Waiver Wire

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.

Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs surprised many in the NFL and fantasy world this week, naming seventh-round rookie Isiah Pacheco as their starting running back. Thus, supplanting 2020 first-rounder Clyde Edwards-Helaire. After fantasy managers spent the following days getting Pacheco onto rosters and starting lineups, on Sunday, despite the Chiefs putting up 44 points, Pacheco laid an egg: eight rushes for 43 yards, no scores, and no targets.

This is the Waiver Wire Week 8, and wow, yesterday was a tumultuous day for Breece Hall managers. Maybe you drafted him in dynasty as the 1.01 in all formats- even Superflex. Perhaps you drafted him in redraft as a fifth-round steal. Either way, you played it perfectly. You filtered out all of the noise, the “bad landing spot” narrative, and the hilarious “crowded backfield,” arguments. Through six weeks, and despite a mediocre Jets offense, Hall was RB7 overall and the focal point of a winning team. He had league winner written all over him. This past Sunday, he ripped off a 62-yard TD run on the road in Denver. Things were going great, and then disaster fell- a knee injury. 

When you thought things couldn’t get worse for Terry McLaurin at the QB position, it did. Carson Wentz isn’t giving McLaurin the love his previous QBs were. McLaurin’s 16.4-percent target share ranks No. 57 among wide receivers. His 15.5-percent target rate ranks No. 83. Even the targets he is getting aren’t moving the needle. McLaurin’s target quality rating ranks No. 27 at receiver, and his 7.4 target accuracy is No. 50. But Carson Wentz injured a finger on his throwing hand and will miss 4-6 weeks. Enter Taylor Heinicke. Is Taylor Heinicke good? Not really! I thought Wentz was going to be an upgrade entering this season.

Welcome in to the Week 7 edition of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to RB! This is the place where 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.

Justin Fields displayed great promise to end his 2021 rookie season. He posted QB1 scores in four of his last five games on the strength of great rushing metrics, a 15.5 (No. 3) Production Premium, and solid Deep Ball and Red Zone Accuracy Ratings. His 2022 QB16 ADP showed we expected him to take the next step this year. That clearly hasn’t happened, though. This is highlighted by his 13.0 Fantasy Points Per Game. This ranks him No. 27 in that category.

Week 7 is another week featuring that nasty B word: Bye Weeks. For fantasy purposes, this week is an absolute killer. Minnesota, Buffalo, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Rams are all on byes. Some of the best players in fantasy football will be unavailable. This will be a tough week for many fantasy managers, but the glass-half-full argument is that getting the bye out of the way early on can be a lot less stressful than missing them in Week 13 or in the dreaded Week 14 when some formats start their fantasy playoffs.