Week 8 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Alexander Mattison, Kimani Vidal, Braelon Allen
Ted breaks down running backs to look for on your waiver wire in a barren week of options.
Welcome to Week 8’s fantasy football running back waiver wire breakdown! I’m not going to lie, this week’s new running back waiver options are absolutely bleak. No injuries and no new breakouts means I can’t think of a single waiver RB who actually saw their value rise substantially this weekend.
With that said, there are still plenty of valuable players rostered in less than 50% of leagues. Because this week is so devoid of new options, I’m going to be breaking down those same players into new categories: Desperation Flex Plays, Handcuffs With Standalone Value, and Pure Handcuffs. This won’t be a comprehensive list of players in each category, but I’ll pick at least three of my favorites for each group. Let’s get started!
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Week 8 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds
Desperation Flex Plays
This group consists of running backs that you could start in a pinch, but who have very little contingent upside for one reason or another.
Alexander Mattison, Las Vegas Raiders (47.6% Rostered)
Mattison is the rare starting running back who is still available in the majority of fantasy football leagues. Even with Zamir White back this week, he played 71% of the Raiders’ offensive snaps and saw 26 opportunities. He’s a legit weekly flex play, but Mattison obviously doesn't have much contingent upside as he is already his team’s lead back.
Justice Hill, Baltimore Ravens (22.9% Rostered)
As a pure passing-game specialist, Hill is hugely game-script-dependent. But he has proven himself capable of solid fantasy outings when the Ravens are in competitive matchups, especially in PPR formats. His role would hardly change at all if Derrick Henry went down, but you can flex him if you really need to, regardless.
D'Ernest Johnson, Jacksonville Jaguars (12.7% Rostered)
With Travis Etienne sidelined, Johnson is serving as the Jaguars’ passing-down back. He has seen almost exactly 50% of the offensive snaps (53 to Tank Bigsby’s 55) over the last two weeks. Over those two weeks, he has posted a 46.9% route participation rate and an 8.9% target share, as well as recording 15 carries. Especially in PPR formats and/or negative game scripts, you could do worse for a flex play. However, he doesn’t have much contingent value — even if Bigsby were to be injured, the Jaguars would likely find someone else to carry the early-down load.
Handcuffs With Standalone Value
These guys are likely worse plays on a week-to-week basis than the previous group, but they have much more upside in the case of injury.
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons (42.1% Rostered)
Allgeier has been efficient enough on the ground to earn himself at least a handful of carries each game. He showed in Week 6 (admittedly against the Panthers) that he can have a truly solid fantasy outing even with Bijan Robinson healthy. If Robinson were to miss time, he would be a must-start.
Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills (22.6% Rostered)
We saw last week what Davis could be with James Cook sidelined, and the rookie still managed a useable outing with Cook back in the fold this week. He’s TD-dependent with Cook healthy but has still seen at least a handful of touches in almost every game.
Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears (16.4% Rostered)
D’Andre Swift’s renaissance has killed the hope that Johnson would seize the Bears’ RB1 job outright, but he does have a goal-line role that makes him a valid “hope for a TD” play each week. If Swift were to go down, Johnson would likely claim a workhorse role in this backfield.
Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers (15.3% Rostered)
The sixth-round rookie made his NFL debut in Week 6, serving as a change of pace back behind J.K. Dobbins. He’s not going to score a 30-yard receiving TD every week, but he is explosive enough to be a valid dart throw play. If Dobbins were to go down, he would suddenly find himself the lead RB on one of the league’s most run-heavy offenses.
Emanuel Wilson, Green Bay Packers (8.8% Rostered)
For the season, Wilson has handled just over 20% of the Packers’ rushes and seen a 4% target share. At least five carries in each of the last six weeks makes him just barely playable with Josh Jacobs healthy, but he would be a weekly must-start if Jacobs missed time.
Pure Handcuffs
Members of this group are straight-up unplayable on a weekly basis but could literally win leagues with just a single injury.
Braelon Allen, New York Jets (39.4% Rostered)
Until recently, Allen was a leading member of the previous group. Unfortunately, he has just six touches (five carries and one reception on three targets) for 14 yards in the two weeks since Todd Downing took over calling plays for the Jets. With that said, he’s still the single most valuable handcuff in the league — unless you actually need to start one of these guys, I’d rather roster him than anyone else featured in this article.
Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams (18.6% Rostered)
Corum has officially passed Ronnie Rivers on the Rams’ depth chart, but he’s still no threat to Kyren Williams. Three carries for 11 yards against a miserable Raiders team is proof he’s not a weekly play, but he is a top-tier handcuff.
Kenneth Gainwell, Philadelphia Eagles (2.0% Rostered)
Gainwell is actually coming off a 13-carry game against the Giants, but this week was his first finishing above 2.2 half-PPR points. Still, this was a good sign, as he is clearly locked in as the Eagles’ RB2 above rookie Will Shipley. If Saquon Barkley misses time, he will be the new beneficiary of a very fantasy-friendly environment.
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