QB Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers
Alex Smith continues to be overlooked despite being pretty darn effective in his starts. Take out his goose egg against the Bears in a shortened week and Smith has 11 touchdown passes in five weeks. This week against the Seahawks should translate to at least a couple more touchdowns.

RB Jerious Norwood, Atlanta Falcons
With Michael Turner nursing an ankle injury, Jerious Norwood may finally get his time to shine. He appears to be ahead of Jason Snelling on the depth chart and his career numbers indicate he can gain yards in a hurry.

WR Robert Meachem, New Orleans Saints
For a wide receiver who has five touchdowns in the last four weeks, Robert Meachem receives an amazingly low amount of respect in fantasy football. It’s time to put him in starting lineups, sit back and enjoy.

TE Dante Rosario, Carolina Panthers
In the last two weeks, Dante Rosario has had over 100 yards receiving on eight catches. Against the Bucs and with Jake Delhomme banged up, Rosario could see the ball a ton.

Robert Meachem is a deceptively dominant fantasy WR (Image: Zuma Press)

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RB Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
Westbrook hasn’t been able to play and is a game-time decision.

RB Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins
Once again this week, Portis will be a game-time decision due to a knee injury.

RB Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
Bush is listed as questionable and was able to practice on Saturday, but many expect the Saints to hold him out another week.

RB Jerious Norwood, Atlanta Falcons
Norwood is questionable. Look elsewhere for a starter.

QB Plaxico Burress, New York Giants
Burress is listed as questionable but is looking more likely than not to play.

WR Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons
Although listed as questionable, White practiced on Friday and very well could play.

WR Derrick Mason, Baltimore Ravens
Mason is listed as questionable but should play.

TE Kellen Winslow, Cleveland Browns
Winslow is listed as questionable. He’ll be a game-time decision.

K Jason Elam, Atlanta Falcons
Elam is listed as questionable and shouldn’t be trusted in Week 12.

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The Falcons have the third pick in the 2008 NFL draft and have plenty of directions they can go with the pick. However, the Falcons already made noise this offseason by signing Michael Turner. Turner, who many league experts think was the best running back on the open market, was signed to become the team’s new starting running back. After beginning his career with the San Diego Chargers behind LaDainian Tomlinson, Turner will try to prove he’s an every-down back with Atlanta.

Since the Falcons now have Turner and returning running back Jerious Norwood under contract, chances are the Falcons won’t look to draft a running back with the third pick of the draft. That means Darren McFadden will almost positively not be their pick.

Although they have good options at running back, quarterback still remains a big weakness for the Falcons. Last season, the Falcons lost both Vick and his backup (Matt Schaub). After trying various players at the quarterback position in 2007, the Falcons currently have Chris Redman and Joey Harrington signed. While both of those players are decent backup quarterbacks, the Falcons desperately need a franchise quarterback.

With that in mind, Matt Ryan is the obvious choice for the Falcons with the third overall pick. Ryan, the number one rated quarterback in the 2008 NFL draft, has played well in front of scouts and most experts expect him to go in the top ten. If Ryan is on the board, he’d be a very nice pick for the Falcons. If Ryan isn’t on the board, defensive players Chris Long and Glenn Dorsey would make sense.

Check out this Matt Ryan video:

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This was a fantastic signing by the Falcons. Turner is the type of player you can build an offense around. He’s tough, strong and has a good open field burst. The only question remaining is whether he’s durable enough to survive a 16 game season.

Even though the Falcons offense is still a work in progress, Turner should be in line for a quality 2008 fantasy football season. An early projection for him would be 1,200 yards and eight touchdowns. In a fantasy football draft, Turner will likely go in the second or third round.

The Chargers won’t be affected too much by this move. Tomlinson is still their main horse and they’ll find someone to be his main backup. Perhaps even Darren Sproles, who came to life last season in the playoffs.

In Atlanta, the big loser appears to be Jerious Norwood. Every fantasy owner was waiting for Norwood to break out in a big way in 2008. With Turner likely being the starter, Norwood will continue the same role he’s been in the last couple of seasons. While some are speculating that Norwood and Turner will split carries, don’t count it. The Falcons didn’t bring in Turner to be a part-time back.

Warrick Dunn has been a real professional with the Falcons over the last handful of years but expect him to be released soon. Dunn probably has enough gas in the tank to serve as a quality backup running back somewhere. Perhaps with the Dallas Cowboys behind Marion Barber.

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Fred Taylor, Jacksonville Jaguars
It seems like Fred Taylor is underrated every season. Expect that to hold true in 2008. While Maurice Jones-Drew gets all the publicity, Taylor is the workhorse on the team and is arguably the best player on the team.

Laurence Maroney, New England Patriots
Fantasy football owners will look at Laurence Maroney’s lukewarm 2007 campaign and won’t feel compelled to select him too early. But if you watched the Patriots closely, you would have realized how much more important he became later in the season. Expect that to carry over in 2008.

Willie Parker, Pittsburgh Steelers
Willie Parker has a lot of negative surrounding him right now. He’s coming off of a major injury. He had only two touchdowns in 2007. His backup, Najeh Davenport, played very well. Even with all that, Parker is an extremely solid running back prospect who should find the end zone more in 2008.

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Jerious Norwood, Atlanta Falcons
Will this be the week that Norwood finally gets a chance to take over the running back job in Atlanta? Everything he’s shown to this point in his career shows that he deserves more carries. He’s averaged more than six yards per carry over his first 20 games in the league. Last week, he had only six carries but finished the game with 87 yards and a touchdown. This week against the Saints, Norwood could finally get the carries to become a quality back in fantasy football.

Damon Huard, Kansas City Chiefs
Huard has a favorable matchup against the Raiders and some hot receivers. Dwayne Bowe has been a huge story early this season as he’s already transitioned into a starting quality wide receiver. However, even more importantly, Tony Gonzalez is back in the mix and is playing very well. Huard and Gonzalez had hooked up repeatedly last week against the Bengals. That should be no different this week against Oakland.

Demetrius Williams, Baltimore Ravens
Against the Jets, the Ravens should be able to move the ball on offense. If they do and get into the red zone, Williams is a likely target for a touchdown. He’s big and has good leaping ability. With Todd Heap sidelined, he could very well be the go-to receiver when it comes to getting the ball into the end zone.

Greg Olsen, Chicago Bears
If Olsen is still available in your league, pick him up. All indications are that he becoming a big part of Chicago’s offense. While the matchup isn’t great this week against the Eagles, Olsen should see plenty of passes thrown his way. As the season moves along, Olsen is quickly becoming a tight end worthy of a starting spot on a consistent basis.

Photo credit: NFL.com

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