[Editor's note: These rankings were slightly updated Friday.]
Many of you know a little about the fine fellow who produces the fantasy podcasts -- Pod Vader isn't his real name -- and how he often discusses his own fantasy world on the Fantasy Focus podcast that Matthew Berry and Nate Ravitz host Mondays through Fridays. Well, as I was scurrying out of the studio Thursday after hosting the Baseball Today podcast -- real baseball is still going on, you know! -- I was pulled aside by P.V., who asked me whether it was all right to sit "Northeast Steve Smith" this week.
As always, I needed to know his other options, especially because he was considering sitting the No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy through the first five weeks of the season. Larry Fitzgerald was one option, and he has to start. Another starting candidate was Mike Sims-Walker. Even though he faced stud Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha last week, Smith ranked higher for me than the Jaguars receiver. And finally, I saw his flex option: Cadillac Williams. That's no contest. I would use Smith over him, and with Sims-Walker, it is close.
The point is I wouldn't be so scared of Smith's individual matchup that I would sit him for a middling running back. If his original question was Sims-Walker versus Williams, I would have thought about it and ultimately pointed to the list below. I can be swayed in either direction on that one. Look at your teams and make sure you take all roster spots into consideration.
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Eric Karabell
