We’re headed into Week 10 and with the trade deadline getting closer, it’s time to ensure the running back position in your fantasy football lineups is deep enough to handle injuries and other factors down the home stretch.
Let’s take a look at the top running backs to target on the waiver wire in Week 10 that you should consider adding to your team. All players listed below are rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo, ESPN, and/or Sleeper leagues.
Note that I have done away with FAAB recommendations this year, as there are too many variables to account for. Instead, I replaced it with my opinion on how aggressive fantasy managers should be in pursuing the player on a scale of 1-10.
Looking for other positions? Check out our Week 10 Waiver Wire article, which covers a plethora of players from all positions.
Jaylen Warren | Pittsburgh Steelers
Percentage Owned: 42%
Heading into the season, Jaylen Warren was valued ahead of Najee Harris in many drafts. These are two players in a timeshare with relatively even workloads. Now, Warren can’t even get on half of fantasy rosters?
Yes, Harris is having the best season of this career. He’s running the ball well and is the clear goal-line back. But since returning from his knee injury, Warren has looked great. He earned 15 opportunities in his second game back two weeks ago and another 12 last week against the New York Giants.
The Pittsburgh Steelers just had their bye, which means when managers go to look at the top scorers from the past week, Warren’s name won’t be there.
The Steelers have a brutal second-half schedule, facing a bunch of very good run defenses. That may seem like a negative for Warren, but as the primary passing-down back, it could lead to him playing more snaps and seeing more work as a receiver. At the very least, Warren is a handcuff-plus with upside. He needs to be rostered.
Aggressiveness Rating: 6.0
Ray Davis | Buffalo Bills
Percentage Owned: 21%
Don’t overreact to Ray Davis’ 17-point outing against the Miami Dolphins — he only touched the ball six times. It was entirely a product of a 63-yard touchdown catch and run. He’s still firmly behind James Cook.
RAY DAVIS. 63-yard TD for the lead!
📺: #MIAvsBUF on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/N5btgphjZ2— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024
Rather, Davis should be added because he’s one of the highest-upside handcuffs in the game. If Cook ever went down, Davis would be the feature back and at least a high RB2. This late in the season, you want to stack your bench with potential league winners. There are few better than the Buffalo Bills’ rookie RB.
Aggressiveness Rating: 4.0
Dalvin Cook | Dallas Cowboys
Percentage Owned: 9%
The only reason Dalvin Cook’s name is on this list is so anyone wondering whether they should pick him up knows that they shouldn’t. Please do not pick up Cook in the year 2024.
The best way to describe Cook is to add an “ed” to the end of his last name. He was one of the worst running backs in the NFL last season. He spent half of this season on the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. In his two games back, he’s run the ball a total of eight times for 14 yards, which is about what we should’ve expected.
The Cowboys told us all we needed to know about what they think of their running backs last week. Rico Dowdle saw his heaviest workload of the season. He is the only NFL-caliber running back on the roster. Cook should not be in the NFL, let alone your fantasy roster.
Aggressiveness Rating: Negative infinity
Julius Chestnut | Tennessee Titans
Percentage Owned: 4%
Julius Chestnut was a hot pickup Friday afternoon following the combination of Tyjae Spears being ruled out and Tony Pollard’s third consecutive DNP. There seemed to be a very real chance Chestnut would not only start but be the feature back.
Instead, Pollard played despite not practicing all week with a foot injury and completely dominated touches, handling a career-high 28 carries. Chestnut did operate as the RB2 and would be the clear beneficiary if Pollard got hurt. However, Pollard did not get hurt and Spears should be back within the next week or two. There is no reason to add Chestnut.
Aggressiveness Rating: 0.0
Khalil Herbert | Cincinnati Bengals
Percentage Owned: 7%
Fantasy managers are a savvy bunch. Khalil Herbert hasn’t touched the ball in five straight games and has been a healthy inactive for the past two. He had zero fantasy value on the Chicago Bears, and there was zero hope of that changing.
The reason fantasy managers were adding Herbert is because he’s proven to be a talented running back in the past and there was a chance he got traded ahead of this week’s deadline. As it turns out, that is exactly what happened.
Herbert now joins the Cincinnati Bengals, which, all things considered, is not a bad landing spot. The Bengals just lost Zack Moss for the season, and it’s abundantly clear they have less than zero confidence in Trayveon Williams.
If something were to happen to Chase Brown, there’s a high chance Herbert would take over as the lead running back. That gives him some semblance of handcuff value.
Aggressiveness Rating: 2.5