Top Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 9

All owned percentages are from Yahoo! Fantasy Football leagues and as of Tuesday, November 23, 2009.


Quarterback:
* SEA Matt Hasselbeck - His 61% owned percentage (Source: Yahoo! Fantasy Leagues) makes me iffy to be on this list, but he has had his fair share of critics this season. Hasselbeck had a more than solid day despite losing to Dallas. Seattle has a very pass friendly schedule coming up with Detroit, Arizona, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Tennessee. Sure Matt's been inconsistent so far this year, but I'd bet on him being a safe starter on most weeks for the rest of the year. VERDICT - GOOD [61% OWNED]
* TEN Vince Young - Young has had a roller coaster of a career so far, but he's still young and he took advantage of getting back the starting spot this week against the Jags. Although he only passed for 125 yards, he managed a touchdown (with no picks) and 30 rushing yards. He won't be a consistent player this year and will be a risk to start every week, but he's worth looking at in deeper leagues. VERDICT - RISKY [9% OWNED]


Runningback:
* HOU Ryan Moats - Moats is coming off a four touchdown game with nearly 250 rushing yards. Although his outlook is bright with Steve Slaton's struggles, you can't help but wonder if his game was a fluke like Shonn Greene last week, who laid an egg this week following a breakout game. Either way, his outlook is brighter than Greene's and should be on the top of your waiver wire list this week. VERDICT - SOLID [31% OWNED]
* PHI LeSean McCoy - In Brian Westbrook's absence, McCoy ran for over 80 yards and a touchdown. Sure he won't be an every down back for the entire season, but with Westbrook being injury prone, McCoy will see a lot more action than most backups. VERDICT - SOLID [56% OWNED]


Wide Receiver:
* PHI Jeremy Maclin - Maclin has been hit and miss this season and that's likely to continue for the rest of the year, but either way, he's putting together a solid rookie campaign and will give you a big burst every once in a while (look at him similar to Darren Sproles). VERDICT - RISKY [48% OWNED]
* SD Malcom Floyd - With Chris Chambers now gone and the solid numbers Floyd has put up in the past few games, Floyd should be expected to have at least a few decent games. Consider most defenses will draw more to Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates as well as the Pro Bowl caliber quarterback in Phillip Rivers. VERDICT - SLEEPER [8% OWNED]
* HOU Jacoby Jones - Jones has been inconsistent in his production this season, but with one of Houston's top targets Owen Daniels now out for the season and Andre Johnson drawing most the looks from defenses, Jones will get some good games every now and then. VERDICT - LAST RESORT [25% OWNED]
* TEN Nate Washington - With a new starting quarterback, Washington seemed to have brought back some of the spice he showed earlier in the season. He won't be a week to week starter and is a deep sleeper at this point, but is worth having is some deeper leagues. VERDICT - LAST RESORT [28% OWNED]


Tight End:
* NYG Kevin Boss - Although he has been decent this year, he hasn't shown that he can be a valid fantasy starter with a breakout game...until this week, when he came up with 70 receiving yards and a touchdown. Although you shouldn't expect this every week, with a dry tight end market, Boss will probably be the best you can find in standard leagues. VERDICT - RISKY [30% OWNED]
* NYJ Dustin Keller - Despite 76 receiving yards and touchdown, Keller should be at best avoided in most leagues. Keller has been inconsistent this year and with a rocky passing game that is seeing Braylon Edwards slowly emerging and Jerricho Cotchery returning from injury, Keller is nothing more than a bye week fill-in at this point. VERDICT - LAST RESORT [48% OWNED]


Players are listed in order from higher to lower value within positions. "Good" means high expectations and low chance of busting. "Solid" means decent expectations and low chance of busting. "Sleeper" means high expectations and medium chance of busting (but high inconsistency). "Risky" means high expectations and high chance of busting. "Last Resort" means average expectations and medium chance of busting (but high inconsistency, essentially a poorer sleeper). "Good" is the best verdict possible, but past that verdict, all the other verdicts depend on the scenario.