Fantasy Football: Week 15 Waiver Wire Running Back Picks From Top Experts

Each week we at FFSpin.com scour the injury reports and analyze the box scores to offer up some players that are primed for fantasy glory, but may still be floating around as free agents.  

Four offenses (Kansas City, Oakland, NY Giants and NY Jets) are averaging over 145 rushing yards per game.  The worst rushing offenses can be found in Seattle, Arizona, Detroit, Dallas and Denver.  Those teams are hobbling along at a clip of only 90 yards per contest.

The five best teams at plugging up the run (allowing less than 90 yards per game) belong to Pittsburgh, Chicago, NY Jets and San Diego.  Temper your expectations for Westbrook (vs SD), Greene / LT (vs Pitt) , Mendenhall (vs NY Jets) and AP (vs Chicago) as they have matchups with stout defensive lines in Week 15.

The worst run defenses (allowing over 130 yards/game) exist in Carolina, Washington, Tampa, Oakland, Arizona, Indy, Denver and Buffalo.  

Many elite options have the potential to explode in favorable Week 15 matchups.  MJD (@IND), Darren McFadden (vs DEN), Knowshon Moreno (vs OAK),  Jonathan Stewart (vs ARZ) are primed to carry your fantasy teams into the Fantasy Super Bowl.  

Tim Hightower’s breakout Week 14 (148 yards and two TDs) proved that he could be worth considering for a Week 15 matchup against a struggling Carolina run defense. Ronnie Brown / Ricky Williams (vs Buffalo) and Felix Jones/Tashard Choice (vs Washington) are worth considering despite the time share.

Now that we in the fantasy playoff weeks, let’s take a look at the remaining NFL schedule to determine which teams face defenses that have been shredded by opposing RBs and which teams face formidable pass defenses.

Best RB schedules (Weeks 15-16): Miami, Tampa, Oakland, Dallas, Houston

Worst RB schedules (Weeks 15-16): NY Giants, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, NY Jets

VIEWS:

Yahoo.com is on board with adding  Tim Hightower after his breakout week 14 as Beanie has floundered and the Cardinals have a favorable week 15 matchup vs Carolina’s 25th ranked run defense.

FantasyFanPlay.com recommends Washington’s Ryan Torain as he proved in Week 14 that he could be the Redskins RB of the future.

Rotoprofessor.com points out that the Jags #2 RB Rashad Jennings is a must have handcuff for MJD owners and could be useful in deep leagues for matchups vs Indy and Oakland in weeks 15/16.

Razzball.com believes that the Colts’ Javarris James could continue to see his role expand due to the rash of injuries among the Colts backfield.

FANTASY FOOTBALL SPIN:

Tim Hightower – As Scott points out, Hightower has RB2 written all over him in week 15.  Entering 2010,  Hightower had scored 18 TDs in his first two NFL seasons but averaged a meager 3.5 yards per carry.  The impending free agent has averaged 45 catches per season but only has 15 catches in 2010.  

In the past two weeks, Hightower as totaled 33 carries for 229 yards while Beanie continues to fall further into the doghouse (hasn’t topped 10 carries since Week 8). Hightower is a strong candidate for a greater share of the red zone carries down the stretch. With rookie John Skelton under center, we expect the Cardinals to become a more run oriented offense in the final month of the season.

The next few weeks of run heavy offense could a foreshadowing of things to come for the Cards.   This week, Arizona travels to Carolina to face a Panther run defense that is allowing 132 yards per game and have yielded 17 TDs on the ground Including three to Micheal Turner last week.

Ryan Torain – Torain proved to be a legit RB2 after taking over the starting job from an injured Clinton Portis in Week 4.

The 6’1 225 pounder out of Arizona St posted back to back 100 yard efforts in weeks 6 and 7.  A hamstring injury sidelined him in weeks 10-13, but he returned with a vengeance in Week 14 by battering Tampa Bay for 24 carries and 174 yards.

With matchups against mediocre run defenses in Dallas (17th) and Jacksonville (18th) on the horizon, Torain is primed to produce as a Top 25 RB.  He is playing for a shot at No. 1 status in 2011.

Javarris James - The Colts running game has struggled all season amid injuries to Joseph Addai, Mike Hart and Donald Brown.  Addai and Hart went through a light Monday workout, for whatever thats worth, but are likely to be game time decisions for Week 15. 

Donald Brown has failed to impress and has been especially ineffective in the red zone.  Rookie Javarris James has struggled yardage-wise, averaging a paltry 2.5 ypc with just 112 yards on 45 carries.  On the plus side, James has emerged as the short yardage back and has now scored six TDs in that capacity.  His upside is limited as the yardage totals will be pedestrian but those in TD leagues might want to consider Edgerrin James cousin.

Bernard Scott - Cedric Benson owners would be wise to add Bernard Scott—considered by many to be one of the best backups in the NFL.  With Benson in a contract year and the Bengals season in freefall as they sit in the basement of the AFC North, Scott could get an increased work load in the final month of the season as an audition for 2011.  

In limited action during his rookie season Scott showed promise, posting 74 carries for 321 yards (4.3 YPC).  At 5’11/200, he has borderline every-down back size, reliable hands, and the ability to run between the tackles.   Those attributes make him worth exploring as a potential feature back with an outside chance to be a fantasy beast in the mold of a poor man’s Jamaal Charles. 

Rashad Jennings – In 2009, backup running back Rashad Jennings looked solid in limited action (39 carries for 202 yards (5.2 YPC).  Over the past three weeks, the second year RB out of Liberty University  has 22 carries for 206 yards and has reached the end zone in three straight contests. 

He’s not much more than a MJD handcuff for 10-12 team leagues but his game breaking ability makes him worth adding in deeper leagues.  The Jags face two generous run defenses in the next two weeks (Indianapolis-29th and Washington-28th).

See the Waiver Wire picks at QB and WR as well.  Good luck in the playoffs!