Fantasy Football Running Back Waiver Wire Pickups Week 2: Kaelon Black Is More Than Christian McCaffrey's Handcuff

The first fantasy football week is behind us, and it's now time to hit the waiver wire. Here, we will be focusing on the most important position in fantasy football, the running backs. There are a handful of strong running back waiver wire pickups before we head into Week 2.

Week 2 Running Back Waiver Wire Adds

Kaelon Black, San Francisco 49ers

The highest running back priority on the waiver wire this week will be Black. He should have already been on rosters because of Christian McCaffrey's injury concerns, but he isn't in many leagues. A big reason for his lack of ownership could have been the uncertainty surrounding Black and Jordan James being the RB2, but Week 1 made it clear that Black is the clear RB2 in San Francisco.

However, the usage was shocking in Week 1. With CMC being limited in practice for a few weeks leading up to the season opener, he ended up only playing on 55% of snaps and carrying the ball 10 times with eight targets. Black played on 43% of snaps with 14 carries and one target.

Black turned his 15 opportunities into 70 yards compared to McCaffrey's 88 yards. In the worst-case scenario, you're getting a valuable handcuff for a 30-year-old running back with a lengthy injury history coming off a massive workload. However, if this kind of usage continues, he could have standalone value as a potential flex option.

Tyler Allgeier, Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals listed Allgeier as their RB1 on their unofficial depth chart, with their first-round rookie Jeremiyah Love coming off a high-ankle sprain and being listed as the RB2. The team stayed true to that in Week 1.

Allgeier played 59% of the snaps and carried the ball 17 times with two targets. He finished with 61 rushing yards and two receptions for nine yards.

Love played on 43% of the snaps and saw 11 carries with four targets. He rushed for 41 yards and also caught two passes for nine yards; however, he did find the end zone for a touchdown.

Nevertheless, until further notice, Allgeier should be viewed as the starting running back in Arizona. That offense could also be better than we had anticipated, after looking solid against a good Los Angeles Chargers defense. Allegier should be picked up and could be worth plugging into your flex in Week 2.

Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints

Miller and Travis Etienne Jr. split carries, with nine each in Week 1, and Miller getting the lone rushing touchdown. This makes Miller worth picking up off the waiver wire this week. However, there are still some flags when it comes to plugging him into your lineup.

Etienne was much more efficient rushing for 5.1 yards per carry while Miller averaged just 3.3 yards per carry. Miller also saw zero of the 11 running back targets in the passing attack and played on just 29% of the snaps. We wouldn't leave Miller on the wire, but we also wouldn't be playing him in Week 2.

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