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Should I pickup Michael Carter or Emari Demercado as fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 16 of 2025? Read our fantasy football waiver wire outlooks.
How many starting running backs can one team cycle through in one season?
The Arizona Cardinals have started four different runners this season. In five games, a different back led the team in touches. With the injury to Bam Knight, who has started since Week 7, there's about to be another change.
Should you pick up Michael Carter or Emari Demercado ahead of Week 16? Let's dive in.
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Michael Carter Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook
Carter may have the most ups and downs of any player in the league. He started the season on Arizona's practice squad. Following season-ending injuries to James Conner and Trey Benson, Carter found himself as a sudden starter. He had 23 touches for 73 yards and a touchdown in his primary game as the lead back (Week 4).
His demotion came just as fast as his promotion. He started one more game and was then released, only to be signed back to the practice squad. It wasn't until this past game that he led the Cardinals in touches again.
Of course, that was circumstantial. Knight was carted off after one carry in the loss to the Texans. That left Carter and Demercado to handle the backfield workload. Carter's 18 touches easily trumped Demercado's three.
Emari Demercado Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Outlook
Demercado is the one Arizona running back of the five who doesn't have a start to his name this season. However, he did lead the backfield in Week 9 in the win over the Dallas Cowboys. Carter was inactive, and Knight picked up the start. Demercado took his 15 touches for 78 yards.
His season went off the rails when he dropped the football short of the goal line on a long run against the Tennessee Titans. The Cardinals lost the game by one point. The coaching staff lost some trust in the 26-year-old.
IT HAPPENED AGAIN 😱
Cardinals have a 72-yd TD taken off the board pic.twitter.com/BMDvEYklhC
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) October 5, 2025
Demercado isn't an every-down running back and likely won't bring more than a handful of touches to any fantasy football squad. However, he outsnapped Carter in games leading up to his ankle injury. Week 15 was Demercado's first game back in the lineup.
Should I Pick Up Michael Carter or Emari Demercado For Fantasy Football?
Knight's Week 15 injury is expected to keep him out of the lineup this weekend, if not longer.
Cardinals RB Bam Knight, who was carted off Sunday with an ankle injury, suffered what is being described as “a bad sprain” but nothing is broken. Knight will undergo an MRI today to confirm the diagnosis. He is unlikely to play this week. pic.twitter.com/9Uh6DfLQDD
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 15, 2025
Conner, Benson, Carter, Knight: It doesn't matter. The starting running back for the Cardinals brings, at worst, flex value to fantasy football lineups. Selecting which one gets the majority of the touches is the difficult part.
The reeling Atlanta defense is next on the docket. With four teams left in most fantasy leagues, the guessing game may not be worth the trouble for remaining managers. If we had to guess, and a fantasy manager is riddled with injuries, follow the most recent trends and add Michael Carter. He picked up the most work last weekend.
Be warned, though. Jonathan Gannon could just as quickly change his mind, as has been the case often this season. Carter will likely be ranked as a low-end RB2, high-end RB3 for Week 16.
Who Should I Pickup Tool
Trying to decide who to pick up off the waiver wire? Check the Who Should I Pickup tool here:
Compare up to four players and we'll tell you who to pickup...
Who Should I Pickup? Some common 2025 fantasy football waiver wire decisions are regarding players like Michael Carter, Emari Demercado, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Kenneth Gainwell, Malik Davis, and Blake Corum. But not to worry, we are here to help make these waiver wire decisions and build winning teams in 2025. Set your optimal fantasy football lineups in 2025. Our free Who Should I Pickup? tool will help make your fantasy football waiver wire decisions. Compare up to four NFL players, and we tell you who to pick up... all free! Make the right decisions.
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Popular Player Comparison Searches - Who To Pickup
Below are some popular searches and comparisons from our Who To Pickup tool for 2025 for Michael Carter, Emari Demercado, Jacory Croskey-Merritt, Kenneth Gainwell, Malik Davis, Blake Corum:
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