At this point, you likely find yourself in one of three situations: (1) you’ve clinched a playoff spot and are gearing up for a final push, (2) you’re still alive for the postseason but need to summon your squad to step it up in week 13 or (3) your team is sunk and you’re playing out the season for pride.

Hopefully, you fall into one of the first two groups. If so, our aim is to give you an edge heading into the playoffs. Specifically, we’ve lined up a group of Featured Pros to provide advice on this week’s best waiver wire targets. The experts were given a list of players and ranked them based off of their rest of season value. We then combined all of their picks to produce consensus waiver wire rankings.

Below is the list of this week’s Featured Pros. Read on to see who the pros like as the best additions with the playoffs approaching.

Featured Pros

Ken Zalis – (Fans Fantasy Football)

Kevin Hanson – (EDSFootball)

Kurt Turner – (Fantasy Knuckleheads)

Eric Pehowic – (Chinstrap Ninjas)

Greg Smith – (The Fake Football)

Consensus Waiver Wire Rankings (RB/WR)*

*See how each expert ranked the players

Expert Top Picks

We also asked each expert to tell us why they like the top 2 rated players on their lists. Here are the expert responses:

Ken Zalis – Fans Fantasy Football

Roy Helu (RB – WAS): I swore I would never tell anyone to pick up a Redskin ever again but yet here I am listing Helu as the number one guy out of the list. For the last three weeks, Helu has been a top 20 back and with the way RBs seem to drop like flies, you have to strike while the iron is hot. Torain is clearly in the doghouse (which means he will run for 2 TDs and 200 yards next week) and Choice lasted 2 weeks in Washington. Shanahan finally said Helu is the clear starter…but buyer beware.

Greg Little (WR – CLE): The game has finally slowed down for him. The last 3 weeks he has been 6th in targets in the NFL and seemingly getting better by the week. With Arizona and Baltimore in weeks 15 and 16 for the fantasy playoffs, you have to love the match-ups. Also, his 70 receiving yards a week with no clear #2 WR to steal targets have to make you a “little” happy.

Kevin Hanson – EDSFootball

Roy Helu (RB – WAS): With Helu getting benched the game after he set the franchise’s single-game record for receptions (14), it’s only natural to be a little skeptical when Shanahan says that Helu is “our starter, for sure.” While his 23 carries in Week 12 was the first time he had more than 10 in a game this season, Helu has 400 yards from scrimmage (225 rushing and 175 receiving) and 4.8 yards per carry in his past four games (against tough run defenses).

Marion Barber (RB – CHI): If anything, the collective workload of the Bears’ running backs should only increase with Caleb Hanie under center and Barber is getting his fair share (perhaps at the expense of Matt Forte). In his past six games, Barber has 56 carries and four touchdowns. Not only will he get the goal-line work, but he has double-digit carries in three of his past six games.

Kurt Turner – Fantasy Knuckleheads

Roy Helu (RB – WAS): Helu is coming on strong right when fantasy owners need it most. When it comes to running backs I usually don’t trust Mike Shanahan but Helu has been the “best option” all year and Shanahan finally came out and stated Helu is “ready” to be a full-time back. Let’s just hope he sticks to his word.

Damian Williams (WR – TEN): Williams has 29 targets in the past 4 weeks with 3 touchdowns and one 100+ yard performance. He is a proven playmaker and red zone target. You just can’t go wrong with him. Also, consider he faces Buffalo, New Orleans, Indy and then the Jags, which is ripe pickings from a match-up standpoint.

Eric Pehowic – Chinstrap Ninjas

Roy Helu (RB — WAS): When it was announced a couple of weeks ago that Ryan Torain and Rex Grossman were starting in place of Roy Helu and John Beck, my immediate reaction was “I don’t want to own any Washington Redskins.” Grossman is still a train wreck, but Helu should be back in the picture for the rest of the season. He is averaging 4.8 yards per carry (4.7 on Sunday) and 7.0 yards per catch (7.7 on Sunday). Helu is too good to not be the starter and at least the 60 side of a 60/40 committee. Unless Mike Shanahan is trying to get himself fired, Helu will get at least 20 touches per week the rest of the way.

Greg Little (WR — CLE): I wrestled with the two-through-five slots but ultimately settled on Greg Little. The rookie’s immense talent and opportunity were obvious to a lot of fantasy owners as his average draft position climbed during preseason drafts. He has not lived up to expectations, but Little’s 86 targets are difficult to ignore. Only 16 players in the NFL have more targets in 2011. Eventually, his talent and those opportunities should lead to more than one touchdown and 10.5 yards per catch, even on that offense.

Greg Smith – The Fake Football

Roy Helu (RB – WAS): Despite the sinking feeling that we’re all about to get “Shannahaned” yet again, Helu has got to be the #1 waiver pickup for the rest of the season. He can score points on the ground as well as through the air and, considering Ryan Torain’s week 11 disappearing act, Helu is lined up to be the Redskins’ feature back for the rest of the year.

Maurice Morris (RB – DET): Even before Kevin Smith went down with a high ankle sprain on Thanksgiving, Mo-Mo was getting a fair amount of work in his old role as a change-of-pace back. Smith has always been brittle and now that he’s hurt, Morris is the Lions’ #1 running back by default yet again and I expect him to maintain that value for the rest of the season.

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I’d like to thank to this week’s Featured Pros for stopping by to share their advice! Stay tuned for more picks as their weekly rankings are unveiled shortly.

Photo Credits: #1, #2