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Fantasy Football Week 8 Waiver Wire Pickup: RB Benny Cunningham

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By @WaltYeboah

Benny Cunningham fantasy football Week 8 Waiver Wire

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

While St. Louis Rams rookie running back Tre Mason has been grabbing all of the fantasy football Week 8 waiver wire headlines, his teammate, Benny Cunningham, has been making quite a name for himself as well over the past three weeks in the NFL.

Cunningham has scored all three of his touchdowns on the season over the last three games and he’s punished opposing defenses with his triple-threat ability: running, receiving and returning. Although he hasn’t had a lot of carries in the backfield (36 total all year), Cunningham has made his few touches count because two of his three TDs have come from runs.

With second-year starting running back Zac Stacy only averaging 3.9 yards per carry on the season, the Rams have decided to put the ball in the hands of Mason, as he will now take on the role as their feature back. Apparently, Cunningham has also leapfrogged Stacy on the depth chart as well, which was evident after Stacy saw zero carries in their recent win over the Seattle Seahawks.

Mason will dominate the touches in the Rams’ backfield, but he’s not really known for his hands, so Cunningham will definitely be the main RB used on obvious passing downs and in certain red-zone situations. Don’t forget, he also has the ability to do damage in the return game, which has clearly been on display after he racked 184 return yards over the last three games alone. Therefore, Rams designated punt return man Tavon Austin will have a lot to prove in order to secure his job at this role.

The Rams will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 8. Since the Chiefs are the better team, expect the Rams to have a lot of return opportunities in the game. As the lesser opponent, St. Louis will probably have to play from behind and this will force Cunningham onto the field in hurry-up offense and passing situations.

At the moment, Cunningham has less than five-percent ownership in virtually every fantasy league, so if you drop the ball and forget to claim him off the waiver wire, you are letting double-digit points at the RB2 slot or at the flex position slip right through your fingertips.

Walton Yeboah-Amoako is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @WaltYeboah, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

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