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Aaron Schillinger identifies deep bench stashes for dynasty football owners in 2018. These RB and WR should be early waiver wire targets for dynasty leagues.
Welcome to the first of this series called Deep Dynasty Stashes. As an avid dynasty football and fantasy football fan, this topic has always been a favorite of mine, and I'll be posting this through the pre-season and into the NFL season.
One of the most fun parts of dynasty football leagues is drafting those deep sleeper rookies. There isn't much more satisfying than grabbing a guy like David Johnson circa 2015, either late in your rookie draft, or even off the waiver wire midway through the season, and ending up with an absolute fantasy stud. While the David Johnsons of the world are few and far between, there are always those late-round players or nice waiver wire pickups that turn into solid pieces of your dynasty teams.
I'll be getting pretty deep with these pieces, so many of these players will require some patience. Even more so, many of these players could turn out to be completely irrelevant and droppable. That's the fun part that makes dynasty so satisfying when you hit on one of these late-round/waiver wire, deep stashes.
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Under-the-Radar Dynasty Pickups
Chris Warren III - RB Oakland Raiders
The first name on this list is a guy that I've been eye-balling in the last rounds of dynasty startups and recently made a splash in the pre-season. As an undrafted free agent out of Texas, landing with Oakland puts Chris Warren III in a very interesting spot for fantasy purposes. His first game of the pre-season was against the Redskins, where he ran for 86 yards. In his second game against the Lions, he put up 110 yards and scored his first touchdown. Warren is a 6'2" 247-pound big back, who is mainly a downhill runner with limited versatility. His size and explosiveness reminds me of Derrick Henry, but not as agile with his cuts. One reason I like him in Oakland is he is more of a bruiser, an old-school type of runner, which may fit well with Gruden's offense.
Over the last year or two, Marshawn Lynch, Deandre Washington, and Jalen Richard have been the names that the dynasty community has been stashing at the ends of rosters or grabbing them off the waiver wire. Both Washington and Richard have had their moments, but ultimately, neither has turned into much for fantasy purposes. On top of the signing of veteran Lynch heading into 2017, now they bring on Doug Martin for the 2018 season. Lynch actually did well over the second half of the season last year, and he may end up being a decent late-round flier this year as well. Martin is another late-round guy to watch for, but I'm not overly optimistic about either one of them. Warren offers some interesting upside and is someone I've grabbed in late rounds, or even off the waiver wire over the last few weeks. If you can afford a spot on the end of your bench, I like him as a guy to stash.
According to RotoBaller's current Dynasty rankings, Warren is outside of the top 119 for running backs. There is a good chance he is on the waiver wire, even in your deeper dynasty leagues.
Jake Kumerow - WR Green Bay Packers
Dynasty owners have been all over Davante Adams and the Packers offense this year, with the departure of Jordy Nelson and the return of Aaron Rodgers. There is no denying the upside that this offense brings, and just how good Rodgers and his receivers can be for fantasy. While one of the popular late-round picks in recent years has been Geronimo Allison, I'm targetting the 26-year-old former practice squad WR of the Bengals and the Patriots. He has bounced around between these two teams on the practice squad since 2015 but hasn't shown enough to be a factor into the regular season.
One thing that I like to do with veteran studs like Rodgers, is listening to what they say. When someone of his pedigree talks, the rest of the team, including the coaches, listens. The rookies have struggled some during the pre-season as Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a drop, J'mon Moore had a drop, and Equanimeous St. Brown got stripped. Randall Cobb has been a popular name to take late this year but has been dealing with some injuries, which isn't new for him. Allison hasn't been a factor and still has a chance to be a late-round guy that may get taken in your dynasty leagues with the hope of upside.
Rodgers on Kumerow: "If you’re playing today, you’d like him on the field."
Don't expect immediate value, let alone fantasy production out of Kumerow, but with the way that group of receivers is looking, it's never a bad idea to take a flyer on a potential weapon of Rodgers'. If you are in a deeper dynasty league and have a spot to dabble with, don't be afraid to pick him up and stash him.
Corey Grant - RB Jacksonville Jaguars
If you're a Leonard Fournette owner, there is a good chance that you also have T.J. Yeldon on your dynasty roster. While I don't mind Yeldon, there is another name on this team in the backfield that I like as a stash candidate. 26-year-old Corey Grant isn't a rookie, but he too wasn't drafted out of Auburn. He is a name that I like as someone to stick at the bottom of your roster, whether you're a Fournette owner or not. There are a few reasons why I like Grant as a stash candidate, and one of the reasons is Fournette and his ankles. Ever since college, Fournette has battled ankle injuries and has missed games periodically thanks to that. Fournette finished his rookie season with 13 games played under his belt, but if you look back, or recall, you'll see that he was questionable to play on more than one occasion. During his time at LSU, Fournette played 13 games in 2014, 12 in 2015, and just seven games in 2016. There are more reasons to like Grant than just Fournette's health, but I fully expect you to get several nice weekly plays out of Grant if he's at the bottom of your roster when Fournette is out.
Aside from the ankles, there is more to be excited about with Grant and Yeldon. Since landing in Jacksonville in 2015 for his rookie season, Grant has started in just one game. He comes off the bench, and finally played a full 16 games in 2017, in the two years before that, he played in just 17 games combined. As he's seen the field more each season, he's shown that he can catch the ball and make put some yardage up on his own after the catch. In the AFC Championship game against New England, he had three catches on three targets for 59 yards, looking very capable and explosive. On the other side, there's Yeldon who has shown he is more than capable in the passing game out of the backfield as well. He's put up 116 catches on 155 targets over his first three seasons, totaling 815 receiving yards, and two receiving touchdowns.
The final reason for liking Grant as a stash candidate is his contract situation. Both Grant and Yeldon are unrestricted free agents after the 2018 season, and it's clear that Fournette isn't going anywhere. I don't see a scenario where they keep them both around, which should open up an opportunity for both of these guys, wherever they end up next year. While I do like Yeldon as someone to keep on the bottom of your roster, let's not forget, this article is for deep stashes. More than likely, Yeldon is already owned, and Grant is out there either on the waiver wire or on someone's taxi squad. Yeldon is currently the 58th RB in RotoBaller's dynasty rankings, making him someone that isn't as much of a deep stash as Grant, who is the 84th RB. If for some reason Yeldon is available or you're in a shallower dynasty league, he needs to be owned. For those in a traditional dynasty league or beyond, Grant is someone you should go out and grab to throw on the bottom of your roster.
