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

As the days grow shorter (and my opening lines more melodramatic), the waiver wires in your fantasy leagues grows ever more thin.

So with that in mind, we continue to mine for gold in the played over hills to find you someone, anyone not grabbed on the waivers who has some fantasy value.

The good thing—if you want to call it that—is that since players are still dropping like flies, there are new guys popping up all over the place, and all of them will have at least a shot at producing for you either long or short term.

They're out there folks, even on the most picked over waiver wire. So let's talk about the best players still out there on your waiver wires.

Just as a heads up—there are lots of Raiders on this list. If you are an AFC West fan you might want to gaze away.

Carson Palmer: QB, OAK

Yes, Palmer had his second straight three-interception game, but the difference between his performance against Denver and the previous one against Kansas City is pretty significant.

Two weeks of practice and studying the playbook paid off as he seemed to have a greater command of the Raiders' schemes and was generally more effective in execution.

A trio of interceptions isn't great but 332 yards and three touchdowns? Much better.

His schedule going forward has some nice matchups, including a battered San Diego defense, a mediocre Vikings secondary, a bad Dolphins defense and in Week 16—the championship week for most fantasy leagues—an apparently way overrated Kansas City team.

Palmer isn't anyone you want to have to run out each week, but he plays well enough to serve as either a bye week filler or an emergency start, and he's likely to be on many waiver wires.

Roy Helu Jr.: RB, WAS

While Helu didn't tear things up on the ground against a pretty tough San Francisco run defense (just 41 yards on ten carries), he caught 14 balls for 105 yards. This won't change any time soon as not only is Santana Moss out for a while with an injury, tight end Fred Davis is banged up as well.

There are precious few receiving options for the Redskins, so Helu will continue to get looks until things improve dramatically.

This of course makes Helu a much better points-per-reception league pick, but even without the points on each catch, you still get 100-plus yards for your lineup.

Helu is probably owned in many leagues, but there are more than a few owners who would be scared off by the Shanahan factor—the Redskins coach never saw a running back committee he didn't like.

Still, with no receiving options and a quarterback who checks down a high percentage of the time, Helu will get consistent points even if he doesn't get the majority of the carries.

Denarius Moore: WR, OAK

Moore got dropped by a lot of impatient owners when now-injured Raiders quarterback Jason Campbell seemed to forget he had the rookie.

He and Carson Palmer seemed to get along just fine though, and while Moore missed more than a few of his targets, careful observation shows it was more about some very good Broncos coverage than it was about Moore struggling. He was effective enough that Darrius Heyward-Bey virtually disappeared from the game.

As Palmer get increasingly comfortable in this offense, Moore will get a lot of opportunities to shine, and we've seen he has the ability to put up some great games.

Let another owner's loss be your gain and grab him off the waiver wire this week.

Laurent Robinson: WR, DAL

While Robinson didn't have a great game this past weekend (his fantasy value saved by one touchdown), he did have a stroke of good luck. Reports are saying that Miles Austin will miss two to four weeks, and that means Robinson's value will climb back up.

While the majority of the targets will go to Jason Witten and Dez Bryant, Robinson will likely be the third option for quarterback Tony Romo.

Robinson has always had talent but also injuries. He finally seems healthy, and that allows him to play up to his potential.

Games against the Redskins, Cardinals, Seahawks and Bills—all of whom can be thrown on—is just icing on the cake.

Jerome Simpson/Andre Caldwell: WR, CIN

The Cincinnati Bengals have been one of the more pleasant surprises of the 2011 season, buoyed by the play of two rookies: quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver AJ Green.

However, defenses are adjusting to Green and so the Bengals will have to do some modifications as well.

Enter Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson and it's fitting I list them together as they were both drafted by the Bengals in the 2008 NFL draft.

Simpson was pretty raw entering the league, and it's not surprising that he still has things to work on. He was targeted 10 times against the Tennessee Titans and only hauled in three of those passes. The fact that he got so many passes is a good sign despite the bad number of missed catches. Simpson will be a factor if he can hang onto the ball.

Caldwell was considered more refined but has yet to put it all together any more consistently than Simpson. He too saw a huge amount of targets last weekend (nine) but didn't do much better catching them, netting five catches.

One of these two will break out. I am betting Simpson because he's a better vertical threat and will produce bigger plays more frequently. However, either player is worth a roster spot until the offense sorts the No. 2 wide receiver in the offense.

Marcel Reese: RB, OAK

I'm a huge Taiwan Jones fan, but he doesn't seemed poised for a breakout any time soon. Marcel Reese may have just broken out though, and fantasy owners should take note.

While Reese didn't run the ball at all, he caught three balls for 51 yards and a touchdown. A fullback by trade, Reese showed great hands and an ability to make defenders miss, as well as no compunction about lowering his shoulder and running through someone.

The Raiders are hoping Darren McFadden returns soon, but the combination of Michael Bush and Reese should keep the Raiders moving the ball. Reese is more valuable for a PPR league where his receiving ability will net you extra production and is worth a roster spot.

Damian Williams: WR, TENN

I've been tracking Williams since he came on the scene at the University of Southern California and have just been waiting for a quarterback who can be effective enough to get him the ball.

Williams has been looked at in the red zone several times over the last few weeks and appears to have finally begun to take his game to the next level. While losing Kenny Britt has hurt, Williams has taken that opportunity and started to establish himself as a real effective part of the offense.

Targets + Red-Zone Targets = Fantasy potential worth owning.

Jordy Nelson: WR, GB

I'd say Nelson had no business on this list, if only for the fact that people so consistently overlook him because of guys like Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finely. He also has a  tendency to be streaky, following up a huge game with a mediocre one.

So Nelson remains on some league's waiver wire. While you can't count on him week in and week out, Nelson puts up some very good points against the right defense.

Plus—and you can't say enough about this—Aaron Rodgers is playing sick, out of his mind football. There are plenty of fantasy points in this offense to keep many players happy in the coming month.

Jeremy Kerley: WR, NYJ

When the Jets gave veteran squeaky wheel Derrick Mason a plane ticket to Houston, some felt that leaving Mason's duties to the rookie from TCU was a dubious idea at best.

Kerley hasn't imploded yet, and in fact, he has had some solid games even if he hasn't blown the league up yet.

As I said in my post-draft analysis video on Kerley, the rookie has a lot to offer the Jets offensively, and as the season progresses, I believe we will see more and more from him.

The truth is that he has formed chemistry with quarterback Mark Sanchez very quickly, and he is very dangerous in space with the ball. He may not crack your lineup immediately, but he could be a factor down the road as we hit the playoffs.

Kevin Smith: RB, DET

Everything old is new again as the Lions bring back Kevin Smith.

With Jahvid Best still dealing with concussion symptoms and Keiland Williams and Maurice Morris aren't setting the league on fire. The Lions need help in the backfield, so they sign a gentleman who knows the offense and can fill in with a full load if need be.

Smith is an average runner who has shown some speed as well as solid hands and cutting ability.

Smith has also shown himself to be a bit on the fragile side.

You won't trot him out as a lead back anytime soon, but with the injuries to the running backs, Smith will get a shot and could be in line for a lot of carries if Best and company stay banged up.

Andrew Garda is a staff writer at Footballguys.com. Check them out for rankings, projections and player analyses. More than 50,000 pages of content every year to lead you to the championship.