RADIO
Mastering the waiver wire is a crucial skill that can lead you to a fantasy football championship. It's not just about strategically placing your FAAB budget on specific players but also about knowing when to stash players. This dual strategy keeps you engaged and focused on your ultimate goal of winning a fantasy championship.
As the season progresses, injuries occur or rookies begin to break out. Many of these NFL players are often drafted but dropped after the first handful of weeks due to impatient league managers. This article will pinpoint which players we’d want to stash on our bench as fantasy football waiver-wire pickups to power us down the stretch.
Earlier in the season, we examined some must-have handcuffs and upside players who already showcased their upside in the opening weeks, such as Tyrone Tracy Jr., Drake Maye, and Jalen Tolbert. This week, we will discuss some more rookies and a few veteran players who could eventually grow into starting roles and who you should consider stashing before Week 7 kicks off. All players will be below a 25% Yahoo! roster percentage.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for the 2025 playoffs:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Blake Corum, RB, Los Angeles Rams
16% rostered
With the Rams on a bye week this past weekend, many of your league-mates may have missed Blake Corum on the waiver wire.
In Week 5, Corum logged a season-high 11 snaps, his highest campaign total. In addition, presumed No. 2 running back Ronnie Rivers was only deployed in special teams opportunities.
In the past, Rivers always backed up the top option, Kyren Williams, but it looks like the Michigan product has jumped up to the backup role.
Given how much Williams is involved in the offense, Corum would immediately become a must-start RB2 with upside if he were to miss time. Grab him before the breakout.
Trey Benson, RB, Arizona Cardinals
19% rostered
After being a healthy scratch in Week 5, Benson returned in Week 6 and saw five rushing attempts for 26 yards in their loss to the Green Bay Packers. This was his fourth-highest rushing total of the season and the third time he saw double-digit snaps.
Like Corum, Benson has no standalone value as he typically sees only five carries in each game, with James Conner seeing the lion’s share of opportunities.
However, the veteran logged a season-low seven carries in Week 6. This could have been due to the game script, as the Packers were up multiple scores throughout.
Nonetheless, Benson remains a high-upside stash with league-winning potential if he earns the starting role.
Jaylen Wright, RB, Miami Dolphins
13% rostered
Seeing a trend here? Another rookie running back who makes this list is Jaylen Wright. Wright was a popular waiver-wire target earlier in the season when Raheem Mostert missed time with a chest injury.
However, Mostert returned in Week 5, but De’Von Achane (concussion) left that game early, which re-opened the door for Wright.
In this game, Wright had 13 carries for 86 yards in the season, which is an excellent sign as the Tennessee product had never run for more than 40 yards previously.
By the Eye Test Jaylen Wright looks like what Miami’s run game has been needing.
Bigger and more physical than Achane and Mostert while still possessing quick cuts and breakaway speed.
In his first full reveal he really did look like a future lead back for the #Dolphins pic.twitter.com/a5h5zHAUD8
— Doηmεgαh Mεdïα (@donmegah) October 8, 2024
Still sitting at just under the 15% roster mark, Wright could eventually carve out the starting role in this offense, given the injury-prone tendencies of the two players in front of him on the depth chart.
Other RB stashes (Kimani Vidal LAC, Audric Estime DEN, Kendre Miller NO, Keaton Mitchell BAL)
Ricky Pearsall, WR, San Francisco 49ers
6% rostered
Head coach Kyle Shanahan said last week that first-round pick Ricky Pearsall’s (chest) practice window will open this week.
Pearsall has not wasted any time, as he has returned to practice in full participation this week and will make his professional debut on Sunday.
Given how deep the San Francisco offense is, fantasy managers should not expect Pearsall to have much standalone value, especially early on in his return.
Ricky Pearsall back participating in 49ers practice for the first time since being shot in the chest Aug. 31 pic.twitter.com/7vzVC8jKgL
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 14, 2024
At the University of Florida last season, Pearsall caught a career-high 965 yards with six total scores. Once he gets acclimated to this offense, he could eventually grow into the No. 3 wide receiver role and have value in deeper formats.
Justin Watson, WR, Kansas City Chiefs
1% rostered
JuJu Smith-Schuster caught everyone’s attention in Week 5 by posting a stellar seven-catch 130 receiving-yard line in Rashee Rice’s (knee) absence.
If you missed out on Smith-Schuster on waivers, do not be afraid to take a flier on Justin Watson. While Watson did not record a catch in Week 5, he ran more routes and logged more snaps than Smith-Schuster.
However, given how many routes Watson ran, not making one catch is not a positive sign.
It is yet to be seen if Smith-Schuster’s performance was more of an outlier, but if you need help at receiver and are looking for an upside play, Watson could eventually grow into a solid role in this passing attack.
Other WR stashes (Tre Tucker LV, Troy Franklin DEN)
Erick All Jr., TE, Cincinnati Bengals
5% rostered
After pacing Cincinnati tight ends in total snaps during Weeks 4 and 5, the fourth-round pick took a step back in Week 6 as he logged only 22 snaps, which was the second-most at the position.
In addition, All caught only two passes for ten yards during this game. During Weeks 2 through 4, he caught at least four passes in every game.
The rookie tight end looked poised to continue his breakout season but hit a roadblock in his development against the sixth-toughest defense for tight ends.
He is worth keeping on your roster in deeper formats for now, but another poor showing could make a breakout rookie season seem quite unlikely.
Ja'Tavion Sanders, TE, Carolina Panthers
2% rostered
Sanders is coming off the best game of his rookie season and has begun to emerge as the lead tight end in Carolina.
Through Weeks 1 to 4, Sanders saw only a high of 25 snaps and was being deployed as the No. 2 option at the position behind Tommy Tremble.
However, during weeks 5 and 6, the Texas product has logged at least 40 snaps in each game, almost double that of any other Carolina tight end. In addition, during Week 5, he saw five targets, his most at the time, and brought in three of them.
Love the layering here from Andy Dalton to Ja’Tavion Sanders. Accurate throw down the seam against a void in the zone drops. #Panthers pic.twitter.com/W7nC4UhuhZ
— Jared Feinberg (@JRodNFLDraft) October 15, 2024
In Week 6, Sanders continued progressing, catching five of his seven targets for a new high of 49 receiving yards.
Given how volatile the tight end position has been this season, Sanders is making a case to be treated as a TE2 going forward, with the potential to grow into a low-end TE1 as the season progresses.
Jameis Winston, QB, Cleveland Browns
1% rostered
How bad can Deshaun Watson get? Apparently, he could get even worse as he scored a new season-low of 10.1 PPR points in their Week 6 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He threw for 168 yards, his second-lowest total of the season.
Throughout the season, Watson has thrown only five scores with three interceptions and five fumbles. To make matters worse, the Browns' offense has yet to score 20 points in a game this season, making them the only team to do so.
After their Week 6 loss, head coach Kevin Stefanaski defended his quarterback again and further emphasized that he will remain the starting option.
If you lack a solid No. 2 option in your Superflex leagues, you can do much worse than stashing Winston, as he could get the call any week.
Other QB stashes (Mason Rudolph TEN)
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