Working the Waiver Wire - Week 12

This is not a huge week for pickups. Almost everyone who you might want to add has already been discussed here. I still recommend Matt Cassel, Jon Kitna, Shaun Hill, Nate Burleson, Mike Thomas, and Ben Obomanu. But this week's number one new pickup has got to be...

Brian Westbrook (SF RB)
What a blow to the Niners. It's incredible that their offense moved so well without Gore in tonight. Now it looks as though Gore is done for the season, making 30-year-old Brian Westbrook this week's top pickup. Westbrook flashed his old explosiveness in Monday Night Football, running for 136 yards and a TD. Subbing in Westbrook for Gore shouldn't change the Niners playbook much because Westbrook is also a great pass-catching back. I'm not at all saying Westbrook is as good as Gore at this age. But if tonight is any indication, the Niners offense will do its best to run through Westbrook, just like it's been run through Gore all season. Westbrook gets a tough matchup against Green Bay this week, then a cupcake against Seattle, and then another tough one against San Diego. Deep leaguers and risk-averse owners should also add Anthony Dixon who came in and also excelled in garbage time.

Toby Gerhart (MIN RB)
Adrian Peterson left Sunday's game after getting his leg rolled up on. Gerhart came in and replaced him and played quite well, generating 76 yards and a TD on the ground. The results of an MRI today have not been fully disclosed, but the outlook is positive for AP. The other issue is Gerhart sustained a stinger of his own. If you're an AP-owner, Gerhart is a must-add. For the rest of you, given that we're headed into Week 13, only add Gerhart if you have a spot to burn and you would realistically start Gerhart should he get the nod against Buffalo.

Jacoby Ford (OAK WR)
Check out Ford's fantasy point totals over the last 4 weeks: 3, 24, 3, 26. That's not a model of consistency, but after 2 huge games in 3 weeks, he's probably worth serious consideration. On Sunday, he totaled 4 catches for 108 yards and a receiving TD, plus a return TD if your league counts those. This play-maker will be hard for the offensive coordinator to ignore going forward. He has a tough matchup this week against San Diego, but then starts the playoffs with 2 nice matchups against Jacksonville and Denver. 
 
Blair White (IND WR)
White replaced Austin Collie this week and caught 4 balls for 34 yards and a TD. That's 3 TDs in 2 weeks. Collie may try to return this week, but at this point, I just don't think you can trust Collie to stay healthy. I expect White to get more production than Collie going forward. But I'm not totally excited about a guy who will be targeted only after Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon, and Jacob Tamme. If you want to roll the dice on another TD, give White a shot.

Rob Gronkowski (NE TE)
This is now 3 games in a row where Gronkowski has had more receiving yards than Aaron Hernandez, whose snapcount has inexplicably and sharply declined recently. GronCow as no one likes to call him, had 3 TDs, then a single catch game, and this Thanksgiving put up a respectable 5 catches for 65 yards. I don't love Gronkowski going forward, but the TE options are pretty miserable this year, so you can throw Gronkowski in your line-up and do just as well as the guy who has Kellen Winslow, Heath Miller, or Brent Celek. Either way, I'm dropping Hernandez for Gronkowski in every league where I have Hernandez.

-By Brett Hammon