Fantasy football week 3: Top 10 waiver wire running backs

Matt Jones-Washington Redskins (53.4%)

Jones flashed his huge potential in week 2 as the Redskins pulled off a surprising win over the Rams.  He ran over and through the vaunted St. Louis defense for a total of 123 yards on 19 carries and added 23 more yards on three catches.  He found the end zone twice and looked like a back ready to play a dominant role for a Redskins offense in need of playmakers.

The obstacle that stand in the way of Jones becoming a fantasy beast on a weekly basis is the presence of Alfred Morris.  Morris is steal the lead back of the team and will likely get most of the work going forward barring injury.  The other factor which could curb Jones explosion onto the scene is that the Redskins probably won’t be playing from ahead as they were on Sunday when they could afford to give each back plenty of touches. The good news is that Jones is a better pass-catcher than Morris and could be more involved in the passing game if the Redskins are forced to play from behind.

If Morris is still on your leagues’ waiver wire, he should be added quickly and stashed to see how he is used in the coming weeks.  This week, the Redskins are on a quick turnaround against the Giants on Thursday Night Football.  I’m guessing Jones and Morris will split touches about evenly as they did on Sunday making both low-end RB2’s or solid flex plays.  Jones earns the top spot in my waiver wire running backs for this week based on his long-term upside and extremely high ceiling.

Next: David Johnson-Arizona Cardinals