Week 1 *2010 Fantasy Football Keepers and Sleepers - Wide Receivers (WRs)* Week 1

Welcome to another year of fantasy football. Drafts are finishing up around the country and the NFL season is slated to kickoff Thursday September 9^th with the defending Super Bowl champions the New Orleans Saints taking on Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. After that the real fun begins with football on all day Sunday and a double header for Monday Night.

And the start to another fantasy football season means the start to my Keepers and Sleepers articles that are written every week to help you decide who to start and who to sit. Along with this advice you can now follow me on twitter @babybluemonkey for in game updates. If that's not enough I went out and created my very own fantasy football website at www.babybluemonkey.com. I am a member in good standing for the Fantasy Sports Writers Association (FSWA) and also write tons of other articles at Helium and Associated Content.

But enough about me, we are here for football and let's get down to it. Every week I will break down 5 keepers and 5 sleepers for both running backs (RBs) and wide receivers (WRs). For definition purposes a keeper is a guy you should be playing but might be having reservations about. A sleeper is a guy you have on the bench or on the waiver wire that you need to get into your active lineup for that week. So without further ado I give you the 2010 week 1 fantasy football WR keepers and sleepers:

Keepers

1) Michael Crabtree - This guy was consistently drafted after the fifth round. In my eyes he's a legitimate threat and a borderline WR1. I snagged him on as many teams as I could. Alex Smith is an average quarterback and San Francisco has a great ground game which should allow for plenty of improvement from last year's impressive numbers. Mike Singletary will establish the ground game against a lost Seattle team and that'll open up the lanes for Crabtree to shine in his first game of 2010. 100 yards and 1 TD are attainable and Crabtree is an excellent WR2 or Flex play.

2) Percy Harvin - Sidney Rice is down and Favre will look to throw to someone he can trust. Enter Percy Harvin. Everyone sees Rice going down as a bad thing... I think it is exactly what Harvin needs to have a truly breakout year. I wish I had known earlier about Rice (so does Favre) as I would have drafted more of Harvin. The first game of the season against the New Orleans Saints will be a shootout and Harvin will be involved extensively. Make sure you start him.

3) Dez Bryant - This is more of a gut call than anything. I have been impressed with the way Dez Bryant has handled himself at camp, in front of the media, and with his teammates. He suffered a high ankle sprain but he is absolutely determined to make it into the lineup for the week 1 game against the rival Washington Redskins. The Dallas starters have looked like complete crap in preseason so this pick might be a stretch but character and perseverance say a lot about an individual. I see a touchdown in this game and some decent yardage.

4) Malcolm Floyd - This just in. Vincent Jackson and Darrell Revis are idiots. If you show good faith then you will get rewarded. Now these two risk the entire 2010 season at the expense of money. Shut up and honor your contract or work hard and get rewarded earlier rather than later. Hell, if Chris Johnson can do it then these two buffoons should follow suit. OK I'm done, start Malcolm Floyd and you, the fantasy football player, will be rewarded with a nice effort that will make Floyd a scare find on the waiver wire after this game.

5) Wes Welker - Amazing. I'm no doctor but again character and perseverance say a lot about an individual. The New England Patriots are lucky they have someone with this amount of class and dedication on their team. He won't catch a 50 yard bomb but he will score in this game a produce a touchdown. If there is still time I would definitely trade for this guy. As solid a WR2 as they come.

Sleepers

1) Mike Wallace - With all the drama going on in Pittsburgh this off season involving a particular QB it was hard to dig into stats last year and a lot of people wrote the Steelers off this year. One little tidbit worth knowing; no receiver had more yards per catch than Mike Wallace last year. And that was with Santonio Holmes on the team. Sure Big Ben isn't playing for the first 4 games (no way it goes to 6) but Mike Wallace is an excellent choice to start in your WR2 or flex position.

2) Johnny Knox - There has been a lot of talk about Devin Aromashodu being the sleeper on the Chicago Bears. This has caused Johnny Knox to fall further than Aromashodu during drafts. Here's the thing, Knox already has a rapport with Cutler and if you follow the statistics easy to see that Knox is the WR2 on the team and will get the most opportunities. I like Aromashodu but not more than Knox. Chicago plays Detroit and I actually expect this game to be a gunslingers battle with Cutler and Stafford lighting up the sky. Knox should get some decent yardage and a score.

3) Jacoby Jones - Matt Schaub and the Houston Texans like to throw the ball. Andre Johnson can only be targeted so many times in a game. I think this game will go exactly like the preseason game except Indy might actually show up. The secondary in Indy is weak and I think Schaub attacks it again. It should be a high scoring game with Jones landing a few key targets and getting a few red zone looks.

4) Victor Cruz - A deep sleeper if I ever saw one. He looks like he will make the 53 man roster on the Giants. I hate to admit it but Eli Manning isn't that bad (he' not that good either), he's the $100 million average quarterback. BUT that being said, Steve Smith will get his looks and there will be some trickle down with the rest of the passes. This should leave Cruz open for some key plays and man on man coverage. I think Eli hits him for around 75 yards and maybe just maybe a TD. If the rook handles this then I expect his stock to rise and for him to see more balls coming his way.

5) Danny Amendola - Donnie Avery is now out for the year and Sam Bradford is looking like he will start week 1. Truth is I liked Amendola before Avery got hurt and now I'm semi-bullish on him. He reminds me of a Wes Welker type and he is supposed to lineup in the slot which to me screams receptions all over it. Bradford will be looking to get rid of the ball quick and I think this guy posts some decent numbers game to game and even for the season. That and Arizona sucks too. So it should be a decent game and Amendola should get some decent yardage with maybe a TD but more likely not (again think Welker).

There you have it. The first edition of Keepers and Sleepers 2010 for wide receivers is in the books. Be sure to read the running backs edition and check back weekly. Bookmark, delicious, Facebook, and other methods of thanking me for this article are appreciated. Check www.babybluemonkey.com for up-to-date information on this year's fantasy football season. @babybluemonkey will give you in game tweets on twitter. Thanks for reading this one guy's opinion in the vast sea known as the World Wide Web. Good luck on your season and feel free to email me with questions on my bio page.