Arian Foster and Ray Rice return from bye weeks in Week 9, but a whole new crop of teams has the week off, which is sure to leave fantasy owners scrambling for the waiver wire.
Fantasy football waiver-wire advice, Week 9: Players to target with Stevan Ridley and Frank Gore on bye
Stevan Ridley and Frank Gore owners will be the latest to fall victim to bye weeks in Week 9. Unfortunately, the waiver wire hasn’t been too friendly this season, but we’ll take a look at the best options to fill your running back needs.
Jason Miller
The New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams and New York Jets are on bye week. Unfortunately for owners of Stevan Ridley and Frank Gore, the pickings on the waiver wire appear to be slim at best this week.
Still, we’ll attempt to steer you towards some diamonds in the rough of this week’s crop of free agent running backs.
I recommended Jonathan Dwyer last week, and I'm going to do it again. If he's still out there in your league, be sure to go out and grab him. Rashard Mendenhall can't stay on the field, and Dwyer has been much more effective than Isaac Redman in recent weeks. He faces the Giants next, but is in line for a steady workload in a decent offense.
Ronnie Brown has become an easy target for Phillip Rivers out of the backfield, making him a viable pickup in points per reception leagues this week. Factor in the fact that Ryan Mathews lost a fumble on Sunday, and Brown could be in for more responsibility. His matchup on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs is appealing as well.
Jahvid Best hasn't been cleared to play, and Mikel Leshoure hasn't been all that effective, so Joique Bell has carved out a niche in the Detroit Lions backfield. He accounts for a ton of catches and yards out of the backfield, providing owners in PPR leagues with a decent filler this week against the Jaguars.
