FanHouse Billy Miller

The Saints may be without a key piece of their offense when they host the Lions in Week 1. Running back Pierre Thomas told The Times-Picayune that he considers himself "questionable" for New Orleans' opener because of the sprained MCL he suffered during the preseason.

"It means a lot, and I really want to play in the opener -- but I don't want to cause any more damage," Thomas told the Times-Picayune. "I don't want to take a chance where I just play this game and don't play out the season. I want to be smart about it.

"My main focus is trying to get back for the first game. But if it's not ready, it's not ready. I can't push it."

I generally hate singling out an entire group of players and branding the list a group of must-have fantasy options. You know, something like "hey, go draft all the 27-year-olds in fantasy baseball," or "third-year receivers always bust out." It's just too lazy of any fantasy analyst to blanket generalize an entire group without considering the circumstances to each individual situation.

Thus, many people out there believe there is one tried and true reality in sports: Players want to get paid. Well, of course players want to get paid. In the NFL, though, players are constantly under the microscope and don't have guaranteed contracts. More matters than just being in a walk year. What we'll do, then, is take a look at the contract-year players and examine how their motivation will translate into fantasy football success.

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With all the intrigue and hype for the upcoming fantasy football season on the horizon, it's important to read as much as you can. Yup, gather in all the information, let it digest for a second and then chase your dreams. And that's why we at Fantasy FanHouse love to lend a helping hand when needed. Look, you already know about Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten, just to name a few.

However, it's important to dig deep at every position and analyze just what you're getting from starting slots. If you can get the same production from a lesser-name guy, a good four or five rounds later than the big name, it's worth it. And so today, we are covering the unheralded tight end position. Some of these names may look familiar, but remember it's where they will fall on draft day that's of greater importance.

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FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

The Denver Broncos, formerly the league's running game savants, have become the league's preeminent passers. There should be plenty of passing room this weekend against the Swiss Chiefs, which means Tony Scheffler is an elite option at this position. Again. Get used to it.

- Jerramy Stevens may only be listed at the TE2 on his team's depth chart, but the Bucs loved getting him into single coverage on linebackers last week and taking advantage. As long as he shows he can hold onto the ball after gaining separation, they won't ignore him.

- Billy Miller is a quality play against the Niners at home. We know Drew Brees is gonna throw all day. While Miller is no Jeremy Shockey, he can help as a bye week replacement.

- Dustin Keller is coming off his first career TD. As the season moves along, his QB will become more comfortable with him and this will happen with more frequency.

1. Jason Witten, vs. Was
2. Tony Scheffler, @ KC
3. Kellen Winslow, @ Cin
4. Antonio Gates, @ Oak
5. Tony Gonzalez, vs. Den

Peter King drops an intriguing nugget into his Monday Morning Quarterback column today:

I think, Giant beat writers, you might sniff around this one: New Orleans is not through trying to acquire Jeremy Shockey.

Although I would add that Saints beat writers -- not to mention, you know, King himself -- ought to be sniffing around as well, the idea that the Giants will trade Jeremy Shockey and that the Saints are the most likely destination has been around for most of the NFL off-season and is not going away.

For the Giants, it makes sense because they didn't seem to miss Shockey late in the season when he broke his leg and was replaced by rookie Kevin Boss. They did, after all, win the Super Bowl without Shockey and with Boss making some big plays down the stretch. That doesn't mean Boss is as good as Shockey, but it could mean that he will be some day, and he's certainly cheaper.

For the Saints it makes a little bit less sense, seeing as they re-signed both of last year's tight ends, Billy Miller and Eric Johnson. But Shockey provides a big-play threat that Miller and Johnson don't, and if the Saints think he'd be a good fit in their passing game, it would be tempting to trade for him.

My best guess is that Shockey will be a Giant in 2008. But just because the Giants say he's coming back doesn't mean he will.

Taking into account that it's the preseason, many of the players sitting on the sidelines tonight would normally be on the field if it was a meaningful game. With that said, I'm sure most fans would like to know who they should expect to see this evening. For that reason, I've done by best to create an accurate injury report -- official reports are not posted until week one of the regular season.

Buffalo Bills:

Out: Tackle Brad Butler (hamstring) and running back Josh Scobey (calf).

Questionable: Guard Aaron Merz (shoulder) and safety Donte Whitner (hip)

Probable: Running back Dwayne Wright (allergies) and cornerback Jason Webster (hamstring).