Waiver Wire

Remember when I was bummed that Parris Campbell’s breakout was going to get halted because the Colts switched to Sam Ehlinger at quarterback? Well, now I feel worse because I don’t have him anywhere, and Matt Ryan is back. Campbell is finally happening! Here are his numbers in the last three games Matt Ryan has been under center for the Colts: 32 targets, 24 receptions, 203 yards, and three touchdowns. Campbell now leads wide receivers in slot snaps with 385 and is No. 4 in routes run with 347.

The 49ers worked Elijah Mitchell in more substantially this week. He played a third of the snaps, splitting goal-line work and carries evenly. McCaffrey maintained dominance of the passing work. If this situation holds, it places McCaffrey more in line with early-season Austin Ekeler and peak Alvin Kamara rather than the potential 30-point-per-week supernova we thought we had last week. That being said, I would still be trading for McCaffrey. Trading early down volume for increased team scoring opportunities is a net positive from his time in Carolina for my money. He maintains an elite floor via the pass-game, and his ceiling in negative script or with a Mitchell injury is RB1 in a tier of his own.

The problem is the Falcons would rather not throw the ball ever to anyone. They take forever to snap the ball (No. 30 in Pace of Play), and when do eventually snap it, they run it (No. 3 in Team Run Plays per Game, No. 30 in Pass Attempts). This has been the case even when Cordarrelle Patterson is on the sidelines. On the season, they’ve chosen to hand to the ball to plodding backup rookie back Tyler Allgeier twice as many times as they’ve thrown to Pitts.

In an NFL week filled with fantasy joy (Justin Jefferson is a KING) and fantasy tragedy (Cooper Kupp), Watson put his stamp on the week and potentially the season moving forward. This is why we constantly grind the waiver wire. Change happens in this league, and it happens quickly. All it takes is one Sunday, and the outlook for a player can rise and fall more sharply than in any other sport. How do Rachaad White managers feel on Monday morning? How heavy of a weight was lifted off the backs of Jonathan Taylor dynasty managers? Meanwhile, Kupp managers are entirely gutted.

Welcome in to the Week 10 edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to RB! No special intro today, just some cold hard running-back talk. IF you are new to the column, this is the place we talk all things running back streaming. Each week we discuss running back usage, matchups, and waiver opportunities to convert the least amount of capital into a playable running back position on your fantasy teams.

Fantasy managers can breathe a sigh of relief at the end of Byemaggedon. Six teams on byes made for some genuinely disgusting start-sit choices. Week 10 will be less painful with only four teams set to miss. Week 11 will have four more teams out with byes (Jacksonville, Miami, Seattle, and Tampa Bay). Plan accordingly and be a week ahead. 

This is not a great week of impactful waiver wire additions, but check your league for players not listed in this column who could have been cut last week. Take extra time to comb through your league’s list of available players because the finish line is in sight and the fantasy playoffs are just around the corner. 

Welcome to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to RB for Week 9! Normally, I start this column off with the same introduction each week. I talk about what this column covers, and frankly attempt to get out of my own way given each edition typically stretches 4,000-5,000 words. However, this week I can do no such thing. Fantasy Football is at times a remarkably frustrating game. You’re taking large stands at thin margins which often go awry. Even when you hit big on a talent profile, you can still come away fruitless due to team circumstance, bad luck, or injury. Therefore, I think we all deserve to breathe in the air when the winds are favorable.

If not for Elliott’s contract, and Jerry Jones’s unwillingness to admit a mistake, Pollard would be Dallas’s lead back. To Elliott’s dismay, he sat out Week 8 against the run sieve known as the Chicago Bears while Pollard exploded for 131 rushing yards and three scores on just 14 carries. That’s 9.4 Yards per Carry, folks. Elliott has never put up 9.4 Yards per Carry in 99 career regular-season or playoff starts. In the 19 career games, when Pollard has been given 10 or more carries, he averages 5.9 Yards per Carry. Only two backs this year, Khalil Herbert and Travis Etienne, are averaging more. Only Rashaad Penny did better last year.

Welcome to the Waiver Wire Week 9! Chalk up Week 8 as a positive one for the fantasy community. The day started with Travis Etienne gashing the Broncos and looking like a rest-of-season strong RB1. A.J. Brown smashed with a three-TD outburst. Kyler Murray showed signs of life as a high-end QB1 play moving forward. Tyreek Hill AND Jaylen Waddle smashed. Kyle Pitts saw nine targets and posted a 5-80-1 line, a stat line we expected to be a regular occurrence in the preseason but is now a call for celebration in mid-season. “Tony Pollard Week,” was a smashing success as Pollard went nuts in Zeke Elliott’s absence with a three-TD, 131-yard smash game. And in a happy turn of events, D.K. Metcalf not only did not miss this week with an injury but found the end zone in an important Seattle win.

Gus Edwards returned to the Ravens lineup just as J.K. Dobbins exited. He immediately made his presence felt with an RB1 performance.

I would exercise caution in all directions here. On one hand, Edwards’ production was much better than his role. Edwards played just 36-percent of snaps and ceded a significant portion of work in all situations, including short yardage and goal line, to both Justice Hill and Kenyan Drake. He received a carry on 70-percent of his snaps.