Fantasy football managers looking to make a last-minute addition to their roster before the playoffs might find slim pickings on the waiver wire, but that does not mean there are not worthy players available. One name sitting near the top of waiver wire claims this week is Los Angeles Rams RB Sony Michel following his season-best game against the Jaguars. With Week 14 and the fantasy playoffs in mind, should managers place a waiver wire claim on Michel ahead of his matchup with the Arizona Cardinals?
Sony Michel has a massive fantasy outing in the Rams Week 13 blowout win
The Rams never planned on Michel being a critical player this year. Heck, he wasn’t even on the team until late August. Los Angeles had Cam Akers, who ended the 2020 season on a tremendous hot streak and seemed ready to take on the world. One Achilles tear and preseason trade later, here we are breaking down Michel’s massive game in the Rams’ 37-7 smackdown of the Jaguars.
With Darrel Henderson “active” but not playing a single snap, head coach Sean McVay heavily leaned on Michel. Playing on 66 of the 68 offensive snaps, Michel rushed 24 times for 121 yards with a touchdown while adding 8 yards on 3 receptions. The Jaguars knew Michel was getting the ball and still couldn’t stop him or this offense. 54 of Michel’s rushing yards came against stacked boxes (12 of 24 carries), with 80 of his yards coming after contact. This was Michel’s first 100-plus yard game since Week 3 of 2020 and his second since his rookie season in 2018.
Sean McVay leaves the door open for both running backs to see work in the offense
The only reason Michel had the performance he did in Week 13 was due to an injury to Henderson. While Henderson was listed as active for the game, he was nowhere close to playing and never saw the field. He injured his quadriceps during the Rams’ Week 12 game against the Packers. Henderson did not participate in the first two practices of last week but returned to a limited session on Friday.
This is not the first injury for Henderson, who has been banged up all season. A rib injury forced him to miss Week 3, and he also picked up an ankle injury in Week 10 against Tennessee. After the game, McVay left room for Michel to operate alongside Henderson once he came back, but he made it clear Henderson is the top back.
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“I think it’s really good to get Sony going,” McVay said. “I think he’s a rhythm runner, but I think we definitely would want to find ways to still have Darrell as a big part of it. What exactly that looks like — the distribution of carries — I don’t know that. But I know that we’re a really good team, and we’re a better team when we have Darrell Henderson involved, as well.”
2021 is the longest season ever. Teams have 17 games where they need to manage touches and injuries, which pushes a team’s depth to its limits. This is why Los Angeles went out and acquired Michel in the first place, as they needed a complementary piece to play alongside Henderson and handle the body blows with his hard-nosed rushing style.
Should fantasy managers make a waiver wire claim in Week 14 for Michel?
In short, absolutely. Granted, he is rostered in a majority of leagues (68% on Yahoo, 60% on ESPN, 30.3% on NFL) — but this time of year, I break the typical rules when it comes to waiver wire claims.
In order for Michel to have high-end RB2 value in fantasy, he needs Henderson to not be in the lineup. In the two games without Henderson, Michel has averaged 22 rush attempts, 94 rushing yards, and 16.4 PPR points.
During the 10 games where both players have been active, those figures plummet to 5.9 rushes, 23.8 yards, and 4.88 points. That’s not useable, at least based on the game scripts and usage we have seen this season. However, that could change after Michel’s big game, but we’ll have to see what happens on the field.
Week 14 could be another big game for Michel, but it all depends on Henderson’s health. We need to monitor his practice reports and his status for Week 14 against the Arizona Cardinals. If Henderson is out, then Michel is an RB2 for fantasy.
Michel should be on rosters heading into the fantasy playoffs
Now, as I said, this is the time of year I break my own rules. We are heading into the fantasy playoffs, and we can leave nothing to chance. From this point on, every clear backup RB needs to be rostered. Imagine if this injury happened in Week 14 with the playoffs about to start. The rush for Michel would be massive and could end up being a league-winning move.
Drop the WR6 that you will never start and add a player like Michel, who could be a difference-maker. At worst, he stays on your bench. No harm, no foul. At best, he is an every-down back for the next three weeks. Either way, there is no risk and only upside to be gained.
