Did your fantasy football draft end and you’re still not satisfied with your running back stable? There’s normally not too much left on the waiver wire, but if you need some help, here are three options who could possibly pay dividends if an injury occurs or the starter doesn’t get the job done.
Branden Oliver
When San Diego Chargers starting running back Ryan Matthews went down with injury last year, Branden Oliver was a serviceable running back.
He turned in one performance of more than 100 yards and he proved to be able to catch the ball out of the backfield, netting 36 receptions during the year.
Oliver is behind Melvin Gordon, and while the Chargers did spend a first-round pick on the rookie, there’s no guarantee how good Gordon will be this season. Gordon didn’t have to catch the ball out of the backfield at Wisconsin, so fantasy football owners should expect Oliver to get some action on third down or late in drives.
The biggest issue with Oliver is that Danny Woodhead also needs carries. Oliver has shown the ability to put up fantasy points, so depending on your need at running back, he could be stowed away in case he improves this year, and either Gordon or Woodhead sees a decrease in playing time.
Lorenzo Taliaferro
http://bit.ly/1hPB0sQ
We’re stretching at this point, but we’re not the ones who waited to draft the running back position like you did. This is why you should have waited on that quarterback selection, and instead gone with running back early.
Baltimore Ravens running back Lorenzo Taliaferro could offer some value, but right now, he’s questionable for week 1. Taliaferro was another running back who showed glimpses of being a decent fantasy football running back last season.
He scored four touchdowns and averaged 4.3 yards per carry when given an opportunity. His biggest problem was Justin Forsett coming on and notching plenty of yards. Taliaferro is generally seen as a running back who could steal some goal line carries, giving him some boom or bust value for desperate fantasy football owners.
Cameron Artis-Payne
Carolina Panthers rookie running back Cameron Artis-Payne has wrapped up the second running back spot behind Jonathan Stewart.
The Panthers, already missing Kelvin Benjamin, are likely to be even more focused on the run game, making it possible that Artis-Payne could get some late-down work to spell Stewart. If that’s the case, Artis-Payne could steal away some red zone work.
And Stewart has shown in the past that he’s not always the most durable NFL player. With Artis-Payne as the solid No. 2, he may be a good player to have on the roster in case he shoulders a lot more of the load later in the season.
