Week 12 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Roschon Johnson, Ameer Abdullah vs. Dylan Laube, Cam Akers

Welcome to Week 12’s fantasy football running back waiver wire breakdown! After a relatively exciting week last week, we are immediately back to having essentially zero exciting new options on the waiver wire. With that said, there are still some widely available players who may be worth adding to your roster. Let’s break down a few who trended up this week. 

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Week 12 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds

Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears (12.4% Rostered)

This was the Bears’ first game under new OC Thomas Brown, and it came with a few positive indicators for Roschon Johnson. For one, Brown simply improved Chicago’s offense, which had imploded over the last few weeks. More importantly, Johnson’s own role increased massively. He was still the clear RB2 behind D’Andre Swift, but he looked more like a 1B than the clear backup he was before.

Johnson played 44% of the Bears’ offensive snaps, easily his highest mark all season. He also handled 10 carries to Swift’s 14, tying his season-high in carries. The one area where he didn’t improve was in the passing game, as his 26% route participation rate was right in line with his usage for the season. 

However, he did see usage in an even more valuable part of the game: near the goal line. Johnson played four of the Bears’ five snaps inside the 10-yard line and was given two of their three goal-line carries, converting one for a one-yard TD. On a Chicago offense that might now be competent, consistent goal-line carries could be enough to give Johnson fringe standalone value. That, combined with his handcuff value if Swift were to go down, makes Johnson my top add for Week 12. 

Ameer Abdullah, Las Vegas Raiders (0.9% Rostered)

The Raiders had three running backs on their active roster for Sunday: Alexander Mattison, Zamir White, and Abdullah. For the season, Abdullah has mostly played a small receiving role on offense for the Raiders as well as contributing on special teams. But by the end of their contest this week, he was the only running back left standing. White exited early in the third quarter with a quad injury, and Mattison left partway through the fourth quarter with an ankle issue. As a result, Abdullah finished with one carry and three receptions (all of which came after Mattison and White exited) for 17 total yards and a receiving TD. 

Normally, I would be all over Abdullah, thanks to my usual mantra of “every lead NFL running back should be rostered.” However, there are some reasons for concern here. For one, we don’t yet know the severity of Mattison and White’s injuries. There's a real chance one or both of them doesn't miss any time, in which case Abdullah will not be relevant. For another, the Raiders, given a week to prepare, may choose to give someone else the bulk of the carries and leave Abdullah in his traditional role. Abdullah is worth considering, especially for deep PPR leagues, but it’s unlikely he is ever actually a usable fantasy player.  

Dylan Laube, Las Vegas Raiders (1.4% Rostered)

In fact, I would rather take a chance on a different Raider, sixth-round rookie Dylan Laube. Laube has only been active three times all season and has just one offensive snap in his career. But he is still a much more exciting option than Abdullah, a 31-year-old 10-year NFL vet with a very capped ceiling. 

It’s not a great sign for Laube that he hasn’t been able to make an impact yet in arguably the worst backfield in the NFL. But he is at least young and carries some potential upside as a three-down back. If you’re looking to throw a dart at the suddenly very empty Raiders backfield, I recommend doing it with Laube. I can at least imagine a world where he consolidates this backfield and goes on a run similar to the one White posted to finish last year, with four straight top-20 finishes in the last four weeks of the season.  

Cam Akers, Minnesota Vikings (25.1% Rostered)

Like his fellow NFC North back Johnson, Akers expanded his role in his team’s offense this week. He played 37% of the Vikings’ offensive snaps, carried the ball 10 times, and saw two targets. That’s a huge improvement in his workload for a team that just a few weeks ago was giving Aaron Jones essentially all of their RB usage.  

With that said, I’m less bullish about Akers’ ability to carve out standalone value than Roshcon’s. For one, Jones is a much better back, and therefore harder to displace, than Swift. Akers also didn’t see goal-line usage as Johnson did: Jones played four of the Vikings’ five snaps inside the 10-yard line and handled their only goal-line RB rush. With that said, this week was still a great sign for Akers. He is already a decent handcuff behind Jones, who is relatively old for a lead RB and has a history of injuries. An expanded workload in the meantime certainly doesn’t hurt Akers' value.

Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins (8.5% Rostered)

It is safe to say that Wright has officially surpassed Raheem Mostert as the Dolphins’ RB2 behind De’Von Achane. Wright recorded more snaps (19% to 12%), carries (five to three), and routes (nine to five) than the veteran this week. Achane has vacuumed up all of the fantasy value in this backfield, but Wright is a handcuff worth rostering and would be a must-start option if the sophomore missed time. 

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.