Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Backs (Week 14)

We will have you covered throughout the fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential fantasy football waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top fantasy football waiver wire running backs to target for the week below. And also be sure to check out all of our fantasy football waiver wire pickups for the week.

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Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Running Back

Running Backs

Written by Ellis Bryn Johnson

Blake Corum (RB – LAR): 16% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @ARI, DET, @SEA
• True Value: $5
• Desperate Need: $8
• Budget-Minded: $3

Analysis: The Panthers’ Week 13 win over the Rams might be one of the biggest upsets of the season. Every time it seems as if the Rams have become an unstoppable force, they fall to seemingly inferior opponents. Earlier this season, it was a Thursday Night Football loss to the injury-riddled 49ers. And now, the upset by the Panthers. Despite these surprising losses, the Rams’ offense is firing on all cylinders. For weeks, we have seen roughly a 65/35 split in the Rams’ backfield between veteran Kyren Williams and second-year man Blake Corum. Week 13 was no different, with Corum playing 17 snaps to Williams’ 35, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Even though Corum had only seven carries, he finished with 81 rushing yards and a score. Corum has plenty of value as the clear backup to Williams. If anything were to happen to Williams, Corum would become a must-start in all formats.

Tyler Allgeier (RB – ATL): 42% Rostered

• Next Opponents: SEA, @TB, @ARI
• True Value: $4
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: He’s back. After being a staple of this article over the first 12 weeks of the season, Allgeier briefly surpassed the 50% rostership threshold in Yahoo leagues. That didn’t last. As we near the end of the fantasy season, backup running backs are the easiest way to take your roster to the next level. When a starting running back has a clear backup, such as Allgeier, that backup has substantial contingent value and would immediately become playable if the starter went down with an injury. What’s nice about Allgeier is that he also has some standalone value. In Week 13, he rushed eight times for 20 yards and a score, and caught both of his targets for 35 yards. Allgeier has been the Falcons’ preferred goal-line back all season and has eight rushing touchdowns. In Week 14, the Falcons take on a dominant Seahawks defense that has allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to running backs. Allgeier may not have Flex appeal this week, but he would become immensely valuable for the fantasy playoffs if Bijan Robinson were to miss time.

Bhayshul Tuten (RB – JAX): 44% Rostered

• Next Opponents: IND, NYJ, @DEN
• True Value: $3
• Desperate Need: $5
• Budget-Minded: $2

Analysis: You may have noticed a trend in this article: Backup running backs can be fantasy gold in the playoffs under the right circumstances. Being able to plug in a backup running back if the starter goes down can give your team a huge lift. Explosive rookie Bhayshul Tuten has already shown he can be valuable if given the opportunity. However, he is firmly entrenched behind Travis Etienne for now and will only be fantasy-viable if Etienne were to miss time. Despite his backup status, Tuten has scored three touchdowns in his last five games. In Week 13, he played 18 snaps to Etienne’s 31 and finished with eight carries for 17 yards and a score, plus one catch for two yards. Stash Tuten for the potential windfall.

Chris Rodriguez Jr. (RB – WSH): 23% Rostered

• Next Opponents: @MIN, @NYG, PHI
• True Value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: Before the Commanders’ Week 12 bye, Chris Rodriguez Jr. had taken over as their primary ball-carrier. Although he continues to share touches with Jacory Croskey-Merritt and Jeremy McNichols, Rodriguez is the starter and Washington’s main goal-line back. His touchdown run against the Broncos on Sunday night was his third in his last four games. In Week 14, the Commanders take on the quarterback-less Vikings in Week 14. In a rare game that could find the Commanders playing with a lead, Rodriguez and his backfield mates might have plenty of opportunities to come through for fantasy. The Commanders also have favorable running-game matchups on the horizon versus the Giants and the struggling Eagles. If Rodriguez continues to operate as the Commanders’ lead back, he’ll profile as a solid RB3 in Week 14, with RB2 potential in two great matchups in Weeks 15 and 16.

Bam Knight (RB – ARI): 25% Rostered

• Next Opponents: LAR, @HOU, ATL
• True Value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-Minded: $1

Analysis: It’s hard to believe there is a running back who has scored double-digit fantasy points in three consecutive games and is available in 75% of Yahoo leagues. Since taking over the primary running back duties in Trey Benson‘s absence, Bam Knight has been a very solid Flex play. Sunday against the Buccaneers, he had 11 carries for 62 yards and caught three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown. Knight has taken advantage of the Cardinals’ offense being revitalized by quarterback Jacoby Brissett. There’s a chance Benson returns in Week 14, which would jeopardize Knight’s usage. However, if Benson misses another week, Knight would be a decent volume-based Flex option even in a tough matchup against the Rams.