Should I Pick Up Mike Boone? Waiver Wire Outlook

The Denver Broncos offense had a bittersweet afternoon in a Week 4 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. On one hand, Russell Wilson finally got untracked with a three-touchdown game after struggling throughout the first three games.

It wasn't all good news, however, as the Broncos lost starting running back Javonte Williams to a season-ending knee injury.

The Broncos are expected to use Melvin Gordon III as their starting running back moving forward, but Mike Boone will have a role as a change-of-pace back. Is Boone worth adding off of the waiver wire heading into Week 5? Let's take a look!

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What Did Mike Boone Do In Week 4?

Williams was carted off in the third quarter, allowing Boone to see his most extensive playing time of the year. After garnering just one touch through the first three games, Boone gained 20 yards on three carries and caught one of his three targets for nine yards in Week 4.

All four of Boone's touches came after the Williams injury, which came early in the third quarter. Boone was part of the hurry-up offense on Denver's final drive of the game.

In all, Boone was on the field for 19 of 53 snaps, good for a season-high 35.8% snap share.

Mike Boone's Denver workload expected to increase with running back Javonte Williams out https://t.co/x4dcoL78CU

— Enquirer Sports (@ENQSports) October 4, 2022

Should I Add Mike Boone Off the Waiver Wire in Fantasy Football?

An undrafted rookie out of the University of Cincinnati, Boone has never gotten an opportunity to start in the NFL. His high-water mark came in 2019 when he notched 49 carries and three receptions while he was a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

Boone is an explosive player with an elite 100th percentile burst score, courtesy of Player Profiler.

While the Broncos are expected to give the majority of the carries to Melvin Gordon, it bears mentioning that Gordon has struggled with fumbles and has been banged up with a neck injury. The veteran tailback has already fumbled four times in four games, losing two. The Broncos could stay patient with Gordon, or they could allow Boone to cut into his workload if the issues persist.

Denver did sign veteran Latavius Murray off of the Saints' practice squad on Monday, although it remains to be seen whether he plays on Thursday night after he played in London on Sunday while he was still with New Orleans.

While he doesn't have a clear path to the majority of the touches at the moment, Boone could be a difference-maker in fantasy if enough factors break right for him. With that being the case, Boone is worth a waiver claim in leagues of 12 teams and larger. If your league uses FAAB bidding, Boone is worth bidding 10-15% of your budget.

"Mike Boone out-snapped Melvin Gordon this past week on limited sample size. You could have multiple weeks of fantasy viability from Boone."

Week 5 Waiver Wire: Mike Boone Enters the Chat@TheOGfantasy

✍️https://t.co/d44v19LYzD#nfl #football #FantasyFootball pic.twitter.com/uBIu2LHKkb

— PlayerProfiler (@rotounderworld) October 4, 2022

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