Fantasy Football Week 9 waiver wire pickups: Top 10 RB’s

30.2% owned. Week 9 @ Patriots. Ronnie Hillman. 1. player. 45. Hillman has emerged as a fringe RB1 candidate in his three weeks as the primary back in Denver, and I don’t think he’ll give the job back to Montee Ball.  Last week against the Chargers, Hillman hung his second 100-yard game in the last three weeks but lost both his touchdowns to vulture Juwan Thompson.  This week against New England, Hillman is a top-ten option since New England allows the fifth-most points to opposing RB’s and has shown they focus on making Peyton Manning’s RB’s beat them.  There should be plenty of room for Hillman to make his closing argument to keep the job when Ball returns and if he does he’ll be a great play the rest of the season.  

Week 9 @ Bengals. Denard Robinson. 2. player. 52. Robinson has stepped in to the Jags backfield and easily emerged as the best weapon in the Jags offense.  He’s run for over 100 yards in each of the last two weeks even though the Dolphins were a pretty tough matchup in week 8.  This week, he’ll take on the Bengals who have allowed a rushing touchdown in each of their last five games and at least 90 yards in four of their last five.  Overall, Cincinati is allowing the seventh-most points to opposing RB’s, so look for the Jags to keep feeding Shoelace while he’s hot, and you can feel free to enjoy the ride while it lasts if you need an RB2. . 16.4% owned

47. Gray was just promoted from the practice squad week 7, but he was clearly Bill Belichick’s top early-down back on Sunday agianst the Bears.  Gray finished with 86 yards on his 17 carries and stayed in for goal line situations although he didn’t find the end zone.  This week against Denver, Gray should continue to be a big part of the Patriots backfield rotation as they take on Denver.  Gray’s usage is bound to be a bit inconsistent as he shares time in a gameplan-focused offense, but he definitely has fantasy value and is the best pickup you can make for this week if Hillman and Robinson have already been scooped up in your league.. 0.1% owned. Week 9 vs Broncos. Jonas Gray. 3. player

51. Mason has huge upside but it doesn’t look like the Rams are ready to give him their fulltime job in the backfield yet.  He’s a very hard option to play this week against a tough 49er defense sharing time with Zac Stacy and Benny Cunningham, but he still has so much upside that he’s a good stash for later this season for when Jeff Fisher finally decides to #freeMason.. 13.7% owned. Week 9 @ 49ers. Tre Mason. 4. player

5. player. 48. Another long-term pickup, Charles Sims is nearing a return for the Bucs after a preseason ankle injury landed him on the IR/Recall list.  The buzz out of Tampa is that Sims is lined up to get a huge workload when he returns which could be as early as week 10 against Atlanta.  He offers a very nice dual-threat option in the Tampa attack and will be a nice flex play if he gets most of the work which looks likely.. 0.2% owned. Week 9 @ Browns. Charles Sims

48. Until Sims returns, Bobby Rainey may get more work since Doug Martin is again battling an ankle injury.  Rainey had a couple of fantasy-relevant games early this season, but he is inconsistent and probably not the long-term solution at the position.  If you need a short-term RB option for this week, Rainey is the fourth best widely available option (behind Hillman, Robinson, and Gray), but his longterm limitations knock him down this list behind the higher upside options of Mason and Sims.. 9.2% owned. Week 9 @ Browns. Bobby Rainey. 6. player

26. Taliaferro is caught in a timeshare that’s killing his fantasy value.  In week 7, he had just four carries for three yards, but he was very involved week 8 against Cincinnati taking seven carries for 27 yards and a pair of touchdowns and adding 42 yards on two catches.  The big change for Taliaferro was that Bernard Pierce was a healthy inactive.  If that continues to be the Ravens strategy, Taliaferro will have value as the backup to Justin Forsett who is a smaller back leaving goal line and short yardage work for Taliaferro.  He’ll be a low-end flex play if he keeps his job as the primary change-of-pace option, but be careful until it’s clear that Pierce isn’t going to reemerge and steal his touches. . 12.2% owned. Week 9 @ Steelers. Lorenzo Taliaferro. 7. player

Week 9 vs Buccaneers. Isaiah Crowell. 8. player. 53. Crowell only got one carry last week against the Raiders, and the Browns running game is a pretty major mess as a whole since All-pro center Alex Mack was lost for the season.  Crowell needs to be more involved since he’s the most dynamic Cleveland back, and he could eventually wrestle carries from both Terrance West and Ben Tate.  Stash him if you can to see if he can emerge with more work in this timeshare.. 31.1% owned

16. Buffalo did indeed use Dixon as their primary running back after losing both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller to fairly significant injuries. Dixon only managed 44 yards on his 22 carries against the Jets and still could lose time to the more dynamic Bryce Brown over the bye week. He’s still a wait-and-see option that could pay off if he continues to get the majority of the work going forward in Buffalo. . 4.0% owned. Week 9 BYE. Anthony Dixon. 9. player

1.8 % owned. Week 9 BYE . Devonta Freeman. 10. player. 44. Another young back looking like he could emerge if given carries, Freeman scored his first NFL touchdown in London against Detroit in week 8. He still isn’t getting enough touches to be fantasy relevant, but Atlanta needs to give him the keys to the running game during their bye week and let him take over for an aging Steven Jackson and a ineffective Jacquizz Rodgers.  The rookie has upside, but needs to secure the lion’s share of the workload before he’s worth anything more than a stash on your bench.