Fantasy Football Week 4: Five Must-Haves Off the Waiver Wire

Fantasy football owners dealt with quite a few curveballs this week, as guys like Demaryius Thomas and Mike Tolbert were unable to recapture the magic they had in Week 2.

Additionally, the most added player off the waiver wire last week, Falcons running back Jason Snelling, was worth just seven points in Week 3 due to the return of starter Michael Turner.

Elsewhere, guys like Rashard Mendenhall, Antonio Gates, and Michael Vick continue to be the models of consistency in fantasy football.

Heading into the Packers vs. Bears game, Vick has outscored Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, and Philip Rivers for Week 3, making it hard to argue that Eagles head coach Andy Reid made the right call leaving Vick in as his starting quarterback.

With all that being said, allow us to take a look at some guys worth adding to your team immediately before someone in your league beats you to the punch.

Peyton Hillis, RB, Cleveland Browns

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CLEVELAND - SEPTEMBER 19: Running back Peyton Hillis #40 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs at Cleveland Browns Stadium on September 19, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Imag

Fantasy owners have probably had their eye on Hillis for a week or two by now, looking solid as a goal line and change of pace back for Jerome Harrison.

He showed a lot of promise the first couple weeks of the season with back-to-back double-digit performances. 

Then, with Harrison ruled out for Week 3, Hillis was the obvious candidate to start. Few could have expected a big rushing day out of the former fullback against an always stout Ravens run defense.

Well, Hillis did not just have a big day. He absolutely killed it, finishing just half a point behind Chris Johnson in standard scoring leagues.

Albeit in a losing effort, Hillis had 144 yards on 22 carries with a score, as well as tacking on another 36 yards via seven catches.

Even with Harrison’s return, it is hard to overlook a rushing performance of this magnitude against one of the best rush defenses in the NFL.

Hillis’ efforts are even more impressive when you consider the lack of offensive weapons around him.

While the Mangenius Eric Mangini is nearly impossible to predict, anyone with a little common sense can see that Hillis deserves the bulk of the carries for the Browns from here on out.

Brandon Lloyd, WR, Denver Broncos

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DENVER - SEPTEMBER 19: Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd #84 of the Denver Broncos leaves the line of scrimmage against the Seattle Seahawks at INVESCO Field at Mile High on September 19, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Seahawks 31-14. (Pho

Kyle Orton continues to play lights out football for the Broncos, already surpassing 1,000 yards on the season after just three games.

Despite getting the short end of the stick against the Colts, Orton still finished with a whopping 476 yards in Week 3.

While it is tough to guess who will get the most looks from week to week, just about every Broncos receiver should be on a fantasy team by this week's end.

Although Demaryius Thomas had the big game last week, his teammate Brandon Lloyd, who also got an endorsement in this column, was the guy with the stats to brag about after an outing at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Lloyd’s monster game allowed him to finish with six catches for 169 yards and a touchdown.

Sans veteran presence “The Colonel” Bob Sanders, Lloyd had no problem moving around amidst the Colts secondary, notching two catches over 48 yards, leaving cornerbacks in the dust.

It will be tough to guess who comes up short in this Broncos passing attack from week to week, but it is apparent now more than ever that Eddie Royal, Demaryius Thomas, Jabar Gaffney, and Brandon Lloyd all need a home in fantasy land from here on out.

Dustin Keller, TE, New York Jets

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MIAMI - SEPTEMBER 26: Tight end Dustin Keller #81 of the New York Jets catches a touchdown against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on September 26, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

Coming into the season, many were expecting Keller to evolve into one of the elite options at his position this year, making him a trendy sleeper pick.

This is why fantasy owner were up in arms over his Week 1 performance, managing just two catches for 11 yards.

Of course, it does not help when your quarterback cannot throw for more than 72 yards on the day.

However, Keller and Sanchez have bounced back in a big way since then.

In the past two games, Sanchez has six touchdowns to zero interceptions, with Keller reeling in three of those scores.

Keller has overwhelming morphed into the favorite target of the Sanchise, with 13 catches for 213 yards in this time frame as well.

While it is too early to judge if Sanchez has really matured into a legitimate NFL quarterback, the writing on the wall is positive, and one thing remains for sure: Keller will be targeted early and often and is the Jets' surest receiving option to score from one game to the next.

Lance Moore, WR, New Orleans Saints

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NEW ORLEANS - SEPTEMBER 26: Lance Moore #16 of the New Orleans Saints returns a punt against the Atlanta Falcons at the Louisiana Superdome on September 26, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Although the Saints have one of the most electrifying pass attacks in the NFL, they have little to offer fantasy owners outside of Drew Brees.

The reason is that the 2010 Super Bowl MVP generally just throws to whichever teammate is open and does not seem to have much more rapport with one receiver than the next.

Nevertheless, it is hard to overlook any situation where a receiver has six catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns on the day.

The receiver in question here is Toledo product Lance Moore.

Despite a very promising 2008 campaign where Moore had over 900 yards and 10 touchdowns, he fell out of the limelight in 2009 due to injuries and receivers Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson stepping up their games.

Meachem has been nearly invisible this year, and Henderson is the ultimate feast or famine player as far as fantasy football is concerned.

Furthermore, No. 1 receiver Marques Colston is yet to have over 70 yards receiving or even grab a touchdown yet this season.

While owners should not get too high on Moore just yet, the aforementioned facts are encouraging enough to at least have Moore stashed away on your bench and see how he progresses from here.

Willis McGahee, RB, Baltimore Ravens

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BALTIMORE - SEPTEMBER 26: Willis McGahee #23 of the Baltimore Ravens runs the ball against the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium on September 26, 2010 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens defeated the Browns 24-17. (Photo by Larry French/Getty Images)

Ray Rice owners were not too happy with veteran Willis McGahee last year since McGahee scored 14 touchdowns in 2009.

The majority of those scores were short goal line carries, with McGahee hardly getting touches elsewhere.

So not only was he stealing touchdowns from Rice, but his fantasy value was basically nonexistent.

However, this trend could change after Rice suffered a knee injury during the Ravens' most recent outing against the Cleveland Browns.

While the extent of the injury is still not determined, it is tentatively being called a knee sprain, which would likely cause Rice to miss a week or two of action.

Relatively speaking, it was not that long ago that the Ravens deployed McGahee as the lead back.

In Week 17 of last year, McGahee gouged the Oakland Raiders for 167 yards and three scores on 16 carries.

McGahee is certainly still talented and capable of being a lead back in the NFL. While the upcoming matchup against the Steelers is a rough one, McGahee would get the majority, if not all, of the goal line carries with Rice out of the game.

While grabbing McGahee off the wire this week is a little risky, if there is room on your fantasy bench to see how this situation in Baltimore plays out, the reward could be a big one.