1. Drew Brees — Admit it, Drew Brees owners: You were pretty pleased with yourselves for drafting Brees as high as you did after he opened the season with 669 passing yards and nine TD passes in his first two games. You weren't expecting him to follow that up with 362 passing yards and zero TD passes in his next two games. Heck, you could get numbers like that out of Trent Edwards or Kerry Collins. Not feeling so smug now, are you? Hey, I'm just kidding. No one is stupid enough to jump off the Brees bandwagon after two mediocre games. And don't head for the exits if it turns out to be three straight mediocre games. Brees has a tough matchup this week against the Giants, who have the No. 1 pass defense in the league and are allowing 104.8 passing yards per game (61 fewer yards per game than the No. 2-ranked Panthers). On the other hand, Brees lit up a very good Philadelphia pass defense in Week Two, and the Saints are coming off a bye, so they've had an extra week to work the bugs out of their aerial attack.

2. Jeremy Maclin — During this year's Pro Football Weekly in-house fantasy draft, PFW publisher/editor Hub Arkush mentioned that some of his Eagles sources were sky-high on Jeremy Maclin and were suggesting that he might be starting by midseason. Looks like Hub's sources were spot-on. Maclin entered the starting lineup last week in place of the injured, ineffective Kevin Curtis, and with the rookie erupting for 142 yards and two TDs, it's hard to envision Curtis getting his job back. Maclin has absolutely lethal speed. He and DeSean Jackson probably form the fastest WR tandem in the league. It can be risky to start Philadelphia receivers, since Eagles QB Donovan McNabb seems to switch up his favorite targets every week. Just ask Jackson owners, who were no doubt displeased about their guy ending up with one catch for one yard last week while the Maclin coronation was taking place. Still, Maclin looks like a viable fantasy option going forward, and it will be fascinating to see what he can do for an encore this week against the Raiders.

3. Adrian Peterson — Is Peterson still the NFL's best rusher, or has Cedric Benson passed him? Stop laughing ... I'm serious. Benson currently leads the league in rushing, edging Peterson by six yards. Peterson is averaging 4.9 yards per carry vs. 4.4 yards per Benson, and Peterson has seven rushing TDs to Benson's three. But while Peterson has been fattening his totals with big games against patsies such as the Browns, Lions and Rams, Benson has been going against top run stuffers such as the Ravens, Steelers and (so far, at least) Broncos. The only patsy Benson has faced is Cleveland (and oddly enough, that was Benson's worst statistical performance of the season). Look, Peterson is still No. 1 in my book, but the Peterson-Benson debate isn't THAT absurd. I'm anxious to see what Peterson does against the Ravens one week after Benson recorded the first 100-yard rushing day against Baltimore since the 2006 season.

4. Ahmad Bradshaw — It appears this guy is the real deal. After rushing for 110 yards on only 11 carries last week against the Raiders, Bradshaw is averaging 6.5 yards per carry this season, and he's now averaging 6.2 yards for his career on 148 carries. Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs complement each other well with their very different running styles, and even though Bradshaw is on fire while Jacobs is struggling, Bradshaw isn't about to supplant Jacobs as the starter. On the other hand, Bradshaw is earning a steady workload, and the division of labor between the two backs may start to approach 50-50 if Jacobs doesn't kick it up a notch. The Giants visit New Orleans this weekend for a big showdown with the Saints, who've gotten much tougher against the run under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. New Orleans ranks seventh against the run and is allowing just 83.3 rushing yards per game, which might mean that Bradshaw, a dual run-catch threat, will be more effective than Jacobs, a between-the-tackles runner who doesn't catch many passes.

5. Brandon Marshall — Just over a year ago, when Marshall caught fire following a Week One suspension (he had 31 catches for 398 yards and three TDs in his first three games of '08), I wrote that Marshall might be the most talented receiver in the league. That ended up looking like a mildly stupid proclamation after he had three TDs and one 100-yard game the rest of the way. Now? Well ... it still looks like a fairly stupid proclamation, since I think Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson have more talent. But Marshall seems to have made his peace with the Broncos' coaching staff, and now he's on another tear, with 17 catches and four TDs over his past three games. After a slow start to the season, Marshall seems to be on the same page with new teammate Kyle Orton, and the Broncos could take a commanding lead in the AFC West with a Monday-night win over the Chargers. It should be noted that Marshall had an 18-catch game against the Chargers in Week Two of last season.

6. Braylon Edwards — As they watched Derek Anderson's 2-for-17 performance against the Bills last week, Browns fans may have wondered to themselves why their beloved team passed on the chance to take QB Mark Sanchez and instead orchestrated a trade-down with the Jets, who happily snatched Sanchez. And while many Browns fans had grown disenchanted with Edwards, who had become a bellicose underachiever, you have to wonder how the Cleveland faithful feels about a WR corps that includes two rookies, a converted kick returner, Chansi Stuckey and Mike Furrey. Meanwhile, Jets fans had to be feeling pretty pleased about seeing Sanchez and Edwards connect five times for 64 yards and a TD (and very nearly a second TD) Monday night, just a few days after the latest Browns-Jets trade, even though the game ended in the Jets' second straight loss. With WR Jerricho Cotchery bothered by a hamstring injury and unlikely to play against the Bills this week, Sanchez may need to rely heavily on Edwards as the J-E-T-S try to snap their losing streak. Chances are good that Sanchez and Edwards combine for more than the two completions the Browns had against the Bills last week.

7. Roddy White — The season got off to a quiet start for this talented receiver, but White made some Led Zeppelin-level noise against the 49ers last week, catching eight passes for 210 yards and two TDs, with his second score covering 90 yards. That performance had a calming effect on White's fantasy owners, who were starting to wonder if Atlanta's acquisition of TE Tony Gonzalez would dent White's numbers. White can continue to allay those fears by putting up big numbers this week against the Bears. He had nine catches for 112 yards and a TD in a game against Chicago last October.

8. Matt Hasselbeck — After missing two games with a rib injury that made it painful for him to breathe, Hasselbeck inflicted pain on the Jaguars last week, throwing four TD passes in a 41-0 rout. Now Hasselbeck and the Seahawks host a big divisional game against the Cardinals, who rank last in the league against the pass, giving up 303 passing yards per game. It will be something of a revenge game for Hasselbeck, who was intercepted three times by the Cardinals the last time he faced them, in November 2008.

9. Torry Holt — The 11th-year veteran was one of the few points of light for the Jaguars last week, catching seven passes for 95 yards in Jacksonville's blowout loss to Seattle. Holt hadn't produced more than 65 receiving yards in any previous game this season. Holt's season-best totals probably had something to do with the Jaguars deactivating WR Mike Sims-Walker before the start of last week's game for violating the team's itinerary. Sims-Walker has been having a breakthrough season, so when he returns to the lineup this week, will Holt return to a complementary role? One reason to think not: Holt faces the Rams, with whom he spent the first 10 years of his illustrious pro career. Pride could be a big motivator for Holt in this one.

10. Todd Heap — There's nothing particularly intriguing about Heap, a run-of-the-mill tight end. But have you noticed what opposing TEs have been doing to the Vikings this season? Vernon Davis lit them up for 96 yards and two TDs. Jermichael Finley torched them for 128 yards and a TD. Robert Royal (who?) got them for 60 yards and a TD. Even the lowly Rams got into the act against Minnesota last week, with TEs Randy McMichael and Daniel Fells combining for eight catches and 90 yards. As dominant as the undefeated Vikes have been, they seem incapable of defending tight ends. That's why Heap is the No. 3 tight end in this week's fantasy rankings, behind only Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez. In Todd we trust.

Pat Fitzmaurice updates his fantasy player rankings throughout the week as injury status and other circumstances warrant.

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