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We are at the halfway point of the regular season. The next four to five weeks are going to make or break your fantasy season. As you try to make that push from the middle of the pack to get one of the last playoff spots, it’s going to take the utmost perfect lineup changes and proper fantasy starter submissions. Here is a look at post week eight’s fantasy waiver wire pickups.

Quarterbacks

Josh Freeman-
It is visibly noticeable now that Freeman appears settled in with the new talent surrounding him offensively. After a shaky first month, he has developed and made Vincent Jackson into one of the top fantasy wide receivers in football. Doug Martin finally came around in a big way against the Minnesota Vikings, as the offense continues to move forward each and every week. Freeman is still available in about 40 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Blaine Gabbert
His week was a one week wonder as well as he has not done anything to be remotely considered a fantasy football quarterback this season. Based on his preseason and how he performed against Oakland before getting hurt though, you could say he is starting to turn the corner again. As noted in the weekly wonders article it use to take a young quarterback a full year to get use to the NFL speed and play. Gabbert may be approaching that period. Keep an eye on how he keeps producing in the coming weeks.

Running Backs

Jonathan Dwyer-
Another consecutive repeat entrance from Dwyer. All the injuries to the Steelers back field has allowed for Dwyer to be the main back two weeks in a row where he has shined for 100 yard performances. After struggling tremendously to get the ground game going the first five games, Pittsburgh will now be able to factor in Dwyer once Mendenhall and Redman are healthy. His carry amount load will dwindle but the Steelers will not ignore the past two weeks.

Donald Brown
Brown is not going to be a fantasy stud each week and finish as a top fifteen back. What he can do though is provide sneaky fantasy points each week. The Colts look like they’ve decided to limit his role as a feature back, but that doesn’t mean his productivity will decline. He can produce results with twelve to fifteen carries a game while maintaining his role as a solid pass catching running back. A quality back to have stashed on your roster especially if you are in a PPR league.

Ronnie Hillman
The Broncos really like this young rookie, and they finally unveiled what Hillman can do with a double digit carry load. Albeit his performance was against the poor defense of the Saints but it still yielded strong results and positive signs. The Broncos have not shied away from being a heavy run team this season. With Knowshown Moreno still shelved on the sidlines, Hillman is going to continue to get opportunities to rush the football to spell McGahee. That may rise as the weeks carry on so the Broncos have a healthy 30 year old McGahee come playoff time.

Wide Receivers

Titus Young
Megatron was negated Sunday so Matt Stafford had to look elsewhere to make big plays. Titus Young who was questionable to play gutted it out and had a huge performance with nine catches and two touchdowns. He was on the waiver wire list last week and is still available in a wide range of leagues.

Joshua Morgan
The longer and longer Pierre Garcon sits out the more the depth of the Redskins begins to rise in the fantasy football picture. Leonard Hankerson has been to inconsistent and Santana Moss is good for a solid game once a month. Morgan seems to be the guy RG3 is leaning more and more as the weeks stretch on.

Brandon LaFell
Even amidst Cam Newton’s second year struggles, LaFell has started the year off as a solid flex and borderline number three/four fantasy wide receiver. He is on pace to finish the year near 850 yards receiving with six touchdowns, and that’s with how poor Newton has played. If Newton can snap out of his funk and throw a few more 300 yard games, LaFell could be a sleeper strong finisher to the fantasy season.

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Quarterbacks

Russ Wilson
Wilson has now thrown for over 200 yards in three of his last four games, after not being able to do it the first four games. He just isn’t ready to be a quarterback of fantasy relevancy. He has a total of ten touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. If he is not producing double digit touchdowns he is surely going to offset his numbers with interceptions.

Blaine Gabbert
Gabbert and the Jaguars have played two solid games in a row. One against the Raiders Gabbert could not finish due to injury or they may have won at Oakland by double digits. Gabbert may be one of those old fashioned young quarterbacks that needs a year or two under center before true growth happens. He has had flashes and this game is another. Wait for a string of quality games before picking Gabbert up.

Running Backs

Donald Brown

Brown’s return from injury did not mean he would get the near full load of carries like he did prior. Indianapolis spread the carries out just about even with Vick Ballard and Brown. Brown has shown he can not handle a majority of the load. Maybe this will boost his yards per carry and effectiveness in a Felix Jones type of way.

Ronnie Brown
Some games defenses are just able to master a plan against an opposing quarterback. That’s exactly what the Browns did Sunday against Philip Rivers. Rivers is the type of quarterback that likes to take risks anyways, but must have had the Broncos game still in the back of his head. Instead of gunning the football in tight spots he settle for check down throws to Ronnie Brown. Fifteen fantasy points for Ronnie Brown as a pass catching running back will not happen again this season.

Wide Receivers

Cecil Shorts

It’s clear that Shorts has developed into the Jaguars number one receiver, but for how long? As the season stretches past the mid point you have to believe Justin Blackmon will come on eventually. Give Shorts credit though as he fought his way up the roster past Laurent Robinson and has been fairly consistent even when Gabbert was struggling.

Jason Witten
During Tony Romo’s interception fest first half, someone telephoned down to him to stop throwing the ball so much to Dez Bryant when you have sure handed Jason Witten. Romo may have got the advice late but he made sure Jason Witten had about four games worth of catches. Eighteen catches is unheard of from even a wide receiver. Witten has fought off a few injuries this season and likely will re-shift to the first option for Romo to safeguard his throws. But 18 catches is definitely a one week wonder stat.

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It’s just about the halfway point in the majority of fantasy leagues. How will the second half of your fantasy season fare? As the season stretches on, injuries become even more significant. Week seven boasts some of the best value pickups thus far for any waiver wire week on the season.

Quarterbacks

Josh Freeman-
Freeman did exactly what he needed to do in a stretch against poor defenses. The Buccaneers expanded the offense during that stretch and Freeman has continued to ascend with new target Vincent Jackson. Mike Williams is even becoming more consistent in terms of catches. With the running game still working out kinks, Freeman may continue to be a focus point for the offense.

Mark Sanchez-
Talk has slowly shifted from the benching of Sanchez for Tim Tebow the last couple of weeks. Sure, Sanchez could have connected on a few more balls against the Patriots, but he has played fairly well against both the Texans and Patriots. With the limited talent he has at his disposal you could say it’s been quite impressive.

Running Backs

Kendall Hunter

Gore was in obvious pain towards the end of the Seahawks game on Thursday night. The apparent injury has been labeled as a rib injury. The extent of that only Gore knows. Gore has been one to play hurt throughout his career and it seems he will attempt to do so with his rib injury. Hunter has been getting roughly eight carries a game, and may get a higher average now to preserve Gore for the playoffs.

Jonathan Dwyer
Dwyer was on my addition waiver wire list in anticipation of bypassing Isaac Redman weeks ago. Neither were able to do much and it appeared the Steelers were in a deep hole with Redman and Mendenhall out against Cincinnati. Many expected Baron Batch to get the bulk of carries due to Dwyer’s ineffectiveness earlier this year. Dwyer finally had his breakout game and will be the top fantasy waiver wire pickup this week.

Philip Tanner
Carolina shut down the Cowboys rushing attack, largely due to the fact they limited Felix Jones. Jones has always been the old Napolean Kaufman type of running back. If he isn’t busting loose on a big run, his value is diminished tremendously as an every down back as he lacks the hard nosed between the tackles rushing. Tanner can do that and even though he also had a tough time against Carolina he had nearly the same amount of carries as Jones.

Rashad Jennings

All the owners that hand cuffed MJD with Rashad Jennings during fantasy drafts must have been impatient as the season went about, and dumped Jennings for a waiver wire pickup. That’s a golden rule not to do with a top tier fantasy running back. Now it’ll be a free for all to get a back in Jennings that’s in a true old school backfield system. There is no complimentary back in Jacksonville, so Jennings will receive 90 percent of the duties. Jennings is available in over 70 percent of Yahoo leagues.

LaRod Stephens-Howling

Howling was another waiver wire addition weeks prior to his breakout game on Notjustagame. Howling is just a better all around threat and does more in smaller space than William Powell and Alfonso Smith. The Cardinals finally decided to test Howling as a feature back and it worked out well as the Cardinals finally had a hundred yard rusher on the season. It was Howling’s first game with a high amount of carries. We will see how his body takes the hits for a smaller back over the course of a few games.

Wide Receivers

Titus Young

With Nate Burelson done for the season, Titus Young and Ryan Broyles figure to be in the mix to get more attention from Stafford. Monday when Charles Tillman did a solid job covering Calvin Johnson, Stafford looked more to Young’s direction. In a meaningless drive except for Vegas, Stafford hit a huge out route to Young that was his best throw of the night on a third and nineteen. Though he needs to stop his antics after each catch, Young should offer high value for the rest of the season.

Devin Hester

Hester has always flirted with fantasy rosters as a receiver, but now may be the best time. Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler are so in sync, that Hester is going to get some one on one plays just with his speed. With Alshon Jeffreys out to injury, Hester could have a big game or two during the stretch without Jeffreys.

Jeremy Kerley

Kerley continues to make the weekly waiver wire report after three consecutive solid games now. Maybe folks just don’t trust Mark Sanchez enough to believe the Jets can have a reliable fantasy wide receiver. Still available in over 50% of Yahoo leagues, Kerley just seems to get open with his speed with regularity.

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A Thursday night game is in the books where little was rewarded for fantasy owners with 49ers or Seahawks players. With six other teams on bye weeks it’s going to be crucial maximizing your roster depth and inserting the proper starters.

Quarterbacks

Matt Hasselbeck-
Hasselbeck still has value even at the end of his career. For years Tennessee was a running team with Chris Johnson, but now they have a trio of receivers that can uplift the offense while Johnson struggles. Kenny Britt, Nate Washington, and Kendall Wright are as solid as a triple threat of receivers in the NFL. Add Jared Cook to that mix, and Hasselbeck has enough weapons at his disposal to have a big fantasy game against the Bills.

Sam Bradford-
Even with Danny Amendola sidelined, Sam Bradford has kept turning the corner. Next up for Bradford is going to be finding a way to manufacture more points. He is making big plays every game with an accurate deep ball and great accuracy overall. They face a Packers team that made a statement last week against the Texans. That was one game, overall this season they have been susceptible. Bradford will have a solid game in terms of fantasy.

Sit: John Skelton, Jay Cutler, and Andrew Luck

Running Backs

LeGarrette Blount-
Tampa Bay’s running game has not lived up to the off-season transition with draft pick Doug Martin. Look for the Buccaneers to maybe give Blount a few extra carries in the split backfield. Keeping Drew Brees off the field is always a tough task. In order to do that the Buccaneers have to extend drives against a poor Saints defense.

Shonn Greene-
The Jets will keep pounding the ball with Greene and hope for the best. He has always been a streaky running back that carries over big games for stretches. Ride that trend with Greene. The Jets were over using Sanchez earlier in the season. Rex Ryan knows how to defend Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, and he won’t mind punting the football if the running game isn’t working early on.

Alfred Morris-
All the attention that RG3 has drawn has boosted Morris’s play exponentially. He’ll likely be a back that regresses next season, but for this year he will finish as a top eight back overall. The Giants defense has always been one that’s better at applying pressure than stopping the run. They did a great job against Frank Gore, but the 49ers did not have a mobile quarterback the Giants had to contend with.

Sit: Michael Bush, Steven Jackson, and Jonathan Stewart

Wide Receivers

Jacoby Jones-
Jones is a bit buried on the Ravens depth chart but gets his fair share of involvement in the Ravens offense. There is nothing like a player facing off against his old team. Jones will be baiting Harbaugh for an extra ten to twelve snaps on the field. With the Ravens offense having to score every week, the football will be tossed around to all Ravens receivers. Jones will get in the end zone against his old team.

DeNarius Moore-
Since Moore’s return the offense has been revitalized through the air. Carson Palmer seems to finally be settling in, remember he was thrown into the Raiders mix and named starter instantly upon coming back from his holdout from Cincinnati. Look for Palmer to continue heating up and hitting Moore this week against the Jaguars.

Brandon Lafell-
Sooner or later Cam Newton is going to snap out of his funk. Coming off a bye week against the Cowboys who are yet again getting scrutinized lies the perfect opportunity. Expect Newton to have a big day through the air and to find LaFell more than Steve Smith.

Sit: Justin Blackmon, Miles Austin, and Emmanuel Sanders

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Injuries, injuries, and more injuries are adding up on your fantasy rosters. If you’re an owner that has 70 to 80 percent of your top eight players still healthy from your original draft, you’ve fared well. For the majority of owners though injuries are piling up. Here are some players to look at off the waiver wire of week six.

Quarterbacks

Matt Hasselbeck-
The veteran Hasselbeck seems to be settling in after a couple of poor outings from a turnover standpoint. Lets not forget the Titans brought in Hasselbeck for solid money right after the lockout ended. There were plenty of teams that wanted to sign Hasselbeck but he chose Tennessee even with Locker in the fold. If he can limit his interceptions, Hasselbeck can be a decent fantasy performer if you’re in dire need for a quarterback.

Sam Bradford-
All the hype about the young quarterbacks drafted the last two years has put Bradford out of the loop. He is on a Rams team that has never been an offensive juggernaut. Bradford though has put together a few solid games this year, and seems to be past the injury woes that have plagued him. He tore apart the Dolphins who came into the weekend as one of the best defensive teams especially at home.

Josh Freeman-
Anticipating Freeman performing better was not in doubt with the matchups Freeman and the Buccaneers had in store after their bye week. Yet it was good to see Freeman airing the football out to his big play receivers in Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams. The running game has yet to be a factor, but you have to imagine they’ll get it figured out sooner than later.

Carson Palmer-
Palmer has always been one of the streakier quarterbacks in the NFL. I said to gamble on him to start this weekend and he had an above average performance besides his pick six. Palmer is finding Denarius Moore now and a possession receiver target in Derek Hagan.

Running Backs

Felix Jones-
Soon the extent of DeMarco Murray’s foot injury will be released, but it’s said not to be season ending. So if Murray is out even a couple of games, Jones will be a viable fantasy producer. He has done it before in spot start duties, and is a suitable replacement for Murray production wise. Jones stepped in nicely in a secondary role in the first half to Murray, and would have been on the list even if Murray had not went down.

Philip Tanner-
Tanner is the one that Ray Lewis was trying to tackle while he tore his triceps. Tanner factored in the second half with nine carries with Murray out. Felix Jones will be the main guy but Tanner will fill Jones’s old role. While Jones is the home run threat, Tanner will be the pound back for the tough yards.

Montario Hardesty-
One of the backs talked about the most on handcuffing in your fantasy drafts was Trent Richardson. He has shown to be fragile and went down Sunday against the Bengals. The running game for the Browns will not disappear with Richardson sidelined. Hardesty has solid value to carry the load for the Browns and rookie Brandon Weeden.

LeGarrette Blount-
Blount lost his job to rookie Doug Martin and appeared to be an after thought from a fantasy standpoint. Don’t discount him just yet. If the Buccaneers can get things rolling, they could have a favorable dual threat backfield. Blount has displayed his power and is going to be a fourth quarter back teams do not want to tackle. Blount can be the Brandon Jacobs to Ahmad Bradshaw when he was with the Giants.

Daryl Richardson
For a moment it looked like Richardson was going to have a career game against the Dolphins. Miami had not allowed a run over ten yards on the season, but Richardson burst for a forty yard run off the bat in the first quarter. After that run though Richardson was held in check. He only received eleven carries, but is the future of the Rams backfield.

Wide Receivers

Josh Gordon-
Last week he was on the weekly wonders report, but after a duplicating performance I have added Gordon to the waiver wire report. Both of Gordon’s big touchdown plays came on blown deep safety help. Gordon has the speed to continue to pose problems for defensive secondaries.

Brandon Gibson-
Gibson faded weeks three thru five after a couple of solid outings with touchdowns to start the season. With Danny Amendola out someone needs to fill in for all the catches Amendola was receiving. Gibson seems to be the guy that wants that role, and made some nice grabs against the Dolphins. St. Louis does not score too many points, but Gibson can make up for that with PPR points.

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Pittsburgh proved last night that trends are always worth paying attention to. They lost against the spread as an away favorite for the seventh consecutive time.

Zack Cimini has some players for the rest of week six’s action that should garner interest with their trendy matchups.

Quarterbacks

Brandon Weeden
The young , oh wait, the 28-year-old quarterback has had his fair share of on the field rookie mistakes already this season. Yet he is showing strong poise and a skill set to why the Cleveland Browns drafted him and practically named him their starter off the bat. Trent Richardson is coming along brilliantly, and that should invoke confidence in Weeden. He was off to a strong start against the Giants until his costly interception late in the second quarter.

Andrew Luck
The Jets played inspired football and came close to pulling off a win as a home underdog on Monday night football. Former AFC East division rivals in the old format square off this weekend between the Colts and Jets. Look for the Colts to carry over their momentum from their come from behind win against Green Bay.

Carson Palmer
One thing the bye week is good for is retooling what is not working. Carson Palmer arm is not shot, but you would think that with how poor the Raiders passing game has been. Maybe they’ll mix different receivers in the lineup to see if someone else can produce, or have specific plays drawn up to spread the offense around. Atlanta is prone to giving up yards through the air, and Palmer is due for his once a month solid game.

Running Backs

Ronnie Brown
A dark horse sort of radar alert player this week in fantasy football is Brown. He looks refreshed and had sort of a welcome back performance against the Saints last Sunday night. If he can continue to perform well he should easily surpass Jackie Battle on the depth chart. Battle has been a significant part of the Chargers playbook thus far, but doesn’t have the all around skills Brown brings to the table. He catches the football out of the backfield, and should get around eight to ten carries Monday Night.

Brandon Bolden
The amount of carries the Patriots are feeding their backs is not a fluke. They are pounding the football with their hurry up offense attack and tiring out defenses. The Seahawks have been nearly impossible to run the football on and will be tough to accomplish at Seattle. With Stevan Ridley’s late fumble against the Broncos, the Patriots may shift a few more carries Bolden’s way.

Vick Ballard
With Donald Brown out a few weeks, this will be Ballard’s chance to still away the starting job. Brown has not lived up to the first round draft pick status that he was a few years ago, and the Colts are likely planning on upgrading in the offseason. Ballard gets a favorable matchup against the Jets who have been one of the worst teams at stopping the run.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Scott Chandler-
There is no question Ryan Fitzpatrick looks for Chandler just about as much as he does Stevie Johnson. Arizona was exposed a few weeks back for their secondary at home against Miami. This week it’ll be Fitzpatrick that does so as well. Chandler should have one of his best games as an NFL player in terms of amount of catches, and at least one trip in the end zone.

Randall Cobb

Comparing performances from a week ago you always look for great matchups. Houston’s defense did just about everything they could to frustrate Mark Sanchez, but they did allow Jeremy Kerley to have a big game. Randall Cobb is just about the same type of player as Kerley, if not better. Look for the Packers to get Cobb on some seam routes and plays to let him utilize his speed in the open field.

Andrew Hawkins

The Browns do get back cornerback Joe Haden this week, and will have his hands full with arguably the best receiver in football in AJ Green. Hawkins won’t have to worry about Haden though, and will get the crop of corners that have been lit up by quarterbacks. Eli Manning torched the Browns secondary with rookie wide receiver Ruben Randle. Dalton will pick apart the Browns secondary. Hawkins should add to his two touchdowns on the year and be get around six catches between eighty and one hundred yards.