RADIO
Staying ahead of your league mates when it comes to spotting potential breakout players while saving your FAAB or waiver priority is an underrated skill. As we are four weeks into the regular season, some of the players we drafted are no longer going to be on our rosters due to their performance or injury. If you have been holding out to see something from a player and they haven't done anything after four weeks, more than likely you can feel comfortable dropping that player to address needs that may have popped up elsewhere.
We always want to be looking for backup running backs who are just one spot away on the depth chart from having some real fantasy value. While we aren't wishing for anyone to get injured, unfortunately, injuries are the harsh reality of fantasy football and we must be prepared. Whenever a player is injured or ruled out for the game, the first thing that should come to your mind is: "Who benefits the most from this on their team?" If you can develop that skill over time, you will become a savant on waivers and even better at setting the right lineups. Like a stock market or crypto investor, we always want to be conscious of a simple thing called cause and effect.
Week to week it is my job to keep my ear to the local scuttlebutt of all that is going on with 32 teams to help you bargain hunt for some free options on your league's waiver wire. Here are this week's selections for you to keep an eye on.
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Weekend Waiver Wire Stashes Before Week 5
Isiah Pacheco, Kansas City Chiefs - 34% rostered
Just when I tell you that it's time to pay attention to Jerick McKinnon, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid goes and makes me look stupid. While Pacheco played just 21 percent of the team's offensive snaps last week, he looked very explosive in doing so. Pacheco rushed 11 times for 63 yards and looks like a much faster running back than the team's starter, who appears to be Clyde Edwards-Helaire. While CEH has been good for fantasy, he has been incredibly efficient in his limited touches and that could change as the season goes along.
Pacheco was a seventh-round choice of the Chiefs in the 2022 NFL Draft and impressed many in training camp. Maybe he just looks fast because he is wearing Tyreek Hill's old number? In all seriousness, Pacheco is a player we should keep an eye on because he may continue to play more as the season goes along. The Chiefs put on an offensive clinic last week with 41 points against the Tampa Bay defense on Sunday Night Football.
While we can't put Pacheco in our lineups right now, he has the kind of upside that we want from players on our bench and Pacheco could be the type of league winner for teams as an RB2 later in the season as the Chiefs' offense is going to become more fine-tuned as the season goes on.
Jameson Williams, Detroit Lions - 31% rostered
The 12th overall selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Jameson Williams has yet to play an offensive snap this season, but that could be coming soon. The Lions have a bye during Week 6 and there is some hope among many that he will be on the field for Week 7. Right now the Lions are the absolute perfect storm for fantasy as they are No. 1 in the NFL in total offense and No. 32 overall in total defense!
Jared Goff is thriving this season with the Lions' offensive line giving him plenty of time to throw and the receivers getting open downfield. While Amon-Ra St. Brown looks like the clear-cut WR1 on this offense, it is not difficult to see Williams overtaking DJ Chark and Josh Reynolds very quickly. St. Brown tends to play in the slot and near the line of scrimmage whereas Williams plays on the outside, so we shouldn't be worried about either of them taking away from one another.
If anything, Williams and St. Brown on the field at the same time when they are both healthy is probably going to look similar to the Bengals with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Judging from how well the Lions are moving the ball and the production we have seen from Chark and Reynolds, we should be licking our chops at the thought of Williams getting on the field. He could have the kind of second half similar to what Odell Beckham did in 2014 in his rookie season with the Giants. I'm not kidding. If your league has an IR spot you can pick up Williams for free right now and stash him there until Week 7.
Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills - 2% rostered
A fifth-round pick of the Bills in 2022, Shakir has mostly been buried on the depth chart until recently. Wide receiver Jamison Crowder is out indefinitely after suffering an unfortunate leg injury and slot receiver Isaiah McKenzie has popped up on this week's injury report. Gabe Davis has also been hobbled in recent weeks as well.
If McKenzie were to miss any time, Shakir could potentially become a must-start in the Bills' juggernaut offense. While we haven't seen a lot of him yet, he impressed in camp and showed the coaches enough that they were comfortable with him making the team. We should want as many pieces of this offense as we can get. Stashing Shakir away on your roster just in case anything happens isn't a bad move by any stretch as we always want to be chasing unknown upside as much as we can.
Rachaad White, Tampa Bay Bucs - 34% rostered
Sorry folks, but I am going to die on this hill. The good news is plenty of others joined me after SNF when we finally got a glimpse of White in action. Looking like a natural out of the backfield he caught all 5 of his targets for 50 yards while also seeing 38 percent of the team's snaps. White also rushed 3 times for 6 yards but had a touchdown. Through the first three games of the season, White was only playing 27, 13, and 9 percent of the offensive snaps.
While Tampa Bay sits at 2-2, their offense finally appeared to get clicking last week when they put up 31 points in a loss to the Chiefs. Could offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich be dialing back some of starter Leonard Fournette's workload? Uncle Lenny played a lot in the first 3 games of the season and it may seem wiser to keep him fresh for the stretch run. While the Bucs have looked anything but the formidable foe they have been in the last two seasons, the good news is that 9 wins may still win the NFC South.
You can't put White in your lineups just yet, but it was encouraging to see him out on the field last week. White would become a must-start if anything were to happen to Leonard Fournette. As mentioned previously, the key to White getting on the field is going to be earning the trust of Tom Brady and improving his pass protection.
Last season at Arizona State, White rushed for over 1,000 yards averaging 5.5 yards per carry while having 43 receptions for 456 yards and a TD. In deeper formats, he is a great stash to hold on your roster.
Geno Smith, Seattle Seahawks - 32% rostered
It's like we are living in an alternate universe where Russell Wilson is struggling and Geno Smith is thriving as the starting quarterback of the Seahawks. While many made fun of Jon Schneider and Pete Carroll for trading away Wilson, for now, they appear to be the ones laughing. So far this season Smith has been phenomenal in real life and for fantasy where he is completing 77 percent of his passes and has gone over 300 yards passing in each of the last two weeks.
As my 20th Round selection in the Scott Fish Bowl 12, he is singlehandedly dominating my Superflex spot and looks to be having a later career resurgence on the Seahawks. Given that he knows the system and has the uber-talented DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett to throw to on top of a punishing running game, perhaps more of us should have seen Geno coming. Perhaps Pete Carroll was the true engine behind the Seahawks success and not Wilson? It feels that way.
If you have been streaming your quarterback spot, Geno Smith is on the cusp of being considered a must-start every week. This week's matchup against a pretty good Saints defense is going to tell us a lot. Next up for the Seahawks after this week: the Cardinals, Chargers, Giants, and Cardinals again. All good opponents for Smith to continue to thrive.
Robert Tonyan, Green Bay Packers - 37% rostered
If you have an injured tight end or the one you drafted isn't performing well right now, Tonyan deserves your attention. While I admit I was skeptical of him coming into the season, he appears fully healthy coming off an ACL tear and the pecking order for the Packers' pass catchers is very muddied at the moment.
To be great for fantasy, Tonyan is largely a touchdown-dependent player. Being that he is catching passes from Aaron Rodgers that is still very doable. While Green Bay hasn't looked like the typical high-flying, potent offense we are used to seeing they should continue to get better as the season goes on.
Sammy Watkins is currently on Injured Reserve and rookie Christian Watson has had a slow start to the season, which puts Romeo Doubs and Aaron Jones as the only consistent pass catchers on the team right now. So far Green Bay's defense has been less good than advertised, so more shootouts could be coming and Aaron Rodgers may have no choice but to get Tonyan involved.
Damien Williams, Atlanta Falcons - 4% rostered
The true backup running back to Cordarelle Patterson, Williams went on injured reserve after an injury in Week 1 and is designated to return most likely before Week 6. While everyone was running out to use their FAAB on Tyler Allgeier and Caleb Huntley, Williams was likely the running back they should have been rostering all along.
The Falcons have a couple of tough matchups in the next few weeks against the Bucs and 49ers, but head coach Arthur Smith appears to want Atlanta to be a smash mouth football team. C-Patt just went on IR and will be out for 4 weeks, which could open things up for Williams in Weeks 7 and 8 when they play the Bengals and Panthers followed by the Chargers. Unless Allgeier and Huntley have a monster performance in Week 5, we should expect Williams to get more of the carries once he is off of Injured Reserve.
Zach Wilson, New York Jets - 13% rostered
A player who is more polarizing across the fantasy space than Gabe Davis, Wilson returned to action in Week 4 where the Jets were victorious over the Steelers, putting their record at 2-2. Wilson wasn't great in the game where he was 18 of 36 for 252 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs, but the Jets won and he showed some glimpses of his potential.
Wilson had a rough rookie season in 2021, but the Jets' front office has done a tremendous job in surrounding him with some talented players in Michael Carter, Breece Hall, Elijah Moore, and Garrett Wilson. For this reason, there is a chance that Wilson could take a bigger step in his sophomore season at the NFL level.
Dating back to last season, Wilson finished with five touchdowns and just two interceptions in his final seven starts. He has some shown chemistry with Elijah Moore and Garrett Wilson is already looking like a 10-year NFL veteran from the start. If Wilson has a big game against Miami this week he will likely be added by a lot of fantasy managers.
I hope you enjoyed these picks. Feel free to follow me on Twitter for more waiver and player analysis throughout the season!
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