Top 7 RB Waiver Wire Adds for Week 6
This week the running back situations on many teams got a bit more muddied and new guys have emerged into the scene. You'll also remember some old faces (hello again Jerick McKinnon).
Before we get into new waiver adds for this week, it's important to first mention guys that you HAVE to own in all formats including: Aaron Jones, Andre Ellington, and Alvin Kamara.
Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota Vikings | 47% OWN
Jerick McKinnon is the kind of fantasy running back that you hate to own because you aren't quite sure what to make of him. Remember last season's up and down roller coaster ride? Well, I would expect much of the same this year. Despite that, he still needs to be owned and started while he's playing well if you are need of a bye-week replacement.
At the moment, McKinnon has separated himself from the pack and is the running back to own instead of Latavius Murray. His monster game ended on Monday night with 16 attempts for 95 yards and one touchdown, plus 6 receptions for 51 yards through the air. That is a total of 22 touches.
Latavius Murray came in a close second in the number of touches with 14, but he did not do much with them totaling 31 yards rushing and 2 catches for 12 yards.
Wayne Gallman, New York Giants | 59% OWN
The New York Giants had a devastating week and lost essentially all of their skilled receivers, including standout Odell Beckham. Surprisingly, their running game was effective last week and they will need to rely more on it moving forward.
There are two backs on the Giants that performed well but Wayne Gallman is the guy to own with 16 total touches for 57 yards on the ground and 5 catches out of the backfield. He had 7 more touches than any other running back.
He will likely be the more reliable back out of New York to play on a week-to-week basis. Further down I will touch on the other two options out of the Giants backfield.
Elijah McGuire, New York Jets | 31% OWN
McGuire's stat-line wasn't impressive with 11 carries for 20 yards and 2 receptions for 10 yards, but he did manage to out-touch Bilal Powell with 13 versus 6. You would think the Jets would be able to do more against the Browns since they give up the 12th most points to opposing running backs.
Manish Mehta from the New York Daily News Matt Breida, San Francisco 49ers | 16% OWN
The shocking news out of San Francisco is that the head coach intends to "Week 5 he finished with 10 attempts for 49 yards and 3 catches for 22 yards. Meanwhile Hyde had a disastrous week with 8 attempts for 11 yards and 1 catch for 7 yards.
Maybe the coach is trying to spark something under Hyde's butt to get him going again?
It is too soon to say it's the end of Hyde, but he is no longer a lock for 15 to 20 touches a week with this news and a performance like that. If he has one more bad game then Hyde owners really need to start worrying.
The 49ers play the Redskins this week and all eyes will be on the backfield.
Marlon Mack, Indianapolis Colts | 12% OWN
Make no mistake about it, Frank Gore will still be a relatively safe start and will still get his 15+ touches, but Mack is starting to creep into his touches and may be a viable start moving forward.
Mack ended Week 5 with 9 attempts for 91 yards and a touchdown plus 1 catches for 2 yards in the air. Meanwhile Gore had 13 attempts for 48 yards and 3 catches for 38 yards.
Coach Pagano said he wants to get Week 5 with 5 attempts for 18 yards and 4 catches for 27 yards. Meanwhile Darkwa had 8 attempts for 69 yards and 1 catch for 3 yards.
The bulk of the catches should end up between Gallman and Vereen, but we can't safely say what is to come week-to-week. Keep these guys on your radar to see what happens next week for more clarity.
If you are in a PPR league then Vereen seems to be the back to pick up if Gallman is already taken. However, we would not count out Darkwa. The Giants will likely use a running-back-by-committee approach moving forward.
Sounds confusing huh? For now, we rank Gallman the best back to own with a toss-up between Darkwa and Vereen.