The Wire – Week 15: Slim Pickings

Here are our waiver wire candidates for week 15. As usual, you’ll find players who are either [Startable], a [Stopgap] to get you past a BYE or injury, [Worth a look] and spot on your bench, or [One-week-wonder]s who don’t warrant a roster spot, so you make your roster moves accordingly. You’ll also see the percent owned in parenthesis. We’re coming down to crunch-time now, with the playoffs starting/continuing in nearly every league out there at this point, so hopefully you don’t have to rely too much on the players listed here. As usual, good luck to everyone as you try to get one step closer to that league championship!

Quarterbacks
  • [Startable] Alex Smith, SF (67%) – While the interceptions weren’t great, Smith did add two more touchdowns against the Cardinals and now has nine over the past four games.
  • [Stopgap] Matt Hasselbeck, SEA (74%) – Mr. Inconsistency has a match-up with the Bucaneers, so while it looks good on paper (so did St. Louis in week 12!) who knows how he’ll end up doing.
  • [Stopgap] Kyle Orton, DEN (73%) – Gotta give props to Orton here for helping my boy Brandon Marshall break the single game reception record this past weekend (Baby T.O. takes over record from T.O.) He now has two touchdowns in consecutive weeks and could do alright against the Raiders, who allowed two scores to Jason Campbell last week.
  • [Stopgap] Jason Campbell, WAS (41%) – Like Alex Smith, Campbell has been pretty solid over the past few weeks with seven scores over the past three games. Jason could be a decent play against the Giants this week, who didn’t look all that great against the Eagles.
Wide Receivers
  • [Stopgap] Hakeem Nicks, NYG (81%) – His numbers at the end of the game looked great, but did you see some of his dropped passes?! Wide open, sure-touchdown passes just went through or off his hands. If he continues to start though, Nicks is a decent play as he’s very athletic and can make it happen once he actually gets the ball secured.
  • [Stopgap] Kenny Britt, TEN (50%) – Even with quarterback issues again, Britt managed to put up some decent numbers. He has more value in keeper leagues at this point, but is someone that could be considered if you’re not very deep at the position.
  • [Worth a look] Dwayne Bowe, KC (72%) – He’s done with his league suspension, but whether he starts this weekend is up to the head coach. Wait and see how this situation plays out before plugging him into your line-up.
  • [Worth a look] Devery Henderson, NO (68%) – Nothing special with Henderson these days, but there’s always a chance of him putting up big numbers in the Saints offense.
  • [Worth a look] Johnny Knox, CHI (58%) – Knox should see a few more looks per game with Devin Hester hurt, but he’s still tought to rely on at such an important point in your season.
  • [Worth a look] Joshua Cribbs, CLE (29%) – The Browns are using Cribbs out of the wild cat formation and he’s actually put up some decent numbers recently. Combined with his kick return yardage and some receiving, he’s become a pretty versatile player that could be useful in your league depending on the scoring.
  • [Worth a look] Michael Jenkins, ATL (20%) – Roddy White should draw Darrelle Revis, so maybe Jenkins will get some open looks against a tough Jets defense.
  • [Worth a look] Greg Camarillo, MIA (3%) – Camarillo had seven catches for 110 yards this past week, but don’t expect those numbers against the Titans, who have played well on defense recently.
  • [Worth a look] Devin Aromashodu, CHI (1%) – With Devin Hester banged up, Aromachodu has immediately connected with Jay Cutler and could be a possible WR3 or flex play during your playoffs.
Running Backs
  • [Stopgap] Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG (81%) – Bradshaw seems to be healthy enough these days, as he managed to rack up 101 combined yards and added a touchdown against the Eagles. The G-Men play Washington this weekend though, so those numbers could dip a bit.
  • [Stopgap] Quinton Ganther, WAS (70%) – For all of those who took the gamble on Ganther, he paid immediate dividends with 93 combined yards and two scores. Keep in mind that this was against the Raiders though.
  • [Stopgap] Maurice Morris, DET (10%) – With Kevin Smith out for the year with an ACL tear, Morris will take over the running duties for the Lions and gets a decent match-up with the Cardinals, who were just run over by Frank Gore on Monday Night Football.
  • [Worth a look] Willis McGahee, BAL (67%) – Don’t get too excited with McGahee’s performance this past weekend, as it probably won’t happen again this year. Ray Rice is the man in Baltimore (as shown by his 219 yard, one TD performance) and Willis is there to clean up the scraps.
  • [Worth a look] Jason Snelling, ATL (63%) – Unfortunately Jerious Norwood is still clouding up the situation, but Snelling seems to be running better and should be the back of choice when the team gets to the goalline.
  • [Worth a look] Chris Jennings, CLE (23%) – Jennings tricked us all back in week 13 when we thought he’d be the primary running back for the Browns (and Jerome Harrison swooped in), but now it appears that it’s his job to lose after a 20 carry effort against the Steelers. He has a great match-up against the Chiefs this week as well.
  • [Worth a look] Justin Fargas, OAK (28%) – If you’re looking for 6-8 points from your RB2 or Flex, maybe Fargas is the guy you’re looking for.
  • [One-week-wonder] Arian Foster, HOU (12%) – The running back carousal continues in Houston, with Arian Foster the next in line to get a crack at the job. With Ryan Moats and Chris Brown still in the mix though, I wouldn’t have too much faith in him quite yet.
  • [One-week-wonder] Leonard Weaver, PHI (9%) – He’s a fullback who’s seeing an expanded role with Brian Westbrook out.
Tight Ends
  • [Startable] Fred Davis, WAS (45%) – Davis now has four touchdowns in the past three games and is obviously one of Jason Campbell’s favorite targets when they get close to the endzone.
  • [Stopgap] Kevin Boss, NYG (57%) – The Boss Man isn’t earning a reputation for consistency this season, but he’s put up big numbers a couple times this year and is worth a shot if you’re in a bind.
  • [Stopgap] Jermichael Finley, GB (53%) – He has over 70 yards in two straight games now and has become an important part of a pretty explosive Packers passing game.