We’re officially going into Week 4 which means that the waiver wire is looking like the middle of the desert; just not much there. But that doesn’t mean I stopped searching for the next productive piece you can find on the waiver wire. This week we will look at three running backs with a path to opportunity, which is all we want from our bench running backs.
Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR)
It’s an unfortunate event that happened in Thursday night’s game that has caused a rush to the waiver wire for Chuba. After Christian McCaffrey went down, we saw Chuba dominate the backfield carries and targets, not Royce Freeman. Chuba ate five targets, good for a 15.2% target share in that game and we know how much more important targets are over carries. He also came into the league as a Low Ceiling Bellcow prospect which shows that there is something in his profile to believe he has a better chance at success than a Bust prospect. For reference here are all the Low Ceiling Bellcows since 2006.
Demetric Felton (RB – CLE)
Through three games Felton is being used as primarily a receiving back. This is what we love when searching for running backs on the waiver wire. His 10% target share is second amongst Cleveland running backs and well ahead of Nick Chubb, who we know isn’t used in the receiving game. His usage through his first three games is something we should be monitoring and adding to the end of our benches because if something in Cleveland were to go wrong, we can point to Felton and see that there is a path to actual production that exists.
Brandon Bolden (RB – NE)
This last one may seem like a bit of a stretch, but we just watched James White go down with an injury indefinitely. We know that Bill Belichick likes to use a primary receiving back in the offense and we also know that Damien Harris has never been that pass-catching back. When James White went down it was Bolden who came in and led the running backs in targets with four. He is a 31-year-old unproductive back, but with receiving capabilities in the New England backfield being a question mark, he’s worth a stash in deep leagues.
If you’re looking for quality content, follow my Twitter, @dynasty_IM.
