Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups: Jackie Battle and 3 RBs Ready to Dominate

Is your running back corps failing to produce the kind of points that you were expecting when you drafted them? The first thing you need to do is take a deep breath and realize that the waiver wire is your friend. Use it and abuse it until you have the team that will get you a fantasy football championship.

Now that you have calmed down, you need help trying to figure out which backs are going to produce in Week 6 and as the season moves along.

Have no fear—all of your answers are right here. There are no guarantees, of course, but based on what we have seen and what we know, these players are as ironclad as any players left that you can get without having to trade an arm and leg.

Jackie Battle, Kansas City

If you didn’t know, now you do.

That is what fantasy owners everywhere are saying about Jackie Battle, who ran for 119 yards on 19 carries against Indianapolis in Week 5.

We knew that Battle was going to be featured more in the offense, but we didn’t know how he was going to perform.

After one game, it is safe to say Battle is a new cult hero among fantasy owners. The only downside to picking him up is the Chiefs are on a bye this week, so you have to wait two weeks to see if he can keep his positive momentum going.

Jonathan Dwyer, Pittsburgh

The Steelers have had all sorts of problems running the ball this season, but in Week 5 against the Titans, Jonathan Dwyer had a game that fans could actually get excited about. He ran for 107 yards on 19 carries and helped the Steelers offense get back on track.

Rashard Mendenhall will likely be the starter if and when he is healthy—he did not play in this game due to a hamstring injury—but Dwyer proved to the coaching staff that he is good enough to get at least 10 carries every week.

Given the problems that the Steelers offensive line has had, the fact that Dwyer was able to have success puts him in the discussion as a No. 2 fantasy running back.

Kendall Hunter, San Francisco

Nothing that Kendall Hunter does is going to take carries away from Frank Gore, but given the way the 49ers have been running their offense the last two weeks, he is a good bet to get double-digit carries for the foreseeable future.

Hunter had a good game in limited action against Tampa Bay in Week 5 with 65 yards on just nine carries. If you have a need for another running back or are just that greedy, he is a great flex option running back.

He won't catch many passes out of the backfield, but he is a nice change of pace in the 49ers offense and should see a fair amount of playing time over the next 11 games.