Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: 5 Must Have Pickups

Through four weeks there are only two 4-0 teams and three 0-4 teams.  At this point in the season, none of those teams are guaranteed a playoff spot, which means neither is anyone in your fantasy league.  If you are 0-4 or in the depths in the rankings in your league, now is the time for vital waiver pickups.

Here are five waiver pickups that can launch you back into fantasy football relevance for the rest of the season.

Stevan Ridley

Stevan Ridley is on his way to becoming the featured back in New England and he is only 45 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues.  He has averaged a robust 8.2 yards per carry for the season and has steadily increased his workload in every week he's played.

After missing the first game, he joined the offense with two carries and slowly worked his way up to 10 against the Oakland Raiders.  BenJarvus Green-Ellis was still in the mix with 16 carries but only gained 75 yards compared to Ridley's 97.

With the injury to Danny Woodhead, Ridley has come up big and will continue as the Patriots have come out and said they will try to establish the run more.

Ridley, New England's third round pick has clearly outplayed Shane Vereen and will look to get the majority of the carries for the first time against the New York Jets who gave up 174 yards on the ground to Darren McFadden and 130 yards a game overall.

Pick up Ridley as a solid flex play every week and even sneak him in as RB2 for bye week fill ins.

Titus Young

Titus Young is becoming a larger part week in and out in Detroit's elite passing offense.

After not getting into the action in the first game, Titus Young had more catches than any other wide receiver not named Calvin Johnson in three consecutive weeks.  He is fearless going over the middle and Matthew Stafford has gained more confidence in his second round pick.

Through the first four games, Burleson and Young's statistics are pretty much identical.  Both have 45.2 yards a game totaling 181 yards each, but Titus Young has done it catching balls in only the last three games.

Look for Young to sneak into the end-zone this week against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football as the Lions will look to stretch the field and excite the crowd.

Jared Cook

After Kenny Britt went down, the Tennessee Titans needed to find another receiving option.  Nate Washington clearly took over the number one receiving position, Jared Cook quickly took advantage of his single coverage and torched the Cleveland Brown defense for an 80 yard touchdown. 

The first week without Britt, Cook saw his targets increase from two to six and clearly he took advantage, finishing with 93 yards and that long touchdown.  The former third round tight end is 6'5" 250 pounds and has been compared to Calvin Johnson for his freakish skill set.

Jared Cook's targets are sure to increase after his impressive performance and he is sure to play as a TE1 option for the rest of the season.  Grab the 36 percent owned Cook if you have been hit with bad luck in Antonio Gates, Dallas Clark or Kellen Winslow and all your problems will be solved.

Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown has watched his playing time steadily increase after being selected in the 6th round out of Central Michigan University in last year's draft. 

After receiving a team high 10 targets last week, Brown is clearly the number two receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Through the first four games Antonio Brown has out-gained Ward by over 100 yards and has averaged over four yards more per catch.

If Ben Roethlisberger can get time in the pocket, look for him to find his two speedy receivers Brown and Mike Wallace in the end zone this week.  Grab the 31 percent owned Antonio Brown and watch him rival Mike Wallace's 2010 season totals.

Isaac Redman

Isaac Redman's stock has been steadily rising in the past few weeks with the injuries to Mewelde Moore and Rashard Mendenhall.  With both players likely to miss this week, Redman is going to get a full load of carries to show off his skill set and audition for the rest of the season.

Isaac Redman's power running style has gotten him a 4.9 yard average to rival Mendenhall's 3.0 yard average.  If Mendenhall is able to come back soon, Redman might still steal goal-line carries throughout the rest of the season if he plays well this week.

The Tennessee Titans do have a pretty tough defense against the run, giving up only 3.2 yards a carry and only one touchdown on the ground, but if Redman can somehow have a good game, he will gain the trust of Mike Tomlin and get more carries for the remainder of the year.

Look for Redman to step up big this week and get a huge vote of confidence from Mike Tomlin and you should grab him now while he is still available in over 64 percent of leagues.