One Week to Walk the Wire

With one week left in most leagues, I figured it was finally time to give everyone an in-depth look at the waiver wire. We've been reluctant to discuss the waiver wire this season because of the highly competitive nature of our league, but at such a pivotal time in the season, it's time to put the competitiveness aside and focus on helping out our loyal readers. While Torry Halelujah and the Slow Eater think they're kings of the waiver wire, no one gets it done like Mr. T. Here's a look at some players who performed well in Week 13 and might still be available in your league:

Peyton Hillis (RB - DEN)
Owned in 41% of Yahoo! leagues
Honestly, how is this guy still available in 59% of Yahoo! leagues? We know that being part of the Denver Running Back Situation is never a positive thing, but people need to realize that, because of all the injuries, there's no longer a situation. Mike Shanahan had a falling out with Bill Romanowski in the offseason and is no longer able to provide his players with the quality steroids needed to withstand a full NFL schedule. Hillis is the only healthy man standing, and it's nice that he's a goal-line beast. The fact that he's getting all the carries for a pretty effective Broncos offense makes him all the more worthy of a waiver claim.

Mark Clayon (WR - BAL)
Owned in 13% of Yahoo! leagues
Was Kordell Stewart wearing the #89 for Baltimore last Sunday? Clayton had a passing and receiving TD, making everyone long for the days of Slash. Let's not get ahead of ourselves with the 164 receiving yards, though: Baltimore is a run-first offense and the schedule isn't great in the coming weeks. Look elsewhere.

Le'Ron McClain (RB - BAL)
Owned in 39% of Yahoo! leagues
Hans Gruber did his best to make Mr. McClain disappear over the middle part of the season, which led to Le'Ron being thrown out the window and onto the free agent pile. For some reason, McGahee is now the RB who is MIA and Le'Ron has seen a bulk of the rushing load. Before you rush out to grab McClain like he's some Black Friday laptop, notice that he has Washington, Pittsburgh, and Dallas on his upcoming schedule. Those names are not run-friendly. He'll be a tempered flex play down the stretch if you’re in dire need.

John Carlson (TE - SEA)
Owned in 35% of Yahoo! leagues
I'm not sure whether it's Karma or Kramer, but ever since Torry Hallelujah dropped Carlson two weeks ago, the Seattle TE has been productive. The return of Hasselbeck and the Seahawks’ fantasy playoff schedule (featuring the Rams and the Jets) speak well to Carlson's future viability. He's a reasonable low-end TE1.

Matt Jones (WR - JAX)
Owned in 35% of Yahoo! leagues
Roger Goodell must have a financial interest in the Colombian Cartel with the speed with which he's punished Matt Jones' summer arrest for possession. Somehow Jones is still playing, and he's the most competent receiver the Jaguars have. Things weren't pretty last night, but Jones was still able to reel in 8 catches for 105 yards. Chicago provides a nice WR3 matchup for him this week, but Green Bay and Indy might throw down the playoff hammer. Thankfully the Jaguars suck and will consistently be trailing in games. Hello Pablo Escobar!