NFL fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 10
By Lior Lampert
RB Waiver Wire Pickups, Fantasy Football Week 10
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks (45 percent rostered)
Zach Charbonnet was featured in last week’s rendition of this column and has only further bolstered his case to be rostered in over 50 percent of Yahoo Fantasy football leagues since then. After out-snapping presumed starting running back Kenneth Walker III in Week 8, the second-round rookie out of UCLA did it again in Week 9. Charbonnet played 55 percent of the Seahawks’ offensive snaps to Walker’s 49 percent.
While Walker received nine carries to Charbonnet’s four, Charbonnet had a firm grip on the team’s third-down running back role. Charbonnet has not been able to supplant Walker as the team’s starter, but the latter is no longer the three-down workhorse he was earlier in the season.
If Walker were ever to be forced to miss time, Charbonnet would instantly slide in as a borderline RB1 on one of the more talented offenses in the NFL. As things stand, Charbonnet still has plenty of appeal as the second half of a budding committee on a Seahawks offense that has yet to play its best football.
Charbonnet is a priority for any team in need of a running back help, a high-upside stash pickup for anyone who has a bench spot to spare, and a necessary handcuff that offers standalone value for managers who have Walker on their roster.
Jaleel McLaughlin, Denver Broncos (29 percent rostered)
Similar to Zach Charbonnet in Seattle, Jaleel McLaughlin’s role with the Broncos continues to expand each week. McLaughlin is someone Broncos head coach Sean Payton raved about throughout the offseason and has backed up his comments by giving McLaughlin a sizeable role out of the backfield.
Since Week 3, McLaughin has exceeded five carries in five of his last six games and hauled in multiple receptions in 4 of those six games. However, it’s not the touches that have made McLaughlin a viable fantasy option, it’s what he’s been doing with the touches. McLaughlin trails only Dolphins rookie sensation De’Von Achane in yards per carry among players with a minimum of 30 rush attempts (7.1 yards per carry).
Not to mention, McLaughlin also offers value as a high-upside bench stash if Broncos starting running back Javonte Williams were forced to miss any time. Williams is just beginning to fully recover from the Grade 3 ACL/LCL tear he suffered last season and was also forced to miss Week 4 of this season due to a hip strain.
McLaughlin has passed veteran running back Samaje Perine as the Broncos No. 2 running back on the depth chart and is worth a speculative add if he is available on your waiver wire.