Fantasy football waiver wire: Best running backs available in Week 15

We’ve finally reached the climax of the fantasy football season. The playoffs started last week for many leagues, and continue into Week 15 with the semifinals (or early rounds, in case you’re one of those cretins who plays into Week 17). Every top-end starter should be locked into lineups this week, but the waiver wire is still important.

The running back position has a few injury situations that need to be monitored. The biggest worry is rookie sensation Alvin Kamara, who exited Thursday’s game with a concussion on the opening drive. His early absence burned owners pretty badly, but Kamara does have 10 days to get cleared for Week 15. Joe Mixon sat out the week with a concussion, as well, and has a chance to return this week. And Ezekiel Elliott has one more game left on his suspension before he comes back for championship week.

Without further ado, here are the top running back waiver options, owned in less than 50 percent of Yahoo! fantasy leagues.

Stewart is something of a boom-or-bust player, especially when he doesn’t reach the end zone, but five touchdowns in his last three games (including three against the Minnesota Vikings) show that he’s still a quality short-yardage running back. He also cleared 100 yards for just the second time all season, an impressive showing against a normally stout Vikings defense. Owners should be careful about chasing stats, but Stewart does have a decent matchup with the Green Bay Packers this week.

With the Seahawks finally settling on a featured back, Davis has the volume to stay in the RB2 conversation for the fantasy playoffs. He had another solid game in Week 14, rushing for 66 yards on 15 carries against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Davis did leave the game with a rib injury, but came back in and doesn’t appear to be in danger of missing Week 15. He’ll have a tough matchup with the Los Angeles Rams, but the Seahawks are still committed to a balanced offense, so Davis should get plenty of touches once again.

It appears that Barber is taking over for Doug Martin, who got benched after a careless fumble against the Detroit Lions. One week after totaling 143 yards in place of a concussed Martin, Barber had 13 touches for 63 total yards. It would not be surprising if Barber gets the starting job — he’s certainly earned it after clearly outplaying Martin in recent weeks. If the Bucs pull the trigger, Barber is a decent dart throw against the Atlanta Falcons.

With Adrian Peterson on the shelf, Williams has quietly put in good performances as the fill-in starter, with 36 carries for 170 yards in the past two games. The Cardinals should continue leaning on the run game as they try to hide Blaine Gabbert, so Williams could once again get a heavy workload if Peterson misses another game. They get a Washington team that appears to have packed it in for the season.