Every week we look to chase running backs who may be worth something on the waiver wire. We haven’t had a ton to choose from so far this season, but with some injuries and shifts in backfields recently, we have a few players worth mentioning this week. The Dolphins backfield is one that has seen some new faces emerge in recent weeks with Mark Walton surpassing Kalen Ballage on the depth chart. With this move, we wanted to take a little bit of a deeper look at who Mark Walton is, what he is worth going forward, and how you should prioritize him on waivers as we head into Week 8.
View consensus waiver wire rankings for Week 8 
Player Profile
Mark Walton is a second-year running back out of Miami who was selected in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Bengals. Walton had an incredible sophomore season for the Hurricanes rushing 209 times for 1,117 yards (5.3 YPA) with 14 TDs. He added an additional 240 yards receiving on 27 receptions with one receiving TD that year. The rushing yards and TDs ranked fifth in the ACC that season. He was on pace to break the Canes rushing yard and TD records in 2017 before going down with an injury and thus ending his season.
Here are some of this best plays from that 2016 season:
Just imagine what @CanesFootball RB Mark Walton might do THIS year…
His Top 5 plays from 2016: 👇 pic.twitter.com/mVv1evkaCI
— ACC Digital Network (@theACCDN) July 27, 2017
Walton was noted as being a good receiver and pass protector out of college who drew some comparisons to James White but was knocked for showing poor vision as decisiveness as an inside runner according to his NFL draft profile. Walton who comes in at just 5’10” and 210 lbs had a poor showing of straight-line speed at the combine with a 4.6-second 40-yard dash.
Walton managed 75 yards from scrimmage on 19 touches as a rookie for the Bengals but was released in the offseason after a series of arrests. He is looking for a fresh start in his home town with the Dolphins and so far has gotten it.
State of the Offense
You know what the Dolphins offense looks like right now. It’s a mess in Miami but it might be getting at least to a competitive nature as of late after they managed 21 points against the Bills. Walton dominated in rushing attempts with 14 carries out of the backfield last week. Kenyan Drake had the second-most with only six. Walton also saw solid work in the passing game in Week 6 having caught five-of-six targets for 43 yards. He is currently second on the team with 137 rushing yards and leads the team with 4.6 YPA. He is still searching for his for career TD and with his extended usage, we should see that come sooner rather than later, even on this poor Dolphins offense.
The Dolphins as a team have only managed 400 total rushing yards this season — third-worst in the league. Game flow has obviously never been in their favor being 0-6 to start the season.
Outlook
Walton is somewhat stuck in a committee right now, primarily with Kenyan Drake, though Kalen Ballage is still mixing in to an extent. There isn’t a ton of value for one RB on this offense let alone a three-man committee. What would work in Walton’s favor, however, is the constant chatter and trade rumors revolving around Drake. If he is shipped off soon before the trade deadline, we could see the Dolphins roll with Walton more often as the primary ball carrier with Ballage remaining a distant second. We saw what Ballage offered earlier in the season, and it was ugly. Walton is the superior talent and with his pass-catching ability, he could become a weekly Flex consideration in deeper leagues.
Walton is worth a flyer on your bench at worst right now as any RB with legitimate volume is worth something in fantasy football. You could potentially get him for free if you wait for waivers to clear since no one is in a hurry to add players from the Dolphins, but if you’re desperate or in deeper leagues, you can drop a few bucks on Walton.
Running backs to consider dropping for Walton based on our Rest of Season rankings:
- Rex Burkhead (NE)
- Peyton Barber (TB)
- Gus Edwards (BAL)
- Raheem Mostert (SF)
- Nyheim Hines (IND)
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John Ferguson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from John, check out his archive and follow him @FantasyFerguson.
