Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 16

QUARTERBACKS

Shaun Hill, SF - Slightly Recommended. Hill looked like a decent quarterback in Saturday’s upset win over Cincinnati, completing 21-of-28 pass attempts for 197 yards with two combined touchdowns (one passing, one rushing). Hill threw a lot of short stuff, but made strong decisions in and out of the pocket and was very accurate. The six-year veteran who was making his first career start even made Darrell Jackson look like a superstar as DJax had one of his best games of the season with eight receptions for 86 yards. Hill is slightly recommended because he showed some promise in Saturday’s win and has a teammate in Frank Gore that can take pressure off an inexperienced quarterback. If you are scrambling for a quarterback over the final two games, you could do a lot worse than Hill.

Chad Pennington, NYJ - Slightly Recommended. Pennington made some good throws in relief of Kellen Clemens (ribs) during Sunday’s loss to New England and moved the ball well. Pennington finished with 186 yards and had a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter overturned by replay. There have been no updates on Clemens yet, but one would assume the Jets will be cautious with their young quarterback. That would mean a couple of starts down the stretch for Pennington, who makes for a decent pickup if you are in need of a quarterback.

Cleo Lemon, MIA - Not Recommended. Lemon passed for 315 yards and tossed the game-winning touchdown in overtime to beat Baltimore on Sunday and give the Dolphins their first victory of the season. Lemon did some good things on Sunday, but he was sacked five times and was having an average game until his 64-yard touchdown pass in overtime. One could argue that Lemon should have had an even better game considering the Ravens have one of the worst pass defenses in the league and Miami was playing from behind for most of the day. The Dolphins do not have any playmakers on offense so unless you are completely desperate at quarterback, leave Lemon alone.

RUNNING BACKS

Kenton Keith, IND - Slightly Recommended. Keith is slightly recommended on a speculative basis. Joseph Addai is clearly the main man for the Colts, but they just secured a first round bye and cannot improve their playoff position. Because of this coach Tony Dungy may choose to rest key starters over the final two games, especially in the season finale. Therefore, Keith could be a sneaky pickup if your league goes the full 17 weeks.

LaMont Jordan and Dominic Rhodes, OAK - Slightly Recommended. Justin Fargas suffered what appears to be an MCL injury in Sunday’s loss to Indianapolis so Jordan and/or Rhodes could be a factor in the final two games. They are both only slightly recommended, however, because it’s difficult to predict which player would get more carries in Fargas’ absence. Jordan is probably the more talented player, but Rhodes is more versatile. Both players are somewhat in coach Lane Kiffin’s doghouse - Rhodes ran for 41 yards on seven carries against the Colts after not playing the previous two games while Jordan was inactive for Sunday’s game. If you have the roster space and are in need of a running back, pickup both to see what develops during the week. In case you can only grab one, go with Rhodes, but that is just a guess based on the fact that he can do more things than Jordan.

Darren Sproles, SD - Not Recommended. Sproles had a career game in Sunday’s 51-14 win over Detroit, rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Sproles, normally the team’s third-string running back, got an opportunity to play because the Chargers were up big at halftime and backup Michael Turner suffered a shoulder injury. Sproles is a great kick and punt returner, but has very little value as a runner behind the durable LaDainian Tomlinson. However, if you own Tomlinson, you might want to pick up Sproles just for the heck of it because Turner’s injury could be serious.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Darrell Jackson, SF - Slightly Recommended. It has been a nightmare for Jackson in his first year with the 49'ers after 7 seasons with the Seahawks. People quickly forget that in his last 6 years, DJax had 60+ catches in every year except 2005, when he missed 10 games due to injury. And even in that year, he averaged over 6 catches/game. With Shaun Hill at QB I'm still a bit leery of recommending him, but if he somehow wins the starting QB job next year, Jackson may be draftable again...

Roydell Williams, TENN - Not Recommended. Do you want an unreliable WR starting for you in the finals? Didn't think so... Williams had a great game in the win over KC on Sunday, with 94 yards and two TD's. In his previous 7 games, Williams had just one game with more than 50 yards receiving, and only 1 TD. Pass...

Greg Camarillo, MIA - Not Recommended. Who? Seriously, I never heard of this guy before. Is it Rich Camarillo's son? He had just one career catch in his first two years in the league heading into Week 14, and "exploded" for 109 yards and a TD in the upset win over Baltimore. I have no idea how Cleo Lemon managed to throw for over 300 yards, but I don't expect it to happen ever again (not including his future career in the Arena League)...


TIGHT ENDS

Chris Baker, NYJ - Slightly Recommended. Baker caught 8 passes for 66 yards in Sunday's lost to New England, leading all Jets receivers. He now has a respectable 37 catches on the year, along with 3 TD's. If Clemens is out for the last 2 games, Baker is worth a flier in deep leagues, as Pennington is the king of dinking and dunking the ball downfield....

Tony Scheffler, DEN - Highly Recommended. Scheffler was a THIMD favorite earlier in the year, but because his numbers dipped a bit lately, with only 1 TD in his last 6 games, as well as 50 yards in all but 1 of them. He had a huge bounce back game in the loss to HOU on Thursday night, with 100 yards and a TD. Although this week is the finals in most leagues, I'd consider starting him in all formats against SD.