Fantasy football owners have yet another bye week crunch ahead of them. Six teams are on bye in Week 9, and they feature some major names at running back. The Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, New England Patriots, and Washington have the week off, so owners can’t use David Johnson, Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, or LeGarrette Blount. Rob Kelley had a decent fill-in role for Washington, but he won’t be worth stashing through his bye, especially if Matt Jones returns in Week 10.
Fantasy football waiver wire: 4 running backs to target for Week 9
David Johnson, Jeremy Hill, and Lamar Miller are just a few of the many high-profile players on bye this week.
In addition, waiver hero Jacquizz Rodgers sprained his foot on Sunday and was in a walking boot on Monday. If he can’t go this week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ backfield is a quagmire of replacement-level talent. Peyton Barber? Antone Smith? Good luck predicting which one of those two will emerge. They’re hands-off.
Anyway, owners have some important decisions to make with the waiver wire this week and we’re here to help out. Here are our top five recommended options at running back, owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! standard leagues.
Derrick Henry, Tennessee Titans (48 percent)
Henry has mostly taken a backseat as DeMarco Murray dominated the backfield touches this season. But with Murray nursing a toe injury, Henry got a lot of run last Thursday night, with 20 touches for 97 total yards and a touchdown. Granted, he was mostly doing mop-up work with the Jacksonville Jaguars dead and buried, but Henry could find himself in the flex conversation if Murray’s injury continues to linger. If you dropped Henry in re-draft leagues a few weeks ago, consider picking him again.
Bilal Powell, New York Jets (37 percent)
The Jets have re-committed to Matt Forte as their workhorse, but that doesn’t mean Powell is going away. He had six carries for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns, playing 31 snaps to Forte’s 43. Powell doesn’t get enough catches to be a viable PPR play every week, but he’s one of the top handcuff stashes in fantasy football. The Jets get the Miami Dolphins next.
Charcandrick West, Kansas City Chiefs (8 percent)
Spencer Ware went down with a concussion and Jamaal Charles is in danger of getting shut down for the year, so West is the next man up in Kansas City’s backfield. He made the most of his opportunity, recording 60 total yards on 16 touches against the Colts. West was a waiver wire hero last season and could play that role again. Fantasy owners can scoop him up and plug him into their flex spot if Ware misses time.
Tim Hightower, New Orleans Saints (4 percent)
Mark Ingram is officially in Sean Payton’s doghouse. After losing a fumble early in the first quarter against the Seattle Seahawks, he got yanked and watched from the sidelines as Hightower controlled the backfield. Hightower wasn’t terribly efficient, averaging 3.9 yards per carry and getting stuffed at the goal line multiple times. However, he got 26 carries and Payton is vowing to give him more work. We’ll see what happens with Ingram (I wouldn’t recommend dropping him yet), but both men are set up for a high-upside day against the San Francisco 49ers next week.
