Week 8 Waiver Wire: Why Fantasy Football Owners Must Add Christian Ponder

Adrian Peterson is no longer the lone Minnesota Vikings player that can consistently contribute on your fantasy roster. 

Enter starting quarterback Christian Ponder. 

So, he completed barely over 40 percent of his passes against the Packers on Sunday.

Not great.

But, he looked comfortable moving from the pocket and improvising down the field. 

Ponder did throw for 219 yards on those 13 completions and tossed two touchdowns. The two interceptions were expected; he is a rookie and Charles Woodson remains one of the game's best ball hawks. 

The Vikings realize that they can rely on Adrian Peterson and still get some big plays from Ponder's arm; it's just a matter of their 2011 first-round pick getting the timing down with his receivers and finding that go-to target, which I believe will be Visanthe Shiancoe. 

Looking at the remaining schedule for Minnesota, they don't face any real top-flight secondaries, if there are any in the NFL anymore. 

I wouldn't call the Carolina Panthers secondary intimidating, the Vikings' next opponent. Matchups with the Falcons, Saints and Bears should be instances in which Ponder excels as a passer and is given a more responsibility within the offense. 

Peterson will always keep defenses honest and should yield some nice pockets after play-action passes for the remainder of the season.

Ponder has all the tools and football IQ to excel with more starts, and that's exactly what he'll get this season. 

We've seen a decent amount of success from first-year signal-callers this season. 

Because of their lackluster secondary, they could be playing from behind often, which could force him to throw a great deal. 

I wish he had more receiving weapons and with the injury-prone Percy Harvin as his most dynamic wideout, there's a general consensus that Ponder's ceiling is only so high for this season. 

If you're battling some injuries or ineffective play at your backup quarterback spot, Ponder is a good add right now and is available in just about every league.