Five potential fantasy shockers this week

Every week in fantasy football for as long as it has existed, there has always been one constant: Some player comes out of relatively nowhere, has a gigantic, multiple-touchdown game, becomes the league’s hottest waiver or trade commodity, and then generally sinks back to his normal level of production the following week. If you could predict who that guy would be each week… well, you’d have a lot of trouble convincing your friends to let you into their fantasy leagues. So it’s a good thing that I’m probably going to be way, way wrong here, but here goes: These are the five guys who I think could shock everyone with a monster game this week.

This has nothing to do with the other definition of shocker, so shut up. But whoa, thanks to my Google search for an explanatory link, now I have to buy a giant foam shocker hand. Stupid Google.

1: Anthony Gonzalez, WR, IND: Beware the player Peyton Manning seems to be ignoring. With Marvin out, and defenses not expecting much from Gonzalez, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Peyton suddenly rediscovered him in the red zone this week.

2: Devery Henderson, WR, NO: Carolina’s pass defense sucks, and Henderson seems due to break out with a big game. Hopefully for the Saints, that’s exactly what happens, and he helps them salvage what’s left of their playoff hopes.

3: Gus Frerotte, QB, STL: Maybe St. Louis’s offensive struggles have more to do with Bulger’s broken ribs than anything. Maybe you could stick any healthy NFL QB in Bulger’s spot, give him weapons like Torry Holt, Drew Bennett, Isaac Bruce, Steven Jackson (one of the best receiving backs in the league), and Randy McMichael, put him up against an overrated Arizona defense, and he’d have a field day. Or maybe he’d still be Gus Frerotte.

4: Demetrius Williams, WR, BAL: He’s got big-play capability, McNair’s back, and he’s due. What’s not to like?

5: Lee Evans, WR, BUF: He’d be the least surprising of the bunch, given his 2006 season, but since 2007 has been an unmitigated disaster for his owners thus far, he’s a worthy candidate. He did show that he had some chemistry with Trent Edwards in week 4, and the Dallas secondary is pretty bad. Chances seem pretty good that Dallas will run up the score early, and Buffalo may decide to let the kid throw early and often to see if he’s worthy of permanently replacing Losman. If Evans is ever going to bust out and have a monster outing, it seems like this would be his week.