Vince Young passed for 155 yards and a TD but had three turnovers in his first NFL start.

Pair of Titans rookies should be busy on trade market

Posted: Monday October 2, 2006 12:41PM; Updated: Monday October 2, 2006 12:41PM

By Mike Beacom, Special to SI.com, ProFantasySports.com

The NFL finally got its first look at Vince Young and the reviews were mixed. While Tennessee's new starting quarterback did make a few nice plays with his feet against Dallas on Sunday, he also made a couple of errant throws that opened the floodgates to a 45-14 blowout loss for the Titans.

Like Michael Vick before him, Young is being coveted by fantasy owners because he offers them the dual threat of passing and rushing points. But that only goes so far, and a few rushing scores do not make up for drastically lower passing yardage and touchdown totals. As athletically gifted as Vick is, he's never been a top-shelf fantasy quarterback. And the deeper reality is that Vick hurts his owners more than he helps them, simply because he is one of fantasy's most inconsistent players.

Young is even more troublesome to fantasy owners because, unlike Vick, Young plays for an awful football team. He is the one thing opposing defenses need to gameplan for. The Cowboys contained him for three yards on five carries. Other teams won't be so lucky. But as a rookie quarterback playing for the league's worst team, Young's bad days will far out-number his good ones.

For the fantasy owner who made Young a mid-round backup, now might not be a bad time to unload him to that owner waiting impatiently for Trent Green's return, or the one who has given up on Daunte Culpepper.

Here is a look at the rest of this week's buy and sell candidates:

BUY

RB LenDale White, Titans
The Titans have already kissed goodbye the 2006 season. Why else would they throw Young to the wolves other than to get him experience for next season? If the team follows this trend -- and it will -- then White is next in line to receive a heavier workload. It is happening already. Against Dallas, White carried nine times for 39 yards. His 4.3-yard average was quite a bit better than Chris Brown's 2.8-yard average on his 12 carries. White also picked up a few first downs, even if they came at a time when Dallas already had a comfortable lead. Fantasy owners should not expect White to be anything more than a fantasy backup -- now or at any point this season -- but he will get enough carries in the near future to be an attractive No. 3 back, if not a spot starter when Tennessee faces questionable run defenses.

WR Mark Clayton, Ravens
The Ravens are clicking on offense, much thanks to quarterback Steve McNair, and Clayton is starting to show some promise. In Week 3 he collected eight catches for 74 yards and on Sunday he caught four more passes. Of Baltimore's next five opponents, the four that were active in Week 4 allowed big days to their opponent's No. 2 receiver (Marques Colston had 132 yards against Carolina, Keyshawn Johnson caught six balls against New Orleans, Doug Gabriel had 57 yards and a score against Cincinnati, and Terry Glenn scored twice against Tennessee). Baltimore may never see a 300-yard passing day but Clayton is its top receiving weapon of the future and the future is fast approaching. He makes a nice upgrade as a No. 3 or 4 fantasy receiver if he can be had as a 'throw-in' in an upcoming deal.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs
You can probably count the number of weeks over the past several years when Gonzalez was even made available for a trade in fantasy leagues. Like most highly regarded tight ends, Gonzalez is a keeper and considered "off the market." But such is not the case now, nor has it been for much of this season. And Gonzalez's value to fantasy owners is at an all-time low. Without Trent Green in the lineup, Gonzalez has struggled. True, he did catch his only touchdown of the year from Damon Huard in Week 1, but since then he has recorded low totals for fantasy owners. And on Sunday, with Huard having the game of his life, Gonzalez failed to find paydirt in the Chiefs' 41-0 rout. Soon Green will return to the lineup (possibly the week after next), and soon Gonzalez will regain part of what's made him a fantasy legend. Better to get in now while the gettin' is good.

SELL

RB Jerious Norwood, Falcons
Norwood is an explosive, young talent that one day might be a shining star in this league. But Norwood's time won't come this season, and yet still there are plenty of fantasy owners curious enough to deal for him anyway. Look at Sunday's numbers and you'll see why -- six carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. Even if you subtract Norwood's 78-yard score, he still had a healthy average per carry on his five other attempts. But those are the numbers you should use to sell Norwood to prospective buyers. The real number that counts is 30, as in the number of attempts Warrick Dunn and Michael Vick had on Sunday. With Vick and Dunn requiring so much work, it won't be all that often when Norwood will squeeze many carries out of this offense, as good as it may be. He offers no consistency and his best value to fantasy owners is as trade bait to lure in a player that can contribute something each week.

RB Julius Jones, Cowboys
Why deal Jones? Against Tennessee he carried 23 times for 122 yards and a touchdown. But his 5.6-yard average wasn't as good as Marion Barber's 6.1-yard average. In other words, Barber keeps sticking around, and the more he does the more head coach Bill Parcells is likely to continue to split carries (Parcells likes using multiple backs and he does not like Jones' frequent mental and physical letdowns). Jones is a good No. 2 fantasy back, so don't deal him unless the loot is to your liking. But know that Jones is not -- nor has he ever been -- a steady fantasy performer, and that makes him a liability when the fantasy playoffs begin.

RB Kevan Barlow, Jets
With two touchdowns this weekend (and four in this young season) Barlow is starting to create a buzz in fantasy circles. But fantasy owners need also remember that the former 49er has not gained more than 42 yards in any of his four outings this year, and he's been non-existent in the passing game. While Cedric Houston may not have the same scoring prowess yet (just one touchdown), he has been the better runner; Houston has averaged 5.0 yards per carry, Barlow has averaged 2.9. Fantasy owners in need of a running back to package in a trade offer should consider using Barlow as the bait. He won't keep up this touchdown production for long, especially not with dates against Jacksonville, Miami, New England and Chicago lurking on the schedule.

Trade Advice

The running back I drafted is out for the rest of the season with an injury. I've been making due with the likes of Corey Dillon, Dominic Rhodes, and the flavor-du-jour running back. I've just been offered Reggie Bush and David Carr for Jake Delhomme and Deion Branch. My other QB is Michael Vick, and my other receivers include Steve Smith, Donte Stallworth, and Jerricho Cotchery. What should I do? I really, really need a productive running back. Thanks.
--'Lack of Runners in Utah'

Fantasy owners should remember that no running back production = no fantasy playoffs. It is crucial to be solid at that one position, and in a case such as this one it makes sense to take even a lopsided deal on paper if it means upgrading at running back.

In all honesty, this isn't so much a lopsided deal as it is a good fit for your team. You're much better off at receiver than you are at running back, so Branch will not be missed. You'd benefit from having a quality No. 2 quarterback due to Vick's inconsistent play. But as much as keeping Delhomme might help protect the quarterback spot, the need to grab a running back is much more important, especially when you consider that both Dillon and Rhodes could soon be the backup running back for their respective team.

Bush might not be your savior, but he'll help fix your problem at running back.

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Mike Beacom is the senior editor for Pro Fantasy Sports.