The Arizona Cardinals are stuck in last place in the NFC West, falling to 1-6 over their last seven contests after Sunday’s blowout loss to the Seattle Seahawks. And yet, running backs Emari Demercado and Bam Knight are once again in the spotlight as fantasy football waivers get underway for Week 11.
At this point in the season, Demercado and Knight have been popular waiver wire options for a while. The former is owned in 18.5% of ESPN leagues and 37% of Yahoo leagues, while the latter is owned in 43.6% of ESPN leagues and 25% of Yahoo leagues. Michael Carter is also out there, carrying just 10.6% ownership on ESPN and 5% on Yahoo. Is it worth adding one of them for the home stretch of the fantasy football season – and if so, which one?
Emari Demercado Fantasy Value
Demercado posted a season-best fantasy outing on Sunday, rushing for 64 yards on just four carries. He also caught three of his four targets for 40 yards, bringing him to 13.4 PPR fantasy points on the afternoon. The underlying numbers weren’t quite as promising, though, since Demercado only saw the field on 42.1% of offensive snaps – also a season-high. And of the carries and targets that went to running backs, only 32% went to Demercado.
Unfortunately for Demercado, the defining play of his season is still his unforced goal line fumble against the Titans in Week 5. That wiped out what would have been a 72-yard touchdown, as well as a 14.2-point fantasy performance. He logged just three snaps the following week before going down with an ankle injury.
On the whole this season, Demercado is RB55, averaging 4.8 PPR fantasy points per game. From Week 4 on, though, he is averaging 9.6 when he doesn’t leave with an injury. He leads all Cardinals running backs with 8.9 yards per touch, but he ranks fifth in touches among the position group.
Bam Knight Fantasy Value
Knight actually got more run than Demercado in Week 10, accumulating 10 carries and one catch on four targets on Sunday. While he converted those chances into just 33 scrimmage yards, his 46.1% snap share outpaced Demercado’s. He also could have produced even more, but he suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter.
When he first broke into the rotation, Knight was fairly consistent. He posted 9.4 PPR fantasy points in Week 5, then 12.4 in Week 6 and 9.4 in Week 7. Coming out of Arizona’s Week 8 bye, however, he has scored 6.7 and 4.3 PPR fantasy points. Over his last four games, Knight has seen action on 49.3% of offensive snaps, logging between 34 and 38 snaps in each of those contests.
Knight is RB52 in 2025. He is averaging 6.0 PPR fantasy points per game across seven games, but 8.4 from Week 5 on. In that same span, Knight has averaged 3.2 carries plus targets in the red zone and 2.4 inside the 10 per game. Compared to Demercardo’s 1.4 and 1.2 such chances per game, that makes Knight the more reliable touchdown threat.
Which Cardinals RB should you buy ahead of Week 11?
Despite initial high hopes, neither Demercado nor Knight have been home-run additions in 2025. When James Conner suffered his season-ending foot injury in Week 3, followed by Trey Benson’s knee injury in Week 4, fantasy owners scrambled to pick up the pieces of the Cardinals’ backfield. Over the past month, Demercado and Knight have probably been picked up and dropped multiple times in a lot of leagues. Now, Benson is nearing his return from the injured reserve, while Kyler Murray could be back as soon as Week 14. And even then, it seems like Jacoby Brissett will hold onto the starting job once the former No. 1 overall pick comes off IR.
Arizona signed Carter off their practice squad for the fourth time this past weekend. With Knight banged up, he will probably hang around on the roster. Carter scored 18.3 PPR fantasy points in Week 5, but has failed to even hit 1.0 points in three of his six games on the active roster. Both Demercado and Knight are more valuable fantasy options moving forward.
Even amid all the question marks, the Cardinals’ backfield could be worth a short-term investment, especially with a home matchup against the San Francisco 49ers on the books for Week 11. The 49ers rank 17th in limiting opposing fantasy running backs, presenting a favorable matchup for Arizona’s running backs as a whole. Nailing down which one will break out in any given week is tough, but Demercado will be a must-start if Knight misses the contest. His ceiling is higher, too, so there is more long-term value there as well.
If both top running backs are healthy, Knight is probably the safer play with the higher floor. And even then, he will probably be a fringe top-30 running back at best.
