Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups: Roy Helu, Kyle Orton and Top Available Players

As the fantasy football playoffs draw near, it becomes increasingly difficult to find good talent on the waiver wires. 

It's not easy, but scouring for free agents is a necessity to survive in fantasy football, especially with the many injuries that continue to take place. 

If you have a question about your lineup, don't hesitate to leave a comment and we'll help you out. Every league is different, but these guys listed below are available in a good number of leagues, and they're definitely worth the add. 

Roy Helu, RB

This one comes with a risk, as Mike Shanahan loves to toy with our emotions. He must thoroughly enjoy mixing up running backs each week and never letting on to the media about who will carry the load.

However, last week is a good indication that he cannot steer from Helu. The rookie running back carried the ball 23 times for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Helu goes up against a decent New York Jets run defense in Week 13, but he's worth picking up because he is the Washington Redskins' best option in the back field. 

He is only owned in 33 percent of ESPN leagues and 48 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Kyle Orton, QB

He couldn't beat out Tim Tebow, but he shouldn't have much problem taking over the reigns from Tyler Palko in Kansas City. The Chiefs picked him up for a reason, and they will implement him into the starting role very soon. 

Palko has had seven turnovers in the past two games, and his time as the starter is about to be over. Todd Haley maintains that Palko will be the starter, but he has to be buying time for Orton. Plus, if he makes the opposing team believe Palko will start, then perhaps they won't prepare as hard.

Orton isn't a terrible quarterback, and with talented receivers around him, he can excel. Having Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jon Baldwin will help his transition to the starting role much easier.

He's only owned in 16 percent of ESPN leagues and 18 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Greg Little, WR

He isn't a monster fantasy star, but he is the No. 1 guy for the Cleveland Browns. As Colt McCoy's top option, Little will continue to get a ton of looks each week. 

Little caught his first touchdown pass of the year last week, and there could be more of those in the future. In the last two weeks, he was targets a total of 21 times, which is a great indication McCoy will keep throwing his way the rest of the season. Fantasy owners just have to hope Little brings more of them in. 

The Browns take on the Baltimore Ravens this week, and while it's an extremely difficult matchup, Little will still produce, as he is all the Browns have. 

He's only owned in 11 percent of ESPN leagues and 16 percent of Yahoo! leagues. 

Doug Baldwin, WR 

The Seattle Seahawks' wide receiver depth took a hit when Sidney Rice suffered another concussion this past week. With Mike Williams banged up with a shoulder injury, Baldwin becomes a good option. 

Baldwin leads the Seahawks in receiving yards, but he hasn't caught a touchdown pass since Week 5. However, his production will continue to increase, as evidence of this is the fact that he's led the team with 15 targets in the past two weeks. 

Since the Seahawks play on Thursday, it's likely that Rice doesn't play, which bodes well for Baldwin. He's been consistently pulling in around 60 yards for the last three weeks, and he should keep that trend alive in Week 13. 

Baldwin is only owned in 12 percent of ESPN leagues and 25 percent of Yahoo! leagues. 

Other guys to pick up include Toby Gerhart of the Minnesota Vikings, but only play him if Adrian Peterson is out, tight end Jake Ballard of the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Laurent Robinson, who is somehow still available in almost half of ESPN leagues after having caught at least one touchdown pass in the last five weeks. 

Some more players to consider are running back Donald Brown of the winless Indianapolis Colts, rookie quarterback Andy Dalton of the Cincinnati Bengals, his tight end Jermaine Gresham and Vince Young of the Philadelphia Eagles if Michael Vick is out once again.