The Minnesota Vikings’ win against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday might have been the craziest of the year. Minnesota acquired quarterback Joshua Dobbs during last Tuesday’s trade deadline but listed him as the backup quarterback. He had barely learned his teammates’ names, much less the playbook.
However, Week 9’s starter, Jaren Hall, was injured early, and Dobbs proceeded to come in. He would lead the team to one of the most improbable wins of the season, beating Atlanta 31-28. While it was an amazing win, it was bittersweet given the news that Cam Akers tore his Achilles and is out for the year.
Now, with Akers out, should fantasy football managers pick up Ty Chandler off the waiver wire?
Should Ty Chandler Be a Waiver Wire Add in Week 10?
With Akers out, Alexander Mattison is back to the unquestioned No. 1 running back in Minnesota. He currently has 122 carries for 434 yards on the season. While he has zero rushing touchdowns, he has three receiving scores, along with 23 catches for 158 yards.
However, in today’s NFL, teams are much more likely to go with a stable of multiple running backs, and that is where Chandler enters the picture. Chandler has barely been involved with the Vikings offense this year, as he has just eight carries for 42 yards. His last carry was against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 8.
While you have to expect those carries to increase a little bit moving forward, there is little reason to get Chandler off the waiver wire right now.
What Dobbs did on Sunday was very impressive, and you have to think with more experience and actual practice with his teammate, those numbers (20 of 30 for 158 yards and three total TDs) could improve. It almost didn’t matter who the quarterback was in Minnesota; they were still going to look to throw the ball.
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Even before Hall got injured, he was 5 of 6 for 78 yards early in the game. The Vikings are a passing team, and that isn’t going to change. T.J. Hockenson is one of the best tight ends in the NFL — he posted seven catches for 69 yards on 12 targets. Jordan Addison is continuing to show how talented of a rookie he is, with five catches for 52 yards.
Coach Kevin O’Connell has made it clear that relying on the ground game won’t be a frequent occurrence. The Viking’s defense also tends to allow opponents to score a lot of points, so the team finds itself in a lot of high-scoring games.
Right now, there just aren’t enough footballs on the field to have Chandler on your team. While Dobbs had a good game throwing the ball, he is also more than willing to scramble. He had seven carries for 66 yards and one touchdown.
During his time in Arizona, Dobbs had five games with at least 43 rushing yards. Chandler is going to have to have multiple big games before you start to consider adding him. If you are struggling with running back depth, other guys on the waiver wire are more likely to get reliable volume than Chandler.
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