With the bye week crunch continuing to challenge frustrated owners and injuries piling up, gems can still be found on your waiver wire. Only players available in more than 40% of standard Yahoo! leagues appear here, which can explain why DeMarco Murray and his eye-popping 253 yard, 1 TD day are not discussed.
Ryan Torain, Redskins (available in 42% of Yahoo! leagues)
Owners (like myself) who have felt the misery of being “Shanahanned” might be inclined to avoid the Redskins back-field all together. While predicting which back will get the most love from the mad(dening) genius calling the shots has been crap shoot thus far, Tim Hightower’s season-ending ACL injury, creates (a little) clarity for the masochistic owners out there still trying to crack the Shanahan code.
It appears as though Hightower was always the starter in Shanahan’s mind, losing two consecutive starts to Torain due only to a shoulder injury that did not allow him to run at 100%. And the one thing that has been consistent all year long is that Roy Helu is locked into a change of pace back role. With Hightower gone for the season, Torain should see the lion’s share of work and goal line work for a Washington running attack that seems to always produce behind Shanny’s effective zone blocking scheme.
Despite last weeks atrocious two-carry, -5 yard performance, Torain is still averaging a tantalizing 4.9 yards per carry. Let’s not forget that he put up 742 yards and 4 scores in only 10 games last year and that he torched the Rams for 135 yards and score on only 19 carries in week 4. That said, his injury history coupled with the cryptic unpredictability of his coach demands that Roy Helu is also a must-add this week, especially as a hand-cuff to Torain.
If possible, I’d recommend leaving all Redskin running backs on your bench until we see who starts on Sunday at Buffalo and how the carries are divvied up.
Roy Helu, Redskins (available in 82% of Yahoo! leagues)
At this point, Helu is a valuable bench stash and, if you own Torain, he’s a must-add handcuff. He has been effective when given the ball this year (10 carries for 74 yards against the Cards in week two, 4.9 YPC on the season) and most agree that, on talent alone, he is the most explosive, highest upside back on the roster. He has also been getting third down, passing situation looks the past couple of weeks, a sign that Shanny is trusting more in his ability to pass protect (one of the most cited reasons Shanny loved Hightower). Given his upside, Torain’s fragility and Shanny’s happy trigger finger, there is a very strong likelihood that he will end up the starting running back eventually, maybe even this week. Pick him up.
Delone Carter, Colts (available in 81% of Yahoo! leagues)
Joseph Addai returned last week from a hamstring injury and it didn’t take him long to aggravate it. With everybody and their mother inuring their hamstring this season, we have seen time and time again that prolonged rest is the only solution. Expect to see Addai miss another week, leaving the Colts running game to their impressive rookie who rattled off 89 yards and a score on only 10 carries last week against the Saints. He has scored in 2 of the last 3 weeks and, while Donald Brown will get his touches, Carter is the goal-line back and should be a good spot start as long as Addai remains out.
Bernard Scott, Bengals (available in 84% of Yahoo! leagues)
Scott was hyped weeks ago when news of Cedric Benson’s suspension first broke and was a hot waiver wire add at the time. After challenging the NFL’s questionable decision to suspend him based on actions committed during the lockout, Benson’s suspension was reduced to just one game and he will serve it during week 8 when the Bengals travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. The matchup is not great (Seattle allowing the 21st most points to opposing back), but Scott will get the majority of work on a team that loves to run. In the two games he has had 15 or more touches in the last 3 years, he totaled 206 yards on 5.3 YPC. Definitely worth an add as a one-time, bye week replacement.