Ike Hilliard

Who is the top number two wide receiver in fantasy football right now? Plaxico Burress? Isaac Bruce? Darrell Jackson? None of the above: It's Ike Hilliard. Here's how Ike Hilliard and Amani Toomer have played so far this year, along with their projected season ending totals:

Kerry Collins (and the Giants passing offense) is on pace for 4,076 yards and twenty-four touchdowns. Ironically, that's exactly how many yards Collins passed for in 2002-but he only matched it with nineteen throwing scores. Last year the Giants ran for fourteen TDs, as they averaged just barely more than two offensive touchdowns per game. This year, they're once again averaging two offensive TDs a game, but the running game hasn't been featured as much. They ran 486 times in 2002, a number they may fall short of by 100 this season. A healthy Ike Hilliard has made all the difference this year for the G-Men, as he has caught fifteen passes the last two weeks. If Hilliard and Toomer both reach their projected totals, they'll likely finish in the top ten. Toomer finished sixth last season, and seems poised for another strong year. Hilliard has never earned his high draft status, and has yet to finish in the top twenty fantasy receivers. With Ike durability is always a concern, but he appears to have become an integral part of the Giants high powered offense. If he stays healthy, he'll be a strong WR2 the rest of the season for your squad.

Kevan Barlow

For awhile, Kevan Barlow has teased us with his fantasy potential. He's young with good pedigree, in a great system for running backs. In his two-plus years in the NFL, he has (roughly) amassed the stats that a full time starter might get in a single season:

• 321 carries, 1,404 yards, 9 TDs; 44 receptions, 457 yards, 2 TDs

No one can deny that over 1850 yards and eleven scores are very impressive numbers, for a man that hasn't touched the ball that much in his career. However, at some point we have to wonder if Barlow will every truly reach the potential we all saw in him. Barlow had twenty-four yards on seven carries last week, just two weeks after rushing seven times for fourteen yards. Barlow has yet to total 100 yards in a game (although he has also failed to register twenty carries in a game), over a career that spans thirty-four games. Could Barlow be the next Priest Holmes, a player who always had strong averages but was never a workhorse back? I suppose-but right now it's looking like those who drafted Barlow expecting a breakout season made a serious blunder. He still can't beat out Garrison Hearst, who happens to be rushing at a 4.7 ypc clip this year. If possible, sell on Kevan Barlow-I don't think there's much fantasy value left for him this year.

Steve McNair

Steve McNair is off to a fantastic start, for a couple of reasons. For starters, he's the top quarterback in fantasy football, with over twenty-one fantasy points per game. Second, he's sporting a sparkling 8/2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Finally, his yards per attempt is at 7.8, matching the career high he set in 2001. Perhaps most surprising is that McNair hasn't run much (less than fifty yards rushing) and isn't throwing the ball a whole lot (on pace for less than 500 passes), but is still first among QBs. Granted, he's run the ball for 49 yards and is on pace for 499 pass attempts, but neither of those numbers are what we've come to expect from the top fantasy QB. Can McNair keep up his great proficiency? His interception rate is the lowest in the NFL among starting QBs, at just 1.3%. McNair ranks in the top five in completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, yards per attempt and touchdown percentage. When did McNair become such a prolific passer? The arrival of Justin McCareins and Drew Bennett has moved McNair into the upper echelon of fantasy QBs. With three strong targets in the passing game and an anemic rushing attack, the Titans have been forced to rely more on an aerial assault. With or without his usual 400 rushing yards, McNair should be a top five QB this season.