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Kyle's must-have fantasy football bench stashes and waiver wire sleepers ahead of Week 12 (2022). He picks high-upside NFL players to stash on your fantasy teams.
Here in Week 12, the good news is there are no NFL teams on a bye. We saw six teams play on Thanksgiving, but the remaining 26 will play on Sunday and Monday this weekend. Bye weeks will resume in Weeks 13 and 14. Even though defenses aren't mentioned in this article, if you have already clinched your fantasy playoffs you might want to start looking at the matchups in Week 15 and get your defense ahead of time now.
If your league has an injured reserve, then it is easier to stash away players with upside, but if it does not, you may not have the option of stashing away players this week if you are forced to field the best possible starting lineup. There have been some good players mentioned in these articles every week who are now starting for their perspective teams and providing some great value as pickups for fantasy squads everywhere.
Week to week, it is my job to keep my ear to the ground of all that is going on with 32 teams to help you bargain hunt for some free options on your league's waiver wire with the key being to stay ahead of your league mates by being early with your pickups versus having to spend up later with FAAB or waiver priority. A favorite stash who was in this article every week to start the season was Rachaad White and now those who remained patient shall have their faith rewarded. As injuries occur across the league, openings will occur for others who will step up in their place. Here are some top players to stash away before Week 12 begins.
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Weekend Waiver Wire Stashes Before Week 12
Elijah Moore, New York Jets - 26% rostered
A player who many loved before the start of the season, Elijah Moore was banished to the bench after complaining about his lack of targets even when the Jets were winning. This problem was exacerbated by Zach Wilson's poor quarterback play and Moore was dropped in just about all but the deepest of fantasy leagues.
The good news for Elijah Moore is that Zach Wilson has been sent to the bench and backup Mike White is now going to be the Jets starting quarterback. While White had a four-interception game against the Buffalo Bills last season, he also had a 405-yard passing game and showed some flashes when Zach Wilson was injured. With Wilson now out of the way, any changes made to the Jets' QB situation are a huge plus for any of the Jets pass catchers who have nowhere to go but up. For this reason, it might be worth rostering Moore to see what happens.
Deon Jackson, Indianapolis Colts - 10% rostered
A player who had some solid fantasy production early in the season when Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines were both injured, Jackson faded back into irrelevancy after Taylor returned. However, with Hines now in Buffalo, there is no one else on the Indianapolis depth chart who could steal snaps away from Jackson should he play.
In Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jackson had 12 rushes for 42 yards and a TD along with 10 receptions for 79 yards. While he will need Taylor to be sidelined to have great value for fantasy, if you are rostering Taylor and want a handcuff or are in a deeper league, Jackson is worth a roster spot.
Isaiah Spiller, Los Angeles Chargers - 4% rostered
One of the dynasty community's favorite prospects this offseason, Spiller fell on draft day after a poor showing at the NFL Combine where he slipped into the fourth round. He was mostly inactive for a large part of the early season but now appears to have earned the trust of the Chargers coaching staff.
Spiller is now listed as the Chargers' No. 2 running back on the depth chart to Austin Ekeler. While likely an injury would need to occur to Ekeler for Spiller to have major fantasy value, he is a player worth rostering for the rest of the season being how good we know their offense can be at full strength. The Chargers' offense could be back to looking like the high-powered one of old once they can get some of their skill players like Mike Williams back from injury. Last week against the Chiefs, Spiller had four carries for just 11 yards, but he did have two receptions for 11 yards.
Sony Michel and Joshua Kelley haven't been viable options for the team this year and they have needed a backup who can come in and spell Spiller in the worst way. So far that hasn't happened, but it's fair to say that Spiller has by far the most upside of anyone not named Austin Ekeler on the Chargers' depth chart, so he is a player worth rostering and holding just to see what happens.
Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals - 12% rostered
McBride was a second-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2022 NFL Draft but was largely buried behind Zach Ertz on the team's depth chart. After Ertz suffered a season-ending injury two weeks ago, the starting job now falls to McBride. While he will have to compete with DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Brown, and Rondale Moore for targets, things could open up for the rookie tight end.
Moore will be out for Week 12's contest after suffering a groin injury. In a Week 11 loss to the 49ers, McBride saw four targets where he had four receptions for 14 yards. In the last two weeks, McBride has played 91 and 76 percent of the team's offensive snaps. With Ertz out for the rest of the season, there is a chance for McBride to shine, even as a rookie. The 2022 rookie tight end class is already looking promising with Isaiah Likely, Cade Otton, Daniel Bellinger, Greg Dulcich, and McBride.
Ben Skowronek, Los Angeles Rams - 6% rostered
With Cooper Kupp sidelined for at least the next four games, there is a chance that the Rams could just shut him down for the remainder of the season as they are 3-6 on the year and appear on the cusp of missing the postseason altogether. Despite this development, they may be inclined to start playing some of their younger players to see what they have. One such player is Skowronek.
Last week against the Saints, Skowronek played 84 percent of the team's offensive snaps and saw four targets, but he had just one reception for four yards. Matthew Stafford being injured won't help the Rams' offense, nor Skowronek, but I at least want to see one game with him in there with a healthy Stafford before we write him off. Someone is going to have to get the ball in this offense purely by default.
While Skowronek is no Kupp, he could be a viable option for fantasy due to the reality that the Rams can't get vertical down the field with their offensive line issues and Stafford's lingering elbow. Skowronek is an interesting stash for the ROS.
Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers - 16% rostered
It's no secret that Najee Harris hasn't looked like his normal self this season after suffering a Lisfranc injury during training camp over the summer. While we haven't yet seen a lot of Jaylen Warren, he has easily looked like the more explosive running back between the two this season.
So far in 2022, Warren has 38 rushes for 190 yards (5.0 AVG) while catching 15 passes for 128 yards. He is a smaller but much faster running back than Harris and some have even begun comping him to a young Austin Ekeler. Warren is currently out for the Week 12 contest on MNF against the Colts, but if your league has an Injured Reserve spot, he would be a free stash and worth holding.
The Steelers' 2022 season has been a disappointing one. Is there a chance that Harris could be shut down soon for the rest of the season? The Pittsburgh offense hasn't looked anything like its old self as they are near the bottom-five in just about every offensive category this season.
Kyren Williams, Los Angeles Rams - 35% rostered
As mentioned above, the Rams are close to fully transitioning to the offseason in the wake of their 3-7 performance. Darrell Henderson is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and the team has already tried to trade Cam Akers but couldn't find a trade partner.
In place of those two realities, the Rams might want to see what they have in Williams for the rest of the season as their lead running back.
Kyren played more in Week 11 against the New Orleans Saints, where he rushed seven times for 36 yards while catching one pass for eight yards. Cam Akers was more involved last week and the backfield still looks muddied at the moment. Williams was a dynamic receiver out of the backfield during his time at Notre Dame and the Rams drafted him in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
Williams also excels as a pass blocker and appears to be the kind of grinder that Sean McVay would want on his team. We have yet to see much from Williams so far as he was dealing with a foot injury to start the season, but we must be mindful that the Rams could be playing next year and just might want to see what they have in Williams.
Trestan Ebner, Chicago Bears - 2% rostered
After an unfortunate injury landed Khalil Herbert on Injured Reserve for the next four games, in steps Ebner who was a sixth-round selection by the Bears in the 2022 NFL Draft. So far, Ebner hasn't played a lot this season, but he has 24 carries for 54 yards along with two receptions for eight yards.
We should expect David Montgomery to be a bell cow running back of sorts for the next three games, but we always want to remain conscious of who the next man up might be should an injury to the starter occur.
There is a chance that the Bears at 3-8 may want to shut Herbert down for the remainder of the season and not bring him back, which could greatly open things up for Ebner. Chicago's offense has looked a lot better over their last six games and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has figured out how to properly use quarterback Justin Fields.
With this new development, the Chicago offense is a lot more viable for fantasy than we originally thought. While you can't start him at this time, Ebner is a player worth keeping an eye on from here on out just in case something happens to Montgomery.
I hope you enjoyed these picks. Feel free to follow me on Twitter for more waiver and player analysis throughout the season!
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