It's championship week in fantasy.

If you have made it this far, you likely need a waiver-wire acquisition as much as Brandon Weeden needs another two-interception game.

If you play in a 16-team league and are hoping to find a flex starter -- which is one of the few scenarios I can imagine in which a league finalist would be searching for a starter at this point in the season -- there could be an intriguing choice at running back in Week 16.

It's a risky move -- Curtis Brinkley, anyone? -- but running back has been such a crapshoot this season (see Brown, Bryce; Mathews, Ryan and countless other examples) that nothing would surprise me.

Mathews' season ended the way it started -- with a broken clavicle -- which will sideline the Chargers running back and one of the season's biggest busts for the final two games.

Enter Brinkley, who had six carries for 42 yards and caught three passes for 14 yards last week.

Don't get too excited. Brinkley has averaged 3.2 yards per carry and has 214 yards rushing in his three-year career.

The matchup, however, is favorable -- at the Jets -- as is the fact Ronnie Brown (hamstring) is also injured.

If Brown returns this week, he is the best play among San Diego's running backs, but the guess here is he won't be a factor because of his injury.

Jackie Battle, who has four TDs this season and would have seemed to be the choice to replace Mathews, had only three carries for 2 yards last week.

Norv Turner appears to favor Brinkley. Or maybe the soon-to-be-fired coach was confused and thought Battle was in the game the entire time.

Regardless, Brinkley is our top-ranked running back this week, thanks in part to the Jets ranking 29th against the run. New York is allowing 138.7 rushing yards per contest, 4.5 yards per carry and has given up the fifth-most TDs on the ground (15).

Again, Brinkley is no more than a desperation flex play in a deep league. If that describes your team, I'd go with him unless Brown is said to be healthy heading into Sunday's game.

On to our rankings for the week.

As always, we rank players who are available in more than half of the leagues on ESPN.com, and we usually aim for 40 percent ownership or lower.

QUARTERBACKS
1. Russell Wilson, Seahawks (owned in 27.3 percent of the ESPN leagues)
2. Sam Bradford, Rams (38.2)
3. Kirk Cousins, Redskins (2.2)
4. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (9.5)
5. Nick Foles, Eagles (4.9)
Dropped out: Brandon Weeden, Browns
Just missed the cut: Jake Locker, Titans (7.4 percent); Chad Henne, Jaguars (5.8)

RUNNING BACKS
1. Curtis Brinkley, Chargers (0.3 percent)
2. Montell Owens, Jaguars (11.0)
3. Jackie Battle, Chargers (12.8)
4. Joique Bell, Lions (33.8)
5. Jacquizz Rodgers, Falcons (25.8)
Dropped out: David Wilson, Giants (now owned in 74.5 percent of the ESPN leagues, which is too obvious); Marcel Reece, Raiders; Alex Green, Packers
Just missed the cut: Danny Woodhead, Patriots (28.2 percent); Green (29.5); Bilal Powell, Jets (7.2); Mike Goodson, Raiders (2.7)

WIDE RECEIVERS
1. Brandon Gibson, Rams (13.2 percent)
2. Leonard Hankerson, Redskins (38.9)
3. Rod Streater, Raiders (2.0)
4. Golden Tate, Seahawks (17.8)
5. Santana Moss, Redskins (38.2) 
Dropped out: Danario Alexander, Chargers (now owned in 53.3 percent of the ESPN leagues); Josh Gordon, Browns (46.2 percent, also too obvious); Jason Avant, Eagles; Kendall Wright, Titans
Just missed the cut: Greg Little, Browns (14.0 percent); Avant (1.3)

TIGHT ENDS
1. Dennis Pitta, Ravens (29.8)
2. Brandon Myers, Raiders (32.3)
3. Dallas Clark, Buccaneers (25.3)
4. Dwayne Allen, Colts (2.2)
5. Anthony Fasano, Dolphins (2.5)
Dropped out: Joel Dreessen, Broncos; Clay Harbor, Eagles
Just missed the cut: None

Past waiver-wire picks: Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12, Week 13, Week 14, Week 15

Chargers running back Jackie Battle has four touchdowns in as many games this season.

Sunday, he started over much more celebrated backfield mate Ryan Mathews, who has been in Coach Norv Turner's doghouse (and is there a more terrifying place than Norv Turner's doghouse?) because of fumbling problems.

On the season, Battle -- who rushed for 597 yards for the Chiefs last season -- is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. In Week 4, he had 19 touches, produced 81 total yards (42 receiving) and scored a pair of TDs.

That all sounds promising, right?

Yes, until you remember Mathews, despite the temporary benching, rushed for 61 yards on 14 attempts (one fewer carry but 22 more yards than Battle) Sunday, and he will get more of a workload in future weeks as long as he doesn't put the ball on the ground.

It was Mathews whom we all believed was a top-six running back in fantasy before he broke his collarbone in the preseason.

And it was Mathews who ran for 1,091 yards in 14 games, caught 50 passes for 455 yards and had a norm of 4.9 yards per carry last season.

Make no mistake: Mathews will be the guy in the Chargers' backfield. But it might not be as soon as this week, which gives Battle short-term value if you need a starting back because of bye weeks -- and long-term value if you have Mathews and want to add Battle as insurance.

Before we get to this week's waiver-wire picks -- you might have taken a wild guess and determined Battle is No. 1 at running back -- a quick reminder that we discussed the value of Dolphins receiver and former Buckeye Brian Hartline on Monday morning.

As always, we only consider players who are available in more than half of the leagues on ESPN.com, and we like to go much lower than that.

On to the rankings:

QUARTERBACKS
1. Kevin Kolb, Cardinals (owned in 7.8 percent of the ESPN leagues)
2. Matt Cassel, Chiefs (31.3)
3. Christian Ponder, Vikings (17.3)
4. Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins (2.9)
5. Russell Wilson, Seahawks (14.8)
Dropped out: Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills (he's now owned in 46.5 percent of the ESPN leagues, which makes him too obvious of a choice); Mark Sanchez, Jets; Jake Locker, Titans
Just missed the cut: None

RUNNING BACKS
1. Jackie Battle, Chargers (9.0 percent)
2. Bilal Powell, Jets (5.4)
3. Joique Bell, Lions (0.8)
4. Brandon Bolden, Patriots (0.3)
5. Lance Ball, Broncos (1.5)
Dropped out: Andre Brown, Giants (now owned in 92.8 percent of the ESPN leagues); Mikel Leshoure, Lions (73.1 percent); Tashard Choice, Bills; Jacquizz Rogers, Falcons
Just missed the cut: Rogers (17.9 percent); Danny Woodhead, Patriots (7.4); Shaun Draughn, Chiefs (4.5); Evan Royster, Redskins (4.2)

WIDE RECEIVERS
1. Brian Hartline, Dolphins (26.7 percent)
2. James Jones, Packers (21.6)
3. Kendall Wright, Titans (10.6)
4. Donnie Avery, Colts (11.0)
5. Andrew Hawkins, Bengals (28.1)
Dropped out: Ramses Barden, Giants; Jon Baldwin, Chiefs
Just missed the cut: Randall Cobb, Packers (29.9 percent); Davone Bess, Dolphins (7.4); Andre Roberts, Cardinals (1.9); Domenik Hixon, Giants (0.5); Baldwin (22.4); Greg Little, Browns (17.6)

TIGHT ENDS
1. Scott Chandler, Bills (31.6 percent)
2. Greg Olsen, Panthers (16.7)
3. Kyle Rudolph, Vikings (40.7)
4. Jermaine Gresham, Bengals (24.8)
5. Brandon Myers, Raiders (1.4)
Dropped out: Heath Miller, Steelers (now owned in 46.9 percent of the ESPN leagues); Dennis Pitta, Ravens (62.6)
Just missed the cut: None

Past waiver-wire picks: Week 2, Week 3, Week 4

According to ESPN.com's ownership percentages, DeMarco Murray is available in more than 64 percent of the fantasy leagues run by the Worldwide Leader.

That number seems way too high, but the stat I'm more curious about is the percentage of owners who left Murray on their bench in Week 7 against the Rams, owners of the league's worst run defense.

Maybe I'm one of the few knuckleheads who did -- in my defense, I started Chris Johnson, Matt Forte and Darren McFadden (my top three draft picks). I watched in horror as McFadden was injured early, Johnson had another unproductive game and Murray ran for a Cowboys franchise-record 253 yards on 25 carries -- in a game he didn't even start.

Murray, Dallas' third-round pick in 2011, missed most of training camp because of a hamstring injury and was getting his chance only because of a high ankle sprain suffered by Felix Jones.

We should also keep in mind that the Rams have been AWFUL against the run (183.8 yards allowed per game and 5.5 yards allowed per carry).

Will Murray deserve to be a fantasy starter the rest of the way? We have no way of knowing.

What we do know is if the Cowboys decide to make him their featured back over Jones once the latter is healthy, it will be an easy decision. Take a look at Dallas' schedule in Weeks 8 through 13: at Philadelphia (No. 23 vs. the run), vs. Seattle (No. 10), vs. Buffalo (No. 30), at Washington (No. 17), vs. Miami (No. 20) and at Arizona (No. 13).

We already are certain Murray is much more valuable than Tashard Choice, who received only two carries as Dallas' starter Sunday. The guess here is he will be a better play than Jones the rest of the way, too.

The problem: If the Cowboys don't agree and go to the dreaded backfield-by-committee plan when Jones returns, Murray will be a No. 3 fantasy back at best.

Take your time getting healthy, Felix. Seriously, take a long time.

Tebow time

I understand why Tim Tebow annoys fans. I get that the experts question his accuracy, his mechanics and whatever else the film shows.

What I don't understand is any skepticism that he's a fantasy starter at quarterback -- assuming, of course, he continues to hold the Broncos' job over Kyle Orton.

As we outlined on Oct. 11, Tebow produces when he plays. Sunday at Miami, he was awful for 54 minutes and 37 seconds (4-for-14 for 40 yards, and the Broncos were 0-for-10 on third down), and great from that point forward.

Tebow finished with 161 yards passing, two touchdowns, eight carries for 65 yards and a two-point conversion. He led Denver to 15 points in the last 2:44 of regulation and an overtime win -- albeit over a winless team.

Again, he produces. He's a top-10 or top-12 fantasy quarterback.

The endless debates, ESPN roundtables and everything else does get to be too much. But that doesn't mean he should be on your bench.

A few more quick takes from Week 7:

-- Until Jahvid Best returns from a concussion (and there is some speculation he won't this season), the Lions appear to have decided on a timeshare between Maurice Morris (nine carries for 50 yards and two catches for 13 yards on Sunday) and Keiland Williams (nine carries for 44 yards). Hint: Stay away.

-- Jackie Battle appears to be the Chiefs' choice as their featured back, though Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones did receive a combined 19 carries on Sunday. Battle had 16 carries for 76 yards at Oakland, giving him 35 rushes for 195 yards in his last two contests. The presence of McCluster and Jones makes Battle more of a flex play, but he's still a decent option, depending on the matchup (and this week, it's a good one, since the Chargers rank 21st against the run).

-- Mike Shanahan, Fantasy Tormentor, returned to Tim Hightower as his featured back on Sunday, and the latter was productive until he suffered a torn ACL on Sunday. Next up, we can only assume (which is dangerous when Shanahan is involved), in Washington is Ryan Torain, who had 19 carries for 135 yards and a touchdown on Oct. 2 against the (you guessed it) Rams but has received all of 12 attempts since. Don't discount rookie Roy Helu as an option, though, since the 2011 fourth-round pick has averaged 4.9 yards on 27 carries this season.

On second thought, maybe we should all just avoid Washington running backs.

We'll be back Tuesday with waiver-wire picks for Week 8. Until then, enjoy Jon Gruden tonight.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Tebow time.

Either my quarterbacks in the News-Herald fantasy league have been atrocious or I'm a little too excited to acquire a quarterback whose accuracy has been panned by the experts and is more of a bull in the backfield than a precision passer.

OK, it's the former, thanks to my mistaken belief that I could wait on a QB in the draft and start Josh Freeman.

Because of that, I'll be among the many this week who will put a bid on Tim Tebow, who was named the Broncos' starting quarterback on Tuesday.

So what should we expect? We have that and more in this week's waiver-wire picks.

As always, we select players who are available in a majority of the leagues on ESPN.com. This week's group can be had in more than 90 percent of the ESPN formats.

1. Tim Tebow, QB, Broncos (owned in 2.7 percent of the ESPN leagues): He completed only 4 of 10 passes for 79 yards in relief of Kyle Orton on Sunday, and ESPN's Todd McShay will tell you he'll never be a productive NFL quarterback.

From a fantasy perspective, however, here's what we know: Tebow played extensively in Denver's last three games in 2010. In those contests, he threw for 651 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. He also rushed 31 times for 199 yards and three TDs (one score in each game).

If you play in a league in which 100 rushing yards is worth 10 points, 100 passing yards is worth four, all touchdowns are six and interceptions are minus-2, Tebow averaged about 27 points per game.

In two quarters last week, he threw for a score and rushed for 38 yards and a TD.

The Broncos are off this week, so you will have to be more patient than normal, but the numbers say this: Whether it's pretty or not, Tebow will produce.

2. Jackie Battle, RB, Chiefs (owned in 0.8 percent of the ESPN leagues): We discussed Battle on Sunday night in this space. Like Tebow, his team is on a bye this week. Unlike Tebow, he will be sharing the load with Thomas Jones and maybe Dexter McCluster. At best, Battle should be considered a flex play in a 10- or 12-team league.

3. Alex Smith, QB, 49ers (owned in 9.2 percent of the ESPN leagues): Either Jim Harbaugh is a genius or Smith is finally getting it. Maybe both. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 NFL draft had been considered a bust until Harbaugh came aboard, and Smith has thrown for 965 yards, seven touchdowns and one pick in the 49ers' 4-1 start. He has a passer rating of 104.1, and has 461 yards, five TDs and no interceptions in his last two games.

His matchup this week (the 49ers play at Detroit) isn't favorable. The Lions have one more interception (seven) than TD passes allowed (six) this season, but if you are desperate for a QB, Smith is an upper-end No. 2 passer and could be a spot starter in fantasy.

4. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks (owned in 0.8 percent of the ESPN formats): The undrafted rookie has been Seattle's most productive receiver (20 catches for 330 yards and two TDs). In his last two games, Baldwin has 13 receptions for 220 yards and one TD. With Mike Williams out because of a concussion Sunday, Baldwin excelled. When healthy, Williams (eight catches for 79 yards and one TD in four games) shouldn't be much of a threat to Baldwin's production. Seattle is off this week, but Baldwin could be a decent No. 3 or 4 fantasy receiver from Week 7 on.

5. Donald Brown, RB, Colts (owned in 1.0 percent of the ESPN leagues): To be blunt, Brown only has value if Joseph Addai sits because of an injured hamstring. Addai had an MRI on Monday, and the Colts have yet to reveal the results. If Addai is out this week at Cincinnati, Brown likely would share carries with rookie Delone Carter. The latter is a rookie who has received much more work than Brown, a 2009 first-round pick who has been a disappointment. But Carter is averaging only 3.0 yards on 41 carries this season, and Brown had eight attempts for 38 yards last week. Neither Carter nor Brown will solve any backfield problems you might have, but Brown could at least be a decent one-week fill-in if Addai is too injured to play.

6. Benjamin Watson, TE, Browns (owned in 9.0 percent of the ESPN leagues): The Browns have said they want to get Evan Moore more involved, but Watson continues to be the Browns' best tight end. He has 11 receptions for 112 yards and a TD in his last two games, and last season he set career highs in catches (68) and yards (763). He's best a bye-week fill-in or an upper-level backup, but Watson can be a spot starter at tight end in deep leagues.

Past waiver-wire picks who remain undervalued: Victor Cruz, WR, Giants (owned in 38.3 percent of the ESPN leagues); Jabar Gaffney, WR, Redskins (6.4 percent); Jason Campbell, QB, Raiders (34.7 percent); Jermaine Gresham, TE, Bengals (38.5 percent).

There might be another running back who is every owner's first pick on the waiver wire Tuesday morning.

Chiefs running back Jackie Battle had 19 carries for 119 yards and two receptions for 21 yards Sunday against the Colts. Considering teammates Thomas Jones (10 attempts for 55 yards) and Dexter McCluster (four carries, 8 yards) combined for 63 yards against Indy, Battle certainly will merit consideration this week.

Before you get too excited, though, consider this: Prior to Sunday, he had 51 rushes for 155 yards (3.0 per carry) in his career.

He's no Jamaal Charles, but he's definitely more interesting than Jones and McCluster at this point. And there aren't many opportunities to acquire a featured back as a free agent in Week 6.

Let's get to a few more quick takes from another busy Sunday in fantasy:

-- If you're a LeSean McCoy owner, you can't complain about the Eagles running back's production. McCoy has scored seven TDs, rushed for 443 yards and caught 19 passes. But you can grumble about the fact he has had a combined 20 rushing attempts the last two weeks. Leave it to Andy Reid to under-use a running back who is averaging 5.8 yards per carry. McCoy had 57 rushes and 66 touches in the Eagles' first three games.

-- We'll keep it on the ground and throw out the possibility that Buffalo's Fred Jackson might be the most surprising backfield stud of 2011. In five games, Jackson has 90 carries for 480 yards (5.3 average) and five TDs, and he has caught 18 passes for 232 yards. That's a norm of 6.6 yards per touch. Quick, would you rather have Fred Jackson or Chris Johnson right now?

-- Now that we've reached the five-game mark, the Titans' Johnson officially has me worried. I drafted him second overall in the News-Herald league, thinking he was a no-brainer there once his holdout ended, and he has 250 yards rushing and an average of 3.0 yards per attempt. Johnson has rushed for more than 53 yards once all year, and Sunday's garbage-time touchdown against the Steelers was his first score of the year. I'm not benching him yet, but I am kicking myself for not taking Arian Foster.

-- Foster has rewarded the owners who took a risk and drafted him in the top five. His hamstring injury delayed his rise to his 2010 level, but the Texans back has 223 yards rushing, one TD and eight receptions for 127 yards in his last two games. Houston clearly isn't worried about his health. Foster has averaged 30 touches in the two contests.

-- Speaking of bad hamstrings, the Steelers' Rashard Mendenhall might have more of an urgency to get back in the lineup after watching Jonathan Dwyer (11 carries for 107 yards, one catch for 6 yards) and Isaac Redman (15 carries for 49 yards, three receptions for 12 yards) combine for 174 total yards Sunday against a Titans defense that entered the game allowing 87.8 rushing yards per game and 3.2 yards per attempt. If Mendenhall is out another week, Redman is the better play of the two.

-- No worries after all, Frank Gore fans. The 49ers back was limited to 148 yards on 59 carries (2.5) in his first three games. In two games since, Gore has 35 carries for 252 yards (7.2) and two TDs, along with four receptions for 30 yards.

-- So much for the Stevan Ridley hype in New England. The rookie had seven rushes for 13 yards Sunday, one week after he got our attention with a breakout 10-carry, 97-yard, one-TD performance against the Raiders. BenJarvus Green-Ellis, meanwhile, had a whopping 27 carries for 136 yards and two TDs for New England in its win over the Jets. No featured-back debate here -- at least for now.

-- Blaine Gabbert and the Jaguars' debacle of a quarterback situation is crushing Maurice Jones-Drew's value. Now that Jones-Drew doesn't catch many passes (he has seven receptions for 67 yards in five games), we need him to rack up yards and TDs on the ground. Jones-Drew was productive Sunday, but Jacksonville's ineptitude has resulted in him receiving a combined 30 rushing attempts the last two weeks.

-- It must be the year of the quarterback. Tennessee's Matt Hasselbeck has thrown for 1,414 yards and nine TDs in five games. He's on pace for 4,525 yards for a team that has lost top wideout Kenny Britt and has Chris Johnson being outperformed by the likes of Willis McGahee.

-- If it is the year of the QB, it's puzzling that San Diego's Philip Rivers has thrown one more interception (seven) than he has TD passes (six) this season. Rivers is averaging 307 yards passing per game, but the absence of Antonio Gates clearly is affecting him in the red zone and beyond.

-- Check out the Saints' box score from their win over Carolina on Sunday. That spread-the-wealth mentality is why it's so difficult to trust any New Orleans wide receiver. But it is easy to believe tight end Jimmy Graham is among the league's best. Graham has three consecutive 100-yard games.

-- The last two weeks have proven that it's advantage, Victor Cruz, when it comes to deciding the second-best fantasy option among Giants receivers. The rookie has a combined 14 receptions for 259 yards and a TD in his last two games. Mario Manningham has six catches for 66 yards and zero scores in that span.

-- Would you believe me if I told you Darrius Heyward-Bey has 13 receptions for 214 yards and a TD in the Raiders' last two games? I wouldn't start the much-maligned Al Davis draft pick, but he has at least caught my eye.

That's it for tonight. We'll we back Tuesday with waiver-wire picks for Week 6.

Until then, you can follow me on Twitter.