Waiver Wire: Austin came miles in '09

Let's go back to 2008 for a moment to Week 3 when the Cowboys defeated the Packers 27-16 in Green Bay. In that game, third-year wide receiver Miles Austin had two catches for 115 yards and a touchdown for Dallas.

He followed up that performance in Week 4 with three catches for 45 yards and a touchdown in a 26-24 loss against Washington. At the time, we felt he was on his way to becoming a star, and my colleague Dave Richard went as far as to call me the president of the Miles Austin fan club because I was touting him so much.

Unfortunately, that was the last time Austin played well. The Cowboys added Roy E. Williams in a trade from Detroit, and Austin went back to a reserve role behind Williams, Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton.

I guess we were just too early in jumping on the Austin bandwagon because this year he has taken off. And since he wasn't drafted in the majority of Fantasy leagues on CBSSports.com based on his average draft position, Austin has earned the award for the Best Waiver Wire Addition of the season.

Every Tuesday on CBSSports.com, we tried to help Fantasy owners with a column called Playing the Waiver Wire, which highlighted players to add, avoid and scout. The basis for finding players to mention was their ownership percentage in Fantasy leagues.

Austin has become a star for Fantasy owners, and he enters Week 17 as the No. 3 wide receiver in standard-scoring leagues with 74 catches for 1,230 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has 185 Fantasy points, which trails only Andre Johnson (199) and Randy Moss (189).

We said to add Austin after Week 1 when his ownership was at 27 percent. He had one catch for a 42-yard touchdown at Tampa Bay in the first game of the season, and again we felt he was on his way toward a big year with Owens gone.

But Austin struggled over the next three games with four catches for 39 yards, and it looked like we had recommended a potential bust. His ownership percentage even dropped to 16 percent in Week 4. And then it happened.

In Week 5 at Kansas City, Austin exploded with 10 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns with Williams out due to injured ribs. He came back in Week 7 after the bye week with six catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons and has been a mainstay in Fantasy lineups ever since.

Austin's ownership jumped to 100 percent in Week 8, and he's been started in 96 percent of leagues or more in eight of the final 10 weeks heading into Week 17. He has nine games this year with double figures in Fantasy points and has solidified himself as Tony Romo's No. 1 target.

This was a big year for Austin since he will become a free agent after the season. And his performance helped plenty of Fantasy owners who picked him up at the right time. We have him projected as a Top 12 Fantasy option heading into 2010.

The key to a successful Fantasy season is not only drafting well but picking up the right free agents. Players like Austin, Jamaal Charles, Laurence Maroney and Vernon Davis came out of nowhere this season after going undrafted in the majority of leagues. If you added these players, you probably enhanced a good lineup and were in contention all year.

Making the right moves could be the difference between a Fantasy championship or the first-overall draft pick next year. So hopefully you took some chances and chose wisely, like adding Austin in Week 2 just when his impressive season got started.

Feel free to send an e-mail to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com with the Waiver Wire moves you made this year and put "Awards" in the subject line. Let us know when you picked up that player and what impact they made on your Fantasy team.

Here are the best free agent pickups we suggested this year in Playing the Waiver Wire. We ranked them based on a standard Fantasy lineup.

FIRST TEAM

Alex Smith, San Francisco
We said to add him: Week 9
We were reluctant to add Smith at first when he took over for Shaun Hill in Week 7 at Houston, but he has finished strong. Smith had six games with at least 15 Fantasy points in only nine starts heading into Week 17, including a three-game stretch against Green Bay, Jacksonville and Seattle where he averaged 23 Fantasy points. Smith turned into a good spot starter for Fantasy owners to close the season.

Jamaal Charles, Kansas City
We said to add him: Week 7
We were waiting for the Chiefs to give Charles a chance even before Larry Johnson was banished from the team and eventually released. Charles took over the starting job and never looked back. He had a streak of six games in a row with a touchdown and had six games with double figures in Fantasy points. He heads into 2010 as a potential first-round pick in all leagues and a No. 1 running back. He was a close second behind Austin as the best waiver wire addition.

Laurence Maroney, New England
We said to add him: Week 7
Maroney went from the doghouse to start the season to a useful Fantasy running back from Week 6 on. He had seven games with double figures in Fantasy points and a six-game touchdown streak. Maroney's fumble problems caught up with him in Week 16 when he was benched against Jacksonville, but he was a starting option for Fantasy owners in more than 50 percent of leagues for eight weeks.

Miles Austin, Dallas
We said to add him: Week 2
Austin had two impressive scoring streaks during the season. He had a touchdown in four-straight games twice from Weeks 5-9 and from Weeks 12-15. His 11 touchdowns are third among wide receivers behind Randy Moss (13) and Larry Fitzgerald (12), and he was targeted 116 times heading into Week 17. He has five games with at least 100-yards receiving.

Robert Meachem, New Orleans
We said to add him: Week 10
We were reluctant to add Meachem after he scored a touchdown in Week 1 against Detroit because almost every Saints receiver scored in that game, and New Orleans had so many viable targets. But once Lance Moore got hurt, Meachem took off. He scored a touchdown in five-straight games and became a tremendous third-year breakout wide receiver. He is among the league leaders with nine receiving touchdowns.

Vernon Davis, San Francisco
We said to add him: Week 4
Davis was a huge bust his first three years in the NFL, but that changed this season. In Week 3 at Minnesota, Davis had seven catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns, and he's played like a No. 1 Fantasy option since. He had a streak of four games in a row with a touchdown and leads all tight ends with 12 touchdowns. He is finally living up to his potential in his fourth year in the league.

Mike Sims-Walker, Jacksonville
We said to add him: Week 3
Sims-Walker tailed off to close the season, but he was among the best wide receivers in the NFL from Week 2 through Week 12. He had six touchdowns over that span and six games with double figures in Fantasy points. Sims-Walker was better at home than on the road, and his inconsistent play became a problem, but he was a great addition as a starting Fantasy wide receiver for many owners this year.

SECOND TEAM

Vince Young, Tennessee
We said to add him: Week 9
Young, like Smith, was a franchise quarterback who was an afterthought when the season started. But he got a chance to start again in Week 8 and played well for Fantasy owners. Young had three games with at least 20 Fantasy points in a four-game stretch from Week 12-15, and he also threw for a career-high 387 yards against the Cardinals.

Jerome Harrison, Cleveland
We said to add him: Week 4
We wish Harrison had been a starting Fantasy option from Week 3 on after he played well for an injured Jamal Lewis, but the Browns decided to stick with Lewis until he was lost for the year in Week 12. Then Harrison finished the season strong with three games with at least 18 Fantasy points in his past four outings. He also helped many owners win a championship in Week 16 against Oakland with 148 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Justin Forsett, Seattle
We said to add him: Week 3
We liked the way Forsett played as a receiver in Week 2 at San Francisco when he had 92 total yards, but Julius Jones remained in his way. Then Jones got hurt in Week 10 at Arizona, and Forsett became a starting option for a couple of weeks. He had double figures in Fantasy points in consecutive games against Minnesota and St. Louis, and he's had at least six Fantasy points in his past seven games.

Mario Manningham, N.Y. Giants
We said to add him: Week 2
Manningham fell off after a hot start. We said to add him after he had three catches for 58 yards and a touchdown in Week 1 against Washington, and he followed that up with 10 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 at Dallas. Manningham had four touchdowns in his first six games, but he only had one touchdown in his past eight games. Still, early this season, Manningham was a starting option.

Pierre Garcon, Indianapolis
We said to add him: Week 2
The injury to Anthony Gonzalez opened the door for Garcon to step in and thrive for the Colts as the No. 3 target for Peyton Manning behind Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. Garcon and Austin Collie split production early in the year, but Garcon had a four-game stretch with double figures in Fantasy points from Weeks 10-13. He had six games with double figures in Fantasy points for the season.

Fred Davis, Washington
We said to add him: Week 8
This spot was a toss-up between Davis and Jermichael Finley since both helped Fantasy owners at times this year, but Davis was more consistent and turned into a starter to close the season. He had a four-game stretch from Weeks 12-15 with double figures in Fantasy points and scored five touchdowns over that span. He filled in admirably for the injured Chris Cooley and ended up as a No. 1 option.

Mike Bell, New Orleans
We said to add him: Week 2
This was a tough selection because we had some young receivers in Austin Collie and Mike Wallace who played well. We also had a productive tight end in Jermichael Finley and some one-week wonders at running back in Glen Coffee, Ladell Betts, Jason Snelling and Quinton Ganther. But Bell's overall production gives him a slight nod. He had 626 yards and five touchdowns for the Saints despite sharing carries with Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush, and he was a useful flex option at times this year.

As for the Week 17 waiver wire ...

Add 'Em

Devin Aromashodu, WR, Chicago
Owned: 4 percent of leagues
Week 16: Caught seven passes for 150 yards and a touchdown against Minnesota.
Aromashodu now has two touchdowns in his past three games and has done well with Devin Hester (calf) out. Johnny Knox (ankle) also left the game against the Vikings, so Aromashodu should have the chance for another solid outing in the season finale against Detroit. It helps that the Lions are terrible in pass defense, so look for Jay Cutler and Aromashodu to play well in Week 17.

Donald Brown, RB, Indianapolis
Owned: 59 percent of leagues
Week 16: Had 15 carries for 22 yards and a touchdown and caught one pass for 12 yards against the Jets.
We know the Colts are going to rest players in Week 17 at Buffalo, so Brown could see increased action in place of starter Joseph Addai. Many Fantasy owners cut Brown after he started to deal with injuries earlier this year, but he could be a good addition for the season finale since the Bills struggle in run defense. Consider him a sleeper at Buffalo.

Arian Foster, RB, Houston
Owned: 19 percent of leagues
Week 16: Had 19 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown and at Miami.
Foster got the chance to prove his worth against the Dolphins after his poor outing at St. Louis the week before when he lost a fumble in the first quarter and was benched. He should be considered a good flex option or even a starter in deep Fantasy leagues in Week 17 against New England, especially if the Patriots decide to rest some starters on defense.

Mike Tolbert, RB, San Diego
Owned: 0 percent of leagues
Week 16: Had 11 carries for 60 yards and caught one pass for 11 yards at Tennessee.
The Chargers have nothing to play for in Week 17 against Washington with the No. 2 seed in the AFC locked up, which means they might rest players, including LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles. While we like Sproles ahead of Tolbert, look for Tolbert to have another game with double figures in carries. Other running backs who could be worth adding this week based on teams resting their primary guys include: Brandon Jackson (4 percent), Fred Taylor (20 percent) and Lynell Hamilton (0 percent).

Do you have a question? Send your thoughts to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com and we'll post the best responses. Be sure to put Attn: Waiver Wire in the subject field. Include your full name, hometown and state. Also, follow me on Twitter @jameyeisenberg.