Week 4 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: RB Stevan Ridley a Must-Add

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you—I am in fact saying that Stevan Ridley, the No. 3 running back on the New England Patriots' roster, is a must-add waiver wire pickup this week.

Finding a productive running back off of the waiver wire is no easy task. Most GMs who are thin at the position by Week 4 will likely stay that way for the remainder of the season.

But, week by week, there are gems emerging at running back, as long as you do a little research and have a bit of patience.

The Patriots are one of those teams with the intelligence to utilize their full stable of backs as the situation warrants it, and that was clear in their Week 3 loss against the Buffalo Bills.

While BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead had their fair share of carries, Ridley was brought in when the play called for both strength and speed on the ground.

Green-Ellis has a lot of power, to be certain, but he lacks speed and burst. Woodhead is fast, but he's not strong enough to muscle his way through to the second level.

Ridley has both the speed and the strength to make up for the shortcomings of his fellow rushers, and this fact won't be lost on head coach Bill Belichick.

Ridley was on the field for 11 snaps in the Buffalo game, compared to 28 for Green-Ellis, and he rushed seven times for 44 yards. He also caught one pass for eight yards. As each week passes, look for Ridley's snaps to increase, as well as his yards.

With so few teams in the NFL with a single, dedicated, every-snap running back, fantasy GMs will have to make do with players who split carries, and this is doubly the case for those who need to scour the waiver wire to find a replacement rusher.

Before the running back market completely dries up, I recommend filling a roster spot with Ridley.