Devontae Booker (RB, DEN) - Week 6 Waiver Wire Pickups

October 9, 2018

Denver Broncos running back (RB) Devontae Booker is a waiver wire pickup and add target for Week 6 of the 2018 NFL season. Brady Grove supports Booker due to his high-volume use in the passing game despite becoming an afterthought for carries.

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OWNED IN: 4% of Leagues

ANALYSIS: It may seem like a strange time to invest in Devontae Booker, considering that so far through five games he has only accrued 36 rushing yards on just eleven carries, not to mention the fact that he has failed to put up more than ten rushing yards in a game since week two. However, in making a transition that so many backs around the league have been forced to make in most recent years, Booker has found new life on the field through the passing game. So far this year he has caught 13 passes on 17 targets for a total of 113 yards, which currently gives him the highest receiving yards-per-game of his career at 22.6. More importantly, his role as a pass-catching back has grown more prominent as his opportunities to carry the ball dwindle. In two out of the last three games (week three and week five), Booker has emerged to the tune of 93 receiving yards on ten catches out of 13 targets.

With other Bronco backs like Phillip Lindsay, Andy Janovich (FB), and Royce Freeman occupying a much smaller share of the pass-catching opportunities, Booker currently ranks fourth on the team in total receiving yards behind only Emmanuel Sanders, Demaryius Thomas, and Courtland Sutton. This is with 82.3% of his receiving yards coming in two of Denver's last three games. The Broncos have also been effectively utilizing Booker in opponent territory, with seven receptions on nine targets for 51 yards from the opponent's 49-20 yard lines and a nine yard reception on his lone red-zone target. The Broncos passing game hasn't been in the top-half of the league thus far into the season (Case Keenum ranks 17th in the league with 273 passing yards-per-game), but Devontae Booker appears to have carved out a sturdy niche as the top pass-catching option out of the backfield. Though this brings along the baggage of his role in the running-game beginning to border on nonexistent, his recent showings as a pass-catcher warrant strong consideration in deeper PPR leagues.