Entering Week 14, let’s take a look at the top running backs to target on the waiver wire in your fantasy football league. All players listed below are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo, ESPN, and/or Sleeper leagues.
Note that I have eliminated FAAB recommendations this year, as there are too many variables to account for. Instead, I replaced them with my opinion on how aggressive fantasy managers should be in pursuing the player on a scale of 1-10.
Looking for other positions? Check out our Week 14 Waiver Wire article, which covers a plethora of players from all positions.
Isaac Guerendo, RB | SF
Rostered: 2%
Well…forget everything I said about Jordan Mason. It’s Isaac Guerendo SZN now.
Christian McCaffrey going on IR was expected. Mason following him came out of nowhere. That puts Guerendo in the RB1 role for the remainder of the season.
Now, to be clear, this isn’t as appealing of a spot as it might have been before we realized the 49ers aren’t all that good. Nevertheless, it’s exceedingly rare for a weekly startable running back to pop up on waivers in nearly every league this late in the season.
Given how little time there is left, it’s a near certainty there won’t be a better use of whatever waiver capital you have. Burn it all.
Aggressiveness Rating: Max
Sincere McCormick, RB | LV
Rostered: 0%
Here’s a fun exercise I just thought of: Before the season, go through the list of players in the NFL and pick out the most random ones you think could potentially be fantasy-relevant at some point. If we did this exercise in August, I guarantee you not one person would have even looked at Sincere McCormick.
The Raiders entered the season with Zamir White and Alexander Mattison as their top two RBs. They also drafted Dylan Laube on Day 3. Yet, with White and Mattison hurt, it was 2022 UDFA McCormick who operated as the RB2 behind Ameer Abdullah.
McCormick hadn’t so much as gotten himself active for a single game until Week 5 of this year and didn’t play an offensive snap until two weeks ago. Yet, against the Kansas City Chiefs on Black Friday, McCormick not only led the Raiders in carries, he led the entire game in rushing, carrying the ball 12 times for 84 yards against the best run defense in the NFL.
We could see one of Mattison or White return soon. However, neither has any sort of pedigree or heavy investment warranting his job back. Antonio Pierce spoke highly of McCormick, meaning we could see him maintain his 1B role. With one of the most favorable rest-of-season schedules for RBs, McCormick is worth a look in deeper leagues.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.0
Ameer Abdullah, RB | LV
Rostered: 20%
The more well-known Raiders back is also worth a look. Abdullah posted 17.5 fantasy points two weeks ago against the Broncos. Even if McCormick ends up being the primary runner, Abdullah will remain the passing-down back, perhaps regardless of White and Mattison’s status.
Abdullah’s two receptions against the Chiefs were his lowest total in his last four games. Given the remaining opponents, Abdullah could see a decent amount of work through the air, giving him a PPR RB3 upside if at least one of the main backs continues to be sidelined.
Aggressiveness Rating: 3.5
Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB | WAS
Rostered: 0%
With 13 carries for 94 yards and a touchdown, fantasy managers may look at the box score and think Chris Rodriguez Jr. has a featured role in the Commanders’ backfield. He does not.
Austin Ekeler being on IR does elevate Rodriguez’s status. However, he’s still the RB3 behind Brian Robinson Jr. and Jeremy McNichols. Rodriguez only saw as many carries as he did because the Commanders boat raced the Titans, creating an entire fourth quarter of garbage time. There’s no need to add Rodriguez.
Aggressiveness Rating: 0.0
Braelon Allen, RB | NYJ
Rostered: 33%
Coming off a game where he carried the ball five times for 11 yards, you may not be excited to add Braelon Allen. This has nothing to do with his performance.
Breece Hall is dealing with a knee injury. He was clearly nowhere near 100%, and the playing time showed it. The New York Jets now have nine losses. Their season is over. It would not surprise me at all if they shut down Hall. That would give us Allen in a feature role for the remainder of the season. He needs to be rostered.
Aggressiveness Rating: 7.0