Working the Waiver Wire - Week 10

QBs

1) Matt Cassel (KC QB)
Yesterday, Cassel put up an astonishing 469 yards and 4 TDs. Plus, he looks absolutely darling in this picture. Despite all that, Cassel is still available in more than half of Yahoo leagues. I thought Dwayne Bowe's success was mostly a product of facing the easiest trio of matchups imaginable. But Cassel and Bowe continue to be on fire. For the rest of the fantasy season, including the playoffs, 5 of Cassel's 6 opponents are in the weak AFC and NFC west. After a disappointing fantasy start to the season in which Kansas City was winning games with the run game and defense, the Chiefs' gameplan is changing, and Cassel is becoming the focus. Thomas Jones owners surely noticed the increasing ineffectiveness of the ground game.



2) Jon Kitna (DAL QB)
We mentioned him last week, but he's still available in 83% of leagues. In the shocker of the week, Dallas stunned the Giants as Kitna put up 327 yards and 3 TDs. He's making a star out of Dez Bryant, and also has Miles Austin, Jason Witten, and a solid pass-catching back in Felix Jones at his disposal. Grab him if you need any QB help or a solid insurance back-up.

RBs


1) Keiland Williams (WAS RB)
For those waiting on Ryan Torain, tonight was extremely frustrating. All reports said Torain would start, and you may have done the responsible thing and picked up Keiland Williams just in case. You checked the inactives list and Torain was set to start, but without any warning, Torain decided his hamstring wasn't right, and Williams took every carry. Williams had 16 carries for 89 yards and 2 rushing TDs, and added 4 catches for 50 yards and a TD. It's hard to judge the situation because this was not a normal game. The Skins found themselves in a 28-0 blowout in the first quarter. Williams is the passing down back anyway and every down necessarily became a passing down for Washington. Williams is a must-add if you have any room because he may have earned a slightly bigger chunk of the pie, but Portis and Torain should be back next week, so don't drop anyone good for him.


2) Reggie Bush (NO RB)
We talked about Bush a few weeks ago (it may have been too soon), but if Reginald is still available in your league, you have to get him now. Pierre Thomas is still out and Bush should be back in a nice matchup against Seattle this weekend.


WRs

1) Sidney Rice (MIN WR) and Vincent Jackson (SD WR) are owned in barely half of leagues, so make them your top priority if they're still available in yours. For what it's worth, I like Jackson more than Rice.

2) Mike Thomas (JAC WR)
Thomas has been decent over the past couple weeks, but he had a huge game Sunday with 8 catches for 149 yards and a TD, including the improbable 50 yard TD bomb to win the game. He's available in 75% of leagues and should be picked up now. It's becoming increasingly clear that if you can only own and start one Jacksonville WR, it's Thomas, not Mike Sims-Walker.

3) Mike Williams (SEA WR)
Big Mike Williams redeemed himself after 2 weak games with a big day on Sunday. BMW was the go-to guy again with 11 catches for 145. I'm not confident that Williams is an elite talent, but give him 17 targets again and he'll give you some solid fantasy production. On the season, Williams has 80 targets. John Carlson is the Seahawk with the second most targets - only 44. Wow. He's available in more than half of all leagues, so be sure he's owned in yours.



TEs


1) Anthony Fasano (MIA TE)
Fasano has been an okay TE all season, pretty consistently getting you 5 points per game. But he blew up yesterday with 5 catches for 107 yards and a TD. With Henne and Pennington taking turns in there, Fasano proved to be a nice safety valve target. The Chads are both likely done for the year, so the fantasy wonder of a few years ago, Tyler Thigpen takes control. Frustrated Brandon Marshall owners hope Thigpen is competent enough to go deep and take advantage of Marshall. Fasano owners should hope Thigpen is just as incompetent as the Chads, in which case he'll be checking down to Fasano and both RBs this Thursday night against Chicago.


2) Rob Gronkowski (NE TE)
Aaron Hernandez has been the studly TE pickup this season, with 2 TDs last week. The TEs pulled a switcheroo this week as Gronkowski hauled in the TDs (3 in fact) and Hernandez was invisible. This seems like an inconsistent situation with a lot of upside and a lot of downside. With Randy Moss's departure, the Patriots Tight Ends have outproduced the Patriots Wide Receivers. But it will be hard to know whether Gronkowski or Hernandez will be the guy each week. I still like Hernandez more going forward, but Gronkowski is worth an add for those looking for a nice speculative pick-up.

-By Brett Hammon