Welcome to the waiver wire for Week 15. In most leagues, this is semifinal week and that’s high stakes, indeed.

As I mentioned last week, we are looking for upside and startable commodities vs. the depth players we were pushing throughout the bye weeks. The other thing to pay attention to are the key handcuffs to your lynchpin players. I will be updating last week’s handcuff article at Rotobahn for those looking to lock up their key insurance policies. I will be back next week for those who make the big game and we will be doing our 11a.m. Sunday morning chat this week for those who are looking for some lineup advice. Good luck to all this week!

QUARTERBACKS

Colin Kaepernick, 49ers

He’s not state of the art just yet, but Kaepernick is the future in San Francisco. He can be your present in Week 15 as the 49ers head to New England. Kaepernick can start for you in 12-team leagues if you need a player. His matchup at Seattle in Week 16 is a bit more problematic.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks

He has a nice matchup in Week 15 at Buffalo, so he is worth an add if you need a plug-and-play QB. Wilson is viable in 12-team leagues. His struggles last week were due to San Francicso’s running game dominating the contest, not the passing game’s failures.

Nick Foles, Eagles

We like this kid some and he showed significant improvement in Week 14 in a very solid matchup vs. the Bucs. Things get tougher this week against the Bengals, who are solid defensively, but we’d add Foles for his Week 16 matchup at home against the Redskins, who give up plenty of points via the pass. If you need to piece together your last few weeks, then Foles can help you.

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According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Panthers have retained running back DeAngelo Williams with a five-year, $43 million deal that includes $21 million guaranteed.

The Panthers chose Williams 27th overall in the 2006 draft, making him the third running back selected in that draft behind Reggie Bush (second overall) and Laurence Maroney (21st overall). Injuries have hindered Williams’ production over the last two seasons, though he rushed for 1,515 yards with 18 touchdowns in the 2008 season.

This is Carolina’s second big re-signing in as many days, as they gave defensive end Charles Johnson $76 million over six years on Tuesday.

Some positions in the NFL draft require more attention early on than others. For example, if your team is in need of a quarterback, history shows that while there can be risk in spending a Top 10 pick on a signal-caller, you’re far more likely to go wrong by choosing one in the second or third round.

More than half of the running of the backs chosen in the first two rounds the last five years, including Beanie Wells, have never rushed for 1,000 yards. (AP)

While quarterback is a position best addressed in the first round (or, if you’re lucky, the 199th overall pick), not every position necessarily screams “high pick.” Of course, punters go untouched in the early part of the draft, but other positions — even the occasional kicker — have been fair game in the first two rounds over time. Still, for an event that is defined by finding value, trends over the years have shown that certain positions may not represent the utmost value high in the draft.

It could be argued that one such position is running back. Despite being a position that plays such a crucial role in the average NFL offense, running backs that get big attention on draft day don’t necessarily provide a big payoff for their teams. Here’s a look at every running back selected in the top two rounds of the last five drafts:

2010

16th overall — Ryan Mathews
30th overall — Jahvid Best

36th overall — Dexter McCluster
51st overall — Toby Gerhart
58th overall — Ben Tate

2009

12th overall — Knowshon Moreno
27th overall — Donald Brown
31st overall — Beanie Wells

53rd overall — LeSean McCoy

2008

4th overall — Darren McFadden
13th overall — Jonathan Stewart
22nd overall — Felix Jones
23rd overall — Rashard Mendenhall
24th overall — Chris Johnson

44th overall — Matt Forte
55th overall — Ray Rice

2007

7th overall — Adrian Peterson
12th overall — Marshawn Lynch

49th overall — Kenny Irons
50th overall — Chris Henry
52nd overall — Brian Leonard
63rd overall — Brandon Jackson

2006

2nd overall — Reggie Bush
21st overall — Laurence Maroney
27th overall — DeAngelo Williams
30th overall — Joseph Addai

45th overall — LenDale White
60th overall — Maurice Jones-Drew

Of those 28 players, eight finished Top 20 in the league in rushing yards last season. Of course, simply looking at last season doesn’t tell the whole story.

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FOXBORO — The Patriots just put the wraps on a 20-10 win over the Panthers at Gillette Stadium. (For a complete recap, click here.) The victory gives New England an 8-5 record, its first win since Nov. 22 and a one-game lead in the AFC East, while Carolina drops to 5-8.

•After a listless first half that resulted in a 7-7 tie after 30 minutes, the Patriots were able to take control by putting together a couple of nice second-half drives, including a 13-play, 96-yard drive that took 7:26 and gave New England a 14-7 lead with 1:06 left in the third quarter.

•The key to that drive was the work of wide receiver Wes Welker, who provided the bulk of the offense on the series (five catches) and managed to breathe life into a relatively flat Gillette Stadium with his effort. After one of his second-half catches, he got up and waved his hands over his head, exhorting the fans to make some noise. They did.

•New England won despite committing three turnovers — one Tom Brady interception, as well as lost fumbles by Randy Moss and Sammy Morris. It was all part of a forgettable afternoon for Moss, who had just one catch for 16 yards — he had a dropped ball, and a fumble, and had a ball meant for him picked off by Carolina cornerback Chris Gamble.

•On defense, New England had a solid afternoon. The Patriots limited Carolina to 14 first downs and one rather fluky touchdown, and kept the Panthers’ vaunted running game in check despite the fact that nose tackle Vince Wilfork went down with a foot injury and defensive lineman Ty Warren went down with an ankle injury. Leigh Bodden and Darius Butler had nice pass breakups. Pierre Woods and Rob Ninkovich filled in for Adalius Thomas at the outside linebacker spot.

•Good day for the Patriots kicking game — Stephen Gostkowski connected on field goal attempts of 48 and 47 yards in the fourth quarter that provided enough of a cushion down the stretch for New England.

•Stat standouts on the afternoon include running back Laurence Maroney, who had 94 rushing yards. Quarterback Tom Brady was 19-for-32 for 192 yards and one touchdown. In addition, wide receiver Wes Welker had 10 catches for 105 yards. On the other side of the football, Carolina quarterback Matt Moore had one good pass, a first half hookup with Steve Smith that went for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Smith ended up with a team-high 83 receiving yards, while the quarterback was 15-for-30 for 197 yards and running back DeAngelo Williams had 82 rushing yards.