Fantasy football waiver wire-Week 12 pickups

Shaun Draughn-RB-San Francisco 49ers (18.5%)

Getting starting running backs off the waiver wire is usually impossible at this time of the fantasy football season, but this week there are actually a handful of good options.  Although he doesn’t have the upside of the options higher on this list, Shaun Draughn has emerged as a serviceable option for the 49ers who continue to deal with the absence of Carlos Hyde due to injury. Hyde is dealing with a stress fracture in his foot and his status going forward is still very unclear.  He hasn’t returned to practice yet, so he could still be a few weeks away.

While he has been out, Draughn has come in off the street and seized the lead back role in San Francisco’s attack.  This week he had all 20 touches out of the San Francisco backfield finishing with eight catches for 40 yards and 12 carries for 37 yards.  It was a tough matchup against Seattle, so his low averages can be understood.  The key thing to realize is that he led the team in targets and is a big part of their offense for as long as Hyde is out.

If you are high on the waiver wire priority, there are better options at RB, but Draughn is worth a look if you have low priority or could use two new backs. He doesn’t have RB1 upside like Rawls, Allen, and Ware, but he definitely could be a nice RB2 if Hyde is out again in week 12 agains the Cardinals.

Next: A rookie WR coming on late