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Dynasty league owners are always looking for players to add or stash on the bench in hopes of a future breakout season. Aaron Schillinger identifies waiver wire targets in deep dynasty leagues to consider as waiver wire pickups in Week 4 of the 2018 NFL season.
The 2018 Fantasy Football season is in full swing! We haven't seen a significant number of major injuries this year, yet we still have some names out there that are worth grabbing.
If you're in dynasty leagues, you know just how tough it can be to pick up a free agent that ends up being worth much. Most of the rookies were drafted and even some of the names that popped up during pre-season, are already on rosters.
As we enter Week 4, I'm looking at a few names that may not have been drafted or even considered in your leagues but should be on your radar and could prove valuable sooner than you think.
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Players to Stash Now in Dynasty
Marcus Murphy, RB, Buffalo Bills
Coming into the 2018 season, the only popular name for fantasy purposes on the Buffalo Bills was LeSean McCoy. Some owners were drafting Kelvin Benjamin or Zay Jones in deeper leagues in later rounds, or Chris Ivory as the handcuff to McCoy. Basically, you're talking about two 30-year-olds as the main players to target at the RB position. That in itself is a reason to have some excitement about Marcus Murphy. Murphy is a name that some dynasty owners may remember as a late-round flyer on the New Orleans Saints. The former seventh-rounder in 2015 has bounced around a few different practice squads (New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts) and now finds himself in Buffalo. Dynasty owners should be grabbing Murphy where they can afford the roster spot.
Murphy offers an element that neither Ivory or McCoy possess. Not anymore, at least. He's shown he has capable hands out of the backfield, grabbing four catches for 30 yards in the pre-season. He's shown some explosiveness as well that could potentially get him some extra reps on offense. Basically, he is someone that passes the eye test. With McCoy dealing with some injury concerns, Murphy could get extra playing time in his absence. Neither McCoy or Ivory are the long-term answers in Buffalo, and they may very well draft an RB in the near future. For the time being, Murphy is worth a stash as someone who may have an opportunity to make a name for himself. Stash him on your bench and take the 'wait and see' approach with Murphy.
Vyncint Smith, WR, Houston Texans
We all know about the big-name WRs for the Houston Texans. DeAndre Hopkins has settled in as one of the elite WRs in fantasy football as well as in the NFL. Will Fuller was a first-rounder out of Notre Damn and has proven to be more than just a deep threat, with some nice value in fantasy as well. As an undrafted rookie out of Limestone, Vyncint Smith finds himself in a position to potentially make a name for himself. While the upside of any third receiver is fairly limited, we're talking deep dynasty pickups here. Fellow rookie Keke Coutee made some noise during the pre-season and was a fairly popular name, but hasn't seen the field yet this year.
Smith played in over 60% of the offensive snaps in Week 3 in their loss to the Giants. Hopkins has seen 99.5% of their offensive snaps so far this year. Fuller (58.9%) and Bruce Ellington (57.9%) have played in the next most snaps for the Texans receivers. Oh, and Ellington was recently placed on IR with a hamstring injury. Next comes in Smith with 37.3% of offensive snaps so far this year. If you watched the pre-season for Houston, you'll remember his 43-yard game-winning touchdown against the Rams. As an option for potentially the WR3 role in Houston, Smith is a name you can go out and grab off the waivers.
Shaun Wilson, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay offense has been on fire so far this year, there's no denying that. What hasn't been on fire is their running game. The Buccaneers are currently first in offensive yards per game as well as passing yards per game. As for the running game, they're 30th in the league for rushing yards. Ronald Jones has yet to be active for a regular season game this year. Whether you want to believe in opportunity over talent, it's pretty bad when he's not even active. You've got Peyton Barber, Jacquizz Rodgers, and undrafted rookie Shaun Wilson.
Ronald Jones got a lot of flack for being one of the lower ranked "top" rookie running backs. If you followed my advice this past off-season, he wasn't even a first-round pick for dynasty league rookie drafts this year. I'm not completely writing off Jones, but if there's a chance he is a total bust, it's time to take a gamble on the other rookie, Wilson. This offense can't get it done through the air all season long and needs to get their running game established. Whether it be by a committee or not, they simply can't continue to put up these numbers without a run game. There's a chance the lead back will be Barber, but he's been underwhelming this year so far. With the apparent issues with Jones, there is no reason why you shouldn't take a shot at Wilson. A number of things would need to go right for this to work out, but hey, that's what all of these deep dynasty stashes are about.
