Waiver Wire Wonders: Ringing Mike Bell

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires. Enjoy those pickups...

Ah, it feels good to be back doesn't it? But don't go getting too comfortable, because Week 1 is almost in the bag and that means one thing: It's time to make a mad dash for those waiver wires. It's true you cannot read too much into a single week's performances, but there are certainly some big-time pickups up for grabs. So without further ado, here are the players coming off breakout performances in Week 1 to help bolster your fantasy squad.

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Mike Bell (RB, New Orleans) - If you are like me, watching as your hopes of Pierre Thomas being the "go to" ground option in New Orleans go down the sewer, this addition to the Week 1 waiver wire wonders list hurts. This situation still does not guarantee anything between Thomas and Bell, but Reggie Bush only carried the ball seven times for 14 yards, so Bell certainly is a good pickup after amassing a whopping 143 yards on 28 carries. Granted, the Lions gave up over 500 yards and 45 points, but Bell clearly has a big place in this offense even when Thomas returns. In other news, the Lions still suck.

Cadillac Williams (RB, Tampa Bay) - Despite a long history of injury problems and questions as to whether he would ever play again, Cadillac Williams emerged late in the preseason as the lead horse in Tampa Bay's running back triforce. Even after being named the starter earlier this week, only four percent of fantasy teams started Williams due to high expectations for Derick Ward's contributions and uncertainly regarding how the workload would play out between Williams, Ward, and Earnest Graham. Well, Williams helped lay to rest concerns about his value as he made like your grandpa's Coup DeVille, barreling over everything in his path and even putting a pancake block on defender Ken Hamlin. Williams only ended up with 13 carries, so this does still look like a committee, but he tallied 97 yards and a touchdown, so he makes a good add if it's not too late. Also, Earnest Graham only got one carry.

Justin Gage (WR, Tennessee) - It might be too late to make a Justin Gage pickup, since he played in the Thursday night season opener, but Gage looks like the clear first-look target as he hauled in an impressive seven catches, 78 yards and a touchdown. Sure, nobody really gets that excited with Kerry Collins under center, but Gage looks legit. The one thing to monitor here is that the Titans struggled to run the ball against the Steelers, hence they will likely look to keep it on the ground more often against softer defenses.

Patrick Crayton (WR, Dallas) - Everything was supposed to be headed Roy Williams' way with Terrell Owens out of the picture, but it appears there is room for two in Tony Romo's eyes. Williams played well with three catches, 86 yards and a touchdown, but Crayton outshined his counterpart, connecting on an 80-yarder and amassing 135 yards and a TD for one of the biggest games of the week.

Davone Bess (WR, Miami) - In the "keep an eye on this guy" department, Davone Bess caught seven passes for 57 yards. In terms of fantasy points, this is obviously just a fair effort, but you have to like the catch total and number of targets here as Bess looks like the Welker-esque possession option with Ted Ginn Jr. remaining more of the big-play guy.

Antwaan Randle El (WR, Washington) - What would the waiver wire be without Antwaan Randle El? It seems like every season Randle El flirts with a breakout, but ultimately only posts a few really solid games. Sunday, against a dominating Giants defense, Randle El caught seven passes for 98 yards and definitely looked like a No. 1 receiver. Alternatively, his more popular counterpart, Santana Moss -- who is owned in far more leagues (Randle El is currently only owned in about 13%) -- caught only two passes for six yards. I'd probably wait to see some consistency in smaller leagues, but in 12-team or larger leagues, he makes a good pickup right now.

Joe Flacco (QB, Baltimore) - Who would have guessed Flacco would be right up there in stats with Manning, Brees, Roethlisberger and Romo after one week? Sure enough, Flacco lit up the Chiefs for 307 and three touchdowns. Anyone with an uncertain No. 2 quarterback situation should give Flacco a look at this point. The Ravens are not going to continue posting 500 yards of total offense every week, but they do seem comfortable with the passing game.

John Carlson (TE, Seattle) - After a great training camp, Carlson confirmed he is for real in Week 1 with a huge day, hauling in six catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns. Brent Celek seemed to be the sleeper at the tight end position after he caught one TD against the Panthers, but Carlson had one of the biggest days for any position. Furthermore, Matt Hasselbeck looked back to form with 279 yards and three touchdowns (with two INTs).