Preseason FAABnalysis!

We've had eight free agent auctions since The 2012 CKL Draft, and now that we're in a game week, it's time to rocket through some preseason FAABnalysis.

I'm not going to hit any kicker claims or $0 IDP claims unless I find them particularly commentary-worthy.  The claims are listed below in no particular order other than what I wanted to talk about first, second, third, etc.  I guess you could say these are ranked in order of how much they caught my attention.

Here we go.  Get your spelunking gear on, it's going to be a dark crawl...


Kellen Winslow -- $5 to Patrick on 8/22
dropped: Bernard Scott / other bids: none
I have to assume this was a hedge against Jason Witten's lacerated spleen -- Pattycakes didn't have a TE2 on his roster at the time.  That said, I have to say this was an ass-horrible investment, as $5 was way to much to spend on a player like this, especially just after the draft while everyone else was busy knuckledusting over their drafted rosters.  Winslow is having a hard time playing football with that giant fork sticking out of his back; Soldja's a bum with bad knees.  What's worse, the Seahawks cut him quicker than the Glitterfist Lasersnakes have been able to.  Meanwhile, fully functional spleen-having replacements like Lance Kendricks, Kellen Moore, and Jordan Cameron sit on the waiver wire, unclaimed...  But Patrick clearly don't give a hell.

Alfred Morris -- $1 to Nathan on 8/26
dropped: Bilal Powell / other bids: $0 to Kendall
The Jets offense is leprosy this season -- all of its players are slowly rotting.  So it makes sense to get off of Powell and onto someone else.  This Alfred Morris claim was savvy and shrewd.  Being awesome at fantasy football, he was of course on my radar as well, but I didn't pony up the cash monies to secure the player and Nathan boxed me out for just a buck.  In Morris, Nathan is holding a parlay card for the annual Shanahan backfield derby.  With Tim Hightower on the outs, Nate will enjoy 3-1 odds that Morris will be useful on 33.333 (repeating, of course)% of the weeks.  But I can't say too much, as I just traded Evan Royster onto my own roster to purchase my own lift ticket to insanityland.  Time to take a bounty out on Roy Helu.

The Redskins' best RB?  Maybe.

Dwayne Harris -- $1 to Kendall on 8/31
dropped: Bernard Scott / other bids: none
Watching the Cowboys' 3rd preseason game, this is what I jotted down about Dwayne Harris: "Victor Cruz skills in Laurent Robinson's role."  Knowing Bernard Scott wasn't going to be right for week 1, I decided to go ahead and claim Harris.  Threw the dollar at him in case someone else saw that same Rams/Cowboys game where Harris went for 118 and 2 playing with the Dallas starters.  In hindsight, I should have bid $3.

Victor Cruz skills in Laurent Robinson's role... I hope.

Tim Hightower -- $2 to Joe on 8/29
dropped: Ronnie Brown / other bids: none
Hightower was hurt and went undrafted, but at the time of this claim, Shanahan had mentioned him as the starter in Washington.  Some of us are just like moths to a flame when it comes to these Shanahan running backs. But it makes sense, as Shanny has been a bit of a historic RB kingmaker with his one-cut-and-go system, turning stiffs like Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Tatum Bell, Reuben Droughns, Mike Bell, and Selvin Young into fantasy-relevant players.  Hightower is injury-prone, but he's no stiff.  He's a decent power runner with some nice receiving chops.  However, he can't stay healthy and the Redskins have since cut him.  I assume the Roo Tang Clan is about to cut him, as well.

I still remember Hightower's days as a Spider.

Donnie Avery -- $0 to Derrick on 9/1
dropped: D.J. Ware / other bids: none
Will Reggie Wayne not show his age and will Austin Collie stay healthy?  This move was Derrick answering NO to either or both of those questions.  Being the hot-for-rookies guy that I am, I might have preferred T.Y. Hilton or LaVon Brazill, but I agree with Doc that Avery is more likely to play and be productive this season.  I thought this was a really good pick-up for the Kick Azz Giants.  The Colts will be behind and throwing with a super-talented golden-armed QB, and Donnie Avery - when healthy - can stretch the field deep.

Avery has a chance to make some big plays for the Colts.

LIGHTNING ROUND...

Emmanuel Sanders -- $0 to Mark on 8/22 
Nice Mike Wallace insurance.  Coming into last season, I thought Sanders > Antonio Brown, but injuries sapped his opportunity to make an impact.

Doug Baldwin -- $1 to Kendall on 8/24
I've since dropped him, but I just love this kid.  Ordinary talent who loves football and gets it done with grit and great hands.  Seattle's slot receiver is just not worth owning right now.

Nate Burleson -- $2 to Patrick o 8/22
Burl might still have some fight left, but I found this to be a weird claim.  $2 was about $2 too much to bid on this guy, but it's small money so no biggie.

Bernard Scott -- $0 to Kendall on 8/26
For the record, I am not a believer in Scott.  He's a fragile speed back who needs to find his role as the 3rd down guy, but doesn't have the receiving chops.  I'm just a Bengals homer, is all.

Keiland Williams -- $0 to Mark on 8/22
There was some slight smoke around Williams possibly carving out a role, but the guy is mostly just a below-average talent.  The interesting thing here is that Mark dropped his redshirted player - Christian Ponder - to make this claim.

Bilal Powell -- $2 to Mark on 8/29
I like Powell, liked him a lot at Louisville.  Remember Adrian Murrell?  He's a bit of a clone.  Still, the current Jets offense is going to doom all of its players, I'm afraid.  I'd personally rather have Powell than Shonn Greene, and Joe McKnight is dead to me.

Murrell

James Jones -- $1 to Kendall on 8/31
I picked him up amid rumors he'd be traded to Miami to be their #1 WR.  Didn't happen.

Antoine Bethea -- $2 to Rookie on 8/22
Good DB, $2 is probably right, but it might also be a slight overbid due to it being the first FAAB session post-draft.  Rookie got a little bit jumpy.

Chris Clemons -- $1 to Alan on 8/29
This was a fine claim for Alan, but he dropped one of his two drafted linebackers - Curtis Lofton - to bring Clemons aboard.  Moral of the story: It's hard to justify using a bench spot on an IDP.  This is something the IDP task force aims to correct, via the sandlot league.

That's it for now.  FAABnalysis will be returning to its regularly-scheduled time --- every Wednesday afternoon!

Good luck to everyone in today's last preseason auction, and bon voyage as the regular season begins!