Jonathan Dwyer: Is Pittsburgh Steelers RB Worth a Fantasy Waiver Wire Add?

Most running backs who have only suited up for one NFL game in their careers aren’t worth all that much fantasy consideration as a waiver wire pickup.

The exception to the rule might be the Steelers’ Jonathan Dwyer.

The Steelers had Rashard Mendenhall dressed for Sunday’s game against Tennessee, but with Mendenhall still hurting, Isaac Redman got the start.

And that left Dwyer as the only backup running back.

And what a backup he proved to be. Ten of the first 11 carries by Steelers’ running backs against the Titans went to Redman. He got 28 yards.

Dwyer got one carry. He went 76 yards on a first down play from the Pittsburgh 10 about six minutes into the second quarter and burst free to set up the third Steelers’ score of the day as Pittsburgh went up 21-3.

The way the Steelers are playing it, it’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s game – he threw two passes for every one running play for Pittsburgh – but with Redman having trouble generating yardage on the ground and Dwyer having busted a big one, there is at least the possibility that the 22-year-old Dwyer will be moving up on the depth charts ahead of Redman before too much longer, which would make him a good pickup down the line.

A sixth-round draft choice out of Georgia Tech in 2010 (he left college a year early), Dwyer played in just one game in his first season, getting nine carries and 28 yards, but he might be ready to play a bigger role in the second half.