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Matt MacKay's must-have fantasy football bench stashes and sleepers ahead of Week 10. He picks high-upside players to stash on your teams who can emerge as starters.
By this point in the fantasy season, rostering and starting players who fell outside of drafts is not done out of desperation. It's necessary. Injuries to star players have been a continuous theme throughout the NFL this year, forcing fringe players into massive roles at a moment's notice. This isn't the only explanation for why waiver wire players are becoming increasingly relevant.
Players in their second or third year of development have begun to emerge as the season has progressed, while others have benefitted from a change of scenery. Regardless of the reasoning, understanding how a player is used within a particular offense goes a long way towards successfully playing the waiver wire.
With the last few weeks of the regular fantasy season upon us, tons of high-floor and high-upside players are still sitting on league waiver wires. Hitting paydirt on one or two of them might provide the boost necessary to make the playoffs, while clogging up your roster with low-usage or low-production players will only create obstacles. So here are some of the best high-upside bench players to stash that will soon help mount a final push in fantasy lineups.
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Sony Michel, Los Angeles Rams
The 26-year old running back has found himself in a high-usage RB2 role on a fully-loaded Los Angeles Rams roster preparing for another Super Bowl run. Michel has a 30.9 percent rushing share and has seen his snap count rise to nearly 40 percent in recent weeks, despite the presence of Darrell Henderson Jr. Michel filled in nicely for Henderson earlier in the season, which proved that he is a complimentary back deserving of more touches to Rams' head coach Sean McVay. In Week 9, Michel caught a touchdown reception, but he has not seen double-digit carries since Week 5. If Stafford continues to deliver two to three targets per game to raise Michel's floor, he becomes a viable RB3/Flex option in lineups in future outings. Stash him as one of the better RB2 prospects that remains available on most league waiver wires.
Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots
Veteran running back Brandon Bolden has made the most of his opportunities filling in for Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson this season in New England. Bolden is coming off of a game where he averaged 6.7 YPC and caught both targets for an additional 27 receiving yards. The 31-year old is a staple from Josh McDaniels' old offenses, where he filled in nicely, totaling 93 touches in 2015. Bolden caught six of seven targets for 79 yards and a touchdown against the Jets in Week 8 and continued to dominate as a ball carrier against a talented Carolina defense in Week 9. Rhamondre Stevenson and Damien Harris are questionable in the concussion protocol ahead of their Week 10 game against the Cleveland Browns so Bolden could become an RB1 in a run-centric offense. Stash Bolden is a quality floor-play who can be inserted into lineups sooner than expected if Stevenson and Harris wind up missing any more time.
Russell Gage, Atlanta Falcons
For most of the season, Matt Ryan has been lighting it up through the air, so Russell Gage's recent return has only enhanced his performance. After spending a few weeks rehabbing an injury, Gage returned in Week 7 and scored a touchdown while going 4-67 and led the Falcons wideouts in targets with a 26.4 percent target share in their comeback win over the New Orleans Saints in Week 9. Kyle Pitts and Cordarrelle Patterson are Ryan's preferred targets and the most potent offensive talents. However, Gage leads an underwhelming wide receiving corps with his burst and hands. Stash Gage off of waivers and value him as a fringe-WR3 that can be started in PPR leagues.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns
Donovan Peoples-Jones was a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Still, he has developed into one of the most exciting players in the league, particularly in the absence of Odell Beckham Jr. He has been in and out of the lineup due to a groin injury. Still, He has looked explosive when healthy, drawing 14 targets across the Browns' last three games. DPJ converted a 60-yard reception for a touchdown on just three targets in a dominant Week 9 win over Cincinnati, even with Baker Mayfield attempting only 21 passes. He is the clear-cut WR2 in the Browns offense, dealing with a running back carousel and a banged-up offensive line. Jarvis Landry is not a hindrance to Peoples-Jones' opportunity moving forward, so make sure to stash him off of waivers before he entirely breaks out against either the Patriots or Lions in the next couple of weeks.
T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts
The veteran wideout has been banged up for most of the season, recently finding himself in the league's concussion protocol, forcing him to miss Week 9 against the New York Jets. However, T.Y. Hilton will return in Week 10 and is still widely available on league waiver wires, with Carson Wentz playing his best football as an Indianapolis Colt across the last few games. When Hilton played, he drew at least four targets, functioning as a downfield weapon against Houston while failing to produce on underneath routes against the Titans in Week 8. Michael Pittman Jr. is the new WR1 in the Colts offense, but Hilton has enough speed and talent to hold the WR2 role ahead of Zach Pascal and Ashton Dulin. Nevertheless, Hilton is a worthy stash on fantasy rosters and could produce a few WR2 weeks down the stretch to prove a difference-maker.
Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
The TE1 in Chicago has been Cole Kmet since essentially the beginning of the season. However, the playcalling duties have been passed along to Bears' OC Bill Lazor from head coach Matt Nagy, which has improved the play and confidence of rookie quarterback Justin Fields. Tight ends and running backs are the safety valves for inexperienced or younger quarterbacks adapting to the speed of the NFL, which is why Kmet has seen an increasingly more significant target share across the last month. The tight end position has been highly volatile in 2021, and plugging Kmet into lineups will yield a healthy five to ten PPR points. He is also due for touchdown regression, as both Jesper Horsted and Jesse James have managed to reach a touchdown reception.
Mac Jones, New England Patriots
The New England Patriots drafted the only first-round quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft that has managed to exceed expectations and adapt to the speed and complexity of the league as a rookie under center. Jones plays in a relatively conservative offense but has thrown for 2,135 yards in nine games, ranking 15th. He also has the seventh-best completion percentage (68%) among the quarterbacks who have thrown for the most yards this season. This is an impressive feat considering the underwhelming receiving corps he has at his disposal. Jones threw for a season-low 18 pass attempts in Week 9 but has thrown over 30 times in seven games this season. He will be in line to produce more big outings, making him a low-end QB1 if streaming quarterbacks and an excellent bench stash for the time being if you already have a stud quarterback in the lineup.
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