High-Upside Bench Stashes: Sneaky Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Adds Before Week 5

October 9, 2026

Andy's must-have bench stashes and sneaky fantasy football waiver wire adds, sleepers ahead of Week 5 in 2026. Pick up these high-upside players before Week 5.

Hey RotoBallers! Welcome to the fifth edition of our High-Upside Bench Stashes series. With another week of NFL action on the horizon, it's time for our weekly dive into sneaky stash options available in all formats.

Week 4 of the NFL season showed the importance of stashing as the injury bug hit many high-end players, including Saquon Barkley, Lamar Jackson, and Bengals wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

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High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Running Backs

Dameon Pierce, Philadelphia Eagles

5% rostered

The first player we spotlight this week is a name from one of fantasy's most discussed backfields. With Tank Bigsby (groin) on injured reserve and Saquon Barkley (hamstring) unlikely to play this week, the Eagles are expected to turn to Will Shipley and Dameon Pierce, and potentially practice squad member Jaydon Blue.

However, given Blue's lack of NFL production, Shipley and Pierce will get the bulk of the work. While Shipley has been at the "top" of the depth chart for much of the week, savvy managers should consider stashing Pierce in deep leagues, given his previous level of production in the NFL.

Unlikely Shipley, who has just 182 career rushing yards in the NFL to date, Pierce has surpassed that total in fewer than three seasons. His best performance came as a rookie in 2022 when he totaled 939 yards and four touchdowns on a season-best 220 attempts.

While he has yet to return to that level, the Eagles have a major weakness at this position and could turn to the proven option much sooner than managers expect.

Shipley should start, but if he is ineffective, expect Nick Sirianni to turn to Pierce, as the Eagles may quickly find themselves in "win-now" territory given their season's current trajectory. Earlier in the week, Sirianni called Pierce a "starting-level RB," a strong statement for a player who could be stepping into a lead role.

Managers shouldn't expect Pierce to take over the backfield immediately, but if Shipley stumbles early, Pierce could see up to 15 touches a game.

Seth McGowan, Indianapolis Colts

5% rostered

Playing behind Jonathan Taylor will limit your opportunities, but as a pure "handcuff" option, Seth McGowan is worth a look. The Kentucky product has established himself as the clear No. 2 option and is coming off his most impressive showing in the pros.

In their victory over the Commanders across the pond, McGowan logged a season-high six carries for 31 yards and caught one of his two targets for seven yards. Both his carries and routes ran matched season highs, which is a promising sign.

Even though managers shouldn't expect him to see a greater workload (given that the Colts played in front for much of the contest), McGowan clearly emerged as the priority No. 2, pushing him into an elite handcuff range.

The No. 3 option on the roster, DJ Giddens, has been a healthy scratch for much of the season and has yet to log a single offensive snap. In his debut season (2024), Giddens averaged a modest 3.7 YPC while logging double-digit offensive snaps in just two games.

McGowan has already matched that snap benchmark just four games into the season. As a handcuff, McGowan could carry a 20+ carry workload if the workhorse misses time.

The final RB we will discuss recently fell below the 30% roster threshold for the first time since draft weekend, which puts him back on the stash radar. With the Chiefs on bye this week, many impatient managers may have cut ties with what could be the top handcuff in fantasy football.

Emmett Johnson has quickly surpassed Brashard Smith and claimed the No. 2 role in the Chiefs backfield. While Kenneth Walker III has had an incredible start in Kansas City, the former Seahawks back has been injury-prone, and any missed time could make Johnson a borderline RB1 in certain matchups.

In his limited opportunities, Johnson has averaged 3.5 YPC but has shown solid after-the-catch potential, averaging 14.8 yards per reception (on five catches).

Before playing in all 17 games last season, Walker appeared in just 11 in 2024 and missed at least one game in his first two seasons (2022 and 2023). So far, Walker has been fairly healthy, but with 21.8 attempts and 4.8 targets per game, the risk of re-injury is high.

Other running backs to stash - Samaje Perine (CIN), Tyler Goodson (DAL), Austin Ekeler (WAS)

High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Wide Receivers

Roman Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers

10% rostered

Roman Wilson has had a very quiet start to his NFL career but appears to be on a potential breakout trajectory. After catching only 12 passes last season, Wilson has already surpassed that mark and totaled a season-best 188 yards in just four games, compared to the 13 he caught last season.

Despite sharing the field with DK Metcalf and newly-signed Michael Pittman Jr., Wilson has emerged as the clear No. 2 option in this passing attack. During training camp, the former National Champion earned praise from the coaching staff and QB Aaron Rodgers, but given his lack of prior production and the addition of Pittman, he went undrafted in all formats.

However, Wilson has not only emerged as a reliable target for Rodgers but has also overtaken Pittman as the No. 2 option. Over four games, Wilson has drawn at least six targets in each and is coming off his two best efforts, in which he found the end zone in each contest and hit the 60-yard mark.

On the other hand, Pittman has caught just two passes in his last two and hasn't surpassed the 20-yard mark in either. While he missed Week 2 with a knee injury, Rodgers clearly trusts Wilson and Metcalf far more in the passing attack, as shown by their usage on Thursday night.

On Thursday, Wilson's outlook improved further as Pittman was placed on injured reserve due to the lingering foot injury.

Wilson could quickly exit "stash" territory and become a weekly FLEX option if he continues this trajectory.

Tank Dell, Houston Texans

15% rostered

The other wide receiver is still IR-eligible, but not for long. Tank Dell is working his way back from a gruesome injury he suffered in 2024, but his 21-day practice window opened this week, suggesting a return could be imminent.

Tank Dell listed as limited on Wednesday's injury report (@jonmalexander)

— RotoBaller NFL (@RotoBallerNFL) October 7, 2026

Dell joined the Texans in the third round of the 2023 Draft and immediately made an impact. As a rookie, he showed great chemistry with C.J. Stroud, catching 47 passes for 709 yards and seven touchdowns. As a sophomore, he caught 51 passes for 667 yards and scored three more touchdowns over 14 games.

While Dell may need time to be "game-ready," the Texans need a No. 2 WR, and Dell could quickly earn a large target share once he steps on the field.

While Nico Collins was out with a hamstring injury, the passing offense struggled mightily as tight end Dalton Schultz became the de facto WR1, since neither Jaylin Noel, Kayshon Boutte, nor Xavier Hutchinson found much success. When Collins is healthy, he commands a massive target share, but Dell has the opportunity to become the clear No. 2.

Those in three-WR formats should prioritize Dell ahead of his looming return.

Other wide receivers to stash - Tre' Harris (LAC), Antonio Williams (WAS)

High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Tight Ends

Darren Waller, Carolina Panthers

25% rostered

While Darren Waller has been more of a waiver-wire target for much of the season, he profiles more as a stash heading into Week 5, given that the Panthers are off this weekend and many managers opted to cut ties.

The veteran tight end was expected to take on a much larger role this past Sunday night but fell short of his lofty expectations. In a shootout against the Lions, Waller took a back seat, catching just three of his six targets for a modest 36 yards. However, before that, Waller looked like a borderline top-12 tight end in Carolina.

In Week 3, Waller caught five passes for 51 yards; before that, he found the back of the endzone twice on three receptions in the team's Week 2 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

While injuries have hit him in the past, Walker has shown high upside when on the field, especially in the red zone. In his brief nine-game stint in Miami last season, Waller caught six touchdowns on just 24 catches.

With Jalen Coker (quadriceps) still banged up, Waller has a path to a major role again coming out of the bye week.

Other tight ends to stash - Terrance Ferguson (LAR), Mike Gesicki (CIN)

High-Upside Fantasy Football Stashes - Quarterbacks (QB)

Jameis Winston, New York Giants

5% rostered

As always, let's close our weekly stash column with an option at QB. Last week we suggested Jacoby Brissett and Michael Penix Jr., both still strong options, but let's dig a bit deeper for this week's target.

Jameis Winston is slated to remain QB1 for Big Blue for the foreseeable future, especially after his much-improved showing on Sunday. Entering the week, there were some concerns about newly acquired J.J. McCarthy eventually pushing for the job, but Winston was able to cool off those concerns.

On Sunday, Winston led the Giants to a major victory over the Cardinals, throwing for 250 yards and three touchdowns. However, Winston also threw two interceptions and wasn't the most consistent. Still, it was a major improvement, as Winston came off a modest 118-yard effort the week prior.

It may take more time, but Winston appears to be building a connection with wideout Malik Nabers, who had his best game of the young season last weekend, and emerging rookie Malachi Fields.

While it was a few seasons ago, don't forget Winston enjoyed a quietly dominant run with the Cleveland Browns and was very fantasy-relevant. From Weeks 8 through 14 that season, Winston ranked QB9 in total points and QB5 per game. During this stretch, he threw 12 passing touchdowns with nine interceptions (in just six games), and averaged an elite 315.3 yards per game.

Managers may see a similar outcome in the coming weeks, as the Giants have several "smash" matchups against the Commanders, Saints, Texans, Eagles, and Commanders (again), all of whom rank below average in fantasy points allowed to opposing QBs. Wintson could carry sneaky QB1 upside through much of October and is a strong stash option for those without Lamar Jackson (ankle) or who are rostering the struggling Bo Nix or Justin Herbert.

Other quarterbacks to stash - Michael Penix Jr. (ATL)

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