Injuries have been arguably the defining storyline of the 2023 Fantasy Football season, and they were definitely the defining storyline of Week 13. We recapped the biggest injuries from Sunday's action here, but when we're looking at the impact on the Week 14 waiver wire, we're looking at the running back injuries, specifically.
Derek Carr's injury could push Jameis Winston into action, and he'd have some appeal as a No. 2 QB, but nobody's going to be blowing their FAB budget on Mitchell Trubisky or any of the available Texans wide receivers in the wake of Tank Dell's injury. However, running back replacements are always a big deal on the wire.
We'll go back to Thursday, when Zach Charbonnet left the Seahawks' game with a knee injury and rank the top four waiver wire targets at the RB position thanks to injuries, starting with one guy who might be a legitimate must-start option next week:
Tyjae Spears, RB, Titans
Spears has been one of the most valuable handcuffs in Fantasy all season because he's had a standalone role all season (50 carries, 40 targets entering Sunday) and had an obvious path to must-start status if anything happened to Derrick Henry. And he could be a must-start RB next week after Henry suffered a concussion Sunday. That's not a guarantee that Henry won't play in Week 14, but most players these days tend to miss at least one game when they are in the concussion protocol, so unless we get promising reports by Tuesday night, Spears is going to be a big priority for anyone who needs a running back for Week 14. Spears played every snap after Henry left the game in the fourth quarter, rushing 16 times for 75 yards while adding four catches for 13 yards on six targets. 20 touches might be a pretty reasonable expectation for Week 14 if Henry is out, and he might be a top-15 RB based on volume alone – though, it's also worth noting that Spears has looked pretty electric in a change-of-pace role, validating everyone who said he would have gone higher than 81st overall if not for injury concerns.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Patriots
Rhamondre Stevenson's ankle injury looked more serious than Henry's, though we don't know the extent as of Sunday evening. Either way, it would be a surprise if Stevenson didn't miss at least some time, which should put Elliott in line for a significant role down the stretch. The only problem is, well, it's Ezekiel Elliott, and more importantly, it's the Patriots offense. They were 5.5-point underdogs against the Chargers in Week 13 and failed to cover in a game where the Chargers made two field goals, which … yeah, that's another way of saying they just got shut out by the Chargers. This offense is one of the league's worst, so touchdown opportunities are going to be few and far between. Elliott should get whatever short yardage work there is here, along with probably 12-15 carries and a decent amount of targets every week, too. It's a volume-based RB2 profile.
DeeJay Dallas, RB, Seahawks
There's a clear dropoff in how excited you should be about adding these next two guys because their utility for Week 14 is much cloudier. Zach Charbonnet's knee injury isn't considered serious, per Pete Carroll, and even if Charbonnet does have to miss Week 14, Kenneth Walker (oblique) might be able to return in time for Sunday's game against the 49ers. So, there's no guarantee Dallas even gets a chance to be the lead back this week, and even if he does, it's a pretty tough matchup against a defense allowing the sixth-fewest Fantasy points to running backs. Dallas has double-digit carries just twice in his career, with 21.1 PPR points in one and 3.7 in the other. That is to say, there are no guarantees here, and that goes for his role, too – rookie Kenny McIntosh has been back from IR for a few weeks and could have a role alongside Dallas. But, if both Walker and Charbonnet are out of the picture, Dallas could be a useful Fantasy option, though likely more in the RB3 range of the rankings.
Gibson's the more exciting player than Dallas, for sure, but the problem here is the schedule: Brian Robinson left Sunday's game with a hamstring injury, but he'll have an extra week to recover with the Commanders on bye in Week 14. The injury may linger long enough to put Gibson in line to start for the Commanders when they get back from the bye in Week 15, but that won't help you if you need an RB next week. If you have the luxury, you can add Gibson, because he could be a starter in Week 15, but it's hard to have him as a high priority heading into the bye.
Here's who we'll be looking to add ahead of Week 14:
Week 14 Early Waiver Targets (Add/Drop)