Wally's World: Traveling down that 'Holiday Road' of Fantasy Football fantasysharks.com Mon 8/11/14 7:15 AM

After a week spent vacationing in western Kentucky (translation; lots of swimming and fishing) we are back with another preseason edition of Wally's World. We don't need a map or high tech GPS system to navigate this trip because we are going whatever direction the fantasy road may lead us. So after a long Sunday spent binge watching as much preseason football as humanly possible these are a few of the things I found intriguing. Fasten your seatbelt because we will be jumping around the world of fantasy football from standard formats as well as some thoughts regarding Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues. It's hard not to like Giants rookie RB Andre Williams. He looked good in the Hall of Fame game and is in a perfect position to contribute right away. Starting RB Rashad Jennings looked pretty good himself in the G-Men's second preseason game and it looks like a ground and pound type of season in New York. Do not fret the zero catch total for WR Sammy Watkins last week as the kid will still be a valuable weapon for Buffalo. If skittish owners decide to pass him up on draft day then go ahead and jump on him. Watkins is a special talent and water always finds it level. Color me skeptical regarding all the training camp praise that Denver RB Ronnie Hillman is receiving. Injuries to Montee Ball and C.J. Anderson will give Hillman every chance to shine, but I don't think he will. Been there, done that and know how this movie ends. The Giants are happy to see Damontre Moore rack up a sack, as they will need the second year DE to step up this season with the departure of Justin Tuck in free agency. So the Jets are planning a three-headed RBBC monster this season? Thanks Rex. Let's see how injuries and preseason performances shake out before avoiding this situation like the plague. Call it a ‘sneaky premonition' or ‘gut feeling' but I love Green Bay WR Jarrett Boykin this season. Here's hoping that he has a quiet preseason so he remains a nice value pick in drafts moving forward. Have to love rookie LBs Ryan Shazier of the Steelers and Christian Kirksey in Cleveland, as both are poised for big roles on their defenses. In a division that will run the ball as much as any in the league these two youngsters should rack up very nice tackle numbers. Hate to see Lions DE Ziggy Ansah miss so much of training camp. Reports are that he's close to returning and he'll need all the reps he can get moving forward. It's hard to see where Detroit is going to generate pressure other than DTs Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley. It's probably good that second year Philadelphia RB Matthew Tucker had a fumble and dinged his hamstring in the preseason opener after scoring a pair of touchdowns. It will end up saving a lot of owners from themselves as it's Darren Sproles and Chris Polk you want in the Eagles backfield behind LeSean McCoy. This isn't earth shattering fantasy news but if I'm on the Indianapolis Colts coaching staff I feel good about having Matt Hasselbeck as my backup QB. If Luck goes down that offense is still in good hands. While preseason football will never make or break my fantasy evaluation of a particular player, it will help to solidify ideas or hunches I may have. Case in point, is that I still feel good about rookie RB Devonta Freeman in Atlanta after their preseason tilt with Miami. At the same time there is a feeling of Déjà vu with Dolphins RB Lamar Miller. When the live bullets start flying it seems like Miller reverts to less than stellar form (I'm being kind here). Knowshon Moreno is looking better and better to me moving forward. I'm keeping my eye on Buffalo RB Bryce Brown even though he'll be backing up both C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson this season. Neither player has been a pillar of health throughout their careers and Brown is a nice late round handcuff. We thought Kelvin Benjamin would be a nice red zone target for the Panthers and he didn't disappoint. Ok, technically it was a 29-yard TD but don't sleep on this kid. Carolina is going to need all the receiving options they can get and Benjamin came back strong from that bone bruise injury. After seeing the Bears use the TE position the way they did last week I'm high on ‘The Black Unicorn' Martellus Bennett. Now if he can just keep from getting suspended again. I'm still nervous about all the missed practices by Arian Foster if anyone cares. All that Zach Ertz hype in the offseason seems to be right on the money. The second year TE looked like an integral part of the Eagles offense. Hopefully dynasty owners held on to the kid and redraft owners have him in that big second tier of TE options on draft day. Stop teasing me Mark Ingram. The Saints RB was impressive but will undoubtedly re-injure his toe the moment after we draft him. After observing one game I'll be that guy... I see no difference between Cleveland rookie QB Johnny Manziel and former Denver QB Tim Tebow. It's early and Johnny could change my mind but I'm still wary of drafting the kid in any format. Yep. Pittsburgh RB Dri Archer and New Orleans WR Brandin Cooks are as fast as advertised. These two are going to be fun to watch this season and beyond. The double-digit tackle performance by Dallas FS Ahmad Dixon in place of Barry Church who sat out the game is a nice indicator of the type of season that Church could be in store for. Not sure that the moving of Shea McClellin to SLB in Chicago is going to work out. He struggles mightily in coverage and may lose the spot to either Jon Bostic (who also has coverage issues) or Khaseem Greene. There could be value if whoever wins this job can prove to be a three-down player. Nice to see Cleveland OLB Barkevious Mingo register a sack against Detroit after having a very quiet rookie season. They need a big step forward from the kid and this is a nice start. Looks like offenses will have their hands full dealing with the pass rushing combination of J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney in Houston. Both should easily hit double-digit sacks this season. I still like Watt as the top overall DL IDP choice and with an OLB classification for Clowney, he really only holds significant value in big-play scoring formats. Keep an eye on who wins the battle at safety for the Buffalo Bills between Duke Williams and Da'Norris Searcy because there is IDP fantasy gold to be had there. Wally Spurlin is a Fantasy Football Staff Writer at Fantasy Sharks and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writer Association. Wally's work can also be seen in the 2014 Fantasy Insights Pre-Season Report. Spurlin's work has appeared in print publications including the 2014 USA Today Fantasy Football magazine. Follow Wally on Twitter @Walton Spurlin