Week 11 Add/Drop: Justin Forsett Is A Hot Property

With a host of big-time fantasy running backs succumbing to the injury bug last week, there are a gaggle of handcuffs on the waiver wire suddenly thrust into fantasy prominence, and Matthew Berry is back to point out the choicestamong them. 

Like Brad Evans, Berry is a big fan of a certain back in the Northwest:

Justin Forsett, RB, Seahawks (1.5 percent): I am torn here. On one hand, I feel like a proud papa. An ESPN search of “Matthew Berry Justin Forsett” turns up nine different entries, including a link to my preseason Love/Hate update, where I mentioned Forsett as a guy who has impressed me in the preseason. I’ve mentioned him in this space before as well, (the Week 3 pickups) and it was nice to see a 149 total yards and a score after Jones went down. Of course, I was also a big Julius Jones supporter, and my preseason predictions on him are now looking moot. So I am torn about how to feel. But I will tell you two things: 1) After this week’s game against the Vikings, I love Forsett’s schedule (at Rams, 49ers, at Texans, Buccaneers, at Packers, Titans). With the exception of the Packers, all of them are in the top 15 of most fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. And 2) I don’t think it matters how healthy or not Julius is. Forsett is the best guy on that team and it’s not close. He’s not giving this gig up.

Berry also calls attention to two AFC West backs who are surprisingly unowned in a handful of leagues:

Jamaal Charles, RB, Chiefs (36 percent): Thank goodness. Coach Haley messed me up with his whole Kolby Smith thing on Friday, but I’m glad Charles at least delivered on the promise I’ve been shouting about for a while now. Almost 120 yards on 22 touches, he scored and looked a lot better than the still-recovering Smith. While I do expect Kolby to take some touches away, the Chiefs have a decent upcoming schedule after this week’s game versus Pittsburgh. At the Chargers and then three straight home games against the Broncos, Bills and Browns, all of whom you can run on and all of whom for which the Chiefs will be without top receiver Dwayne Bowe. I bet even Todd Haley can figure out what the game plan should be for those games
[…]

Justin Fargas, RB, Raiders (17 percent): The return of Darren McFadden and the out-of-nowhere game by Michael Bush hurt, but he’s scored in two straight, has at least eight fantasy points in four straight and remains the only Oakland running back I’d even consider starting.

Since the brutal day on running backs this past Sunday, many fantasy owners are going to have to dig deep for some RB help. Hopefully you already had handcuffs on one or two of your backs, if you didn’t get ready to scrape the wire for fantasy help.

Brad Evans at Yahoo! Sports has a trio of backs that could be available, so check your waiver wire.

Anybody who owned Julius Jones should’ve already made a move on Justin Forsett a week or two ago, but amazingly enough he’s still available in some leagues.

The former Cal standout proved once again fantasy value can come in small packages. With Julius Jones(notes) sidelined by a broken rib, the 5-foot-8, 194-pound dynamo totaled a career-best 149 yards and a touchdown against the Cardinals, averaging a ridiculous 7.2 yards per carry. Prior to his explosion, the Seattle coaching staff stated repeatedly their desire to include Forsett more into the offensive structure. His versatility and fleet feet provide the Hawks with instant offense, different from Jones. With the incumbent likely out for the next week or two, Forsett should be useful in deep, PPR-heavy leagues.

Be careful though, Forsett has to go against the Vikings run-defense this week, not a desirable matchup.

With the Michael Turner injury, the Falcons would like to get Jerious Norwood involved in the running game. But injuries have hampered Norwood this year, so the Falcons will probably turn to Jason Snelling.

Michael Turner’s rest-of-season prognosis is rather ominous. As reported Monday, the popular first round pick suffered a potentially damning high ankle sprain. Due to the plaguing nature of the injury, in most cases it’s a multi-week setback. Filling in for the fallen star, Snelling performed admirably, totaling 93 yards and a touchdown on 21 touches in Carolina. The former seventh-round pick is a plodder in comparison to his predecessor, but his plus versatility and power between the tackles labels are similar to Baltimore’s Le’Ron McClain(notes). In other words, with a full complement of touches he should yield borderline RB2 numbers in deeper formats.

And finally, for a deep sleeper, comes Bernard Scott for the Bengals. This one is dicey, Cedric Benson could end up playing, and the Bengals are bringing on Larry Johnson, so Scott could be worthless, or valuable in deep leagues, depending on what happens with the Bengals this week.

In [Benson’s] stead, [Bernard Scott] from tiny Abilene Christian inflicted more damage on special teams than burrowing between the tackles against the league’s stingiest run defense. Gripping the pigskin 14 times, he totaled 54 yards. Benson and Bengals officials declared the Clydesdale would play this week in Oakland, but he’s officially a game-time decision. Because Benson will likely be limited in practice for much of the week, Scott could net an appreciable workload. With 10-12 touches he could produce generous numbers. The Raiders have allowed the most fantasy points to rushers since Week 6. However, keep in mind his possible expanded role will likely be short-lived due to Larry Johnson’s arrival.

For those who participate in leagues where two quarterbacks are played each week, finding that second guy can be problematic. Or if you’re just one of the unlucky ones who have been suffering QB problems all year, there may be a couple of waiver wire QBs who can help.

Over at NFL.com, Michael Fabiano singles out an old vet, Marc Bulger, and a young vet who is getting a second chance, Vince Young.

Bulger:

I’m not suggesting that Bulger is going to revert back to his more impressive 2006 form and re-emerge into a fantasy superstar, but owners who start two quarterbacks should consider him. The veteran recorded 298 yards and two touchdowns in Week 10, and upcoming matchups against the Cardinals (2), Seahawks, Bears, Titans and Texans are all favorable.

Young:

The Titans are undefeated and their offense has averaged an amazing 35 points per game with Young at the helm. The Texans product isn’t averaging huge numbers (about 14 fantasy points per game), but he is now worth a roster spot in most leagues as at least a reserve. He could even be a matchup-based starter in formats that require owners to start two quarterbacks.