Week 9 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Isaac Guerendo, Dalvin Cook, Braelon Allen

Welcome to Week 9’s fantasy football running back waiver wire breakdown! Once again, the running back wavier wire is essentially the same as it was last week. Luckily, I gave a full breakdown of running backs rostered in less than 50% of leagues who may be worth adding just last week. If you want my take on a given wavier RB not mentioned in this article, it's probably there. For this week, let’s focus on those few players who did see their values rise in Week 8. 

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Week 9 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds

Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers (6.6% Rostered)

Jordan Mason re-injured his shoulder on Sunday and will be re-evaluated after the 49ers’ bye. Notably, Week 10 is also when San Francisco claims that Christian McCaffery may be able to return. But the 49ers have racked up both injuries and misleading coach statements at record rates so far this season.

With Mason out for most of the game last night, Guerendo racked up over 100 total yards and a touchdown en route to an RB11 finish on the week (pending MNF). The rookie also picked up 99 yards on just 10 carries in Week 6, the first game where Mason missed time. If both Mason and CMC were ever to be ruled out ahead of a game, he would be an immediate must-start. In deeper leagues, the amount of injury question marks in San Francisco’s backfield makes him worth stashing. 

Braelon Allen, New York Jets (35.5% Rostered)

In my breakdown last week of every waiver RB, I categorized Allen as a “Pure Handcuff.” He had seen just six touches to Breece Hall’s 41 over the previous two weeks, the two weeks following the Jets’ coaching changes. The Jeff Ulbirch/Todd Downing regime seemingly planned to use Hall as a pure workhorse, meaning Allen would only have value if Breece were to be injured. 

That changed this week, as Allen finished with just four fewer carries (16 to 12) than Hall. On the pessimistic side, the rookie still had just a 33% snap share and earned zero targets on just four routes. He has also simply looked worse carrying the ball over the last few weeks than he did early in the season. With that said, this week was a win for his value. Allen is still a top-tier handcuff, and seeing 12 touches means he can be started if you’re truly desperate. 

Tyler Badie, Denver Broncos (0.7% Rostered)

This is an incredibly deep cut, but Badie (who is currently on IR with a back injury) was seen working on the side of the Broncos’ practice field in the lead-up to Week 8. Shout-out to Sam Sherman for this stat, but the former Ravens’ sixth-round pick was arguably the Broncos’ lead back the last time he was healthy, with four touches in the first quarter of Week 5 compared to two each for Javonte Williams and Jaleel McLaughlin.

Since then, with Badie on IR, the Broncos’ backfield has been thoroughly unimpressive. Williams ranks eighth-worst out of 63 qualified running backs in PFF Grade, while rookie Audric Estime is even worse. McLaughlin ranks better according to PFF, but he is still by no means the explosive playmaker he was last season. We’re relying a ton on that small sample size from Week 5, but there’s a non-zero chance Badie returns and is able to claim a lead role in this backfield. In super deep leagues, that makes him worth stashing.  

Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears (5.7% Rostered)

This is a weird one. Special-teamer/third-down back Travis Homer returned for the Bears this week after an IR stint due to a finger injury. When Homer was active during the first two weeks of the season, sophomore RB Roschon Johnson was a healthy scratch. Since then, Johnson has leapfrogged Herbert on the Bears’ depth chart — that meant Herbert was a healthy scratch in Week 8.

How could this possibly be good for Herbert’s fantasy value? Well, being a healthy scratch may be the first step toward a trade. While he has fallen out of favor in Chicago, Herbert has consistently been an efficient rusher when given chances. Especially with NFL GMs seemingly coming around to the idea of in-season trades, there’s a chance he could be on the move with his rookie contract set to expire at the end of this season. In deep leagues, Herbert is the kind of guy to drop your kicker for in the lead-up to Sunday in case we get lucky and he ends up a Cowboy. 

Dalvin Cook, Dallas Cowboys (21.6% Rostered)

Speaking of the Cowboys, Dalvin Cook was active for the first time this season for Dallas’ Sunday Night Football matchup with the 49ers. Cook was elevated from the Cowboys' practice squad in the lead-up to the game, and then Rico Dowdle was a surprise inactive with an illness, leaving Dalvin to join Ezekiel Elliott in a backfield that would have been unstoppable in 2019. 

The fact that Dalvin is below Badie (a former UDFA with 12 career carries) and Herbert (who was just a healthy scratch) shows you how much I care about this development. Cook managed to be even less efficient than Elliott on his six carries, picking up just two yards per attempt. He ran fewer than half as many routes as fullback Hunter Luepke. He’s worth adding in very deep leagues, but that’s it. 

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