6 Sneaky Fantasy Football Stashes That Could WIN Your League! (Ep. 2291)

0:00 You already know what time it is.

0:01 It is time to make you a smarter fantasy football manager, the manager that is staying two to three moves ahead of their league mates, the manager that is beating their league mates on the waiver wire because you're stashing players before they break out. I'm Lucas Wentzel here with Fantasy Pros, bringing you my top five waiver wire stashes ahead of week seven.

0:18 And next week's waiver run as well.

0:20 I'm calling this week our greatest hits thus far, so let's not waste any time and dive right on it. The first player on our list this week is Houston Texans wide receiver Jalen Knoll, who is rostered in 20% of leagues. Knoll squeaked in as the final player on our list last week, and it certainly paid off. I had made the case that the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade should actually make people more curious about the Texans wide receiver room and Jalen Knoll's role specifically. Obviously, One game is not large enough of a sample to create any concrete conclusions, but Noel ran 5.1 yards per route last week, which was the third highest of the week, and he caught a first down on 19% of his routes, which

0:58 was also top five. You're also, I get it, not going to average 26.75 yards per reception each week and have multiple catches of 30 plus yards, but let's expand our sample since Nico Collins specifically returned from injury. Since week four, Jalen Knoll has run 3.82 yards per route. That is the fifth highest mark in the league. He hasn't dropped a single pass while averaging 19.4 yards per target, and he's still top 15 in yards after contact per reception, first downs per route run of all wide receivers with at least 25 routes. Jalen Knoll, he is a quality football player on a Houston Texans team that is top 10 in pass rate over expectation over the last two weeks because they can't run the football. Part of that

1:39 is because David Montgomery hasn't been around, but shoot, even when David Montgomery was in the lineup, Houston Texans could not run the football. Will Marvin Harrison Jr. run more than 25% of routes in future weeks? Yes, he absolutely will. No question about that. Will Tank Dell also chip away at some of Jalen Knoll's slot snaps once he returns to the lineup? I'm going to say potentially on that because you have to remember, he has not played football in nearly two years. It's going to take quite a bit for him to ramp back up to speed. Jalen Knoll passes the eye test. He clearly has CJ Stroud's trust, and he should be rostered in well more than 20% of leagues. The second player on our list is Los

2:14 Angeles Rams tight end Terrence Ferguson, who is rostered in 20% of leagues. T-Ferg's roster percentage has already jumped 8% since I mentioned stashing him in last week's video, so that means a lot of y'all went and applied the advice last week, or it means that your league mates are already catching on. His return has also likely been highlighted by the fact that Devontae Adams now finds himself on IR with a ruptured hamstring, so The Rams need pass catchers.

2:38 I said it in last week's video. Ferguson is first eligible to return in week eight against the Los Angeles Chargers, but your league mates are now probably starting to realize this is their chance to stash him, and I do think it is your last chance to try and scoop him up. We already have proof of what the Rams want to do when they're down one of Puka Nakua or Devontae Adams in their starting lineup. In week two, they were without Puka. Terrence Ferguson turned in six receptions on nine targets for 54 yards and a score, which was good for the tight end eight on the week.

3:05 They are going to continue running 13 personnel, three tight end sets at the highest clip in the league because it's just not optimal to utilize Kanata Mumfield as your wide receiver too. And that is no disrespect to Kanata Mumfield. You just need more playmakers out there on the field. Even after Ferguson went down, the Rams have been able to produce a top 12 fantasy tight end in three of their last four games. In week three, it was Tyler Higbee with eight catches on 11 targets for 62 yards and a score. That was a tight end six.

3:33 In week five, Tyler Higbee again, five catches on six targets for 83 yards. That was a tight end 11. And then how about week six? People thought it was going to be Tyler Higbee, but it was Colby Parkinson. Five catches on six targets for 31 yards, but you got the touchdown, which got him to tight end 10 on the week. Now, I will acknowledge reports have been saying that Terrence Ferguson isn't ready to have his practice window opened yet, and his recovery will, quote, take some time, but we're running out of weeks before his window does inevitably open, and the chance to stash Ferguson then is all of a sudden long gone. The Rams love T-Ferg.

4:05 They wanted to have him operate as this field-stretching pseudo wide receiver three this offseason to expand the route tree, and I'm still buying in on that once he returns. So even if he doesn't return first thing in week eight, he could be a sneaky league-winning piece rest of season once he does. Next up on our list is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Caleb Douglas, who is rostered in 18% of leagues. Douglas was actually the very first player I talked about this season when he was rostered in 22% of leagues, and it seemed like we may have had an instant hit on our hands. He had five catches on seven targets for 94 yards and 14.4 points against the Raiders in week one. That was good for the wide receiver, 22 on the week, but then in week two,

4:46 he suffers the ankle injury, misses three games before the Dolphins week six bye, but As of this recording, we do have a limited practice log so far this week ahead of week seven. From what we could tell, it looked like Caleb Douglas was ready to plant his flag to be the Dolphins wide receiver one this year. In week one, he ran 3.13 yards per route. He was a wide receiver 29 and expected fantasy points. And he was great after the catch 37 yards, which was actually top seven on the week. The Dolphins offense just desperately needs playmakers, right? We've been saying this while talking about Chris Bell in previous videos and previous podcasts as well.

5:21 You need to give Malik Willis more options.

5:23 So he's not stuck completing only 56% of his passes while struggling with.

5:27 A miserable 40% success rate.

5:31 To be clear, Caleb Douglas will not fix all the woes of this passing game, but you have to imagine Malik Willis will be very, very grateful to have a six foot three threat with four three nine speed back on the field at his disposal. And if you're worried about Malik Washington in that rotation, I actually think he gets kicked back into the slot and it'll be Caleb Douglas and Chris Bell on the perimeter in two wide receiver sets. But again, we're staying one to two moves ahead of your league mates here. This is your last chance to stash Douglas now, especially now that he's back at practice. And once he does hit the field for a live game, it could very well be too late already. Now, before we get to the last two players, if you

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6:53 Fourth up on our list this week is Washington Commanders wide receiver Antonio Williams, who is rostered in 18% of leagues. Welcome to the Frequent Flyers Club, Antonio Williams. I am actually genuinely shocked he isn't rostered in more than 18% of leagues now that Terry McLaurin is out for the season with a torn patellar tendon in his left knee.

7:11 I mean, I guess I do know why.

7:13 Because nobody's actively hunting for a Washington Commanders player on their waiver wire this week, while the Commanders are on bye.

7:19 In week seven.

7:20 But that is exactly why you should be stashing Antonio Williams right now. Once the Commanders start practicing ahead of week eight, people will remember that, oh, Terry McLaurin is out. They're going to be expecting to see Antonio Williams' role expand, and they think they can still pick him up. Don't let your league mates get away with that. Don't let them get away with being lazy, because you're going to stay one to two moves ahead of them. We already have a taste test of what Antonio Williams' role looks like when Terry McLaurin isn't on the field. In Week 4, without Terry McLaurin in the lineup, Williams ran a route on 73% of dropbacks tied with Stefan Diggs on the week.

7:52 He drew a target on 23% of his routes, which added up to 7 total targets. And then the additional context that won't show up in the box score or the advanced metrics either is that Antonio Williams had an 87-yard touchdown called back due to an illegal shift in that Game 2. When Williams has had his name called upon, he stepped up, and I think it would be actually a relatively big mistake for David Blau to call on the likes of Traylon Burks or Diami Brown to try and fill in the production.

8:19 Terry McLaurin.

8:20 I'm not saying Antonio Williams will play the Terry McLaurin role nor repeat his production identically, but Williams has shown he's more explosive than most expected to be, and he's taking care of business when his number has been called upon. And he should get plenty of opportunity after the bye as well. I mean, just looking at the schedule, he gets a struggling Eagles team, then they get the Rams where they'll be chasing points. They get an exploitable Giants secondary, then they get the Bengals where they'll probably be chasing points.

8:45 Then they get the Cardinals, the Titans, the Texans, the Falcons, the Vikings, the Jaguars, the Cowboys. I mean, the only matchup you truly hate hearing during that stretch is the Minnesota Vikings because Brian Flores is a sicko. So don't wait until the commanders are back from by to stash Antonio Williams. Do it now because you're just giving your league mates the opportunity to pick him up later and allowing them to be lazy and not active on the waiver wire. And fifth on our list this week, is San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Christian Kirk, who is rostered in 11% of leagues. This is where we're at with San Francisco 49ers wide receivers. Mike Evans is likely going to sit out week seven. Devo Samuel is still week

9:22 to week with a hamstring injury. It's still too early for Dejon Stribling to return. So we're looking at Christian Kirk making his 49ers debut after spending the first six weeks on IR with a calf injury. Obviously, Christian Kirk is going to sit behind George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey in the pecking order of pass catchers this week, but We've also seen Kyle Shanahan turn these veteran wide receivers into single game stars. Obviously, Jawan Jennings has a long track record of his own. Demarcus Robinson had 111 yards and a score in the playoffs last year. And then you had Kendrick Bourne, who also just last season turned in back to back games of 142 receiving yards for Kyle Shanahan.

9:59 And this offense.

10:00 Like we could keep expanding this list going all the way back to prior to 2020. But my point in saying all of this is that while it might seem like we're chasing one week of Christian Kirk, what happens when the injuries continue to pile up for the San Francisco 49ers? What happens if Mike Evans does end up having a bigger injury later on in the season that has him miss? extended time. It wouldn't be the first time for that. What happens if Debo Samuel continues to struggle with hamstring injuries? It wouldn't be the first time for that. What happens if Deshaun's dribbling injury takes longer to heal than anticipated? I mean, 49ers beat writer Jennifer Leachan has said that dribbling isn't even walking on his

10:36 injured foot yet. What if it's not until well after week 12 that dribbling returns? You could do a lot worse than stashing a wide receiver on a frequently banged up 49ers team that could provide multiple spike weeks if their key weapons continue to miss time. This offense is too explosive. It's worth stashing Christian Kirk. And surprise, I do have a bonus player this week to consider stashing.

10:56 It's Las Vegas Raiders tight end Michael Mayer, who is rostered in 30% of leagues.

11:00 He is at the very tip top of this threshold.

11:03 And I'll keep this one short and sweet because for most of you deep league sickos out there, Mayor has already been scooped up. But for those of you in more shallow leagues, I think there might be something here with Michael Mayer to consider. Mayor has now commanded nine plus targets in two of his last three games with Brock Bowers also in the lineup.

11:20 Let me repeat that. Nine targets.

11:23 We cannot shrug that off given the state of the tight end position in fantasy football. In those games, Michael Mayer is running a respectable 2.1 yards per route. That is second on the team to Brock Bowers. He's drawing a target on 23% of those routes. He's gaining a first down on 13% of those routes. Like those are all not like super elite numbers, but very solid numbers for the per route efficiency metrics that I care most about.

11:46 And now I won't lie. It is a dense stretch of games coming up here from Michael Mayer.

11:51 It's the Rams, the jets, the 49ers and the Seahawks who are all bottom five and points per game allowed to the position this year. It's not looking great, but if the Raiders are chasing points against the Rams, if they're chasing points against the 49ers, the target still may funnel Michael Mayer's direction because with how dull the Raiders wide receiver room is, Bowers and Mayer are Kirk Cousins preferred options in this offense right now. And there you have it, my top six Waver Wire stashes ahead of week seven. Go sprint to your Waver Wire right now.

12:21 Make sure that none of these guys are still available in your leagues. They're all rostered in 30% or less, so there's a good chance they might still be floating out there on your Waver Wire. Thanks for tuning in, and make sure you hit that subscribe button, turn on that notification bell as well, so you get all of the newest Fantasy Pros content as soon as it comes out.

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