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Andy's fantasy football waiver wire bench stashes with upside before Week 1 of 2025. He helps you stay ahead of the curve and plan a week ahead for waiver wire adds.
Hey RotoBallers! It's time to look ahead, and plan for waiver wire stashes who may emerge in Week 1 games. Even though we have only had two games so far in Week 1, it is never too early to begin to look at the top options on the waiver wire.
It is crucial to get ahead of your league mates and stash the potential league-winners a week early, without blowing your FAAB budget. In this week's piece, we will continue to emphasize high-upside handcuff running and a handful of wide receivers that could carve out a starting role much sooner than expected.
However, these suggestions are not meant to be your "one-week" replacement players. The vast majority of these players hold minimal standalone value but could become must-start players as soon as they receive a boost in the depth chart. All players suggested are available in at least 60% of all Yahoo! leagues. Let's dive in!
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High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Running Backs
Kyle Monangai, Chicago Bears
15% rostered
The Chicago Bears selected Kyle Monangai in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Rutgers. While at the time of the draft, this move did not seem significant, it appears Monangai could find himself on the field much sooner than expected.
Currently, the Bears are expected to have D'Andre Swift serve as the workhorse, while Roschon Johnson and Monangai compete for the No. 2 and No. 3 roles. However, Swift is coming off the worst season of his career as he posted a career-low 3.8 YPC.
Throughout camp, Monangai was consistently deployed as the team's second option behind Swift while Johnson reverted to a depth role. Over the final weeks of training camp and in the preseason, Monangai was running exclusively as the second option, which suggests he may have already jumped the veteran Johnosn on the depth chart.
Kyle Monangai Emerging as Bears No. 2 Running Back https://t.co/68jRhSNrch
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) August 22, 2025
Earlier this week, Johnson was held out of practice due to a foot injury, which puts him in danger of missing Monday's game. While Monangai was limited with a hamstring injury, seeing him on the practice field, albeit in a smaller capacity, is still a positive sign that he should be cleared to play on Monday.
Given Swift's poor efficiency last season, newly hired head coach Ben Johnson may not give him the longest leash and could turn the rookie he specifically drafted to fit his scheme much sooner than expected. Monangai is a top stash prior to Monday's game.
If he even comes close to sharing the field with Swift in the season opener, expect him to cost you a hefty FAAB bid on Tuesday.
Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans
12% rostered
Last week I wrote about Woody Marks of the Houston Texans, but I also want to mention the other potential option who could take the starting job from Nick Chubb, Dameon Pierce. Pierce, a former Day 3 pick, emerged as a capable starting running back in his debut campaign in 2022, where he ran for 939 yards and 20220 attempts.
In 2023, Pierce was given a small workload and saw a significant efficiency plummet to allow 29 YPC, a near two-year drop from the 4.3 YPC he posted as a rookie. In 2024, Pierce took the backseat, this time to Joe Mixon, as Pierce ran the ball just 40 times for 293 yards.
Even though he has had the smallest workload of his career, seeing him regain his efficiency is a positive sign and could open the door for a bounce-back in 2025.
Once Mixon was shut down with his foot/ankle injury, at first, Pierce and Chubb were splitting reps with the first team. While Chubb eventually pulled away with the starting job, fantasy managers should not give up on Pierce just yet. Last season, Chubb posted the worst marks of his career (3.3 YPC). This was the first time in his career that Chubb averaged fewer than 5.0 yards on a carry.
While the fourth-round rookie Marks remains the long-term play as he was handpicked by this coaching staff, given Pierce's ability to handle a heavy workload, he could jump into the starting role, at least on a short-term basis, if Chubb were to struggle early on.
Chubb has suffered numerous injuries in his career and is quickly approaching age 30. While Pierce is not a league-winning stash option, there is a possibility he sits at the top of the depth chart for several games this season.
Dameon Pierce Ahead of Schedule, Ready for Seasonhttps://t.co/yzxOvz5SEE
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) September 1, 2025
Will Shipley, Philadelphia Eagles
15% rostered
My final running back is the only player on this list who has appeared in an NFL game this season. On Thursday evening, Will Shipley and the Philadelphia Eagles ended the season against the Dallas Cowboys. In this game, Shipley was given three carries and totaled 26 yards. He also left the game with a rib injury, which is worth monitoring.
While Shipley's workload is not the purpose of his being on this list, it is more so that he was deployed as the clear handcuff to Saquon Barkley. Veteran AJ Dillon only saw game action once Shipley was taken out after suffering the injury.
In 2024, Shipley was deployed as a depth option and rarely saw the workload he received on Thursday.
If Shipley were to suffer a setback with injury, then Dillon would become the player to stash in Philadelphia. Given their elite offensive line and rushing scheme, either Shipley or Dillon would carry RB2 stats if Barkley were to miss time.
Other RBs to stash - Woody Marks HOU, Chris Rodriguez Jr. WSH, DJ Giddens IND
High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Wide Receivers
Troy Franklin, Denver Broncos
10% rostered
The Denver Broncos' WR2 position is still wide open for the taking. With Courtland Sutton sitting comfortably as Bo Nix's top option, there is room for anyone to emerge as the second. As a rookie, Troy Franklin showed flashes at times, but was rarely given opportunities. He only logged over 30 offensive snaps in one game and averaged just 3.5 targets per game in the game in which he logged at least 20 offensive snaps.
While Marvin Mims Jr. seems to be the "favorite" to take the second spot, Franklin has received high praise during camp and has seen his stock steadily rise throughout August. Veteran tight end Evan Engram noted that he expects the sophomore wideout to have a "really big year." Even his head coach has said he has had a "really good camp."
Franklin is a name to monitor in deeper 3-WR leagues as we approach the season opener. His usage in Week 1 will be very crucial for his season outlook.
“He’s had a really good camp. He’s confident"
— Sean Payton is excited about Troy Franklin's developmenthttps://t.co/j1Nlq9GGqo
— Zac Stevens (@ZacStevensDNVR) August 20, 2025
Jaylin Noel, Houston Texans
5% rostered
My other wideout has a much clearer picture to claim a lead role early in this season. The Texans selected Noel in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft, just a round after grabbing Jayden Higgins, another wide receiver. While both were expected to compete for the No. 3 role, veteran Christian Kirk is dealing with a hamstring injury and will not play in Week 1.
With Kirk slated to cover the slot when healthy, Noel appears to be primed to jump into that role as early as Week 1.
While he had a quiet preseason, Noel averaged 13.7 YPR during his final two seasons at college and could become a key option in the Houston offense that may look to push the ball downfield more often, as the running back is quite depleted.
While he will face target opposition playing an offense with Nico Collins, Noel could become C.J. Stroud's No. 2 option, especially if he can lock down the role in the slot while Kirk is sidelined, as Higgins projects to be the downfield threat.
Like Monangai, Noel is a player to monitor in Week 1 closely.
Jaylin Noel Builds Momentum Through Preseason https://t.co/B4NhYw5IOv
— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) August 24, 2025
Other WRs to stash - Dont'e Thornton Jr. LV, Elic Ayomanor TEN, Kyle Williams NE
High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Tight Ends
Ja'Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers
5% rostered
Brenton Strange made my column last week, but he has seen his roster share climb to nearly 30% this past week. As a result, we will pivot to another AFC South tight end with sneaky upside, Ja'Tavion Sanders. Sanders was selected with a 101st overall pick in last year's NFL Draft and took some time to get adjusted.
In his first four games, Sanders caught only five passes. However, from Weeks 5 through 12, Sanders averaged 4.1 targets per game and caught 3.2 passes per game. While those numbers were not overly impressive, his quarterback, Bryce Young, took significant strides after that in the season. Unfortunately, Sanders was not on the field much in the second half as he was recovering from a neck injury.
However, he did cap off Week 18 with a five-target, three catch performance.
Throughout training camp, Sanders was deployed as the clear TE1 in Carolina. With slot wideout Jalen Coker (quadriceps) slated to miss the first four games and Adam Thielen recently shipped to Minnesota, Sanders could emerge as a top option for Young in this offense, which lacks any options outside of first-round rookie Tetairoa McMillan.
While he is not a must-add, managers in deeper leagues and especially tight-end premium formats should keep a close eye on Sanders in Week 1. If he were to finish the team in a lockstep in terms of targets alongside No. 2 WR Xavier Legette, he could be in store for an under-the-radar season.
Other TEs to stash - Mason Taylor NYJ, Elijah Arroyo SEA
High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Quarterbacks (QB)
Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons
30% rostered
While we spotlighted a potential superflex stash in Jaxson Dart last week, let's take a look at an intriguing QB that could find value in one-QB leagues.
Michael Penix Jr. took over the starting job in Week 16 last season, and while he had a modest debut, he flashed QB1 upside over his final two games. In Week 17, he traveled to D.C. to face the potent Commanders and went 19-for-35 with 223 yards and a 1:1 TD:INT. However, in Week 18, Penix showed a new level of progression, totaling 312 yards and three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).
In Week 1, Penix faces the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what could be a shootout. Do not be surprised if Penix finished Week 1 as a top-10 option at the position.
Throughout camp, Penix has received praise from his coaching staff and could be in a good position to make a massive lead in Year 2 with a full offseason under his belt, operating as the QB1. With Drake London, Bijan Robinson, and a potentially healthy Darnell Mooney (shoulder), Penix could be the waiver-wire QB of the season.
If you opted to fade this position in your drafts and are relying on players like Justin Fields or Stroud in Week 1, who have some risk to them, take a flier on Penix, as he has the talent around him to push for a top-12 season and become a must-start option in a matter of weeks.
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