Top 4 Waiver Wire Running backs for Week 3
Reliable running backs have become increasingly more difficult to come by, and Week 2 was no exception. The top 3 waiver wire running backs for this week are led by Samaje Perine and D'Onta Foreman.
The order in which these are shown is the order you should put in your waiver wire requests.
1. Samaje Perine, Washington Redskins | 30% OWN
Samaje Perine made a big impact on Sunday against the Rams with 21 rushes for 67 yards. The injury to Rob Kelley opened up some opportunities for other running backs on the Redskins, including Chris Thompson who chipped in with 3 attempts for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Thompson was also heavily involved as a pass catching running back with 7 targets for 3 catches and 29 yards.
Both Chris Thompson and Samaje Perine will be involved if Rob Kelley misses time. Perine will get most of the rushing attempts whereas Thompson will be getting most of the receptions out of the backfield.
Rob Kelley is considered day-to-day with a rib injury, but we still would recommend you snatch up Perine or Thompson if they are available in your league.
2. D'Onta Foreman, Houston Texans | 20% OWN
D'Onta Foreman proved to coaches this week that he deserves more carries after rushing 12 times for 40 yards against the Bengals. Bill O'Brien is "committed to getting Foreman more involved".
Lamar Miller is still the lead back in Houston, but he hasn't been overly effective in his chances as the lead back. In two weeks he has 35 attempts for 126 yards with a 3.6 average.
Moving forward we expect more of an even split, making both running-backs viable options for fantasy teams who are riddled with injuries.
3. Chris Carson, Seattle Seahawks | 53% OWN
The Seattle Seahawks backfield has been impossible to predict this season with so many options to choose from. A total of 4 running backs are in the mix in Seattle to get touches but in Week 2 Carson dominated in touches with 21 total. He ended the day with 20 attempts for 93 yards and 2 targets for 1 catch and 7 yards.
“Chris looked really good,” coach Pete Carroll told reporters after the game. “I thought Chris has shown us nothing but really positive stuff. There is a style about the way he runs that you might recognize. High knees and chomping and eating that ground up. He’s really downhill at you. We’ve seen it for a long time, and we just keep hoping to see it continue. I think we have something. I think he’s a really good football player."
Still, we do not expect the Seahawks running game to be a reliable option from week to week due to their bad offense . Expect Carson to be a RB2 for most fantasy teams.
4. Chris Johnson, Arizona Cardinals | 24% OWN
Just when you think you know what to expect out of the Cardinals backfield, things get turned upside down pretty quickly. Sorry to those who snatched up Kerwynn Williams expecting big things out of him.
Chris Johnson lead the team in touches with 11 attempts for 44 yards. Andre Ellington was also involved in the passing game with 5 targets for 3 catches and 12 yards.
Kerwynn Williams had 9 attempts for 22 yards in a very disappointing performance and it looks as though he lost his spot to veteran Chris Johnson.
Week to week it is impossible to predict what will happen to the Cardinals backfield. However, if we had to bet on a running back to start next week it would be Chris Johnson or Andre Ellington for his PPR ability.