yet, so you should be able to get them for less than what they're worth.