The running back waiver wire has been a complete desert this season. That sounds negative, but really what that means is that we’re not seeing a lot of running backs get injured, which is a pleasant change from previous seasons. But for guys you didn’t draft, a mostly healthy running back season offers very little post-September opportunity.

Weirdly, this week’s gold medalist, the rare 2024 RB gold medalist, didn’t get new opportunity through an injury. Simply put, his coach decided he was the best runner on his team, and he suddenly and totally took over his backfield. It’s a rare opportunity, and one many fantasy managers will look to capitalize on this week.

Quick reminder: I’m primarily going to discuss players with below 50% ownership on Yahoo, with possible exceptions if the number is very close.  There will be a section for players closer to 75-80% owned later in the article, which will include names to make sure aren’t owned in your league, but those names likely won’t be available in most cases.

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