For the Browns, their biggest change is at quarterback. Derek Anderson, who was fantastic last season but struggled in the 2008 fantasy football season, has been benched and Brady Quinn has been elevated to starter. Quinn is a second year player out of Notre Dame who had a very successful college career.

Quinn will likely have a learning curve in his transition to the NFL, but he’s going against a very friendly defense. He also has a number of talented players surrounding him in the Browns offense including wide receiver Braylon Edwards. If you need an emergency starter at quarterback, Quinn is a good option to have at least 200 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL start.

For the Broncos, the questions are at running back. With Michael Pittman and Andre Hall both out for the season due to recent injuries and Selvin Young still not 100% healthy, rookie running back Ryan Torain will get the start. Torain is expected to carry the load, with Young filling in for a few carries. However, the Broncos running back situation is almost always difficult to analyze so start Torain only if you must.

Overall, expect a high scoring affair with many fantasy points also being scored for almost everyone involved.

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RB Michael Pittman, Denver Broncos
Selvin Young is out for Week 6 and Andre Hall isn’t 100%. With that in mind, Michael Pittman could become the lead back in Denver very soon. He already gets goal line carries and a lot of 3rd down action. Pretty soon he may become the lead back.

WR Chad Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals
Can Chad Ocho Cinco play any worse? The answer is likely no. With his status at an all-time low, now is a great time to go out and buy. If you can hold him on your bench for the time being, he could regain his mojo later in the year and be one of the best fantasy receivers.

TE Kellen Winslow, Jr., Cleveland Browns
The entire Cleveland Browns offense isn’t as strong as it was last year. Kellen Winslow, Jr. is feeling the effects of the downturn. The good news is that he’s still very talented and chances are very good that he’ll end the year as a top five tight end.

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QB Matt Cassel, New England Patriots
Not too long ago, fantasy football owners were rushing to get their hands on Matt Cassel after Tom Brady went down injured. Now his fantasy stock has plummeted. But give the guy time and remember, he still has Randy Moss on his side.

RB Ryan Torain, Denver Broncos
Currently, the Broncos are using a three-headed monster at running back with Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Michael Pittman. That could all change when Ryan Torain comes back if he’s able to impress the coaches again.

WR Chris Henry, Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals offense looks dead in the water. Chad Ocho Cinco doesn’t play like he’s related to Chad Johnson. That said, once Chris Henry comes back for Cincinnati following his suspension, he could become a very important part of that offense.

TE Dustin Keller, New York Jets
Brett Favre typically loves to pass to his tight ends, especially close to the end zone. While Dustin Keller has started off too amazingly, the rookie tight end for the Jets is starting to show signs of life. Keep an eye on him.

K Matt Prater, Denver Broncos
Jason Elam was the kicker for the Broncos forever. However, Matt Prater has stepped in and already has Broncos fans forgetting all about Elam. Prater has a strong long and should get plenty of opportunities in Denver’s high powered offense.

D New York Jets
The Jets defense hasn’t been too impressive yet this season but with all their free agent signings, this is a team that was bound to get off to a relatively slow start. Once they begin to mesh together, expect the Jets to become much better — especially defensively.

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Fantasy Running Back Sleeper
Selvin Young, Denver Broncos
While you can expect Selvin Young to have to split carries, he’s a player who could very easily finish 2008 with 1,200+ rushing yards. His touchdowns might not come as regularly as you’d like but he should be a solid option as a third running back on a fantasy football team.

Fantasy Wide Receiver Sleeper
Devin Hester, Chicago Bears
As we’ve been saying for the last couple months, Devin Hester is a low risk, high reward type player for 2008. He’s going to start at wide receiver for the Bears and will likely see a lot of balls thrown his way. As we all know, once he has the football in his hands, he’s as dangerous as anyone in the game.

Fantasy Tight End Sleeper
Owen Daniels, Houston Texans
Owen Daniels is getting ignored a bit due to not scoring many touchdowns last year and playing on a team that didn’t get much fantasy attention. However, Daniels ended last year with 63 catches and 768 yards for the Texans. In his third year, he could really start to blossom.

Fantasy Kicker Sleeper
Josh Scobee, Jacksonville Jaguars
If you want to wait on drafting your fantasy kicker, consider taking Josh Scobee late in the draft. He was injured for much of last season but kicked very well once he got healthy enough to play. This season, the Jaguars should be able to move the ball offensively quite easily.

Fantasy Defense Sleeper
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have long been considered an elite fantasy football defense. This year, a lot of experts are saying they will be sub par. While they may struggle at times, the Ravens are too talented to totally fall out of the top ten.

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Frank Gore – With Mike Martz at the helm, Frank Gore’s numbers will likely take another hit in 2008. His numbers in 2006 may end up being an anomaly.

Larry Johnson – The Kansas City Chiefs are just a bad team and Larry Johnson won’t have much running room to do anything.

Ryan Grant – Inspiring breakout performance last season but expecting lightning to strike twice is wishful thinking.

Jamal Lewis – Last season, Jamal Lewis wanted revenge. This season Lewis’ age will likely catch up to him.

Ronnie Brown – Bill Parcells and the Miami Dolphins don’t have any reason to be indebted to Ronnie Brown. Tread carefully.

Willie Parker – Willie Parker didn’t get many touchdowns last season and this season the Steelers used a first rounder on a running back.

Selvin Young – The Broncos should gain a lot of yards on the ground this season. The problem is guessing which of their dozen running backs to pick.

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According to the report, Henry tested positive for marijuana in May. Although he found out, he kept the information from the Broncos. A few weeks later, the Broncos waived him.

If this report is true, Henry’s NFL career is likely over. He all but certainly will get suspended for a year. Even if he is let back into the league, he’ll be on the other side of 30.

Henry, at his best, was a fantasy football power. Now if he’s on your fantasy football dynasty team, it’s safe to release him. He won’t be playing football anytime soon.

The Broncos will likely turn to Michael Pittman, Selvin Young, Mike Bell, Andre Hall or Ryan Torain at running back in 2008. Denver, like always, has plenty of options at that position — any of which could turn into a fantasy football stud.

Is Travis Henry’s career over?

Photo: Newscom

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This move has major fantasy football impact because Henry was slated to be the team’s starter. As a starter for the Broncos, Henry would have held a lot of value.

Depending on where Henry winds up, he could hold decent value or no value. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which Henry becomes more valuable since the Broncos were a perfect fit for his running style.

With Henry out of the picture, the Broncos have a lot of running backs to pick from when choosing the 2008 starter. The team recently signed Michael Pittman and he will be given a chance. Andre Hall, Selvin Young, Mike Bell and Ryan Torain are other options for Denver. Whoever wins the starting job will hold a lot of fantasy football value — as is almost always the case for the Broncos’ starting running back.

Photo: Newscom

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The main reason the Broncos needed added depth was because projected starter Travis Henry is dealing with hamstring issues. Pittman will join other running backs Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Ryan Torain on Denver’s roster.

In fantasy football, Pittman would need to secure a starting or at least a backup job to be considered a draftable player. If he somehow wins the starting job, he’d suddenly become a player who’d be drafted in the top five rounds just because of the Broncos’ history of having very productive running backs. Even if he wins the backup job, Pittman would hold value since the other running backs on the roster are mostly injury prone.

The Broncos decided to sign Pittman after looking at free agent Shaun Alexander.

Photo: Newscom

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If Henry is able to play while his appeal process is pending, that could free him to play for a reported four more weeks. If true, this is good news for Henry fantasy owners. It would give owners time to make replacement plans for Henry if he is indeed suspended.

Selvin Young is still a good waiver wire pickup at this point. If he’s on the waiver wire in your league, nab him. Also, if you have Henry but missed out on Young, it’d be worth a shot to send a trade proposal to see how valued Young is in your league.

Since the entire situation is clouded, other Denver running back options Cecil Sapp and Mike Bell should be lowered in value a bit. Neither player were highly valued to begin with. But if it’s going to be another month before this situation is cleared up, you might as well hold off on acquiring Sapp or Bell.

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If Selvin Young is available, pick him up off waivers right away. Young is a rookie out of the University of Texas that appears next in line. He’s be impressive in his short stints so far this season and could do a good job if given the full-time job.

However, it likely won’t be that simple. Broncos’ head coach Mike Shanahan is a fantasy football owner’s worst nightmare. He rarely speaks the truth – especially about his running backs. If you’ve owned any Denver running backs over the years, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

With that in mind, Mike Bell and Cecil Sapp are two other players you might think about adding to your roster if you have room. Bell was impressive at times last year as a rookie but was converted to fullback this season. Sapp has already gotten some goal line carries, even when Henry was active. Both Bell and Sapp could conceivably end up worth more than Young. With Shanahan, you never quite know.

The best course of action right now is to pick up Young. If you Young isn’t available and you want to get in on the Broncos action, look for Bell or Sapp. If you really think Shanahan is going to pull fast one, the next running back on the depth charts is Andre Hall. Hall doesn’t appear to have much fantasy value at this point. That said, I wouldn’t rule him out of the equation just yet.

Photo credit: Eric Lars Bakke

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