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Week 4 on the fantasy football waiver wire is rather slim this week. However, with bye weeks coming up and a couple of injuries this past week, there are a few intriguing names that you may want to take a look at that could pay dividends now or later.

Unfortunately the pickings this year on the waiver wire have been rather slim as compared to previous years. This week is the same. My best advice is to not only evaluate some of these names but to keep an eye on who is being dropped in your league. You will see some surprising drops over the next week from owners desperate to turn around their early season. You’ll be surprised at what some people will do in desperate times, without taking a look at the big picture. Otherwise check out these recommended prospects and get them while you can!

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills – Ryan Fitzpatrick makes his annual appearance in the waiver wire this week. Fitzpatrick is back to form after struggling in Week 1 (and the better half of last season). He has scored 13, 18, and 21 points the last three weeks. The Bills will be throwing more this week with Spiller and Jackson expected to miss time, so this would be a great week to grab and play him. The Bills have a New England defense that have given up double digits every week and were shredded by Joe Flacco Sunday night. I like Fitz if you need help at the position or have a QB on bye.

Shaun Hill, Detroit Lions – Welcome back the best backup QB in the NFL. The Lions didn’t miss a beat when Matthew Stafford left last week’s game with a leg injury and Hill came in. Check out Hill’s stats as a starter and you will see a starter that puts up crazy numbers off of the bench. You can’t go wrong when you are throwing to Calvin Johnson can you? Stafford’s status is still up in the air but the Lions have a bye next week. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him miss this game and take the extra time to return. Keep in mind that if Stafford plays, Hill is worthless so proceed with caution. Otherwise he is a fantastic play this week.

Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles – Have you seen Michael Vick this season? He has gotten worse by the week. Andy Reid could be at the end of his rope with Vick if he struggles against division foes the New York Giants on Sunday night. Reid put on Vick notice in Monday’s press conference. Foles looked really good in preseason and the talent is certainly there around him. Vick is also taking a ton of hits and there is just no way he can survive a full season at this rate. If you are looking for a QB now, look elsewhere. If you are looking for an investment that could pay off later in the season, snag Foles.

Running Backs

Tashard Choice, Buffalo Bills – If you are looking for a longterm RB than look elsewhere. If you need a one-two week play than Choice is your guy. It is almost impossible for a running back not to succeed in Chan Gailey’s offense. Spiller and Jackson could be back aSunday so you could be wasting a grab here. However, if you have a RB on bye and you want to take a shot that Spiller and/or Jackson won’t be ready to go, roll the dice on Choice.

Andre Brown, New York Giants – What can Brown do for you? How about 20+ points? I would love to tell you how smart I was for picking up Brown last week and I did. But I was also the dope who sat him for Ryan Matthews this week. Ahmad Bradshaw is expected back Sunday night but for how long? Bradshaw never stays healthy so while I would wait and see how Brown is used this week before I play him. He could be the goalline back or he could go back to irrelevance. He could see significant carries Sunday night as the team eases Bradshaw back into the lineup. I’d certainly take him and use him the second Bradshaw goes down. Either way I have a hunch that the Giants will try and keep him involved going forward.

Bilal Powell, New York Jets – The Shonn  Greene show may be coming to an end.  Jets head coach Rex Ryan said Monday that he’d like to get Powell and Joe McKnight more involved. As the Jets’ number 2 RB, the bulk of that extra work should go to Powell. This is certainly a situation to monitor and one could that really Powell into a very sneaky pickup. The Jets starting running back will certainly get the carries. If its Powell, you could have yourself the waiver wire find of the season come December.

Ryan Williams, Arizona Cardinals – Another season, another Beanie Wells injury. I actually drafted Williams in one of my 12-team leagues in August figuring that Wells would go down sooner than later. The Cards have a tough matchup against a stingy Dolphins run defense this week. But Williams could be one of the better longterm pickups this week down the stretch.

Wide Receivers

Lance Moore, New Orleans Saints – Moore is having a quietly great season. Even with Marques Colston back, Moore found the end zone on Sunday. The New Orleans Saints have the worst defense in the NFL and arguably the best QB. That means that every week will be a shootout and Moore will have plenty of opportunities going forward. He won’t get you double digits every week but he will give you enough big weeks to justify picking him up if you need a WR 2.

Leonard Hankerson, Washington Redskins – I was taking a wait and see approach with Hankerson and what I saw is a guy that could be heavily involved in the offense with Pierre Garcon out. Mike Shanahan recently said that he feels Hankerson earned the right to be a starter. With the Redskins defense already decimated with injuries, the offense will be involved in plenty of shootouts this season. Hankerson won’t be a consistent producer, but he could be someone you play during a bye week.

Andrew Hawkins, Cincinnati Bengals – I am probably a little late to the party for Hawkins but he is turning into a nice WR 3 if you are in need. He has had a touchdown in each of the last two weeks, He’s the deep threat in an offense that looks like it is getting into gear to put up some big points week to week. He doesn’t get targeted a lot which makes him a risky play week to week but if you are thinking about Hawkins you should probably grab him now because I have a feeling he won’t be hanging around the wire for much longer.

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