RADIO
New Orleans Saints running back Kendre Miller, Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears, and San Francisco 49ers running back Patrick Taylor Jr. are three options at RB that you could use to fill in roster holes or add for depth due to injuries in Week 16.
It's the playoffs for nearly all fantasy football leagues, and you'd probably rather have the guys that end up becoming starters in Week 17 due to injuries ahead of time. And with Alvin Kamara (groin), Tony Pollard (ankle), and Isaac Guerendo (foot, hamstring) all dealing with ailments, the three backs this piece is about could end up being key contributors to championship runs.
Let's break them down.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for the 2025 playoffs:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Kendre Miller Waiver Wire Outlook for Fantasy Football
Rostered in 35% of leagues
Maybe we should just assume that Saints offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak is a genius. He turned wide receiver Rashid Shaheed (knee) into what looked like a league-winner until he got hurt, guided the team to an incredibly explosive offensive start to the season before they got slammed with injuries, and still helps some of his players surprise fantasy managers.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Welcome to the DOME!
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/QRmg5SRBZn
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) November 10, 2024
Kubiak's ability to consistently draw up plays that beat opponents deep in an era where defenses have evolved to shut down big plays has been impressive. This combined with his good run-game schemes have helped New Orleans maintain a serviceable offense even after it seems like all their players get hurt.
This is a role you want to buy into. Also Miller looks pretty good at fighting through tackles.
KENDRE MILLER WONT BE DENIED pic.twitter.com/fnLPA0bQ5K
— Saints Film Room (@SaintsFilmRoom) December 8, 2024
Add in All Leagues
Tyjae Spears Waiver Wire Outlook for Fantasy Football
Rostered in 55% of leagues
The best part about Spears is by far his pass-catching upside. It's not been ideal that he's had to compete with RB Tony Pollard (ankle) for touches, obviously. But with Pollard having re-aggravated his ankle injury in Week 15 and having missed both Wednesday and Thursday's practices, Spears becomes much more interesting.
I know Tony Pollard has been having a great season, and I know injuries have played a part in him not being able to get more opportunities, but I do wish we could see more of Tyjae Spears. The kid is undoubtedly one of the most elusive RBs in the league right now, and it’s so… pic.twitter.com/T742p5omOF
— Charles “Chux” Maranan (@ChuxMaranan) December 18, 2024
As the post states, the biggest thing that stands out about the second-year pro is his elusiveness. We saw a ton of that in college, and it's clearly translated. Injuries have marred his sophomore campaign, but he appears to be fully healthy now. The upside is what we're chasing here, so he should be added in all leagues -- he could be a PPR-scam type player moving forward.
He's a good RB on top of that.
Add in All Leagues
Patrick Taylor Jr. Waiver Wire Outlook for Fantasy Football
Rostered in 32% of leagues
It's tough to get a read on how good Taylor actually is. He's had very little playing time in his career. He hasn't even touched the ball 100 times yet, and he's in his fourth season in the NFL. And he played his three previous seasons with the Green Bay Packers, so we've seen virtually none of him with SF.
Patrick Taylor joins the TD party in San Francisco
📺: #CHIvsSF on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/d5yb5ucoN1— NFL (@NFL) December 9, 2024
His usage hasn't been great, but 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan prefers to give one RB the lion's share of the touches and run him into the ground. Which is what he did with Christian McCaffrey (knee) in 2023, Jordan Mason (ankle) this season, and Isaac Guerendo (foot, hamstring) this year as well.
He should be added purely for his role in leagues with 12 or more teams.
Add in 12+ Team Leagues
Download Our Free News & Alerts Mobile App
Like what you see? Download our updated fantasy football app for iPhone and Android with 24x7 player news, injury alerts, rankings, starts/sits & more. All free!
