Fantasy football waiver wire: 5 running backs to target for Week 7

Buffalo Bills fans and fantasy owners had their hearts sink when LeSean McCoy crumpled to the turf, clutching his knee in pain. It had the looks of a multi-week injury, if not a season-ending one -- another gut punch to a running back position that's been wrecked by injuries in 2016. Yet somehow, McCoy avoided real damage and came back in to finish the game.

That's great news for fantasy owners, who have been struggling to find consistent producers at running back this season. Without any new injury news and only two teams on bye (Jonathan Stewart and Ezekiel Elliott are off the table this week), the wire process is fairly straightforward for running backs in Week 7. Here are our top five recommended options, owned in 50 percent or less of Yahoo! standard leagues.

DeAndre Washington, Oakland Raiders (44 percent)

Latavius Murray missed a second straight game and his turf toe injury could linger another week, so Washington figures to be the starter once again. He continues splitting carries with Jalen Richard (they both had 10 touches against the Kansas City Chiefs), but Washington dominated playing time with 32 snaps to Richard's 14. The Raiders face a Jacksonville Jaguars team that did a pretty good job shutting down the run last week, so Washington is a risky RB2 proposition

Chris Ivory, Jacksonville Jaguars (43 percent)

Ivory got more work than T.J. Yeldon last week, earning 13 touches to Yeldon's seven. He didn't do much, getting only 35 total yards on those touches, although he salvaged his day with his first touchdown of the season. The Jagaurs' backfield committee looks like it'll be a quagmire all season, but Ivory's goal-line usage should be enough to give him RB2 consideration most weeks. He'll have a friendly matchup with the Raiders this week.

Jay Ajayi, Miami Dolphins (31 percent)

Well, that's one way to make an impression. Arian Foster made his return this week but barely played, seeing just five touches. Meanwhile, Ajayi had a career-best day, scorching the Pittsburgh Steelers for 204 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries. There are still a lot of mouths to feed in Miami's backfield, especially when Foster gets back to 100 percent. But Ajayi has certainly done enough to render Kenyan Drake an afterthought and should keep getting big loads as the hot hand. He'll be an RB2 in a tough matchup with the Buffalo Bills.

Devontae Booker, Denver Broncos (27 percent)

C.J. Anderson remains the starter, but Booker continues closing the gap. He had 46 rushing yards on five carries against the San Diego Chargers, while Anderson managed just 37 on 10 carries. With the Broncos offense starting to stagnate, they should consider getting Booker more involved and see what he can do with a bigger load. Booker is a quality bench stash, with upside for more if he supplants Anderson down the line.

Mike Gillislee, Buffalo Bills (4 percent)

McCoy avoiding serious injury is a relief, but also a reminder that Shady's fantasy owners need to be holding Gillislee as his handcuff. McCoy's had trouble staying healthy in recent years, so Gillislee would find himself on the RB2 map if Shady goes down again.