After last season’s Year of the Running Back in fantasy football, you have to be aggressive on your waiver wire when one pops up.
Sifting through the bargain bin might net you someone like Chris Rodriguez Jr. or preseason darling already turned bust, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, but the Commanders backfield split isn’t helping anyone and will only get worse once Jayden Daniels returns.
So, when you see players like Woody Marks and Kenneth Gainwell do what they did Sunday, and you find them available in your league, you need to take bold and immediate action.
How bold? Sometimes, so bold you want to baste ribs in it.
The ascension of Marks within the Texans backfield has been exciting to watch.
Though some may have dismissed the USC product because he fell to the fourth round in the NFL draft, others added him to their watch list, considering his path to touches wasn’t as blocked as expected once the preseason outlook on Joe Mixon was starting to look murky.
Surpassing the rest of the Texans’ RB room seemed plausible, at least until the team signed Nick Chubb.
When Chubb was announced as the starter in late August, Marks set his sights on earning at least a third-down pass-catching role. He quickly leapfrogged Dameon Pierce and Dare Ogunbowale on the depth chart, and when the Texans season started off slow, criticism arose that Chubb was not the same back the team envisioned when they signed him.
Though Chubb was moderately serviceable through the first few games, Marks was seeing an increase in both snaps and touches … until Week 4, when there was a changing of the guard.
Maybe the change wasn’t official, and perhaps the two will share the workload for another game or two, but it seems like only a matter of time before Marks takes the lead. He has a role in the passing game, and at 5-foot-10, 207 pounds, he has the size and strength to carry the load between the tackles.
His yards per carry average is comparable to Chubb’s, and his yards after contact are better. Marks is definitely someone you want to add to your roster.
If you miss on Marks, then Gainwell is likely your next target.
He is less appealing because Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith is notorious for his tandem backfield preference — plus, in the shorter term, the Steelers have a Week 5 bye.
But because Jaylen Warren is dealing with a knee issue, Gainwell took on the lead role Sunday against a strong Vikings defense, and he excelled with 99 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries while also wrangling in all six of his targets for an additional 35 yards.
Rookie Kaleb Johnson got some work, but overall, Gainwell ran the show, and has earned himself a much larger share of both snaps and touches.
His usage in the passing game only increases his value in PPR-scoring formats.
Last season, it was tough to acquire running backs on the waiver wire, as the injuries didn’t hit the position as hard as they usually do. Though every season is different, you always should be aggressive when one does appear. You might be happy with your current running back room, but you never know when the wrath of the fantasy gods will rain down on you. Having proper roster depth is always a necessity.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy football news and advice.