Saquon Barkley and his incredibly swollen ankle were an unfortunate casualty of the Giants' injury-riddled loss to the Cowboys in Week 5. Barkley somehow avoid major injury, but the star back is week-to-week with a return in Week 6 looking unlikely.
In his absence, Devontae Booker stepped up and should continue to be the go-to guy while Barkley is sidelined.
He is rostered in only 9% of Yahoo! leagues, making him a perfect waiver wire pickup this week for anyone needy at the position. But how aggressively should you target Booker?
Our trio of analysts break down his potential value and how much of your Free Agent Acquisition Budget (FAAB) to bid in order to roster him.
Target Devontae Booker On Fantasy Waiver Wire?
Samantha Previte
One of the biggest injuries of the day came in an injury-riddled Giants-Cowboys game: Star running back Saquon Barkley appeared to have suffered an ankle injury that left his ankle looking like a grapefruit. Giants fans and the fantasy community breathed a sigh of relief, however, after it was revealed he escaped a major injury and there were no broken bones.
Barkley was diagnosed with a low-ankle sprain and is listed as week-to-week with optimism he could return as early as Week 7 against Carolina. Booker should see the majority of the work while Barkley is sidelined. He saw 16 carries for 42 yards and a touchdown and caught three of four targets for 16 yards and a receiving touchdown. He should be a great streamer so long as Barkley is out and a worthwhile insurance policy to roster given Barkley's injury history, but I would not overspend on what could be a one-week rental.
Booker is the highest-priority RB add in my Week 6 breakdown of the waiver wire market.
Sean Koerner
If you are in need of a one- to four-week rental on a low-end RB2, I would out a sizable bid in to roster Booker. He is capable of being a workhorse back, as we saw last year when he filled in for Josh Jacobs on the Raiders and even back to his time with the Broncos. Rookie Gary Brightwell didn't see a single touch after Saquon Barklet was knocked out of the game, so the Giants clearly view Booker as the go-to guy while Barkley is out. Even more promising, Booker had a 71% routes-run rate, meaning we can trust him in what will likely be a negative game script this week as 10.5 point (check out real-time NFL odds here) home underdogs against the Rams. It depends on your record, how desperate you are at RB and how much you think your league will bid on Booker, but bidding 20-30% of your FAAB is certainly reasonable here.
Chris Raybon
Booker played 60-of-66, or 91%, of non-Saquon Barkley backfield snaps for the Giants last week, turning 19 touches into 58 yards and two touchdowns. Because Booker barely came off the field despite the Giants also having Elijhaa Penny and Gary Brightwell available to play tailback, I'm considering Booker the No. 1 waiver priority for this week over Darrel Williams and Khalil Herbert, who operated in committee roles last week. The Rams rank 15th in run-defense DVOA and 17th in DVOA on passes to running backs, so the matchup isn't scary despite the Giants being a huge underdog.
