Week 3 Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Adds: Bhayshul Tuten, Blake Corum and More

Spoiler alert: Bhayshul Tuten is by far the most exciting name in today's column. And he only barely qualifies at just under 48% rostered. If you're in a league where Tuten is already snatched up, the best running backs on your waiver wire are probably boring veterans in ugly committees and potentially exciting young players who are still at least one injury away from meaningful usage. 

But this doesn't mean you shouldn't be active on the running back waiver wire. Within the ranks of handcuffs and fringe flex options, things are always changing. Here are some of the players who saw their values increase in Week 2 — they're not all worth adding in every league, but they should all be more widely rostered than they are right now.

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Bhayshul Tuten, Jacksonville Jaguars (47.7% Rostered)

To be fair to the rest of the backs in this article, part of the reason that Tuten is far and away the best option this week is that he is simply a hugely exciting pickup. The fourth-round rookie out of Virginia Tech was always an exciting sleeper, with a prospect profile bursting with explosiveness and pass-catching ability.  

From that already solid foundation, the last seven days could hardly have gone better for Tuten. First, the Jaguars traded away Tank Bigsby. This opened up the door for Tuten to serve as Jacksonville's clear RB2 on Sunday. He posted just a 30% snap share, but was heavily involved on those snaps with eight carries (six fewer than Travis Etienne). He also saw two targets on six routes, catching both for 32 yards and an impressive touchdown.

The presence of fellow rookie LeQuint Allen Jr., who is serving as the Jaguars' third-down back, does slightly complicate Tuten's path to fantasy viability. But when we have an exciting rookie with a growing role behind a potentially washed veteran (to be fair, Etienne has looked solid to start the season), the right move is to stash them now and deal with the details later. 

Jeremy McNichols, Washington Commanders (0.7% Rostered)

In an unfortunate turn of events, Austin Ekeler is officially done for the season with an Achilles injury. Of course, this opens up an opportunity in the Commanders' backfield. Everyone's favorite sleeper, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, is already widely rostered, but he didn't actually step into Ekeler's shoes on Thursday night. Instead, it was McNichols who played the Commanders' final 12 snaps of the game.

Of course, we have to temper expectations here. The reason McNichols saw those snaps is that the Commanders were in hurry-up mode while down big. He may be preferred as a pass-blocker to JCM, but he didn't actually touch the ball all game. The main reason he was even active for Washington was special teams, and his Wikipedia page includes a whopping 12 stints with different teams since he was drafted in 2017. 

Chances are, McNichols returns to mostly playing on special teams and never becomes a viable fantasy play. But there's also a chance he at least partially claims Ekeler's workload, especially in the passing game. That might be just enough to make him a viable player in very deep PPR leagues.

Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington Commanders (5.1% Rostered)

Sticking with Commanders who could benefit from Ekeler's absence, we have Chris Rodriguez. He was a healthy scratch for Washington in each of the first two weeks, but that should change in Week 3 with Ekeler absent. 

Given that Bill is clearly not trusted in certain situations, could Rodriguez actually be the one who claims Ekeler's passing-down work, to go with a non-negligible share of carries? Stranger things have happened, so he's worth holding to see how this backfield shakes out in Week 3.

Kareem Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs (21.5% Rostered)

It totally makes sense that Hunt isn't rostered in shallower leagues. Whatever explosiveness he once had is long gone, and he is currently the 40 in a hugely uninspiring 60/40 split with Isiah Pacheco. But in deeper formats, every back with a reliable role should be rostered. With eight opportunities in Week 1 and nine on Sunday, Hunt technically has a reliable role. 

He has also played six of the Chiefs' eight snaps and handled their only carry inside the opposing 10-yard line — if that continues, he should fall across the goal-line at least a couple times this season. Don't expect much, but Hunt is worth having as an emergency starter in deeper formats. 

Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams (9% Rostered)

Corum actually outscored Kyren Williams on Sunday, finishing with 10.4 half-PPR points thanks to a goal-line TD. We shouldn't overreact, as this was nowhere near a changing of the guard. Williams still more than doubled Corum's snap count and more than tripled his carry total. Corum isn't likely to have standalone value anytime soon.

However, seeing a slightly increased workload with Williams healthy — and performing well with it — should increase our confidence that Corum will be the Rams' RB1 if Kyren misses time. During draft season, it wasn't clear whether Corum or Jarquez Hunter was the handcuff to roster for LA. Now that Corum is scoring TDs while the rookie is a healthy scratch, we have our answer. That answer makes Corum a worthwhile stash in leagues where the top-tier handcuffs are already rostered.

Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears (6.4% Rostered)

In Week 1, Monangai played just nine snaps to D'Andre Swift's 50. In Week 2, that gap narrowed dramatically. Monangai finished with 27 snaps to Swift's 36. Roschon Johnson, who was active after missing Week 1 with a foot injury, did not play a single snap.

Now, most of Monangai's snaps were in obvious passing situations as the Bears played catch-up. He still trailed the veteran in carries (12 to seven), routes (14 to 13), and targets (three to two). 

But it was no guarantee that Monangai, a seventh-round rookie, would even play over Johnson, let alone come close to touching Swift's workload. He's trending in the right direction, and Swift is by no means an unassailable bell cow. There's potential here, however slim, for standalone value, with handcuff upside as a backup.

Chris Brooks, Green Bay Packers (0.8% Rostered)

To be honest, you can leave Brooks on waivers in the vast majority of leagues. However, he is currently less widely rostered than fellow Green Bay running back Emanuel Wilson. I myself stashed Wilson in a few deep leagues, assuming he was the handcuff to Josh Jacobs with MarShawn Lloyd once again out with an injury.

Through two weeks, however, Brooks has played 20 snaps to Wilson's six. He also actually leads the Packers' backfield with five targets, although that is unlikely to continue given that those targets came on just nine routes. 

There's a chance that Wilson is still the actual handcuff to Jacobs, and Brooks is just the preferred option in certain situations while Jacobs is healthy. But, with no other information to go off of, I recommend updating your handcuff rankings to have the guy playing snaps above the guy who isn't.

Ted Chmyz is a fantasy football contributor for FantasySP. Find him on Twitter and Bluesky @Tchmyz for more fantasy content or to ask questions.