Heading into Week 2 some fantasy football owners may be looking to pick up handcuffs if injuries have come down or bad performances and for Doug Martin owners, looking into free agent pickups like Bobby Rainey or Mike James could be solid pickups for owners, as they could end up contributing a great deal to the offense this season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and this comes as Martin's status is up in the air.
Martin is coming off of an injury season anyway, so that is another reason to pick up a handcuff, but he also dealt with an injury during the game against the Panthers. Martin ended up with nine carries for nine yards and one catch for seven yards and he ended up leaving the game with a leg injury. Martin and the team will evaluate as the week goes on, but for any owners of him, picking up Rainey or James is an essential move, especially if he is you RB1.
Martin had a great season as a rookie, but he was injured last year and missed nearly the entire season while playing in just 6 games. Martin had as good of a rookie season as anyone, going for 1454 yards and catching 49 balls for 472 yards and scoring 12 touchdowns total. Martin was an MVP in PPR leagues and he also showed that he could be a strong runner up the middle despite his size and he took that into the next season as a high draft pick option. Martin ended up getting injured and he finished the year with 456 yards and one touchdown with 12 receptions.
Martin is now on the mend again already and while it isn't for sure a serious injury, any Martin owners should grab Rainey or James heading into next week. Rainey has been the prime backup so far and that means he will elevate on the depth chart if anything is up with Martin. Rainey did not have a great game in Week 1, but that doesn't really matter now if Martin ends up missing time, as he will be the one to step in.
Rainey had four carries for 12 yards and two receptions for eight yards in the game and he could be a nice option in deep leagues even if Martin is fine. Rainey came in last season and performed well, playing in 16 games and rushing for 566 yards and he also had 15 catches for 46 yards and the bulk of that production came on the back end of the season. James also has been dealing with an injury, but if Martin ends up missing time he will elevate on the depth chart and he could be an option in deeper leagues.
The Buccaneers will be running the ball quite a bit despite bringing in Josh McCown and their offense could be surprisingly good with Mike Evans and Vincent Jackson. The team lost to the Panthers on Sunday, but they could end up being a thorn in many sides this season.