Monday's Knee Jerk Reaction

For two straight weeks, some new names have been blowing up the waiver wire. In week 5 it was the Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, the Cleveland Browns' wide receiver Mohamed Massaquoi, and running back Jerome Harrison. In week 5, the Philadelphia Eagles rookie wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, and the Dallas Cowboys' receiver Miles Austin both exploded for mammoth fantasy days. Like last week, those with high waiver priorities will no doubt be staking their claims. The question however, is if they should even be bothering to pick these guys up?

Let's take a look at several of the top waiver wire grabs for the last 10 days and look at their short-term and long-term fantasy profitability.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT - In week 5, only Mendenhall proved worthy of the value owners were hoping for after his week 4 production. He will likely have another solid week against the Browns this week, but in week 7 he faces the Vikings who have yet to surrender a rushing touchdown this season. The Steelers said this week that Willie Parker remains the team's number one RB. Value: Strong Sell - I would run with Mendenhall one more week then trade him before he faces the Vikings and then goes on bye. I would only hold onto him in dynasty/keeper leagues.

Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI - Last week I recommended going out and picking this rookie up. Coach Andy Reid has declared him the new starter alongside DeSean Jackson. Plus Kevin Curtis can't stay healthy so there's not much of a threat in losing his gig anytime soon. In their first game together, McNabb gelled with him to the tune of 6 receptions for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cha-ching! Everyone will be staking their claim to him this week, but will he continue to be so dominant? If you look at the stat sheet yesterday, you'll notice the team's top receiver, the aforementioned DeSean Jackson, had only one reception for one yard. That won't happen very often. Likewise the Eagles won't get to shred the Buccaneers secondary every week either. Value: Moderate Buy - Maclin makes a decent WR3 pick at this point (or WR2 against bad defenses), and a solid keeper/dynasty league grab. Just temper expectations of another day like Sunday. They won't happen often.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL - Austin got his first start of the season and exploded with 10 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns: The second in overtime to win the game. Austin broke a Cowboy's club record for receiving yards in a game, previously held by Hall of Famer, Bob Hayes with 246. Like Maclin, I recommended picking him up before Sunday's game. The difference between the two however is Austin was starting in place of the injured Roy Williams. He will go back to his role as the team's third receiver when Williams comes back. He also will not be able to take advantage of the Kansas City Chiefs' blitz packages each week. Value: Moderate Buy - Austin is the Cowboy's fastest receiver, and should continue to remain a deep threat for the team, but he is at best a low end WR3, or flex player. His value goes up in games where he fills in for Roy Williams. At this point, unless you're really hurting, he's probably not worth your waiver slot.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SFO - Crabtree has been a fantasy buzz-thrill all summer/fall. Now that he's signed with the 49ers, the team has announced he will be playing in week 7, when they return from their bye. Last week, fantasy owners flooded to the waiver wire to snap him up. If you missed out on him, don't feel too bad. If you're one of the owners who grabbed him, I'd make the argument to sell him now (except in dynasty leagues), while his value is still unknown. The San Francisco coaching staff has announced that Crabtree will be the team's slot receiver, not the team's deep threat. He needs time to develop chemistry and consistency with his team and the playbook. And let's be honest, after his hold-out, his teammates and coaches will make him work for his place on the team. Value: Sell or Trade - Crabtree will do nothing for your fantasy team this season. By the time he gets in a groove, you'll be drafting your 2010 fantasy baseball team. Let someone else deal with the weeks of disappointment which may translate to one or two decent games this season. Crabtree's real fantasy value this season is that he makes Josh Morgan more valuable. Morgan scored in week 4 and came a yard shy of another TD against the Falcons. Crabtree will help Morgan get open more downfield. He's the guy to stash or buy cheap.

Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, CLE - After blowing up in week 4, Massaquoi was silent against the Ravens, with one reception for 16 yards, and he led the team. QB Derek Anderson only connected on two of his 17 pass attempts. It was a brutally ugly game. In week 6 in gets no better against the Steelers. And who knows which QB will be under center. Value: Hold - If you have him, your only choice is to dump him or hang on and let things develop. If you have bench depth, he has the talent to be worthwhile down the stretch.

Jerome Harrison, RB, CLE - Last week's other surprise Brown. After exploding against Cincy, he took a back seat to Jamal Lewis in week 5. He will have ups and downs all season, but barring another Jamal Lewis injury he probably hit his high-water mark last week. Value: Moderate Sell - If you can find a desperate team willing to pay, or perhaps the owner of Jamal Lewis, I'd unload him before he has two bad weeks in a row.

Glen Coffee, RB, SFO - Coffee was serviceable in Frank Gore's absence, but the team is on a bye this week, and Gore will return in week 7. Value: Strong Sell - Coffee did not impress Mike Singletary with his focus. Sunday he walked off the field when the team was at the two-yard line. The team had to call a time out to get him back on the field. Unless Gore gets hurt again, this cup of coffee has gone cold.

Tashard Choice, RB, DAL - For the second straight week, Felix Jones was out, increasing Tashard's touches. For the second straight week he outperformed top RB, Marion Barber. Even when both Barber and Jones are healthy, Choice is getting his touches and receptions, and that should remain the case. Of course, how often are both those guys healthy in the same game? Value: Moderate buy or Hold - The Cowboys are on a bye this week. Look for a less savvy manager to either dump him, or sell him dirt cheap because he needs the roster space.

Written by Rustyn Rose @ Top-Fantasy-Football.com