Bye weeks are over, Thanksgiving is here. Football is everywhere. Does it get any better? This week there are a lot of waiver wire targets due to injuries. Here are the best ones to target

QB
Colin Kaepernick, SF – If you didn’t grab him last week, you must grab him now, after what he did to the Bears Monday night. Kaepernick may move back to his role as backup QB if/when Alex Smith is healthy, or he might not. Either way, Kaepernick appears to be the 49ers QB of the future and has a lot of long-term value.

Chad Henne, JAX – With Henne under center, the Jaguars are a completely different team. Henne will play this week, any maybe beyond and this makes him fantasy viable, especially if you’re an owner who is unhappy with your QB play.

RB
Ronnie Hillman, DEN – Willis McGahee is out 6-8 weeks, and is likely out for the season. Hillman will get the bulk of the carries for the Broncos. However, Lance Ball could swipe some of his touches, especially at the goalline. But, Hillman, a rookie, has nice long-term value and is someone to target.

Jalen Parmele, JAX – Parmele is the new starting RB in Jacksonville, replacing the ineffective Rashad Jennings, who is essentially a fantasy scrub at this point. Parmele has little long term value, but could serve as a decent short term replacement and a great play this week against Tennessee.

WR
Justin Blackmon, JAX – Blackmon finally showed his value as a high rookie pick. He seems to have a connection with Henne, so as long as Henne is the Jags’ QB, Blackmon makes for a decent WR3/Flex type of guy. And given his skill set and age, Blackmon has great long-term value.

Mohamed Sanu, CIN – Here’s another rookie who has worked his way into a prominent role. The Bengals offense is starting to click, and Sanu has scored twice in the last two weeks. Sanu is someone to target and stash. I’m still ready to insert him in a starting lineup down the stretch, but if you’re desperate, he has potential.

TE
Garrett Graham, HOU – Graham went off last week for 2 TDs and 8 catches. That’s fantastic production, but unfortunately, he wasn’t started in leagues, so you don’t get credit for him. If you grab him now, he may not match that type of performance again all year. He is only a tight end to target in deep leagues with desperate owners.

Jermichael Finley, GB – Some experts (myself included) called for the dropping of Finley earlier this year. It was justified advice, but after Finley found the end zone and 4 catches, he might give owners false hope, or this could be his one last stand as a viable fantasy tight end.

Follow Jimmy Dinsmore, The Fantasy Geek, on Twitter @fantasy_geek

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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
After amassing 700 yards and a whopping 10 touchdowns on 58 receptions in 2010, Marcedes Lewis turned out to be a huge fantasy bust a year ago. Not only did he catch 19 less balls for 460 yards, the Jaguars tight end failed to find the end zone in 2011. Part of the problem can be pinned on the Jaguars’ woes at quarterback, but Lewis simply was not a factor with just two games over 50 yards receiving. The arrival of Mike Mularkey and a new system should help, but more consistency at QB will be the deciding factor on his fantasy value.

SCHEDULE
The Vikings and Colts in their first five games should help make for some decent early numbers, but three tough defenses like the Texans, Bengals, and Bears also before the bye will test the team’s offensive line.  Their non-conference matchups against the NFC North teams, arguably football’s best division top to bottom, aren’t going to provide much relief. The good news for the fantasy playoffs is all three of their games are in the state of Florida, so there will be no wintery elements to deal with.

STUD
Maurice Jones-Drew led all NFL rushers in both yards (1,606) and carries (343) a year ago on his way to finishing as top five fantasy running back. Despite the workload, Jones-Drew has proven to be extremely durable. Through his seven-year career he’s managed to play in at least 14 games each season. The team’s improved weapons in the passing game should help keep defenses a bit more honest and allow MJD the ability to once again be productive. Assuming his holdout doesn’t drag on too long, Jones-Drew should continue to be viewed as a first-round RB.

DUD
Despite being the Jaguars’ leading receiver a year ago, Mike Thomas finds himself buried on the team’s depth chart and a total off-season remake of their wide receiver corps. At best he’ll be the team’s third receiver and after only garnering 44 receptions for 415 yards and just one touchdown as the team’s No. 1 receiving option, he won’t bring much value to the table.  Barring injury, owners should avoid Thomas altogether entering 2012.

SLEEPER
There’s never been a question surrounding the talent of rookie wide receiver Justin Blackmon. His fantasy potential hit a minor hurdle when he landed in Jacksonville with 5th overall pick in April’s draft. It wasn’t a good sign when he was arrested for a second DUI in June. However, that coupled with his brief holdout and the Jaguars’ weak passing attack has his ADP at 96.03 as the 34th overall receiver going off the board. It comes with risk, but a mid-round stab at the talented rookie could pay big dividends.

NEW ADDITIONS
Desperately seeking to breathe some life into their anemic passing game, the Jaguars signed free agents Laurent Robinson and Lee Evans this offseason. Robinson parlayed a career in Dallas into a 5-year, $32 million deal and will be counted on to produce. He caught 54 balls for 854 yards and 11 touchdowns for Dallas a year ago. At 31, Evans is coming off back-to-back injury riddled seasons and has appears to have lost a step. A reunion with Mularkey, the coach that drafted him will help, but it may not be enough. Robinson is a WR4 at best in deeper formats and owners should take a wait-and-see approach with Evans.

POSITION BATTLE
Second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert has started training camp as the team’s starter, but veteran Chad Henne was brought in to give the team an option if the young passer’s development staggers.  Gabbert’s rookie campaign was awful as he completed 50.8 percent of his passes for 2,214 yards and 12 TD’s, but he was picked off 11 times and fumbled a league-high 14. The team is holding out hope that Gabbert was another bust, but don’t hold your breath. Henne will be starting at some point and his presence will upgrade the value of everyone in the passing game.

BENCH BUILDER
While Rashad Jennings is a natural handcuff for MJD owners, he could provide nice depth for any fantasy team. Even if Jones-Drew is doing his thing, the team is expected to reduce his workload which will lead to more opportunities for Jennings to do some damage. In PPR leagues his value is slightly higher. Look for him to be a RB4 in deeper leagues and a RB5 option in any format. If Jones-Drew is out of the mix he could become a potential weekly starting option.

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All right it’s Tuesday and that means it time to hit the waiver wire. Here’s guys you should look at listed in the order I like them position-by-position.

PICK UP WEEK
QB Cam Newton (CAR) – I will be the first to admit that I was a doubter in Cam Newton. However, after watching him have a solid preseason and blow up in Week 1, I no longer sit on that side of the fence. Temper your expectations a bit, but there is no doubt his upside long term is endless.

QB
Ryan Fitzpartick (BUF) – had the best Total QBR rating of Week 1; a nice matchup play
Chad Henne (MIA) – turned in his best game as a pro in loss to NE; could be ready for breakout
Rex Grossman (WAS) – has turned in 300+ yards passing in 3 of last 4 for WAS

RB
Cadillac Williams (STL) – value is soaring with Steven Jackson out this week and maybe longer
Jerome Harrison (DET) – appears to be the handcuff to Jahvid Best, who has durability issues
Tashard Choice (DAL) – could be worth a stash if you have the extra spot on your roster

WR
Jordy Nelson (GB) – My pick to be the WR2 to emerge in the Packers’ explosive offense
Devery Henderson (NO) – Not a big fan but injuries have him emerging on Saints’ depth chart
Jacoby Jones (HOU) – Has the ability to produce and with Kevin Walter ailing he will get chance

TE
Fred Davis (WAS) – A huge performance in Week 1 shows he’s clearly going to be a factor
Jermaine Gresham (CIN) – Will only continue to get better as Bengals’ offense begins to gel

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Broncos and Dolphins have reached a deal that will send wide receiver Brandon Marshall to Miami in exchange for a second-round pick this year and what appears to be a second-round selection in 2011.

Marshall has been one of the league’s premier receivers over the past three seasons, catching 307 balls for 3,710 yards 23 touchdowns while averaging over 12 yards per catch.

The Broncos made it clear earlier this off-season that they wanted to trade the much maligned wideout, but were hoping for a first-round pick in exchange.

Marshall’s arrival in Miami immediately improves a weak Dolphins’ passing game. His arrival likely means that former first-round pick Ted Ginn Jr. will be traded.

FANTASY IMPACT: After playing with Kyle Orton a year ago, expect Marshall to only get better now by being paired with up-and-coming signal caller Chad Henne. He remains a top 10 fantasy wideout with the potential to be a top three candidate worthy of a pick somewhere between Rounds 3 through 5. Henne also gets a big spike in value and could prove to be a nice mid-draft steal.

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It wasn't too long ago that Brian Brohm was touted as a sure-fire top 5 pick in the NFL Draft. However, after a senior season upon which Louisville greatly underacheived, he dropped a bit on draft boards. Now it is unclear whether or not Brohm will even go in the first round.

Brohm lacks the rocket arm, but is accurate and has great mechanics. You can tell the kid was the son of a coach. He learns quick and will only get better with experience. As a senior, Brohm actually threw as many interceptions as he had in his first three seasons, but he did also throw for a career high 4,024 yards and 30 touchdowns to go along with a 65.1% completion rate.

Boston College's Matt Ryan is largely believed to be the draft's top quarterback and one that Baltimore, who picks No. 8 overall, apparently covets. Assuming that holds true, where does Brohm fall?

The 22-year old is going to provide great value where ever he winds up. He is the top of a second tier of quarterbacks that also includes Michigan's Chad Henne and Delaware's Joe Flacco. As has been the case in past drafts, quarterback-needy teams might consider trading into the back half of the first round to snare one of the second-level signal-callers. Consider this recent history:

In 2007, the Browns dealt back in to select Notre Dame's Brady Quinn (No. 22). Two years prior, the Redskins made a similar move to snare Auburn's Jason Campbell (No. 25). In 2004, the Bills traded back for J.P. Losman (No. 22) and the year before that, the Ravens swung a deal with the Patriots to get Kyle Boller (No. 19).

I see a trade coming, but most of the mock drafts I have checked out see Ryan either going to the Falcons at #3 or the Ravens at #8. Whichever team don't get Ryan in Round 1 will turn to Brohm in Round 2. There is going to be a surprise team pop out and make a move at this guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Minnesota to make a move and maybe even Miami.

PROJECTED MOCK DRAFT SELECTION
FootballFutures.com - Brian Brohm - Rd. 2, 38th overall - Baltimore Ravens
NFLDraftBlitz.com - Brian Brohm - Rd. 2, 37th overall - Atlanta Falcons
NFLDraftNotebook.com - Brian Brohm - Rd. 2, 38th overall - Baltimore Ravens

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