Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 12

QUARTERBACKS

Daunte Culpepper, OAK, Not Recommended – Culpepper got the start at Minnesota on Sunday and did not play all that bad, throwing for 344 yards with a touchdown and interception. Culpepper is not recommended, however, for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that the Raiders prefer to run the ball and have had not much success passing this season. The other reason is that there are reports that rookie JaMarcus Russell will make his NFL debut on December 2, meaning Culpepper would only have two more starts. Unless Culpepper goes off over the next two games, he will be on the bench.

Byron Leftwich, ATL, Not Recommended – Leftwich was back in the starting lineup on Sunday after suffering a serious ankle injury a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately for Leftwich and the Falcons, the results were not pretty. Leftwich passed for just 106 yards and turned the ball over four times (two interceptions and two fumbles) before being replaced by Joey Harrington in the second half. Harrington was much better, going 16-of-20 for 139 yards with a touchdown. No official announcement has been made but one would have to assume that coach Bobby Petrino will highly consider starting Joey Harrington this week. The only real value Leftwich has at this point is in a keeper league, but even that is shaky.

A.J. Feeley, PHI, Not Recommended – Feeley replaced an injured Donovan McNabb (ankle, thumb) early in Sunday’s win over Miami and finished with 116 yards, a touchdown and an interception. McNabb’s status for this week is in serious doubt, but coach Andy Reid said on Monday that McNabb is the starter when healthy. So even if McNabb is out for a couple of weeks, Feeley does not have any long term value. Feeley has bounced around the league over the last couple of years and Philadelphia’s passing game has not been anything special this season anyway. Only take a look at Feeley if you are desperate because even if he starts this week at New England, he probably won’t put up good numbers.

RUNNING BACKS

Chester Taylor, MIN, Recommended – Chances are Taylor is long gone in your league, but he is an obvious pickup this week if still available. Taylor went off on Sunday against Oakland, running for 164 yards with three touchdowns and catching three passes for 38 yards. Taylor is just an average runner, but he plays behind a great offensive line and rookie sensation Adrian Peterson is expected to miss at least one more game, if not more. It would be unrealistic to expect another monster game from Taylor, but he is more than capable of being very productive.

Ricky Williams, MIA, Recommended – Williams rejoined Miami last week after being reinstated by the league and is expected to practice on Wednesday. Williams’ status for this week’s game is unclear, but it looks like he’ll playing soon. One would imagine the Dolphins giving Williams some type of chance on the field considering that the team is 0-10, although Jesse Chatman has played well in place of an injured Ronnie Brown. Williams is worth a look on a speculative basis, especially if you have the roster space, because it’s hard to predict what this guy actually has left in the tank.

Andre Hall, DEN, Recommended – Hall got a chance to play in Monday’s game against Tennessee after Selvin Young (knee) left the game in the second half. Hall ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run and finished with seven carries for 89 yards. Hall, who led the Big East in rushing one season, is stocky back with good speed, but has been third on the team’s depth chart for most of the year. However, the door might have opened for Hall because Travis Henry (knee) did not play on Monday and could get suspended by the league for failing a drug test while Young has battled injuries throughout his entire football career. If anything else, Hall is worth a pickup based on the fact that Denver has a knack for finding productive yet unknown running backs.

Ron Dayne, HOU, Recommended – Dayne is another one of those guys that is probably not available in your league. He is worth a pickup, however, if unclaimed. Dayne ran for 89 yards on 21 carries and added three receptions for 26 yards in Sunday’s win over New Orleans. Ahman Green (knee) is unlikely to play again this week against Cleveland and has been in and out of the lineup all season. Dayne has had his moments the last two seasons when given the opportunity so he has some serious value at this point. Plus, Houston’s offense looks like it’s on the rise - Andre Johnson returned from a knee injury and had a big game in Sunday’s win.

Michael Pittman, TB, Slightly Recommended – Pittman returned on Sunday after missing several games due to a severe ankle injury. Pittman ran the ball 10 times for 44 yards and had two receptions for 17 yards, but lost a fumble and dropped a pass. Meanwhile, starter Earnest Graham had 17 rushes for 102 yards with a touchdown. It appears that Pittman will be in the mix, but Graham will receive most of the carries and see a majority of the goal line action. Pittman is slightly recommended, however, because he catches the ball well out of the backfield and coach John Gruden has never been shy about using him in a variety of ways.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Devard Darling, BAL - Slightly recommended. Other than Derrick Mason, it is pretty hard at this point to recommend any WR on Baltimore. Darling had a big game on Sunday against the Browns, catching 4 passes for 107 yards and a TD. However, prior to this game, Darling had 4 career catches in his 4 seasons in the NFL. Fluke one-hit wonder or legit? If you have a spot in a deep league, he might be worth a flyer, but I wouldn't expect too much...

Drew Carter, CAR - Recommended. Carter had a huge game with Steve Smith out, with 132 yards on 5 catches and 1 TD in a losing effort against Green Bay. Carter, in his 4th year in the NFL after a fine career at "The" Ohio State University, has shown flashes of potential in the past. Could he finally breakout? Keep an eye on Smith's status this week. If he's ruled out again, Carter may be worth a start in deeper leagues...

Reggie Williams, JAX - Not recommended. Apparently this is the week of underachieving 4th year wideouts. Williams caught his 5th TD of the year on Sunday. Too bad he's only caught 21 passes total on the year. Now that Garrard is back, Northcutt's #'s should improve, but I don't expect much more than a couple of catches per game for Williams the rest of the year...

Justin Gage, TEN - Slightly Recommended. In last week's WW column, THIMD had Gage listed as "Not Recommended". Then he went out and caught another 6 passes Monday night, giving him 13 in the last two weeks. With Young throwing more, Gage is clearly becoming one of his go to targets, which is why he gets an upgrade this week. I wouldn't go too far out of my way to get him, but as a #5 WR, you could do a lot worse...

Michael Jenkins, ATL - Not Recommended. Another 4th year underachiever, Jenkins caught 9 passes in the loss against Tampa Bay on Sunday. What really stood out to me was the fact that despite catching such a high number of passes, he only had 73 yards receiving, or 8 yards per catch, which is dismal. I have no faith in ever starting this guy, and unless you are in a 14+ team league, he should be an FA...

TIGHT ENDS

Quinn Sypniewski, BAL - Slightly Recommended. A former WW recommendation, Sypniewski's value is entirely dependent on Todd Heap's health. He's had 5 games in which he's caught 4 or more passes, which is pretty solid, and is on pace for almost 50 receptions. If Heap is out next week, I would consider Sypniewski a high end #2 TE against San Diego...

Visanthe Shiancoe, MIN - Not recommended. Shiancoe caught a 79 yard pass from WR Sidney Rice on Sunday, but added only 1 other catch the rest of the game. With only 19 receptions and 1 TD in 10 games this year, there are far better options for you, especially considering that the bye weeks have ended...

Chris Baker, NYJ - Slightly Recommended. Baker led the Jets in catches in the shocking win against PITT on Sunday, with 4 receptions for 34 yards, including a TD. In leagues that start 2 Tight Ends, Baker is definitely worth a pickup. In all other leagues, I probably wouldn't bother...

Alex Smith, TB - Slightly Recommended. Smith has actually been fairly solid in his 3 years in the NFL, with 76 catches in his first two seasons, and 19 in 8 games this year, along with 3 TD's, tying his career high with 6 games to go. Smith had a season high 51 yards and a TD on Sunday, and had more receptions than anyone else on the team (which isn't saying much, considering that Garcia only completed 10 passes). Still, Smith is a top 15 TE the rest of the year, and is a nice fallback should your starter go down with an injury...