Week 7 Fantasy Football Rankings: Top 10 Players Available on the Waiver Wire

Plenty of the superstars who came off the board early in fantasy football drafts across the country are living up to their expectations. Aaron Rodgers, Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson are fine examples.

But there are definitely some out there who have underwhelmed and failed to validate being a first- or second-round pick on fantasy football draft boards: Philip Rivers, Chris Johnson and Antonio Gates come to mind.

In those cases, supplementing your roster with a player who can help you make up ground in the standings—and not having to deal away any talent in the process—is critical to keeping your team in contention. That's where the waiver wire comes in handy.

Obviously, it depends on the structure of the league and player availability, but here are 10 likely players available on most waiver wires who can really help your team.

No. 10: Michael Bush, RB, Oakland Raiders

Stats: 60 carries, 237 yards, 3 TD

I have Bush relatively low on this list because there's a good chance he's not available on your waiver wire. He's not some rookie without experience or journeyman back. Last year he scored eight touchdowns and was a very effective runner.

But when you play behind Darren McFadden—who came into this season as one of the favorites to win the rushing title—the opportunities to carry the ball are somewhat slim. And before last week, he never carried the ball more than 10 times in a single game.

That changed on Sunday when McFadden was hurt against the Chiefs, and although the injury doesn't seem to be a long-term problem—and might not cost him any time because of the bye--with McFadden's wear and tear increasing each week, Bush's carries should steadily increase.

No. 9: Olindo Mare, K, Carolina Panthers

Stats: 13-for-15, 15 XP

Granted kickers are always a crap shoot and in the end, few people win their league because of their kickers, but there is some science behind picking your kicker. You either want a reliable player with the big leg like Sebastian Janikowski, or you want a player whose opportunities to score are bolstered by a great offense like the Patriots or Packers.

At the start of the 2011 season few people would have put Mare in either of those categories. But the emergence of Cam Newton has made the Panther offense somewhat dangerous. They've scored 27 or more points three of the past four games and Mare's attempted 10 field goals during that stretch.

Once Cam Newton starts to protect the football better, the Panthers and Mare will have more opportunities to put points on the board. Last week was a perfect example: Cam didn't turn the ball over and Mare was 4-for-4 with three successful kicks from 40-49 yards.

No. 8: Delanie Walker, TE, San Francisco 49ers

Stats: 11 catches, 114 yards, 3 TD

Vernon Davis is one of the most physically talented tight ends in the game and he is probably the 49ers more reliable, consistent pass catcher. So on paper, having his backup probably isn't ideal.

But tight ends aren't like quarterbacks or even running backs: more than one is capable of being on the field at the same time and being an option to catch the ball. And as good as Davis has been, Walker has just as many scores in the past two weeks (two) as Davis.

Jim Harbaugh's system puts a tremendous importance on the tight end and both men are going contributing. And it's not unheard of for two tight ends on the same team to be coveted in fantasy leagues—look at New England, where Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski are both fantasy football gold.

No. 7: Daniel Fells, TE, Denver Broncos

Stats: 13 catches, 190 yards, 2 TD

Although Tim Tebow's play at the end of last Sunday's game was exciting, we all have to keep perspective. Not only did it come against a terrible Dolphins team, but it was five minutes of inspired play after 55 minutes of horrific passing. He struggled to complete anything down field and the Broncos seemed to try and hide him with screens, quick slants and extremely short passes.

But if nothing else, that win earned him a handful of starts going forward, if not the remainder of the season. So having his (potential) favorite target is worth a look.

The tight end is a much safer option for Tebow to throw to and given how hard teams will load up on the quarterback draw in the red zone, Fells should have several chances for scores—even if the Denver offense doesn't get there as often as most other clubs.

No. 6: Roy Williams, WR, Chicago Bears

Stats: 13 catches, 190 yards, 1 TD

It sure is strange to think of Williams as a waiver-wire player, but that's how far he's fallen over the past few seasons.

Still, he is starting to show some promise in Chicago and last week was a good example. He caught a big touchdown pass from Jay Cutler, caught the ball four of the five times he was targeted and was the team's leading receiver.

The groin injury he suffered in Week 1—in which he quietly had a big game against Atlanta—is the reason why his season totals are so low, but now that he is reasonably healthy, he will start to play a bigger role in Mike Martz's offense.

No. 5: Michael Jenkins, WR, Minnesota Vikings

Stats: 27 catches, 332 yards, 3 TD

If you look at the numbers Jenkins put up last week (111 yards, 1 TD) you might wonder why how he is even available—assuming he is in your league.

But if you consider how bad Donovan McNabb has been, the fact that a rookie who had accuracy and health concerns in college was the backup and the presence of Adrian Peterson, you'll have the answer.

And the move to Christian Ponder would seem to signal a throwing in of the towel by Minnesota and continued tough times ahead (for the rest of the season) for the Vikings passing game. But in his first start, Ponder made some nice throws and didn't look fazed by the pressure.

Furthermore, the continued questionable durability of Percy Harvin probably will lead to more opportunities for Jenkins to be targeted.

No. 4: Andy Dalton, QB, Cincinnati Bengals

Stats: 118-for-189, 1,311 yards, 7 TD, 5 INT

If you're in a keeper league, there's a good chance Dalton isn't available—he probably went in the rookie draft—but if you're in a standard one-year league, it's likely he slipped through the cracks.

Certainly, his numbers haven't been as gaudy as his fellow rookie starter, Cam Newton, but the last two week's Dalton has been extremely efficient and worth a look.

And even though the Bengals play in a tough division with strong defenses like Baltimore and Pittsburgh, the presence of A.J. Green, who has a touchdown catch in four of his six NFL games, will help his numbers continue to increase.

No. 3: Alfonso Smith, RB, Arizona Cardinals

Stats: 25 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD

You might be more tempted by LaRod Stephens-Howling, but Smith is a more likely candidate to be the Cardinals ball carrier with Beanie Wells suffering another injury.

According to today's report, Wells' injury isn't something that will require surgery, but that doesn't mean he'll be 100 percent or near that anytime soon. He's shown a considerable lack of durability and with Ryan Williams out the entire season, having his understudy on the roster is a wise move.

He seems to be earning the trust of the coaching staff and you've got to like how the rest of the Cardinals' season shapes up. They play teams vulnerable against ground attacks like Cleveland, Philadelphia and have two games against St. Louis, who is currently ranked dead last in run defense.

No. 2: Jacksonville Jaguars D/ST

Stats: 20 sacks, 8 takeaways

As maligned as the Jaguars, and Jack Del Rio in particular, have been the past year or so, their defense is really starting to show promise.

Now the performance in Monday night's stunner over Baltimore should probably be taken with a grain of salt since the Ravens' ineptitude was as much a contributing factor as the Jags' prowess. And with regards to the whole season, Jacksonville's defensive totals aren't that impressive.

But look at what they've done the last few weeks: in addition to stifling one of the league's elite backs (Ray Rice), they shutout Pittsburgh in the second half of Week 6, and they are the only team all season to keep Cam Newton's Panthers under 17 points in a single game.

No. 1: Roy Helu, RB, Washington Redskins

Stats: 27 carries, 131 yards, 0 TD

With consecutive losses and a quarterback change, the luster has started to come off the once-promising Washington Redskins. And with regards to their hopes of a playoff spot, the news that Tim Hightower is out for the season is a crushing blow. But with regards to fantasy football, it does add some clarity to the nebulous Redskins backfield.

Mike Shanahan had been rotating Hightower, Ryan Torain and rookie Roy Helu to the point that it was impossible to know who to start each week. But Hightower's injury makes it a two-horse race.

In recent weeks, Torain has carried the ball far more than Helu, who is a rookie and likely still adjusting. But Torain is probably not available in your league, while Helu is.

More importantly, Helu is much more versatile in terms of running and catching passes out of the backfield. That should get him more playing time and plenty of opportunities to score touchdowns.