In this weekly column, we will examine players that you should be stashing or keeping an eye on in your dynasty leagues. The idea of dynasty is to form a team that you have week to week, season to season, decade to decade. So each offseason we draft young players. However, throughout each season we need to find those gems. Each of us can be a Bill Belichick if we just look and see the players who both have the talent and the opportunity.
Adam Humphries – WR, Tampa Bay
Ok, so he isn’t so deep. I mean the guy has been on all our radars for a while now, but if you don’t already own him, you need to think about picking him up. I will just go out there and say it, he is the Bucs version of Adam Thielen. If anyone heard me at all in the offseason, I told you to buy Thielen then. Now he is not available anywhere. Humphries is exactly the same. Through week 5 he has been targeted an average of 5 targets per game. In the last 3 weeks, the only players to be targeted more than him are OBJ, Mike Evans, and Chris Hogan. He is quietly having a meteoric rise, and no one is noticing. As Evans gets blanketed by the top CBs, Winston is looking to Humphries more and more over the middle of the field. I would stash him now before it’s too late.
Erik Swoope – TE, Indianapolis
This is an interesting stash at this point in the season. Erik Swoope was making a ton of noise in the preseason, but got injured and was placed on IR. He is now eligible to return after week 8. Let’s just look at the facts. Andrew Luck loves his tight ends. He made Jack Doyle relevant even when Dwayne Allen was on the team last year. This season Luck will be out until week 6 at least and coming back from a shoulder injury will be looking for his tight ends to help him as his security and safety blankets. In 2016 Luck targeted TEs 22% of the time. Expect that to rise as he returns from injury. While Jack Doyle will have a huge uptick in value with Luck’s return, don’t rule Swoope out just yet. He could be in store for some serious value if he can make a return this season. Either way, he carries a ton of value heading into the halfway of 2017 and beyond.
Albert Wilson – WR, Kansas City
Wilson is an interesting receiver for the Chiefs. He has amassed 15 targets and 4 carries through 4 weeks of the season. While many of you my hatred towards Tyreek Hill, Wilson and Conley may be the more relevant WRs in Kansas City. They are both more prototypical WRs, however, Wilson’s hands where his real talents lie. He has caught all but 1 target this season and that wasn’t even a drop. I flip-flop between the two, Conley and Wilson all the time. In the Preseason I really thought it would be Conley. But just based on usage so far through 4 weeks, Wilson has been trusted on later downs and on 3rd down conversions. Competing behind Travis Kelce and Kareem Hunt is no easy task but he has made his way into the realms of relevancy.
J.D. McKissic WR/RB, Seattle
Alright, alright, I’m sure the whole fantasy world has already told you that McKissic is a stash you should pick up already. But this is the truth. If you only read this column, let it be known that McKissic has the potential to be the real deal in Seattle, and I promise you, Pete Carroll is the coach to give him a chance. Coming in at 5’11” and 194 lbs, he is a WR/RB combo. I think we need to look at him the way we looked at Ty Montgomery last season. With a little bulking up, he can be a beast. Montgomery is currently at 6’ 0” and 216 lbs. We already have seen what an offseason of muscle has done for him, If McKissic does the same it could be a game changer. And the fact is he has already proved it. In week 4, McKissic went 4 carries for 38 yards and a TD and followed that up with a reception for a 27 yard TD. Even prior to playing him, Seattle players implored Carroll to play McKissic cause they saw the talent on the practice field. If for some odd reason he hasn’t been plucked off waivers in your leagues already, he should be now.