The fantasy football schedule is now moving into Week 12 of the season and some of the best players for fantasy owners going down the stretch will be players they pick up off the waiver wire and this week some of the best names to snag at the RB position includes running backs bobby Rainey, Rashad Jennings and Shane Vereen.
Rainey comes into the week as the best sleeper free agent pick up going forward and that could be one reason why he might not be available in most leagues, as he had a great performance on Sunday stepping in for the injured Mike James, who in turn stepped in for Doug Martin and now both of those players will be out for the season, leaving Rainey as the man in Tampa Bay. Rashad Jennings has been stepping up all season for Darren McFadden and he has continued to do that this week and Shane Vereen is a top pick up for all the owners that forgot about him when he was injured back in Week 1 and he finally returned on Monday night football for the Patriots when they lost to the Panthers in Carolina.
Rainey comes in as the hot pickup from the running back position and it's for good reason, as he bested his pal Mike James with his first start, as James got 158 yards in his first true game, while Rainey came in on Sunday and had 163 yards on the ground. Last week he came in for James and rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown and after getting the start on Sunday, he carried the ball 30 times and added two catches on the day for over 165 total yards and he had three scores in the blowout game against Atlanta, adding a receiving touchdown as well. This season he has 242 yards total along with his time in Cleveland, but the bulk of that came on Sunday and he is expecting to get the start again in Week 12.
Vereen came back on Monday night for the Patriots and picked up right where he left off from the first game of the season, touching the ball nine times and gaining over 70 yards in the loss against the Panthers. Vereen had a career high 101 yards rushing in the opening game against the Bills and he also added 58 yards on seven catches, but after the game he was knocked out with a wrist injury and after surgery, this was his first time in action. The team has missed Vereen, as he is the third down back and is one of the most versatile players on the roster. Bill Belichick said that Vereen would be eased back in and while that was sort of true, he did play in over 30 snaps in the game and that means he should be fully good to go next week and that is a big boost for owners, especially in PPR leagues.
