Week 14 Waiver Wire: Top 5 Pickups for Final Stretch

The waiver wire for Week 14 fantasy football is bound to be thin this week, as most leagues are entering their final week of the regular season.

However, with some injuries to key players and surprising starts from backup players, there are still some hidden gems left to be had.

With the fantasy season's playoffs literally right around the corner, here are the top five pickups for the final stretch.

5. Andre Roberts: Wide Receiver, Arizona Cardinals

This may be a little bit of a reach, but at this point in the season, you need to have a wild card in your back pocket. Andre Roberts may very well be that wild card.

After an extremely impressive preseason, Roberts has been quite the disappointment so far in the regular season. His best game came in Week 9 when he recorded five receptions for 55 yards against the St. Louis Rams.

However, Roberts had a breakout game on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys when he had six receptions for 111 yards. With Kevin Kolb back under center, it appears as if Roberts will be getting more opportunities to shine in the upcoming weeks.

With Roberts' big-play ability, as was evident in his 40-yard reception Sunday, he finally might become a legitimate threat opposite Larry Fitzgerald. If that happens, he would be an absolute steal off the waiver wire.

4. Chaz Schilens: Wide Receiver, Oakland Raiders

This is the second straight week that Chaz Schilens has landed on this list. He is still owned in less than five percent of fantasy leagues.

However, after a second straight impressive performance, he should start getting picked up rather quickly off the waiver wire. He finished the game against the Miami Dolphins with six receptions for 89 yards.

He once again proved to be a popular target for quarterback Carson Palmer. With Oakland still suffering major injuries in its receiving corps, Schilens should continue to get plenty of looks in the upcoming weeks.

If Schilens can start getting more looks in the red zone, he could become quite the fantasy player.

3. Dexter McCluster: Running Back/Wide Receiver, Kansas City Chiefs

When Jamaal Charles went down with a season-ending injury early in the season, Dexter McCluster was a hot name to get off the waiver wire.

However, McCluster never lived up to expectations until the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Chicago Bears on Sunday. McCluster displayed his fantastic ability to make big plays, as he had 61 rushing yards and 46 receiving yards on only 13 touches. He also added a touchdown to his big yardage day.

With the Chiefs looking for offense in any way possible, look for McCluster to get more looks in the upcoming weeks. His speed and agility could bring some life back into Kansas City's putrid offense.

The big advantage of McCluster is that you could put him in as a running back, wide receiver or at the flex position. That type of versatility in the lineup could be vital to a championship run in your league.

2. Dan Orlovsky: Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts

Dan Orlovsky replaced Curtis Painter as the starter this week for the Indianapolis Colts. While he was still unsuccessful at leading the Colts to their first victory of the season, he did show that he has plenty of fantasy potential.

Orlovsky finished the day with 353 passing yards, two touchdowns and only one interception against the New England Patriots. There is no doubting those impressive numbers, but what was even more impressive was the fact that he completed a ridiculous 81 percent of his passes on the day.

You could call his statistics inflated because of the fact he was going up against a weak defense, but anyone who completes that high of a percentage for that many yards is definitely worth picking up off the waiver wire.

While Indianapolis' remaining schedule isn't easy, Orlovsky should still be able to put up quality statistics for your fantasy team.

1. Marion Barber: Running Back, Chicago Bears

When Matt Forte came out of Sunday's game with what is believed to be a torn MCL, fantasy owners who had Forte leading their team to championship contention crumbled in disbelief.

The man forced to replace Forte against the Kansas City Chiefs was Marion Barber. While Barber was far from incredible, he did get 14 carries, which he turned into 44 yards.

Now, those numbers don't scream "fantasy star," but if Forte's injury keeps him out for the rest of the season, Barber is a player that absolutely needs to be picked up off the waiver wire.

Even though Chicago's offense has been rather terrible with Caleb Hanie at quarterback, this is still a Mike Martz offense that has the potential to put up huge numbers.