Every week I will list some players who I think if things go their way, will wind up in those waiver articles the following Tuesday. You don’t have to stash all of them – it depends on who you have on your roster, the depth of your benches, the scoring system of your league, etc. But these are guys that should at least be on your radar.
Stashing players is only something that can occur in deeper leagues with large benches, so to make this information worthwhile, I will only be recommending guys that are rostered in under 20% of leagues on both Yahoo and ESPN, and in many cases, you’ll see percentages in the single digits. If you’re in a league where guys like Rhamondre Stevenson (45.4% on ESPN), Kadarius Toney (41.5% on ESPN), and Elijah Mitchell (85.5% on ESPN) are on the waiver wire, you’re either in a league too shallow for stashing, or you should go pick those guys up right away.
In addition, for those of you in really deep leagues (16+ teams), we will also include some deep cut players that are rostered in less than 3% of leagues on both Yahoo and ESPN in a section at the end to try and give you the best chance of winning your fantasy league. Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Week 11 Review
- Wayne Gallman, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Wayne Gallman carried the ball just one time for negative three rushing yards against the New England Patriots last week. It’s safe to drop him.
- Kendrick Bourne, WR, New England Patriots: Kendrick Bourne caught four passes on four targets for 42 receiving yards through the air and carried the ball once for seven rushing yards on the ground against the Atlanta Falcons. Now that he’s rostered in over 20% of Yahoo leagues, Bourne is not eligible for the ‘Must Stash’ this week.
- Eno Benjamin, RB, Arizona Cardinals: Eno Benjamin carried the ball six times for 15 rushing yards on the ground and caught one pass for five receiving yards through the air against the Seattle Seahawks last week. Given the Cardinals have a BYE week this week, you can probably get away with dropping him and picking him up next week if you’re interested.
- Trey Sermon, RB, San Francisco 49ers: Trey Sermon carried the ball 10 times for 32 rushing yards and caught one pass for 23 receiving yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. He’s worth keeping an eye on as long as Eli Mitchell is out of commission.
- Jamal Agnew, WR, Jacksonville Jaguars: Jamal Agnew caught three passes on three targets for 18 receiving yards through the air and carried the ball once for two rushing yards against the San Francisco 49ers, but suffered a season-ending injury in the game. Because of his injury, he’s droppable in all formats.
The Must Stash
Tyrod Taylor, QB, Houston Texans (13.2% on ESPN, 8% on Yahoo)
The ‘Must Stash’ has been one of the biggest supporters of Tyrod Taylor this season, as he’s been featured multiple weeks this year. So far this season (four games), Tyrod has completed 69 passes on 111 passing attempts for 763 passing yards and three passing touchdowns through the air and carried the ball 14 times for 106 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Over the course of his career, he’s done a great job of protecting the football throwing only 23 interceptions in the 76 games he’s played (51 starts), which minimizes his downside on a week-to-week basis. He’s also got a great upcoming schedule with matchups against the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, and Jacksonville Jaguars in the next four weeks. Based on all of this information, Tyrod should be a pretty solid fantasy quarterback for the next few games and a player to stash on the end of your bench or monitor closely on the waiver wire.
Rex Burkhead, RB, Houston Texans (3.4% on ESPN, 4% on Yahoo)
In a bit of a surprising move, the Houston Texans made the decision to cut Phillip Lindsay this past week after their victory over the Tennessee Titans. While David Johnson should be a big beneficiary, it’s also important not to forget about Rex Burkhead and Royce Freeman getting more work. Last week against the Titans, Rex Burkhead played 42% of the team’s offensive snaps and carried the ball 18 times for 40 rushing yards. While the Texans offense isn’t the most appealing one to invest in, this kind of workload is worth paying attention to and makes Burkhead a great candidate for the ‘Must Stash’ this week.
Dontrell Hilliard, RB, Tennessee Titans (6.1% on ESPN, 12% on Yahoo)
The Tennessee Titans decided to release Adrian Peterson this past week and roll with the running back group of D’Onta Foreman, Dontrell Hilliard, and Jeremy McNichols with Derrick Henry out for the rest of the regular season. With D’Onta Foreman rostered in over 20% of leagues on both ESPN and Yahoo, we turn our attention to Dontrell Hilliard on the ‘Must Stash’ this week. Hilliard had an impressive game last week against the Houston Texans where he carried the ball seven times for 35 rushing yards on the ground and caught eight passes for 47 receiving yards through the air. If you are looking for a decent lottery ticket this week, Hilliard is a very solid option.
Tevin Coleman, RB, New York Jets (13% on ESPN, 11% on Yahoo)
Michael Carter went down with an injury this past week and will miss at least the next two games. What this means is that we will see an increased workload for Ty Johnson and Tevin Coleman in the coming weeks. We’ve featured Ty Johnson before, so this week we’ll put a little spotlight on Tevin Coleman. Last week against the Miami Dolphins, Coleman played a season-high 33% of the team’s offensive snaps and carried the ball five times for 16 rushing yards. While he’s almost certainly not going to be a league-winner this year, Coleman could be a decent FLEX play for the next couple of weeks with decent matchups against the Houston Texans and the Philadelphia Eagles.
Tre’Quan Smith, WR, New Orleans Saints (4.4% on ESPN, 5% on Yahoo)
Tre’Quan Smith has put up decent fantasy numbers in each of the last four weeks. In Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he had three receptions on three targets for 33 receiving yards and a touchdown, in Week 9 against the Atlanta Falcons, he had three receptions on four targets for 53 receiving yards, in Week 10 against the Tennessee Titans, he had four receptions on seven targets for 44 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown, and in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles, he had five receptions on eight targets for 64 receiving yards. With Michael Thomas officially out for the year, this production may be sustainable and allow Smith to be a decent FLEX option for the rest of the season.
Deep Cuts
(Rostered In Less Than 3% Of Leagues)
Both Websites (ESPN and Yahoo)
DeAndre Carter, WR, Washington Football Team (1.5% on ESPN, 3% on Yahoo): DeAndre Carter has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last three games for the Washington Football Team.
DeeJay Dallas, RB, Seattle Seahawks (1.1% on ESPN, 3% on Yahoo): DeeJay Dallas carried the ball four times for 25 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Cardinals last week. With Chris Carson out for the year, he’s worth monitoring for the rest of the season.
Royce Freeman, RB, Houston Texans (0.7% on ESPN, 0% on Yahoo): With the Texans cutting Phillip Lindsay, Royce Freeman could find himself with more opportunities for the rest of the season.
Albert Okwuegbunam, TE, Denver Broncos (1.4% on ESPN, 1% on Yahoo): He was on a bye week last week, but before the BYE week Albert Okwuegbunam had three receptions on three targets for 77 receiving yards. If Noah Fant ever goes down, Albert Okwuegbunam would be in the TE1 conversation in this offense.
Benny Snell Jr., RB, Pittsburgh Steelers (0.6% on ESPN, 1% on Yahoo): It’s handcuff season with the fantasy playoffs approaching quickly and if Najee Harris ends up missing time at any point this year (he did have an injury scare against the Chargers), it’s likely that Snell would step into the role as the lead back.
Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts (1.8% on ESPN, 3% on Yahoo): Marlon Mack has been a healthy scratch against the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars the past two weeks, but in the event that Jonathan Taylor misses time, he would likely receive a majority of the work on the ground.
ESPN/Yahoo Only
Malcolm Brown, RB, Miami Dolphins (4.3% on ESPN, 2% on Yahoo): Malcolm Brown has been on injured reserve since Week 8, but once he makes his return he should step into the role as the team’s primary goal-line back.
That’s it for Week 12. Feel free to weigh in and mention any players you believe should be on this list.
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)