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 12 Review
- Tyrod Taylor, QB, Houston Texans: Against the Jets last week, Tyrod Taylor completed 17 of 26 passes for 158 passing yards and two passing touchdowns through the air (only one interception), and carried the ball twice for 30 rushing yards on the ground. Since he’s now rostered in over 20% of fantasy leagues, he’s no longer eligible for the ‘Must Stash’.
- Rex Burkhead, QB, Houston Texans: Rex Burkhead carried the ball 12 times for 27 rushing yards and caught three passes for 27 receiving yards against the New York Jets. He’s still a decent hold.
- Dontrell Hilliard, RB, Tennessee Titans: Dontrell Hilliard carried the ball 12 times for 131 rushing yards and a touchdown against the New England Patriots last week. Since he’s rostered in over 20% of fantasy leagues, he’s no longer eligible for the ‘Must Stash’.
- Tevin Coleman, RB, New York Jets: In the victory over the Houston Texans, Tevin Coleman carried the ball 16 times for 67 rushing yards on the ground and caught two passes for three receiving yards through the air. Because he’s rostered in over 20% of fantasy leagues, he’s no longer eligible for the ‘Must Stash’.
- Tre’Quan Smith, WR, New Orleans Saints: Tre’Quan Smith caught four passes on five targets for 31 receiving yards last Thursday against the Buffalo Bills. He’s still a decent option to hold at the end of your bench, but if you need to drop someone to make room for a hot waiver pickup, feel free to drop Smith.
The Must Stash
Foster Moreau, TE, Las Vegas Raiders (12.4% on ESPN, 13% on Yahoo)
The Las Vegas Raiders starting tight end Darren Waller suffered a knee injury against the Dallas Cowboys during the Thursday Thanksgiving football game last week and he’s been listed as week-to-week. In his absence, it is expected that Foster Moreau will step up into the role as the Raiders’ primary tight end. When Waller was out in Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Moreau caught six passes on six targets for 60 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Last week with Waller out a majority of the game, Moreau played a season-high 77 snaps. Clearly, as long as Waller’s out, this offense will give Moreau a decent receiving workload each week and put him in the low-end TE1/high-end TE2 conversation.
Phillip Lindsay, RB, Miami Dolphins (11% on ESPN, 12% on Yahoo)
It may have gone a bit under the radar, but Phillip Lindsay carried the ball 12 times for 42 rushing yards in his first game as a Miami Dolphin last week. Lindsay is a player that has been effective in the past with two 1000+ rushing yard seasons under his belt (2018 & 2019) and a career 4.6 yards per carry average. The Dolphins have indicated that they might not be 100% sold on Myles Gaskin getting a bell-cow amount of touches as he has the last few weeks this season based on how they’ve deployed Malcolm Brown when he was healthy, so there could be a legitimate opportunity for Lindsay to cement a consistent role in this offense. If you are in a deeper league and looking for an RB that could work his way into the FLEX conversation, Lindsay is a great option.
Samaje Perine, RB, Cincinnati Bengals (6.8% on ESPN, 5% on Yahoo)
At this point of the season, we are starting to see fantasy teams lock up playoff spots and get ready for a playoff run. In this process, many fantasy players will begin to tweak their roster and pick up their starting running backs handcuffs. While guys like Alexander Mattison, A.J. Dillon, and Tony Pollard are already rostered, there are still a few handcuff options that should be available in most leagues. And one of the top options available in most leagues is Bengals running back Samaje Perine. Joe Mixon has a previous history of injuries and he’s taking a ton of hits this season with the workload he’s been seeing. In the past when Joe Mixon has missed time, head coach Zac Taylor opted towards utilizing a bell-cow approach with his backup running back. Since that’s Samaje is in that primary backup role right now, he would have a ton of upside if Mixon missed time. Take a shot at him at the end of your bench.
Trey Lance, QB, San Francisco 49ers (5.9% on ESPN, 13% on Yahoo)
He’s not starting right now and may not at all during the rest of this season, but Trey Lance has the highest potential ceiling of any quarterback rostered in less than 20% of fantasy leagues – especially now that Taysom Hill and Tyrod Taylor have seen their rostered % explode in recent weeks. As we’ve touched on before with Lance in previous editions of the ‘Must Stash’, the biggest draw of Lance is his rushing upside. In his 19 game college career, Lance averaged 10.11 carries for 69.74 rushing yards and 0.95 rushing touchdowns per game. We’ve seen him continue to flash this rushing upside at the NFL level, as he carried the ball 16 times for 89 rushing yards in his one start this season against the Arizona Cardinals. At this point of the year, the ‘Must Stash’ is primarily looking at guys that may not currently have a role but if they find a way to playtime could be very valuable. If you are looking for a strong QB stash in deeper leagues, Lance is a great option for one of your final bench spots.
Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts (3.9% on ESPN, 4% on Yahoo)
Deep Cuts
(Rostered In Less Than 3% Of Leagues)
Both Websites (ESPN and Yahoo)
DeAndre Carter, WR, Washington Football Team (1.7% on ESPN, 3% on Yahoo): Has had 12 receptions on 20 targets for 171 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns over the last four games. Also has carried the ball three times for five rushing yards on the ground during this time.
Marlon Mack, RB, Indianapolis Colts (1.3% on ESPN, 3% on Yahoo): Has been a healthy scratch in each of the last three weeks, but it’s handcuff season and in the event that Jonathan Taylor misses time, he would likely receive a majority of the work on the ground.
Kene Nwangwu, RB, Minnesota Vikings (0.8% on ESPN, 1% on Yahoo): With Dalvin Cook out for a few weeks, the other Vikings running backs will have to step up. While Alexander Mattison will get the bulk of the touches, Kene Nwangwu is also worth monitoring.
Jaret Patterson, RB, Washington Football Team (0.6% on ESPN, 1% on Yahoo): J.D. McKissic had an injury scare on Monday Night Football, and Antonio Gibson has been playing through injury for a majority of the season so it’s worth keeping an eye on Jaret Patterson in deeper leagues.
Zay Jones, WR, Las Vegas Raiders (0.6% on ESPN, 1% on Yahoo): Zay Jones had five receptions on seven targets for 59 receiving yards through the air and carried the ball once for four rushing yards last week.
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 a couple of weeks ago), it’s likely that Snell would step into the role as the lead back.
Jermar Jefferson, RB, Detroit Lions (0.4% on ESPN, 0% on Yahoo): Starting running back D’Andre Swift looks like he will be missing some time after getting injured on Thanksgiving Day so the rest of the Lions backfield will have to step up, including Jermar Jefferson.
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 could step into the role as the team’s primary goal-line back.
The Must Stash – Week 13 (It's Handcuff Szn)
Players Rostered In Under 20% Of Leagues That You Should Be Monitoring
Foster Moreau
Phillip Lindsay
Samaje Perine
Rex Burkhead
Jack Doyle
DeAndre Carter
Jaret Patterson
Marlon Mack
Benny Snell Jr.
Kene Nwangwu— Eli G (@3li_handles) December 2, 2021
That’s it for Week 13. Feel free to weigh in and mention any players you believe should be on this list.
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)