10 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Targets Heading Into Week 12

Gus Edwards, RB, Baltimore Ravens

Yahoo Ownership: 2%

Gus Edwards appeared out of nowhere in Week 6 with a 10-carry game, and he immediately disappeared again, combining for only five carries in his next three games.

He re-appeared this week, though, dominating the backfield touches for the Baltimore Ravens.

Edwards racked up 17 carries compared to only 7 for usual lead back Alex Collins and 1 for Javorius Allen.

It's not just that Edwards led the backfield in rushes that was so significant though; the number of carries he saw stands out even if we look at the whole season of work for Ravens' backs. Only twice this year (Collins in Weeks 3 and 6) has a Baltimore back notched more than Edwards' 17 carries in a game, and the season-high is only 19.

There is plenty of reason to be skeptical about Edwards. This could have just been a "hot hand" decision from the coaching staff, as Alex Collins disappeared completely in the second half of the game, seeing only one carry. This could also be an anomaly in a game in which Lamar Jackson started in place of the injured Joe Flacco.

Jackson threw only 19 passes while running the ball a team-high 27 times on Sunday, which is a massive departure from how things have looked with Flacco, who is averaging 42.1 pass attempts and 2.1 rushes per game.

The fantasy value in finding a lead back on the waiver wire is incentive enough to take a gamble on Edwards on your bench, though. And if Flacco is forced to miss more time, a similarly run-heavy approach against a weak Oakland Raiders defense (which numberFire's models had 28th against the run entering Week 11) could make Edwards someone to consider starting in Week 12 if you're hurting for running back options.