Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 running backs to target for Week 14

We are finally done with the bye weeks and the fantasy playoffs have arrived (unless you’re in shallower leagues that don’t have a first-round bye). The waiver wire will mostly be an afterthought from here on out, as owners should be riding the top starters that got them to this point.

That being said, some owners aren’t quite that lucky and might still have to utilize the wire to fill out their rosters. The players on this list are either short-term streaming options, or potential 2017 contributors if you play in a keeper or dynasty league. With that in mind, here are the top waiver options at running back, owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! standard leagues.

The Ravens are stubbornly sticking with the Dixon/Terrance West committee, and Dixon was productive in limited action once again with 77 total yards on 10 touches. We’d like to see him get more action (and score a touchdown), but he’s shaping up as a poor man’s Tevin Coleman. Dixon will be on the flex radar in deeper leagues when the Ravens face the New England Patriots.

DeMarco Murray should be well-rested, coming off the Titans’ bye week after playing through a toe injury in recent weeks. Tennessee has been riding Murray as a workhorse when healthy, but Henry has proven that he deserves a bigger role in the offense. The rookie is averaging 4.5 yards on 70 carries this year. Henry is a must-own handcuff for Murray owners.

At some point Mike McCarthy has to realize that Montgomery is the running back he’s got. He had 56 total yards on eight touches in the snow against the Houston Texans, while Christine Michael had just 19 rushing yards and James Starks was barely a factor. We’ll see if Montgomery gets more run when the Packers take on a Seattle Seahawks defense missing Earl Thomas.

LeSean McCoy had yet another injury scare, but he returned to the game and dominated once again. Still, Gillislee played the vulture role on Sunday, scoring two touchdowns inside the red zone. Shady is still entrenched as the starter, but Gillislee is getting enough work in a run-heavy offense to be worth flex consideration. The Bills get the Pittsburgh Steelers next.

I’m including him here because he’s much more likely to return this season than Adrian Peterson, and is thus the better stash on your IR roster spot. And if he’s on waivers in a dynasty league you can snatch him up for a major 2017 role. That said, Abdullah still isn’t practicing and his window to help fantasy owners in 2016 is closing. Keep a close eye on his progress over the next week.