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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 6 of the 2018 NFL season.
Heading into Week 6 of the 2018 fantasy football season, your options on the waiver wire are getting very slim. If you've been following the NFL at all this year, you'll know that this year has been a crazy year for touchdowns scored, fantasy numbers, and many other stats. Not to mention, a load of penalties.
On the other hand, there really haven't been too many season-ending injuries, which has made the waiver wire even slimmer than usual. There have been a few players dealing with nagging injuries and a few that occurred pre-season, but there really haven't seemed to be a lot of other major injuries. Knock on wood.
Here are a few names that dynasty owners with deep benches might consider stashing before they take on more prominent roles.
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Players to Stash Now in Dynasty
Josh Adams - RB Philadelphia Eagles
I'll start this piece off with my personal favorite pick up for Week 6 of the fantasy football season. This week that is none other than Josh Adams, the rookie out of Notre Dame. While he may be owned in some of your dynasty leagues, he started off the season on the practice squad, and recently signed after the injury to Jay Ajayi. Starting off on the practice squad means he could potentially be available on the waiver wire, and if he is, grab him. Typically I stick with the deeper pickups for this piece, but as a potential low-ownership RB, Adams is someone I want to use some FAAB on. With the recent rumors of the Eagles possibly trading to bring LeSean McCoy back to Philadelphia, nothing is set in stone yet. Even if McCoy does sign with the Eagles, don't expect him to be his old self.
At 6'2" 225 pounds, Adams flew under the radar during the pre-season as a prospect, as he was more of a project player who would take some time to develop. He has very long legs and takes some time to build up his speed, but he has excellent speed when he gets in the open field. With his size, he's put up some big hits on defenders and can be tough to bring down at times. On a team like the Eagles who have a solid offensive line, this could allow Adams to run with his downhill style, which is where he thrives.
Without Ajayi, the Eagles are now looking at Corey Clement and Wendell Smallwood to split the backfield. Smallwood has shown some flashes here and there, and Clement has shown his pass-catching ability and versatility. Neither has been outstanding by any means and this gives Adams a nice opportunity. While this is still looking like a split backfield moving forward, this should be as good of a time as any for Adams to make a name for himself.
Jeff Wilson - RB, San Francisco 49ers
The undrafted free agent out of North Texas is the next name on this week's deep dynasty pickups. Jeff Wilson has been buried on the depth chart behind names like Jerick McKinnon, Matt Breida, and Alfred Morris. Wilson made a name for himself during the pre-season, as he totaled 19 carries for 61 yards, one rushing touchdown, and two catches for 61 receiving yards. This went pretty much unnoticed, as McKinnon was the only real name everyone cared about during pre-season. Breida did get some love, as he showed flashes of his potential playmaking ability in 2017. It's worth noting that Wilson totaled 70 receptions throughout his time at North Texas, which shows he could potentially be used in the passing game as well as get some carries.
After losing McKinnon during the pre-season, Breida and Morris looked to split the carries for the 49ers. Breida has looked electric in limited usage and was actually leading the league in rushing yards for a while. Granted, we're just a few weeks in, but it is worth noting that he has seen the majority of the usage in San Francisco so far this year. Morris has been underwhelming and really not utilized all that much. The 49ers losing Jimmy Garoppolo took a massive hit and that team really is not doing anything in 2018. To top off all of these injuries, Breida left the game in Week 4 with an ankle injury. Nothing seems to be too concerning, but he will potentially be missing some time. If he misses a few weeks, this is where Wilson could step in and make a name for himself.
Like many cases, fantasy football value can be determined by opportunity. Although McKinnon has been somewhat underwhelming during his time in Minnesota, we saw a massive spike in value for him as he found himself set up to be the lead-back under Kyle Shanahan. Sometimes all a player needs is the opportunity to produce, and that's where Wilson can come in. He's more than likely on your waiver wire right now, unless you're in very deep leagues, and is worth stashing.
David Moore - WR, Seattle Seahawks
David Moore is a second-year wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks who was promoted from the practice squad in 2017. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft and has found himself with a nice opportunity to make a name for himself this year. With the signing of Brandon Marshall this past off-season, the veteran looked to be a potential red zone threat as Jimmy Graham was off to Green Bay. With Doug Baldwin dealing with his injuries and Tyler Lockett having a bit of a breakout so far this year, the WR2 role is looking like a possibility for Moore. It's also worth noting that their other WR of note is Jaron Brown, who is 28 years old, and likely not the long-term answer for the Seahawks.
So far this year, Moore sat the first three games and has played in just the last two against the Rams and Cardinals. He caught both of his targets against Arizona for 39 yards. Against the Rams, he caught three of four targets for 38 yards and two touchdowns. We've seen a very small sample size out of Moore, and it's not often that we see these late-round random breakout WRs, but he's got as good of a chance as anyone right now.
Baldwin has been dealing with a nagging knee injury this year, and even when he returned last week against the Rams, he was nowhere to be found. Even with a tough secondary in Los Angeles, Baldwin still should've seen some sort of volume, instead, he saw just one target. Russell Wilson attempted a season-low 21 passes in Week 5, and that offense as a whole has just been struggling this year. Regardless of their struggles, with the injury concerns and lack of youth in Seattle, dynasty owners can target Moore as a potential piece of that offense in the future. Best case scenario, you may even be able to plug him into your lineups this year if his volume becomes consistent.
