Fantasy football waiver wire: Best running backs available in Week 7

With the fantasy football season approaching the halfway mark, the major injuries just keep piling up, which makes the waiver wire an important factor in the middle of the bye weeks.

For the most part, the running back position avoided serious injury in Week 6. The most notable name to watch is Leonard Fournette, who twisted his ankle in the loss to the Los Angles Rams. The Jacksonville Jaguars are confident that Fournette can play next week, but he has a long history of lingering ankle injuries going back to college, so fantasy owners can’t take his status for granted right now.

In addition to the injuries, there are two more bye teams this week — Detroit Lions and Houston Texans — making Ameer Abdullah, Theo Riddick, Lamar Miller, and D’Onta Foreman unavailable.

With yet more turnover at the position, let’s look at the best waiver wire running backs owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! leagues.

We still don’t know when Ezekiel Elliott’s suspension will begin, so fantasy owners shouldn’t be so quick to insert McFadden into their lineups. With the Cowboys coming off a bye, Elliott’s Week 7 status probably won’t be decided for a few more days. If he does sit, fantasy owners have to decide whether McFadden or Alfred Morris is worth using. We’re leaning towards McFadden as a more versatile player who can play every down.

As bad as the Ravens offense has been, at least Collins is putting up numbers. He had another productive day even while splitting time with Buck Allen, getting 74 yards on 15 carries. With zero catches all year, Collins’ lack of pass-game involvement keeps him on the RB2 fringe but he’s one of the few players in Baltimore’s offense who’s making plays. Collins is a tough flex play against the Minnesota Vikings.

With Odell Beckham Jr., Brandon Marshall, and Sterling Shepard out, the Giants desperately needed something from their running game. Darkwa stepped up 117 yards against a Denver Broncos defense that hadn’t allowed a 100-yard rusher all season. That kind of performance will make people sit up and take notice, but it’s entirely possible that we’ve already seen Darkwa’s best game of the year. He could be back to his usual low-floor self against the Los Angeles Chargers next week.

Consider this insurance for Forurnette, and not much more. Ivory hasn’t really done anything of note all year, but he grabbed nine catches for 74 yards and a touchdown Sunday, a surprising development for a running back who traditionally hasn’t done much in the passing game. If Fournette is forced to sit, then Ivory will only be a flex/RB3 play at best.