Sneaky stashes are back! After a one-year hiatus, sneaky stashes have returned to give you fantasy foresight into who the next round of hot waiver wire additions may be.
The purpose of sneaky stashes is to look into the weeks ahead and examine matchups in order to forecast which players will become valuable before they become popular commodities on the waiver wire. This allows us to pounce on fantasy’s future stars and steamers without having to possess a high waiver priority or blow through that precious free agent acquisition budget.
The players featured below are prospects who either have juicy matchups awaiting them in the weeks ahead, have immense talent that is primed to breakout sooner or later, or possibly a combination of both.
Nonetheless, the guys you’ll see on sneaky stashes are players we recommend considering if you have dead weight at the end of your bench.
Criteria for sneaky stashes requires players be available in 40% or more of ESPN leagues.
John Brown — Available in 51.1% of leagues
WR — Buffalo Bills
Week 3 Matchup: Cincinnati Bengals
This isn’t so much of a stash as it is a, “GO TO YOUR LEAGUE AND PICK UP BROWN RIGHT NOW!” Sorry for my outburst, but seriously, what is wrong with you guys? Brown began 2018 on a tear and put up over 79 yards per game and four touchdowns in his first seven weeks. He eventually lost the connection he had with Joe Flacco in 2018 when the veteran was replaced with a rookie Lamar Jackson, but the point remains; Brown is capable of putting up big numbers if paired with the right quarterback. He seems to have that quarterback in Buffalo’s Josh Allen, who is looking to build on his exciting rookie campaign. Brown is the number one receiving option for the Bills and led the team in targets (10), receptions (7) and yards (123) in week 1 while also finding the endzone. Not only does Brown have a juicy week 3 matchup against a Cincinnati pass defense that was one of the league’s worst last season, but this week he looks to exploit a Giants secondary that allowed two receivers to top 100 yards last week versus the Cowboys. Brown should be rostered in every league, period.
Malcolm Brown — Available in 63.6% of leagues
RB — Los Angeles Rams
Week 3 Matchup: Cleveland Browns
No one knew how the Todd Gurley knee situation would unfold in 2019. We still don’t, but after week 1, it appears his days of being an every-down ‘back are over. Brown played 27% of the offensive snaps compared to Gurley’s 70% Sunday, but more important is the fact that L.A. turned to Brown near the goal-line, an area where Gurley had shined in years past. Brown finished the day with 11 carries for 53 yards and two scores. One week is not a large enough sample size to deem Brown as the Rams’ goal-line ‘back, but if the trend continues, he’ll certainly provide stand-alone value independent of Gurley. Should Gurley’s knee flair up as it did last season, Brown’s value will skyrocket. Brown immediately becomes a top-15 running back should Gurley miss time this year. I wouldn’t start Brown until we see more, but he’s certainly worth stashing on your roster.
Mecole Hardman — Available in 72.8% of leagues
WR — Kansas City Chiefs
Week 3 Matchup: Baltimore Ravens
When the talent and opportunity are great, the importance of matchup is greatly diminished. The Chiefs obviously believe in Hardman’s talent after spending a second round pick on the 4.33 speedster. Now that Tyreek Hill is sidelined for four to six weeks with a sternoclavicular joint issue, Hardman has the opportunity to be the number two receiver in Kansas City’s explosive offense. Though his catchless week 1 outing isn’t what you want to see, Hardman (77%) trailed only Sammy Watkins in terms of the team’s wide receiver snaps. Now that the Chiefs know Hill is going to miss a significant chunk of time, they figure to make more of an effort to get Hardman involved. Let’s keep in mind that Watkins has quite the injury history himself, which suggests Hardman’s value may not necessarily disappear once Hill returns. Hardman’s talent and opportunity make him worth a spot on your bench.
Chris Thompson — Available in 61.9% of leagues
RB — Washington Redskins
Week 3 Matchup: Chicago Bears
Okay, forget the matchup. What’s important here is Darius Guice is out indefinitely after undergoing knee surgery, and Thompson saw 10 targets Sunday in a loss to Philadelphia. Obviously, Thompson is far more valuable in PPR leagues, as his 78 yards from scrimmage probably didn’t tickle your fancy if you weren’t getting points for his seven receptions. Thompson has become a viable FLEX play in PPR leagues. Adrian Peterson will be worth owning at some point as well, as he is set to take over the early-down work with Guice sidelined. But without any receiving upside, it may be better to hold off the on veteran until after Washington’s daunting matchup against the Bears has passed.
Dallas Cowboys D/ST — Available in 70.3% of leagues
Week 3 Matchup: Miami Dolphins
If you’ve followed the NFL over the last several months, weeks, or hell, even Sunday, you’ll know that Miami is in full-on rebuild mode. In a blowout that featured plenty of garbage time opportunities for the Dolphins, Miami mustered up just 200 total yards, 10 points, had three turnovers and gave up three sacks. I like the Cowboys to bully Miami at home, and despite Case Keenum’s exploitation of Philly’s secondary last week, the Cowboys aren’t a bad play this Sunday against Washington.
Alexander Mattison — Available in 86.9% of leagues
RB — Minnesota Viking
Week 3 Matchup: Oakland Raiders
There’s a chance Mattison appears on this list every week. The Vikings drafted the former Boise State ball-carrier in the third round as an insurance policy for Dalvin Cook, who has proved to be anything but durable during his first two seasons in the NFL. On Sunday, Mattison displayed the ability he showed in college by racking up 49 yards on nine rush attempts. We saw the impact offensive adviser Gary Kubiak and first-round center Garrett Bradbury can have on this rushing attack Sunday when Minnesota’s ‘backs ran for 168 yards and two scores against Atlanta. The immense upside Mattison possesses should Cook go down makes him worth stashing away if you can afford rostering a player who may not provide stand-alone weekly value.
