The Garbage Grab: Wild Card Weekend
Dorian “The Trashman” Colbert, Rosterwatch.com

Sure—the regular fantasy season is over, but there are plenty of playoff and daily leagues that you can still participate in like Draftday.com. This week’s garbage picks lend themselves to such leagues, where you are allotted a certain amount of salary cap space to spend on players playing in the NFL playoffs. Go big where you can, but consider these guys as value picks.

Marvin Jones WR, Bengals: Jones has come on late in the season, and though it has seemed like it’s been out of nowhere, he was actually ahead of Mohamed Sanu on the depth chart before an MCL injury hobbled him in October. Jones’ playmaking ability, and the fact that he’s not A. J. Green (who will be covered relentlessly by former Bengal Jonathan Joseph) could pay off for you this week against a Houston pass defense that had nose dived in the last half of the season.

Garrett Graham TE, Texans: Texans coach Gary Kubiak needs to realize that his offense runs much more efficiently when Garrett Graham and James Casey are involved in the game plan. Yes, Owen Daniels will play against the Bengals, but he won’t be fully healthy , so Graham will be a sneaky play with a chance for some end-zone looks. Vontaze Burfict has been a nice surprise this season, but both he and Maualuga remain suspect in coverage.

Jerome Simpson WR, Vikings: Simpson has been largely useless this fantasy season, and probably won’t be with the team next season. That being said, he tied for the team lead in targets in their last week matchup with Green Bay, and there are not many other players to get the ball to through the air for Minnesota. A big play or two is not out of the question for Simpson, as the Packers will be paying exclusive attention to one Adrian Peterson.

T.Y. Hilton WR, Colts: You can spend your resources on a big name like Reggie Wayne, but my “money”, and less of it, is being spent on Hilton who has come on as the main big play threat on a surprisingly potent Colts offense. I fully expect Hilton to increase on his touchdown total of seven, which already leads all rookie receivers.

Bernard Pierce RB, Ravens: Pierce has been the perfect compliment to Ray Rice in the Baltimore backfield, notching over 200 yards in their last two regular season games. The Ravens will do their best to slow the game down and keep the ball on the ground against the Colts this weekend, and that means it will be the Rice and Pierce show all day.

Anthony McCoy TE, Seahawks: McCoy quietly leads all Seattle receivers in average yards per catch, and will be their best weapon against a Redskins blitz that gave the Cowboys fits last week.

Doug Baldwin WR, Seahawks: Baldwin’s situation is much like McCoy’s. As the slot receiver for Seattle, he will get more looks this week based on Washington’s comprehensive blitz package. His value won’t get any higher than what it is right now.

Joe Flacco QB, Ravens: Flacco has been largely pedestrian this season, but he’s pretty good at home, and this will be their last home game whether the Ravens win or not. He will provide good value for his price.

DuJuan Harris RB, Packers: The Packers have decided to go with the hot hand in the backfield, and right now that is DuJuan Harris. That could change in the blink of an eye, but with Harris producing 87 all-purpose yards last week against the same Vikings they will face now, I don’t see why they would alter the formula.