We’re almost to fantasy playoff time. Most of us have to pay close attention to our lineup this week because it may be a must win. I’ve clinched a first-round bye in one league and I’m battling for the better playoff spot in my others.

You’ve had all season to pick up the hot player or to catch a rising star early. At this point, you know who your stars are and who you can’t count on. I’ve mentioned a lot of players over the season, and several of them have played very well. Odds are, you’re not really looking for a player to pick up right now unless you’re dealing with an injury or you just really don’t like some of your matchups. With Dez Bryant done for the year, I’ve got to pick up a receiver in one league. In my others, I’m pretty set but I’ll still look at the matchups to see if anyone available has a better match-up than one of my current players.

Some owners have the luxury of just tossing their best players out there and watching what happens since they have their spot locked up. Others will be gambling with the hopes that a few players will have their best games of the season.

I won’t make this too long. There are several players that I’ve mentioned multiple times so I’m going to leave them out of this list. If you’re desperate for someone this week or you’re looking for a player or two that you can pick up to help you during those playoff weeks, here are a few guys that you might be able to use.

Roy Williams (WR, Cowboys) – Dez Bryant has been great the last few weeks (which has been nice for me) but he’s hurt and done for the year. So Roy moves up to the No. 2 receiver and should see more looks from Jon Kitna going forward.

James Starks (RB, Packers) – Green Bay has used several running backs this year and no one has really worked out. Starks came out of nowhere last week to rush for 73 yards. That’s not anything huge by any means but the Packers are saying that they’d like to get Starks more carries. If you’re desperate, he might be worth a shot.

Seyi Ajirotutu (WR, Chargers) – The Chargers receiving core is really banged up. Legedu Nanee and Vincent Jackson are probably going to sit out this week, Malcom Floyd isn’t healthy and we never know how much (or if at all) Antonio Gates is going to play. There was one other week earlier this season where everyone else was hurt and Ajirotutu was huge. Let’s hope he can do it again.

Tashard Choice (RB, Cowboys) – Marion Barber won’t be rushed back and Choice seems to produce when given the chance. For some reason, the Cowboys like to give that chance to someone else. But last week, Choice finally got some carries and rushed for 100 yards and a score. The team needs to see what it has in Choice because they’re likely to have some decisions to make about their running backs at the end of the season.

Lance Moore (WR, Saints) – Drew Brees has been looking like the Drew Brees of old. He’s passing it to his team instead of the opposing team and putting up some yards. Moore didn’t have a lot of yards last week (36) but he did have 6 catches. With the Saints, any receiver could have a huge game so you’re rolling the dice here.

Robert Meachem (WR, Saints) – Same thing as with Moore, you never know which Saint will come up big. Meachem did just have 3 catches for 106 yards and he’s come up big before.

Earl Bennett (WR, Bears) – Bennett was supposed to be the receiver Jay Cutler would favor because they played together in college. He’s been up and down but he’s looked like the favorite the past couple of weeks. Bennett had 2 touchdowns two weeks ago and 104 yards receiving last week.

Ben Watson (TE, Browns) – Jake Delhomme is back at QB and he does love to throw to his tight ends. Watson had 10 catches for 100 yards and a score last week. He’s had some big weeks already this season and has very nice numbers for the season. But, odds are, you can still find he’s available in your league.

That does it for this week. Hopefully your team does well and you wrap up a spot in the playoffs. And then the season kind of starts over. It’s always nice to get a first-round bye but I like to finish as high as I can. Not that it does much good. Fantasy playoffs are tricky since some teams decide to rest stars and it makes it more difficult to decide which players to start. We can talk more about that next week though.

Get 5,000+ new Twitter followers every month