Fantasy Football Week 10 waiver wire: Top 10 RB Pickups
Running backs are the most valuable commodity in most fantasy football leagues due to scarcity of production at the position. The rarity of an elite ball-carrier who can be a key contributor makes those kind of players extremely valuable, but this season there have been some extenuating circumstances which have kept the position even more volatile than usual. With all the change happening at the position, there are some extremely attractive waiver wire RB pickups if you can pinpoint who can help your team coming down the final stretch of the season.
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Normally in our waiver wire pickups, players listed are owned in less than 50% of ESPN leagues (as of Wednesday morning), but for this post I’ve expanded it a little bit since so much of the action on the waiver wire for running backs is happening for players between 50-75%. The ownership percentages are included underneath and I tried to include options from a variety of ownership points, so that you can find one that is available in your league. If you have a specific question about a TE on your waiver wire or whether or not you should make a move, you can ask us your specific question at @FansidedFantasy on twitter.
In the midst of the ever-changing RB landscape, these are the top waiver wire RB pickups:
54.8% owned. week 10 BYE. Adrian Peterson. 1. player. 60. The biggest name in fantasy football and one of the options for the #1 overall pick is on the waiver wire and could be playing sooner rather than later. Trying to predict what the NFL will do or dictating what they should do is an extremely complex discussion. However, it’s simple for fantasy football–the potential upside of how good Peterson has proven he can be is worth taking the risk that he won’t play. In all formats, I’d advise to pick him up, stash him, and see how everything plays out. With the Vikings on a bye, the earliest he could return would be week 11 against the Bears.
player. 48. If you have an immediate need for a running back plug-and-play option, the best single-week option is Rainey. After weeks sharing time with Doug Martin, Rainey got a full workload last week against the Browns and turned in a good game going over 100 total yards with 87 coming on 19 carries and an additional 34 yards coming on his one catch of the day. Rainey’s one issue has been holding onto the football, but he was able to avoid fumbles on Sunday and showed well as the primarily ballcarrier. This week he takes on the Falcons who have allowed more fantasy points per game to opposing RB than any other team in the league. He may have to share duties with Charles Sims (who also makes a decent pickup-see later in the list), but he should still shoulder enough of the load to be a nice RB2 against Atlanta as the best solely-week 10 waiver wire RB pickup.. 59.6% owned. week 10 vs Falcons. Bobby Rainey. 2
week 10 vs Falcons. Terrance West. 3. player. 53. Another solid RB2 who is in a good matchup but still very available, Terrance West looks like he’ll lead the committee in the Browns’ backfield as they host Cincinnati on Thursday Night Football. West took over the lead role from a struggling Brandon Tate and appears to be lined up for a big game as he takes on the Bengals who have allowed a rushing touchdown to an opposing running back in every game they have played this season except for one (week 2). The Bengals have allowed the seventh-most points per game to opposing RB’s so West is another interesting RB2 or flex option as a waiver wire RB.. 47.0% owned
26. Week 9 wasn’t a good one for Taliaferro although he did again seem to be clearly ahead of Bernard Pierce in the Ravens backfield committee. Taliaferro is still behind Justin Forsett for carries, but he should get plenty of work this week against a Titans run defense that ranks 28th in the NFL making him an ok flex play especially with Forsett nursing a bit of an ankle injury.. 51.4%% owned. week 10 vs Titans. Lorenzo Taliaferro. 4. player
week 10 BYE. Ryan Mathews. 5. player. 13. Mathews is most likely going to be able to return after the Chargers week 10 bye week as San Diego takes on the Raiders, Rams, and Ravens. Branden Oliver has struggled the last few weeks meaning Mathews should have no problem returning as the lead back making him a good pickup for the stretch run if you need an RB2 and can wait until week 11 to deploy him.. 51.4% owned
If you need a solution at your flex spot or RB3 position this week, Dixon is worth a look since he’ll be the primary ball-carrier for the Bills as they come off their bye week. Fred Jackson doesn’t seem to be too far away, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be ready for this week leaving Dixon as the main Buffalo back. He could lose some carries this week to Bryce Brown, and his ceiling isn’t especially high given his plodding style. However, he should get the goal line looks and most of the Bills carries which on a heavy bye week makes him worth noting.. 22.4% owned. week 10 vs Chiefs. Anthony Dixon. 6. player. 16
After missing four games with a groin injury, Ball is questionable to return this week against the Raiders. Besides his health, the other big question surrounding Ball is his role in the offense after Ronnie Hillman out-performed him in his absence. That being said, the Broncos were confident enough in Ball to give him the job at the start of the season with virtually no training camp, and they may be ready to give him back his workload. Until we know for sure, Ball is a nice stash with huge potential upside if he regains his spot atop the depth chart in Denver. Ball isn’t an option for this week, but the potential for the rest of the season is hard to ignore.. 56.4% owned. week 10 @ Raiders. Montee Ball. 7. player. 45
48. Sims is still a wild card since he hasn’t played a snap yet in the NFL. He was activated off the IR last week, but did not play against the Browns. Long-term he has enough potential to make him a nice stash pick since the Bucs are reportedly very high on him and ready to give him a big part of their backfield share once he gets fully ingrained into the offense. Sims isn’t someone you want to start yet, but he is someone worth owning if your roster depth allows for it.. 27.3% owned. week 10 vs Falcons. Charles Sims. 8. player
47. Although Gray didn’t have a huge game against the Broncos, the encouraging sign is that he was once again the Patriots primary early down back and led the team with 12 carries. He’s going to be inconsistent as the Patriots gameplan changes from week to week, just like all Patriots RB, but he’s still worth considering since he will get a good amount of carries in a good offense coming out of their bye week starting in week 11.. 13.9% owned. week 10 BYE. Jonas Gray. 9. player
week 10 BYE. Alfred Blue. 10. player. 10. It doesn’t look like Arian Foster’s groin injury suffered in week 9 will cost him any time after the Texans week 10 bye, but it’s wise to stash Blue with injuries mounting for the injury-prone back. As your roster frees up a bit after the bye waves, don’t forget to get your handcuff back if you own Foster or want to take a shot that he’ll miss time later this season.. 9.1% owned