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Matt MacKay's must-have fantasy football bench stashes and sleepers ahead of Week 15. He picks high-upside players to stash on your teams who can emerge as starters.
The fantasy football playoffs are here! Congratulations if you earned a berth in your leagues. COVID-19 and injuries continue to ramp up, creating continuous depth chart adjustments. Keeping your roster equipped with high-upside players is the key to winning fantasy football leagues, especially with the amount of change happening throughout the league every day. A third or fourth player on the depth chart can suddenly find himself with a much more significant role due to availability, so don't scoff or ignore high-upside players on the waiver wire.
I've identified several prospects who will be assets due to their potential to be high-upside contributors in the coming weeks. On top of all of the COVID-19 protocol adjustments and announcements, plus a growing list of injuries, nearly half of the games in Week 15 are divisional matchups. This means more familiarity with the opponent's scheme and game plan, which could force some of these high-upside players into higher usage than expected.
Even if you don't need anyone for your Week 15 matchup, adding high-upside to your bench ahead of your league's weekly waiver claim process is a tremendous advantage. So do yourself a favor and consider stashing at least one of these high-upside prospects ahead of the first 16-game slate in two months.
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Royce Freeman, Houston Texans
After beginning the season with the Carolina Panthers, fourth-year running back Royce Freeman has found a role in the Houston Texans' backfield. In Week 14 against the Seattle Seahawks, Freeman had his best game with his new team, catching six of eight passes for 51 receiving yards. He did not do much as a ball carrier but did receive 11 carries, which raises his floor considerably moving forward. Rex Burkhead is dealing with hip and quad injuries that will likely have him limited if he starts against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 15, making Freeman an intriguing RB3 prospect. With a rookie quarterback, Davis Mills, Houston's passing game opens up considerably under center. Freeman should return value against the Jaguars, as they are ranked as the 11th-best fantasy running back matchup. Freeman will face the Chargers and 49ers in Week 16 and Week 17, also great matchups for running backs. Stash Freeman as an RB3 with RB2 upside moving forward.
Ameer Abdullah, Carolina Panthers
Carolina is sliding down and out of the NFC playoff race, but that doesn't mean their offense should be passed over. 28-year old running back Ameer Abdullah appears to have a more significant role than Chuba Hubbard moving forward without OC Joe Brady. The first week without their former play-caller saw Abdullah earn 20 percent more snaps than the first week without their former play-caller Hubbard while soaking up nearly all of the targets from Cam Newton. Abdullah did not do much with the opportunity, but he was the only Panthers running back with any passing usage, signaling a worthy bench stash in PPR leagues. Buffalo, Tampa Bay, and New Orleans form Abdullah's next three matchups, which is not the most favorable schedule for running backs. However, as long as he remains an integral piece of the offense, Abdullah should be stashed and valued as a low-floor, high-ceiling prospect, especially with the chances that positive touchdown regression occurs.
Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills
Rostering any piece of Buffalo's passing attack is a great decision. The Bills are one of the most pass-centric teams in the league, which is a big reason why second-year wideout Gabriel Davis has ascended into WR3 territory in recent weeks. He's moved away from the one-play, explosive downfield target we all saw at the beginning of the season, as his ADOT has crept down incrementally to 8.60 yards against the Buccaneers secondary in Week 14. Davis is developing trust and great chemistry with Josh Allen, who found him late in the fourth quarter against the Bucs on a clutch four-yard touchdown pass. Allen attempted a whopping 54 passes in his last start and should continue to air it out to a deep wide receiving corps against Carolina, New England, and Atlanta across the next three weeks. Davis has touchdowns in back-to-back weeks and will have an excellent opportunity to transfer his momentum as the Bills will be forced to lean into their strengths to earn wins down the stretch. Since Bills' OC Brian Daboll prefers passing and Allen has the rocket arm and accuracy in executing the game plan, Davis is a solid WR3 to stash. He can be inserted into lineups as needed.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Green Bay Packers
Green Bay has returned to the top of the NFC with elite play from Aaron Rodgers and his wide receiving corps. Marquez Valdes-Scantling serves as the Packers' explosive downfield threat with the elite top-end speed and hands to force defenders to adjust their coverage. He is an important player that does not see a ton of volume but maintains strong finishes most weeks since he can get behind coverage in the blink of an eye. He's honestly a decoy that allows Davante Adams and Allen Lazard to see more valuable targets. Still, MVS is a quality high-upside stash due to his offense and how Rodgers utilizes him. A back injury has him currently questionable against Baltimore for Week 15. Still, matchups against the Browns and Vikings offer great opportunities for MVS to go over 50 yards for the fourth time this season and possibly his third touchdown. The injury should keep fantasy managers in your league off of him but take advantage and stash MVS for the two good matchups he'll get after Week 15.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns
Second-year wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones has been a nice find for the Cleveland Browns. His struggles have been injury-related this season, forcing him to miss three games, which could be a big reason why he's still available on most fantasy waiver wires. In Week 14, DPJ played more snaps than Jarvis Landry and finished with more receiving yards (90), but the touchdown pass went to Landry. His playoff schedule is decent, drawing matchups against Las Vegas, Green Bay, and Pittsburgh, so consider DPJ a wait-and-see high-upside stash. Baker Mayfield likes targeting him downfield off of play-action, meaning it only takes one to connect for DPJ to return value in lineups as a WR2, as he did against Cincinnati back in Week 9. In five games with at least five targets this season, DPJ has gone over 70 receiving yards three times. He's got a high floor and a high ceiling, which makes him a great prospect to stash and deploy as needed.
Gerald Everett, Seattle Seahawks
Gerald Everett remains widely available on fantasy waiver wires, so take advantage and stash this high-upside tight end. Many were excited when Everett joined OC Shane Waldron in Seattle, as they worked together under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams. However, Everett has been force-fed targets since the Seahawks' Week 9 Bye, seeing at least six targets in three of their five games during this stretch. He has scored a touchdown in two of his last three games but has only finished with 22 combined receiving yards in his previous two games. This lack of yardage will not continue, especially with Russell Wilson back under center and DK Metcalf fighting through his injuries and lack of production. Additionally, Will Dissly is still involved in the offense. Still, Everett was heavily invested in by the Seahawks' front office this offseason, so expect him to continue drawing targets during valuable situations. Stash Everett and insert him into lineups with confidence in any of his next three matchups against the Rams, Bears, and Lions.
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Quietly, Jimmy Garoppolo has strung together an impressive series of performances in his last five games. He's gone 4-1 during this stretch, leaning into star tight end George Kittle to keep the offense producing despite absences from rookie running back Elijah Mitchell and star wideout Deebo Samuel. It appears that San Francisco is healing up at the right time, as Samuel returned to make an impact against the Bengals in a massive overtime win on the road in Week 14. Garoppolo has at least two touchdowns in six of his last seven games and has three straight games with a minimum of 230 passing yards. Garoppolo is a solid high-upside stash off of fantasy waiver wires for a quarterback who gets his talent questioned frequently. This shows up on the schedule, as the 49ers will face Atlanta, Tennessee, and Houston during the fantasy playoffs. Every matchup is favorable for Garoppolo to return significant value in lineups, so stash him immediately and insert him into a lineup as a fringe QB1.
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