5 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes to Add Before They Break Out (Ep. 2188)

This is an I Heart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. - Hey, I'm Mike Am. - And I'm Trevor Sikima. And together, we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show. - Are you ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? - Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL Fantasy Football Show, you're already playing from behind. - Whether you're a first-time player or a grizzled vet chasing another championship, would you be the advantage and the confidence you need to make every move count? - Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football Show on the I Heart Radio App, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. - You know we are back to help make you a smarter fantasy football manager. The manager that stays two to three moves ahead of their league mates, the manager that is stashing players off of their waiver wire before they break out, so you have a jump on your league mates. I'm Lucas Wenzel here with fantasy pros bringing you my top five waiver wire stashes ahead of week one and next week's waiver run as well. Before we dive on into that list of players, though, we've got a special offer going on for you all right now where you can get up to six months of fantasy pros premium for free. Just head to fantasyprose.com/premium, click go premium for free, choose polymarket or one of our partner sports books, make it a deposit, and complete your first paid contest. Again, that's fantasyprose.com/premium. New users only terms apply. The first player on our list this week this year is Miami Dolphins-Wider-Sever Caleb Douglas who is rostered in 22% of leagues. Yes, the Miami Dolphins are going to be largely unwatchable for the majority of their games this year, but their passing game has to exist in some capacity even if their Wider-Sever room is starved for veterans. The 32nd elevator pitch on Caleb Douglas out of Texas Tech is this. He's six foot three and a half with 439 speed and a 79 inch wingspan. He uses every bit of that catch radius on high throws and plugs the ball from defenders and even against zone. He's got good spatial awareness and can find the soft spots in coverage. So in short, a guy with Douglas's combo of frame and speed should be a valuable asset for Malik Willis as he looks to get settled as the quarterback in whatever this Miami Dolphins offense is going to look like this year. Now, you do have fellow rookie Chris Bell in the equation as well who apparently isn't going to be on a pitch count in week one even after tearing his ACL in November. I certainly think Chris Bell is a good stash as well, but even with modern medicine evolving, the production of these athletes is still impacted the following season after these major knee injuries. Plus, when you miss a bulk of training camp as a rookie, you're already playing from behind when you're trying to get acclimated to NFL game speed. So that's primarily why I am more interested in Caleb Douglas because he gives you the potential of both immediate and long-term relevance in fantasy leagues. Douglas put together a standout preseason. He should have a defined role in this offense on the perimeter and per Jeff Halfley quote, "It's consistency over time." He Douglas made some flash plays and then he's made some plays where he needs to just catch the ball. He showed up every day. The second player on our list is another rookie and it's New York Giants wide receiver Malachi Fields who has rostrated in 21% of leagues. Hype has been trickling out of Giants camp for Malachi Fields throughout the preseason and I think there are plenty of context clues that point to it being valid. It all started two to three weeks ago when Jordan Ronan, one of the most reputable Giants reporters said that Malachi Fields is quote, "Lightly to start alongside Malik neighbors." And I understood the vision here for this too. Fields is six foot four with a near 79 inch wingspan. The dude's belt like a power forward and he uses that in contested catch scenarios. His body control is wildly good. He attacks the ball at its peak. He refuses to come down without it. Darnell Mooney isn't giving you that at five foot 11 and 177 pounds, respect to Odell Beckham Jr., but same story, right? He can't offer you that at five foot 11 and 33 years old. Fields would be the perfect asset out on the perimeter and in the red zone for this New York Giants team led by Jackson Dart. But then the second shoe drops. The Giants cut Darius Slayton at the start of this week eliminating another option to work ahead of Malachi Fields on the depth chart. So not only is the vision for the role there, but now the opportunity is starting to present itself as well. So even though Giants had Darnell Mooney listed as the White receiver two on their unofficial depth chart earlier this week, Jordan Ronan once again, double down on his belief that Malachi Fields is the quote, "Real White receiver two for the Giants." And I'm buying it. The size is appealing for Jackson Dart in the perimeter. He'll be an asset in the red area for high value fantasy points. And the viable options are starting to thin out around him. The third player on our list this week is New Orleans Saints, White receiver Devon Veile, who was also rostered in 21% of leagues. I want to start by reminding you that the New Orleans Saints traded a fourth round pick for Devon Veile in August of last season. It's not massive, right? But it is something now that the team is going to be without Jordan Tyson for what could be the first seven games of this season. With how killer more runs this offense, the Saints are designed to be a fantasy friendly group. Last season, they ran 2.2 plays per minute. That led the league. They only used 20 seconds of the play clock on average. That was the lowest in the league and even in neutral game settings. They were still the lowest at 29 seconds on average. The intent is for this offense to play fast. And that could definitely benefit Devon Veile, especially in PPR formats. After Rashid Shaheed was traded last year, Veile snaps shot up. The most he played was 51% through the first nine weeks. But then he logged 87, 89, 88. And 93% of snaps from week 10 on before suffering a season ending shoulder injury in week 15. And those snaps did actually turn into opportunity. He caught 20 of 29 targets in that span. He turned into top 10 finish and he was well on his way before getting injured against the Panthers, catching five passes for 69 yards in week 15. It's not as simple as just seeing Old Devon Veile is going to be the de facto second option. In this passing attack when you also have Jawan Johnson in the mix. Rookie's Bryce Lance and Barry and Brown will seem to work in two. But who's the guy they traded specifically for last off season? Who's role did they increase after trading Rashid Shaheed? It was Devon Veile. And again, in PPR leagues, where there could be some sneaky flex value here. If this Saints offense doesn't prove, I do like him as a stash right away this season. The fourth player on this list is Greenway Packers running back Chris Brooks, who is rostered in 7% of leagues. Marshawn Lloyd is the Packers running back that everybody wants to talk about and not without reason. But I also don't want a saluce site of context here either. The amount of soft tissue, lower body injuries that Lloyd has sustained at the start of his NFL career has piled up very, very quickly. Here's the list. In preseason of 2024, he had a hamstring pull. In week two, then of 2024, sprained his ankle when on IR and miss six games. Training camp of 2025, he had a non-contact growing injury. Then you get into the preseason of 2025. Another hamstring pull that landed him on IR, and then in December of 2025, yet another hamstring pull with a calf strain. He returned to IR and he missed the rest of the season. This is by no means of prediction that Marshawn Lloyd is going to get injured this year, because that's just bogus. And it's also not disregarding the effort that he has put into trying to prevent the soft tissue lower body injuries from occurring throughout his NFL career. But as context, we just simply can't ignore when looking at Chris Brooks. Because who's next? If something does happen to Marshawn Lloyd while Josh Jacobs is still on the commissioner's exempt list. And I actually don't think this is only a handcuff stash either. I wouldn't be surprised if we get Chris Brooks out on the field more than we expect in week one. Last season, PFF graded Chris Brooks as the fourth best running back in past protection. And in week one against the Minnesota Vikings. What does Brian Floor's love to do on defense? He loves to blitz. He wants to bring pressure. And Chris Brooks is a reliable wide receiver too. He caught 24 of 30 targets with the Green Bay Packers in his two-year stint here. So I do think we're going to see a decent amount of Chris Brooks on the field. An offensive coordinator, Adam Stenevich, has already made the statement that, quote, it's gonna be a running back by committee for a bit to see where everyone is at. So I'm not promising you the world here with Chris Brooks. But for those of you in deeper leagues, Chris Brooks should certainly be rostered in more than seven percent of leagues. And to wrap out our list this week is Tampa Bay Buccaneers' wide receiver Ted Hurst who has rostered in seven percent of leagues. Ted Hurst was one of my favorite wide receiver prospects in the NFL draft this year. Another six foot four wide out with a 79 inch wingspan, but Hurst is a trifecta in terms of how offenses can utilize him. He's a long strider who gets off the line fast with great deepball tracking. He's fantastic in space. He's lethal after the catch. And he's in the red zone. It's going 15 touchdowns in 24 collegiate games. The Buccaneers should have so much fun how they can fit Ted Hurst into their offense. And that opportunity might actually come knocking sooner rather than later. As of this recording, Jalen McMillan has been limited at practice, leading up to week one with a knee injury that he's sustained over a month ago at the start of August. Now, it seemed like McMillan looked like his usual self, but restrictions were still reported on. So things may change by the time this video is posted, but both Mick Baker Mayfield and Todd Bulls have made remarks of how reliable Hurst was in his standout preseason, right? When Egg Bucca and McMillan were both out, Hurst was the receiver, that shined. He didn't shy away. So even if McMillan does suit up for week one, I'm willing to play the long game here with Ted Hurst and bet on the possibility that he actually beats out Jalen McMillan for the X-Rule in this offense, come even mid season, especially in deeper leagues. 7% and rostered is just simply way too low for a player of Ted Hurst's talent and potential upside in this Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. And there you all have it. My top five waiver wire stashes ahead of week one. All these players are rostered in less than 30% of league. So it goes into your waiver wire, like right now, make sure nobody has claimed them. So you can claim them for yourself. Before we sign off here though, remember, we do have a special deal going on for you all, where you can get up to six months of fantasy pros premium for free. Just head to fantasyprose.com/premium. Click go premium for free, choose polymarket or one of our partner sportsbooks, make it a posit, and complete your first paid content. us again, that is fantasypros.com/premium. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at fantasypros.com/review or on Spotify. Follow us on X, Instagram, and TikTok @Faniseepros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at youtube.com/fantasypros. Hey, I'm Mike Yama. And I'm Trevor Sikama, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Are you ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Because if you aren't locked in with us on the NFL Fantasy Football Show, you're already playing from behind. 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