Week 13 RB Waiver Pickups & Adds: Can Cam Akers Finish The Season Strong?

Week 13 RB Waiver Wire Pickups

Wayne Gallman – New York Giants

Over the last five weeks, Wayne Gallman has played four games and ranks 7th in PPR scoring. He is averaging 13.8 fantasy points per game in that span. After this week, Gallman is now RB29 on the year, and has played 9 games but has not really been a featured guy until really Week 7. Gallman added 30% to his ownership and that should go up to the point I don’t need to add him in here anymore. The Giants face the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Browns over the next three weeks.

Damien Harris – New England Patriots

With Rex Burkhead out, it was James White and Damien Harris who soaked up all of the snaps and touches in the backfield. A bit odd to see two players get touches only in this team. Sony Michel is back and active but played just two snaps. Harris played 34 snaps and had 14 touches. Harris has a pretty strong role when it comes to rushing attempts. He has double-digit attempts now in every game since Week 7. Harris has averaged 5.5 yards per attempt this season.

James White – New England Patriots

James White only had one target this week which is a bit odd with Rex Burkhead out and I am still a little worried about it. However, he should still be in the 8-12 touch range most weeks and that is a plus in PPR leagues. If the Patriots find themselves in some more shootout style games across the next few weeks, White will have more of a role in the passing game. We saw that against Houston, where he had six targets, and 11 touches total. He has 14 fantasy points in each of the last two weeks.

Latavius Murray – New Orleans Saints

Latavius Murray is coming off a monster week and if you have been around the article the last few weeks, he has been here as an option to pick up. Murray had a 20 touch game and went for 124 yards and two scores. He has double-digit touches in five of the last six games since the bye week. The Saints will have some matchups the rest of the way, outside of Kansas City, where they will be favored. I expect Murray to keep up this type of touches and Kamara has not been used as heavily with Hill here. Whether that is a gameplan thing or resting him for bigger games, Murray is going to have this role which is good enough for a deeper fantasy league.

Cam Akers – Los Angeles Rams

Cam Akers is coming off a 9-84-1 line and has looked like the best back in the Rams backfield over the last few weeks. This committee has always been frustrating but Akers is starting to creep up into a more reliable role. Akers has 33 rushing attempts in the last four weeks, and he has three touchdowns in that span. Akers will have a pretty decent schedule over the next few weeks with the Cardinals, Patriots, Jets, and Seahawks. This is not a bad rushing schedule for Akers. While Akers doesn’t have the 15+ touch upside like a Wayne Gallman, Akers is still worth a bench role.

Brian Hill – Atlanta Falcons

With Todd Gurley out this week, we saw Brian Hill and It’o Smith take a majority of the touches. Smith had the better day but Hill will be the guy they roll out as the starting option. Hill played 39 snaps and 50% of the snaps. If Gurley continues to miss time, Hill is a viable option for teams that are desperate for running back options. However, out of all of the options, Hill is last on the list. Essentially you are looking at a back who can get 12-15 touches and needs that touchdown to have any sort of relevance. You won’t have to spend much but with how the next few weeks are going to go, any healthy body on the bench could become a stater in a matter of minutes.