Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only guys eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.
Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.
Bruce Gradkowski (5.1)
He doesn’t have the greatest matchup this week (SD), but Week 6 (@SF) and Week 7 (@ DEN) get easier. He has thrown for 533 yards, 3 TDs and 3 INTs in the last two weeks.
Sam Bradford (23.1)
He’s not setting the world on fire, but with a per-game average of 236 yards and 1.5 TDs, he’s playing very well for a rookie. He has the Lions this week as well, which makes him an interesting pickup for Mike Vick owners.
Matt Hasselbeck (29.2)
Hass has been solid, but he didn’t do much in a good matchup with the Rams. The Seahawks are on bye this week and have the Bears in Week 6, so if you need a QB in the next two weeks, look elsewhere.
Josh Freeman (13.4)
Coming off his bye, Freeman has a bad matchup with the Bengals this week, but things get back to normal with the Saints, Rams and Cardinals after that.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (1.1)
Need a fill in for Week 5? Fitzy has a nice matchup at home against the Jaguars, who are coming off an emotional win over the Colts. He has tossed four TDs over the last two weeks and even ran for 74 yards against the Jets in Week 4.
Kevin Kolb (57.8)
Kolb breaks my under-50%-owned rule, but I thought I’d include him given the magnitude of Michael Vick’s injury in the world of fantasy football. Kolb threw for 201 yards and a TD in a good matchup against the Redskins, and has a pretty good matchup with the 49ers in Week 5. I’m not terribly optimistic about his chances for fantasy success over the next three weeks.
David Garrard (24.2)
Garrard looked like his old self against the Colts, but he has a tendency to play worse on the road. Still, the Bills are a good matchup.
Alex Smith (11.7)
Spotty is the word that I’d use to describe Smith this season. Who knows how he’ll play against the Eagles in Week 5.
Matt Cassel (10.2)
Cassel was pretty dreadful in the first two weeks, but tossed three TDs against the 49ers in Week 3. Coming off his bye, he has the Colts, Texans, Jaguars and Bills, so he could be a decent spot starter for fantasy owners in need.
Shaun Hill (2.8)
Jimmy Clausen (1.3)
Max Hall (0.4)
Seneca Wallace (0.9)
Ryan Torain (3.5)
Yeah…between Clinton Portis’ hamstring injury and Torain’s solid performance (18 carries, 70 yards, TD) against the Eagles, it sure looks like he’s the new RB1 in Washington. Go get him. (But beware, just when you think Skeletor has chosen a particular course of action, he will yank the rug out from under you.)
Michael Bush (63.3)
Breaking my 50% rule again, but Darren McFadden pulled up lame with a hamstring injury and Bush filled in admirably.
Danny Woodhead (0.6)
He’s listed as a WR by ESPN, but he carried the ball eight times for 36 yards and caught an 11-yard TD pass on Monday night. It looks like he’s taking over for the injured Kevin Faulk and is serving as a change up back to BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
John Kuhn (37.1)
Serving as the “Thunder” to Brandon Jackson’s “Lightning.” Both words are in quotes for a reason. He’s the Packers’ goal line back, and that’s something.
Mike Bell (2.0)
LeSean McCoy has a rib injury that he may or may not be able to play through. If he can’t go, Bell is first in line for his touches and has proved capable in the past.
LeGarrette Blount (1.6)
Don’t forget about him because he was on bye this week. He’s pushing Carnell Williams for touches, but Earnest Graham is also a factor.
Ladell Betts (1.6)
Chris Ivory (1.0)
Betts got 17 touches with Pierre Thomas out. Ivory is the better runner but he doesn’t know the pass protections.
Derrick Ward (1.5)
He could push Steve Slaton for the RB2 job in Houston. He carried the ball 12 times for 80 yards and a score against Oakland.
Earnest Graham (1.0)
11+ points in PPR leagues in the last two weeks, but Kareem Huggins is expected to get more work on passing downs going forward.
Sammy Morris (1.4)
Part of New England’s giant RBBC.
Kevin Smith (40.4)
Smith looked pretty good against GB, and makes a smart handcuff for Jahvid Best.
Javon Ringer (4.7)
Ringer busted a 50-yard run proving that he’d be a serviceable fantasy starter if Chris Johnson were to go down.
Kenneth Darby (5.9)
S-Jax seems like he’s okay, so Darby’s upside is limited.
Mike Williams, TB (42.7)
The rookie was WR34 in PPR leagues heading into Week 4, yet he was the 54th most owned wideout. He has 12 catches and two TD in his first three games as a pro.
Lance Moore (38.6)
Moore followed up his monster 6-149-2 effort win Week 3 with a 5-37-1 outing against the Panthers. Let’s not forget that he’s just 27 years old and is two years removed from a 79-928-10 season in 2008.
Brandon Tate (3.9)
With Randy Moss out of the picture, we can expect big things from Tate, who will take over as the Pats’ WR2. He’s a high-risk/high-reward pickup.
Davone Bess (2.4)
He followed up a 6-86 performance against the Jets with a stellar 9-96-1 outing against the Pats on Monday night. He doesn’t score a lot of TDs, but in PPR leagues, he’s a good guy to have.
Roy Williams (25.2)
Williams is a great example of fantasy fatigue. Owners have been burned before so they have a tendency to leave the player out on the waiver wire longer. With Miles Austin and Dez Bryant hoarding the targets, there’s no reason to think that Williams’ 5-117-2 performance against the Texans was anything but a fluke. But you never know. (Right, Brandon Lloyd?)
Jabar Gaffney (20.5)
He posted 12-140 last week and 5-51 this week. As long as Knowshon Moreno is out, the Broncos are going to throw a ton.
Kenny Britt (37.4)
He has turned nine targets in the last two weeks into 5-49-2. Considering he averaged 16.7 ypc as a rookie, bigger games should be on the way after a very bad offseason.
Demaryius Thomas (24.7)
After nine targets in his outstanding Week 2 debut, Thomas has just 10 targets in the last two games. It appears he is WR4 behind Brandon Lloyd, Gaffney and Eddie Royal. Still, there’s upside here.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh (21.4)
Had his best game as a Raven in Week 4, but he’s still the third/fourth option in the passing game on a run-oriented team.
Steve Johnson (0.3)
6-97-2 in the last two weeks in Buffalo’s offense is nothing to sneeze at.
Golden Tate (3.7)
He has caught seven passes in the last two weeks and the Seahawks desperately need a playmaker to emerge at wideout.
Mike Thomas (2.6)
He has caught 4+ passes in three of four games, but is only roster-worthy in PPR leagues.
Danny Amendola (2.5)
He has 21 catches in four games so he’s worth a look in PPR leagues.
Darrius Heyward-Bey (2.2)
Brian Hartline (1.2)
Dexter McCluster (15.1)
Josh Cribbs (18.8)
Devin Hester (37.2)
Stephen Williams (0.2)
With Steve Breaston sidelined, the Cards’ WR2 spot is his to lose. The problem is that the QB play in Arizona is barely good enough to support one relevant fantasy wideout, much less two.
Harry Douglas (0.2)
Jeremy Shockey (56.0)
14-136-1 in two weeks since Reggie Bush broke his leg. Coincidence? I think not.
Aaron Hernandez (38.3)
The Pats didn’t need to throw much on Monday night, but Hernandez still caught five passes.
Tony Moeaki (4.9)
He leads the Chiefs in targets (19) through the first three weeks and has thus far been KC’s most productive receiver in the passing game.
Marcedes Lewis (53.8)
Lewis has more value in standard leagues than in PPR leagues given his TD/catch ratio.
Brandon Pettigrew (2.6)
Pettigrew has been killing in PPR leagues (21-243) over the last three games, but one wonders how long that will last once Matthew Stafford returns.
John Carlson (31.7)
Carlson had a nice thing going (10-109-1 in Weeks 2-3) before a 1-15 effort against the Rams.
Todd Heap (19.9)
Derrick Mason seems to be getting his targets now, which makes Heap a middle of the road TE2.
Tony Scheffler (6.6)
Benjamin Watson (4.1)
It’s hard to argue with 15-169-1 over the last three weeks, fantasy fatigue be damned.
Jermaine Gresham (11.6)
Heath Miller (49.1)
His looks/numbers should improve once Ben Roethlisberger returns. But with the depth at TE this season, there’s no reason to roster him in shallow leagues (16 players per team).
Rob Gronkowski (5.7)
Kevin Boss (11.4)
