The waiver wire carousel continues. Sometimes we can get too trigger happy with drop-picking players, but this isn’t friggin baseball! We only have a few weeks to get into the fake playoffs and can’t wait on some of these lifeless turds to reanimate and sing show tunes for us. So let’s do what we do and pick up some dudes!
Quarterbacks
Matt Hasselbeck: The loss of Kenny Britt hurts his upside, but he’s been extremely accurate, completing 70% of his passes so far. As long as he keeps getting time to throw he should be a safe play in good matchups and a good bye-week fill in. He’s only been sacked 4 times and he’s old, so that’s good.
Jason Campbell: So these Raiders aren’t too crappy. They can turn back into pumpkins at any time, but Campbell has only been sacked twice and has two rushing touchdowns and gets the Patriots abysmal pass defense in Oakland this week.
Vince Young: Who knows if Mike Vick will play next week and if he does how long he will last. Sadly there is no easy answer as to who would fill in for him and since Mike Kafka and Young are different types of quarterbacks there’s a good chance Andy Reid won’t name a starter unless it’s Vick. But with that said I think it is prudent to grab an Eagles quarterback if possible. Vick is getting smacked around a ton and there is a good chance he will miss games eventually. My first choice is Young, but it’s about 51% to 49% confidence in him over Kafka.
Tim Tebow: I don’t like him, but his rushing ability makes him a good speculative add in 2 QB leagues. Kyle Orton isn’t really getting it done and Tebow probably couldn’t do much worse.
Running Backs
Bernard Scott: As long as Cedric Benson’s appeal falls on deaf ears, Scott will get to face BUF, @JAX , and IND. Scott has always shown a lot of promise and he finally gets a chance to show his stuff. Let’s see what he can do.
Kendall Hunter: Jim Harbaugh is now saying that Gore is ok, but I’m sure he’ll be questionable and after getting shut down all game I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hunter start to see more work and he’s got more life in his legs than Gore right now.
Stevan Ridley: I love me some Ridley and he’s finally getting work. And thankfully he has looked good, albeit in limited touches. It’s hard to trust a Belichick running back, but they have been known to put up numbers and I believe Ridley is a better runner than BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
Montario Hardesty: Hardesty looked better than he has all season/preseason. He averaged over 4 yards a carry compared to Peyton Hillis who is averaging just 3.4 yards a carry. There is a very good chance that this turns into a committee attack sooner than later.
Earnest Graham: He is averaging 10 points a game in PPR leagues with 20 receptions so far. His upside is nil, but there’s no way LeGarrette Blount is ever going to get 3rd down reps, so Graham will continue to get receptions and I don’t think Tampa is going to get big enough leads to not be in pass mode in the 4th quarter. He’s not a starter, but if you need a 10 point PPR fill in, grab and go.
Wide Receivers
Nate Washington: With Kenny Britt done for the season Nate Washington is the #1 receiver in what has become a more efficient passing game in Tennessee. He doesn’t have the ability of Britt so he’s not going to become a fantasy #1 receiver, but he will get plenty of targets, and targets placed where he can actually catch them.
Lance Moore: Drew Brees trusts him. His 9 targets and 9 receptions proves that it is deserved. If he can stay healthy I see him leading the Saints wide receivers in receptions this season.
Denarius Moore: He’s an explosive talent that needs to be on your fake team. He leads all the Raiders in targets (only 15, but still). He has earned the #1 receiver job and he better keep it or I’m going to find Al Davis, dig up his coffin and punch him in the face.
Sidney Rice: Rice is an amazing talent who is hurt and on an awful football team. But as long as they realize he is their best chance to gain more than 4 yards on a single play, he should continue to get 8+ targets a game. That should allow him to be ownable.
Antonio Brown: Sunday night he put a little daylight between himself and Emmanuel Sanders. This is important because Hines Ward is mostly the 3rd receiver right now. If Brown can become the clear #2 receiver he has value. Fake value, but value nonetheless.
Donald Jones: That #2 receiver job in Buffalo is all flippity-floppity between him and David Nelson. Both are getting enough targets to have value, but they will continue to limit each others long term upside for the season. Jones is an add in deeper PPR leagues.
Torrey Smith: He’s going to get picked up a ton this week, but there are better adds out there. He’s still a rookie that only got his start because Lee Evans was out. Of course his insanely productive game should get him more looks, but his skills right now are speed and deep routes. That can be stopped by a half way decent pass defense not named St. Louis.
Randy Moss: I’ve been reluctant to add him to any waiver wire posts because he annoys me, but he’s still out there and with the right team could make some noise. He’s worth a speculative add if you have room and can stand his jerk-holeness.
Randall Cobb: There isn’t much room for targets in Green Bay, but Cobb is moving ahead of Donald Driver as we speak. It may take a while, but his talent level is off the charts as long as he can continue to learn the offense and excel.
Tight Ends
Ed Dickson: He continues to get targets, but like most tight ends his fantasy production relies on getting into the end zone. His upside isn’t sky high in the Ravens offense, but he looks like he is going to continue to be a steady producer.
James Casey: It’s hard to deny this last game. Five receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown is not too shabby. It’s also hard to be high on a tight end who is on the same team as another #1 tight end, but it looks like Bill Belichick is doing his best to change that with Hernandez and Gronkowski. With no real #2 receiver the Texans could easily start to utilize both Casey and Daniels together from here on out. Of course it’s not a sure thing by any means, but what is in life? His upside in that offense, if he gets the looks, is very high.
Brandon Pettigrew: Pettigrew was the answer to pressure the Vikings defensive line was giving Matthew Stafford on Sunday. That means he won’t get 13 targets every week. He’s still just a high end backup tight end, but there’s value in that.
