Top 7 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups: Running Back (Week 2)

We will have you covered throughout the fantasy football season with our bevy of tools, including our Waiver Wire Assistant. Find the top available players and get detailed analysis on how potential fantasy football waiver wire adds will impact your team. Of course, our team of analysts will also have written advice each week. Check out some of our top Running Back fantasy football waiver wire targets for the week below. And check out all of this week’s fantasy football waiver wire advice.

• More Waiver Wire Picks
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets: Running Back

RUNNING BACKS

Written by Bo McBrayer

J.K. Dobbins (LAC): 49% rostered

• Next Opponents: @CAR, @PIT, KC
• True value: $37
• Desperate Need: $58
• Budget-minded: $24

Analysis: Thirteen touches is a nice chunk of work for any NFL running back, especially in his first game back from an Achilles injury and two years removed from an ACL tear. Dobbins converted his 13 touches into 139 yards and found the end zone once in Week 1 for Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers. The two breakaway runs showed the wear on Dobbins’ lower body, but his trademark vision and contact balance were as stellar as ever. I’m not normally one to blow my FAAB right off the bat, but Dobbins looked incredible and plays for a team that will run the ball in heaping quantities with offensive coordinator Greg Roman calling the plays.

Zach Charbonnet (SEA): 47% rostered

• Next Opponents: @NE, MIA, @DET
• True value: $10
• Desperate Need: $17
• Budget-minded: $5

Analysis: Kenneth Walker was on quite a roll Sunday until leaving the game with a reported abdominal injury. Charbonnet had been listed as questionable in the lead-up to Week 1, but he was able to garner 10 touches and find the end zone on a beautiful vertical route against man coverage. It is uncertain whether Walker’s injury will cause him to miss any time, but this is enough of a crack to let the talented Charbonnet get an increased workload.

Jaleel McLaughlin (DEN): 38% rostered

• Next Opponents: PIT, @TB, @NYJ
• True value: $9
• Desperate Need: $15
• Budget-minded: $4

Analysis: The Denver offense looked terrible for most of the game against the Seahawks in Week 1. The running game was nonexistent, with Las Vegas refusing to respect rookie Bo Nix in the passing game. McLaughlin was bad too, but he led the Broncos backfield, out-touching Javonte Williams 15-9. McLaughlin only accumulated 28 yards and lost a fumble in the game. This split is encouraging for McLaughlin in the future, but this waiver claim should carry low expectations for next few weeks. The Broncos’ upcoming schedule is brutal. But McLaughlin has undeniable big-play ability, leaving some glimmer of hope that Denver can continue to lean on him while Nix goes through his growing pains.

Ty Chandler (MIN): 33% rostered

• Next Opponents: SF, HOU, @GB
• True value: $8
• Desperate Need: $14
• Budget-minded: $4

Analysis: I think Ty Chandler will end up usurping Aaron Jones this season, whether through injury (I hope not) or by performance. Jones looked strong in Week 1, but there was definitely a defined role carved out for Chandler. The former North Carolina Tarheel was stifled in the running game, with only 17 yards on eight attempts, but turned his three receptions into 25 yards. Chandler has more thumping power than the veteran Jones and is an underrated threat to break off explosive plays. He’s a priority add in leagues where I don’t already have him rostered.

Justice Hill (BAL): 4% rostered

• Next Opponents: LV, @DAL, BUF
• True value: $6
• Desperate Need: $9
• Budget-minded: $3

Analysis: We are back, jiggling for Justice. Derrick Henry was unfathomably only given eight more carries after getting five on Baltimore’s opening touchdown drive. Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken abandoned the run against Kansas City … again. Baltimore’s Week 1 loss included quite a bit more passing-down work than expected from Hill, who caught six passes on eight targets for 52 yards. He only had one rushing attempt in the game. It could be deduced that John Harbaugh will have some words for Monken in team meetings about offensive identity. Hill is an explosive playmaker when healthy, so he’s not a bad guy to pick up.

Alexander Mattison (LV): 4% rostered

• Next Opponents: @BAL, CAR, CLE
• True value: $3
• Desperate Need: $6
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: It was surprising to see Mattison outperform presumed Raiders starter and bell cow Zamir White on Sunday. White lost a fumble early on, and Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce let Mattison loose with five carries and four receptions. On one of those catches, Mattison broke two Charger arm tackles and cruised in for a 31-yard score. Mattison is among the least exciting players in the league, not really excelling at any discipline, but he has a role, and you can roster him for a lot less FAAB than the other RBs who rise from free agency this week.

Emanuel Wilson (GB): 2% rostered

• Next Opponents: IND, @TEN, MIN
• True value: $2
• Desperate Need: $4
• Budget-minded: $1

Analysis: Reports out of training camp indicated that the Packers would not have rookie MarShawn Lloyd until Week 3, so I was not surprised at all to see Lloyd inactive last Friday. Wilson looked pretty decent in Lloyd’s stead behind starter Josh Jacobs, earning six touches, including two receptions, and producing 48 yards. This earned praise from Packers head coach Matt LaFleur in his postgame interview. While I do think Lloyd will assume the RB2 role in Green Bay once he is healthy, you can plug in Wilson as a one-week rental against a Colts defense that was gashed by Joe Mixon and the Texans in Week 1.