Week 14 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Isaac Guerendo, Jeremy McNichols, Kimani Vidal

It’s ironic that, in a year where nearly every single highly drafted running back has stayed healthy, the one exception is the most highly drafted of them all. Just four weeks after finally making his 2024 debut, Christian McCaffrey’s season is over. I originally came into this article expecting to have to make an exception to feature Jordan Mason at 68% rostered, but the 49ers’ RB2 is also headed to the IR with an ankle injury. That means the obvious top fantasy football running back pickup for Week 14 is…  

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Week 14 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds

Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers (5.6% Rostered)

Guerendo, a fourth-round rookie with elite measurables, is now the 49ers’ RB1. Yes, he probably won’t see the same workload that Mason did, let alone CMC. And yes, this 49ers team is clearly leagues below the teams we have seen in the past few years. But the lead RB on a Kyle Shanahan team is guaranteed to be a fantasy starter, if not a legit RB1. Guerendo isn’t just a must-add; he’s a spend-all-of-your-FAAB kind of pickup. 

Click here for a full breakdown of San Francisco's offense without McCaffrey and Mason!

Jeremy McNichols, Washington Commanders (6.1% Rostered)

After Guerendo, the rest of the Week 14 running back waiver options are back to the unexciting status quo we have had for most of this season. With that said, CMC and Mason weren’t the only running backs to head to IR in recent days. Austin Ekeler, who suffered a concussion in Week 12, was placed on IR prior to the Commanders’ Week 13 game. Obviously, Brian Robinson is the next man up, but there may be room for more than one rosterable RB in this backfield.

At first glance, Chris Rodriguez is the most exciting option behind B-Rob, as he handled 13 carries on Sunday, racking up 94 yards and a touchdown. Rodriguez also ranked second to Robinson with a 29% snap share. However, the numbers tell a different story if we cut out the fourth quarter, which was entirely garbage time.

Across the first three quarters of the Commanders’ Week 13 contest, Rodriguez had just one carry on two offensive snaps. Instead, McNichols was the clear RB2, with a 35% snap share and six carries to Robinson’s 16. He even ran 11 routes for a non-negligible 23% participation rate. In most leagues, that role likely won’t be enough for McNichols to be playable. But he’s still worth considering as the new handcuff to roster in Washington’s dynamic offense.  

Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers (13.3% Rostered)

Vidal’s situation is very similar to McNichols’. With J.K. Dobbins on IR, Gus Edwards, who was already in a timeshare with Dobbins, is the Chargers’ RB1 by default. However, there is still extra work to go around in this backfield, especially because Edwards has never been anything resembling a pass-catcher out of the backfield. 

In Week 13, that work was split by Vidal and Hassan Haskins (0.3% Rostered). Haskins has been involved in goal-line work in recent weeks, but on Sunday, Vidal outpaced him in snap share (26% to 13%), carries (four to one), and route share (17% to 10%). In fact, Vidal was only two carries behind Edwards for the team lead in what was not a very volume-heavy game for the Chargers’ rushing offense. 

In theory, Vidal (an unknown commodity as a rookie) does come with more upside than McNichols (whose Wikipedia page lists a whopping 12 NFL teams/practice squads). Edwards, who hasn’t been hugely efficient, is also a weaker RB1 than Robinson. But I still think the most likely outcome for Vidal is that he is just a handcuff with essentially no weekly value unless Edwards misses time … but that still makes him worth adding in deeper formats.

Cam Akers, Minnesota Vikings (25.9% Rostered)

Aaron Jones fumbled on two of his first four touches on Sunday. After that, Akers led the Vikings’ rushing attack … with four carries (Ty Chandler had three, and Jones did see two more). It was a very low-volume day overall for the Vikings’ backfield, but it is clear that Jones was essentially benched, leaving Akers as the team’s primary rusher.

With that said, Jones did return to the game in time to catch the game-winning touchdown. Although he has had issues with ball security of late, I find it very hard to see Minnesota benching the beloved veteran (who is also still undeniably their best RB) for long. Still, this is an intriguing situation. One more misstep from Jones could see Akers suddenly thrust into a lead role in a great offense for the fantasy football playoffs. Akers was already a priority handcuff, but this week gives him another bump in value. 

Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints (7.4% Rostered)

Dennis Allen hated Kendre Miller. But now Dennis Allen is gone, having been fired as the Saints’ head coach. And Interim Head Coach Darren Rizzi seems to be singing a different tune as the Saints open Miller’s practice window to return from the IR. This comes at the perfect time for Miller, as there are suddenly carries to go around in the Saints’ offense as Taysom Hill has been ruled out for the year with an ACL injury. A third-round pick in the 2023 Draft who has dealt with tons of injuries, many analysts are still excited about Miller’s talent if he can stay healthy. 

With that said, I wouldn’t get too excited about Miller. Alvin Kamara is obviously going nowhere (knock on wood), and Jamaal Williams returned to the field this Sunday. And Rizzi’s quotes on Miller still weren’t exactly gushing — talk of "dog houses" and "clean slates" is never a good sign. Miller’s absolute best-case scenario is beating out Williams for the RB2 (aka handcuff) role on this offense. Still, at this time of the season, we will absolutely take a potentially exciting talent in a handcuff role.  

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