High-Upside Bench Stashes: Sneaky Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds Before Week 4

October 2, 2026

Andy's must-have bench stashes and sneaky fantasy football waiver wire adds, sleepers ahead of Week 4 in 2026. Pick up these high-upside players before Week 4.

Hey RotoBallers! Welcome to the fourth edition of our High-Upside Bench Stashes series. Week 4 of the NFL season is already underway, but that doesn't mean we can't still look for high-upside stashes on the waiver wire.

The Week 3 slate taught us the importance of stashing, as De'Von Achane and Breece Hall suffered injuries, with the Dolphins' top RB now out for the entire season.

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High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Running Backs

Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins

25% rostered

While many managers (and rightfully so) prioritized Ollie Gordon II on the waiver wire earlier this week, let's not forget Jaylen Wright, who still sits on the waiver wire in nearly 70% of Yahoo leagues.

With Wright unable to play in Week 3, Gordon took most of the carries after Achane exited the contest. Gordon looked impressive facing a tough Kansas City defense, rushing for 41 yards and a score on 17 carries. He also ran 28 routes and caught all three targets for another 14 yards.

Even though Wright's status for Week 4 is still uncertain at the time of writing, he could still be worth stashing, even if he misses more time with this foot injury.

Before the regular season, Wright was listed as the RB2, behind Achane and ahead of Gordon. More importantly, when Achane missed time during a few games in the 2025 season, Wright got the bulk of the carries, not the then-rookie Gordon.

His most notable performance came in Week 14 against the Jets. Wright took a season-high 24 carries and tallied 107 yards and a touchdown on the ground. This season, he posted a 3.3 YPC clip but got double-digit carries in only two games, which kept him from finding much rhythm. Gordon, meanwhile, averaged an even lower 2.8 YPC in his rookie season (2025) and saw double-digit carries in only one contest.

While Gordon is the preferred short-term option given Wright's unknown status and potential to miss more time, managers looking for a long-term play should stash Wright with confidence. The 23-year-old earned the vote of confidence in training camp and could quickly reclaim the No. 2 spot if Gordon shows similar inefficiency as he did in 2025.

However, Wright is coming off a full practice on Thursday and now sits as the team's RB1 on the official depth chart. He is a priority stash target as Wright may earn the bulk of the carries in the coming weeks.

Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints

10% rostered

Travis Etienne Jr. sustained a hamstring injury last weekend and is set to miss some time, per the coaching staff. While Alvin Kamara will likely carry weekly FLEX upside (and potentially borderline RB2 value in some matchups), Kendre Miller is an intriguing sleeper candidate and remains widely available, even after the first wave of waivers ran Tuesday night.

Miller made an impact back in Week 1, scoring a touchdown from Etienne in their overtime loss to the Lions. In this contest (Kamara did not play), Miller took nine carries for 30 yards and a rushing score. He took two rushing attempts within the 10-yard line, which is notable.

Through Kamara's two games of action this season (Weeks 2 and 3), the veteran back has seen nine rushing attempts per game but has logged only two carries within the 20-yard line and none within the 10-yard line. He has been more involved in the passing game, drawing six targets in Week 2 and running at least nine routes in each (13 this past Sunday).

While managers should expect Miller to lead this team in rushing attempts and snaps, there is a strong possibility Miller receives the highly coveted red-zone opportunities, as shown in Week 1 usage, while Kamara handles the passing situations.

Given that the Saints have scored 27.0 points per game (11th-most in the league), this is a unit that fantasy managers want to invest in. Miller could have standalone FLEX upside as long as Etienne is absent and could even push for low-end RB2 value if he sees an expected surge in attempts this weekend.

The final running back we will post is a more traditional stash target. With Jordan Mason (thumb) still on the IR, the Vikings have leaned heavily on Aaron Jones Sr. for most of the opportunities. However, Jones has already been dealing with a nagging knee injury, which could open the door for one of DeeJay Dallas or Demond Claiborne to see more short-term work.

While Dallas is higher on the depth chart, I would rather pivot to the rookie with more untapped upside.

Dallas has logged just three carries over the last two weeks and sees more snaps on special teams than on offense. However, despite being the "No. 3" on the depth chart, Claiborne has seen more opportunities on offense and is coming off a three-carry game in Week 3, which was higher usage than Dallas.

Claiborne joined the Vikings in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft, but he flashed very high upside in college despite the low investment. During his final two seasons at Wake Forest, Claiborne posted back-to-back double-digit rushing touchdowns while averaging 5.1 YPC in his final season.

There may not be much long-term upside once Mason returns, but for now, Claiborne also has some intriguing upside if Jones faces any type of setback with his knee injury.

Other RBs to stash - Samaje Perine, Tyler Goodson, Isaiah Davis

High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Wide Receivers

Tyreek Hill, Free Agent

20% rostered

One of the most interesting names in this week's column is free agent Tyreek Hill. Hill is currently working his way back from a gruesome knee injury but could be approaching his return to the NFL.

On social media, the former star wideout has posted many cryptic messages suggesting he could be nearing a return. Additionally, reports from Mike Garafolo say it "feels inevitable" that Hill will have a few conversations with his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs, about a potential reunion.

I think I’m ready for some cold weather

— Ty Hill (@cheetah) September 30, 2026

Before suffering his season-ending injury in Week 4, Hill averaged 13.4 PPR points (over four games) while drawing 7.3 targets per game.

During the 2024 season, Hill tallied 956 yards with six touchdowns despite playing on a non-competitive Miami Dolphins team. While managers should expect him to return to his 2022-2023 form, Hill could provide high-end FLEX upside when he signs with an NFL team.

There are many teams like the Green Bay Packers (following the loss of Jayden Reed), the San Francisco 49ers (given their massive amount of injuries), and the Buffalo Bills, who could use a reliable option in their passing attack.

Tre' Harris, Los Angeles Chargers

6% rostered

The other wide receiver could soon take the No. 2 spot on his roster. While Tre' Harris was listed as the WR3 to open the season, the second-year wideout has nearly claimed the No. 2 job from the struggling Quentin Johnston.

Through three weeks, Harris has caught only 10 passes, but that is already four more than Johnston, and the latter has been far more involved lately. After catching only four passes through two games, Harris drew a season-best seven targets in their Week 3 loss to the Bills and brought in six for 76 yards, which ultimately led the team.

In this same contest, Johnston caught only three passes for 40 yards, which also set a season-high. Harris has also run at least 22 routes in three games and is nearly in lockstep with Johnston in snaps and routes.

While Johnston has the far more established track record in the NFL, he has struggled mightily this season, which could open the door for Harris to take a larger role. Entering 2026, Johnston was coming off back-to-back eight-TD seasons, but since he hasn't found the end zone this season, his playing time could continue to decline steadily.

The Chargers offense has not been the most impressive early on, but Harris has been one of the few bright spots. Those in deeper three-WR leagues needing upside should consider taking a flyer on Harris, as he could become a weekly 5+ target option for Justin Herbert given his current trajectory.

Other WRs to stash - Ryan Flournoy, Chris Bell

High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Tight Ends

AJ Barner, TE, Seattle Seahawks

15% rostered

AJ Barner was an intriguing sleeper in deeper formats, with positive buzz around him in training camp, and he appears to be taking the next step. During their Week 3 loss to the Commanders, Barner operated as the near "WR2" alongside Jaxon Smith-Njigba, drawing nine targeted catches for 69 yards.

Over the first two weeks (with Sam Darnold missing nearly all of the time), Barner saw only three total targets and caught all of the four for just 21 yards.

While this sample is very small, he appears to be Darnold's favored target and could be the preferred option over Rashid Shaheed, who has yet to make any consistent impact in this Seattle offense.

In 2025, Barner was productive in his limited workload, catching six receiving scores and tallying 519 yards on 52 receptions. He saw more than four targets in only five games last season, but four of those came in the second half, suggesting the young tight end could have developed as the campaign progressed.

Barner appears to be the clear TE1 option on this offense, as Elijah Arroyo has not taken a major step forward and has only drawn one target through three weeks.

While managers should not expect Seattle to put themselves in that many high-scoring affairs like last Sunday given the nature of their defense, Barner is worth monitoring in deeper formats, as he could hold viable streaming upside once bye weeks begin.

AJ Barner just broke three tackles while rumbling for a slow motion 32 yards on a wet field. pic.twitter.com/qWjVKjEC0X

— Grant Paulsen (@GrantPaulsen) September 27, 2026

Other TEs to stash - Tyler Higbee

High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Quarterbacks (QB)

Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

6% rostered

Michael Penix Jr. returned to action last Thursday and smashed all expectations. He not only led the Falcons to a much-needed victory, but he also put up a solid fantasy line: 18-for-25 for 256 yards and a 1:1 TD:INT. While this was not record-breaking, it was a solid effort given that he was coming off a torn ACL.

From Weeks 1 through 10 last season (eight games played), Penix averaged a solid 17.3 PPR points per game with 225.9 passing yards per game. Seeing him already surpass this yardage total in his first action was a very promising sign.

He showed a strong connection with top wideout Drake London, tallying a career-high 194 yards.

While Penix's track record as a dominant fantasy QB is extremely limited, he is worth a stash for those in deep formats relying on a struggling option under center like Herbert or Drake Maye. Over the next three weeks, Penix will have a string of favorable matchups against the Giants, Ravens, and Bears, which could all be relatively high-scoring affairs.

Other QBs to stash - Jacoby Brissett

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