Week 10 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Rico Dowdle, Cam Akers, Jaylen Wright
Ted breaks down the best running backs to add off the fantasy football waiver wire heading into Week 10.
Welcome to Week 10’s fantasy football running back waiver wire breakdown! The running back waiver wire for this week is, as it has been for most of the season, lacking exciting developments. With that in mind, I’m going to be bending my usual rules slightly by including a player rostered in over 50% of leagues (but still less than 65%) who really shouldn’t be available anywhere. There are also a few actual waiver options who increased their values this week, so I’ll break them down as well. Let’s get started!
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Week 10 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds
Rico Dowdle, Dallas Cowboys (61.4% Rostered)
My cheat pick for this week, Dowdle served as the Cowboys’ clear lead back with Ezekiel Elliott listed as a healthy scratch for disciplinary reasons. Splitting time only with Dalvin Cook and fullback Hunter Luepke, Dowdle played 71.6% of Dallas’ offensive snaps and handled 12 of their 15 RB rush attempts.
The bulk of Elliott’s snaps this season have come in passing situations, so Dowdle saw his largest bumps in the passing game. He posted a 45.5% route participation rate, easily his highest of the season, and saw six targets (a 12% target share). It’s unclear as of yet when, if ever, Elliott will return to the Cowboys’ active roster. But this week was just further evidence that Dowdle should be rostered in 100% of fantasy leagues. Dak Prescott's hamstring injury throws a wrench into things, but this Cowboys offense has been relatively average enough so far this season — that's more than enough to make their RB1 a must-roster.
Cam Akers, Minnesota Vikings (20.7% Rostered)
Akers was once one of the few truly must-add waiver pickups we’ve seen so far this season, as he was thrust into the Texans’ RB1 role early in the year with both Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce sidelined by injuries. However, that situation actually ended up being more or less a bust, as Akers managed just one top-24 week and eventually lost out to Dare Ogunbowale as the lead back in Mixon’s absence.
Mixon (and Pierce) eventually returned, and the Texans immediately traded Akers to Minnesota (where he spent part of last season) in exchange for essentially nothing. Akers didn’t play a single offensive snap in his first two games back in Minnesota, serving as the Vikings’ RB3 behind Aaron Jones and Ty Chandler. That changed this week, as not only did Akers leapfrog Chandler, but he saw a larger change-of-pace role behind Jones than his fellow backup had seen in recent weeks. Akers played 22% of the Vikings’ snaps, carrying the ball six times for 46 yards and catching both of his targets for seven yards.
This role isn’t enough to make Akers a fantasy option yet. But this week was a clear indication that he, not Chandler, would likely be the Vikings’ RB1 if Jones were to miss time. That’s a valuable spot to be in for fantasy, and, as much as Akers has disappointed so far in his NFL career, the Vikings’ decision-makers clearly like his fit in their offense. In deeper leagues where every handcuff on a good offense is rostered, Akers should be added — at the very least, this is an obvious swap for the 29.3% of managers currently rostering Chandler, who looks like a dead asset at this point.
Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins (9.9% Rostered)
Don’t look now, but Wright set a new career-high in snap share with both De’Von Achane and Raheem Mostert active on Sunday. To be clear, that number was just 13.3%. But that’s still a step in the right direction, made especially intriguing because Mostert seems to be trending the other way (he played a season-low 21.7% of Miami’s snaps this week).
If Wright can overtake or just draw even with Mostert, he is just one injury away from having a very valuable role in this offense, which is much improved with Tua Tagovailoa back under center. The Dolphins currently rank second in the NFL with an absurd 25.5% of their targets going to running backs. Most of that is designed touches for Achane, but Mike McDaniel wouldn’t entirely throw away that portion of his playbook if the sophomore missed time.
For his own part, Wright, a fourth-round rookie with impressive speed, theoretically has the chops to make the most of whatever role he does earn. For the season, he actually easily beats both Mostert and Achane in success rate, yards created, and yards after contact (per SumerSports). This comes in a small sample of 36 carries, but it’s worth noting. With two potential lanes to contingent upside and a chance of simply overtaking the 32-year-old Mostert, Wright is someone worth holding in deep formats.
Khalil Herbert, Chicago Bears (6.3% Rostered)
I went over the case for Herbert last week, so I’ll keep this one short. The key to this suggestion is simple: Herbert has been a healthy scratch each of the last two weeks for the Bears, but he has consistently been an efficient runner when given carries. There’s a chance he will find himself in a new home before the NFL Trade Deadline on Tuesday (maybe even joining Dowdle in Dallas). Given that we’ll know by the end of Tuesday whether Herbert has seen his value skyrocket or is entirely worthless, he’s a perfect player to add if your league has Tuesday morning waivers. If he stays put in Chicago, he can be sent right back where he came from; if not, he could have real value.
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