Week 12 Add/Drop: Get A Piece Of The Rock

While Rock Cartwright has gotten most of the add love in fantasy circles this week, Yahoo!’s Brad Evans digs a little deeper to find some widely available free agents on fantasy waiver wires who could make a big impact this Turkey Week:

Lex Hilliard (RB) Miami Dolphins

The Montana product, promoted from the practice squad due to catastrophic injuries suffered by Ronnie Brown(notes) and Patrick Cobbs(notes), impressed in limited action against Carolina, averaging 6.0 yards on four totes. Ricky Williams(notes) is the undisputed choice at running back for the Fins, but, in order to ensure his long-term health, Hilliard will be worked into the offense. This week, look for the former Grizzly’s role to expand. The Bills are a disaster defensively in the trenches. On the season, they’ve yielded 4.9 yards per carry, 195.6 total yards per game and 16 touchdowns to rushers, equal to the most fantasy points allowed. Miami, the league’s best rushing offense, will undoubtedly run Ricky and Hilliard ragged. Expect the second-year back to rack roughly 10-12 carries with 50-plus yards. Consider him a suitable flex option in very deep leagues.

While the Bills did stiffen against the run last week, holding dynamo Maurice Jones-Drew to only 66 rushing yards on 25 carries, expect the Dolphins to punish Buffalo on the ground, giving Hilliard a decent shot to rack up the garbage time yards. If you’re desperate, he could be your man.

As for pass-catchers, Evans picks another potential diamond out of the rough in…St. Louis?:

Brandon Gibson (WR) St. Louis Rams

If targets were a scoring category in fantasy, Gibson would be the ultimate leviathan. Lined up in the crosshairs a week-high 17 times in Week 11, the rookie, who was acquired from Philadelphia for Will Witherspoon(notes) in October, will remain an integral part of the Rams’ offense going forward. With Keenan Burton(notes) out for the remainder of the season and Donnie Avery(notes) drawing ample attention, the youngster could average roughly 7-9 looks down the stretch, especially with St. Louis continuously playing from behind. He obviously needs more polish – poor route-running and dropped passes plagued him versus Arizona – but the talent is there. This week, the Rams host a Seattle defense that has been pounded vertically. Since Week 7 no secondary has allowed more fantasy points to wideouts. Because of the matchup and his expanded role, Gibson is prime Shocker Special material in Week 12.

Marc Bulger’s absence figures to hamper the Rams passing attack, but against a vulnerable Seahawks secondary, someone will put up yards for the Rams. And Gibson could very be the guy who does it. Expect 60-70 yards, and maybe a touchdown.

We never talk about kickers much in fantasy, most seem to be interchangeable and they rely on their offense so much for opportunities that they become an afterthought. Until they start missing (Cowboys Nick Folk anyone?), or when the team’s offense can’t even get into position for kicks.

So if your kicker is kicking your chances for playoff glory out the window, consider a new guy who popped up as fantasy-relevant just last week.

Three missed field goals in four weeks spelled the end for Steven Hauschka. Such is the lot of the NFL placekicker. It’s an easy living for those who do it well, but job security is always a concern. Newly signed Billy Cundiff doesn’t have job security, but a job is something he didn’t have last week (and I’m sure he’s happy with the situation). Cundiff started the season with Cleveland, but was unceremoniously dumped after week 8 despite being perfect on field goal and extra point attempts. He continued his streak by knocking in the first four attempts last weekend before a third quarter miss. He finished the game with a team record-tying five field goals and looks like a strong candidate to put up some points for the TD-challenged Ravens in the weeks to come.

Another under-the-radar recommend from FF Toolbox – TE Kevin Boss.

Over at NFL.com, Michael Fabiano points out the one name that will surely be high on everybody’s list when approaching the waiver wire this week. It comes from those cursed Redskins, who have gone through two starting RBs and will now have to rely on their third.

[Rock] Cartwright will be the single-hottest player on the waiver wire this week. With RBs Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts out for Week 12 and beyond, Cartwright will take over as the new featured back in Washington. The versatile back caught seven passes and posted 140 scrimmage yards in a loss to the Cowboys, so his skills are apparent. He’ll be a viable flex starter down the stretch.

Other names on Fabiano’s list include WRs Donnie Avery and Robert Meachem.