If a championship is our ultimate goal — I don’t know why you’re playing if it’s not — then week 8 marks the halfway point in the fantasy season. It’s time to bolster our rosters with players who have the potential to be stretch-run heroes. An example of such from last year would be Robby Anderson, who had been lackluster for the Jets throughout the majority of the season, but then peeled off three straight games of 70-plus yards and a touchdown from weeks 14 through 16, leading many fantasy owners to trophies. Crafty fantasy owners will stack their benches with players who have the ability to do the same.
For those unfamiliar, the goal of Sneaky Stashes is to get ahead of the waiver wire. By identifying valuable players before they break out, we can avoid dipping into that precious FAAB budget or getting beat out by someone with higher priority on waivers. However your league handles it, we get a leg up by stashing fantasy assets on our bench before they become hot commodities. 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.
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Week 9 Byes: Atlanta Falcons, Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints
Criteria for sneaky stashes requires players be available in 40% or more of ESPN leagues.
Sam Darnold — Available in 84.8% of leagues
QB — New York Jets
Week 9 Matchup: at Miami Dolphins
Don’t “ghost” Darnold just because the Patriots embarrassed him in Foxborough Monday night. Young quarterbacks have their ups and downs, and New England’s defense has been embarrassing opponents all season. A look at the Jets’ schedule shows better times are ahead for Darnold. Over their next six games, New York plays the Dolphins, Giants, Redskins, Raiders, Bengals and Dolphins again, all of whom rank in the bottom half of the league in terms of points allowed to opposing passers. Snag Darnold now if you need a QB streamer down the stretch.
Kenny Stills — Available in 55.5% of leagues
WR — Houston Texans
Week 9 Matchup: at Jacksonville Jaguars
How is this guy Stills available in so many leagues? Sorry, I had to do it. But seriously, with Will Fuller out indefinitely with a “significant” hamstring injury, Stills is now entrenched in Houston’s number two wide receiver role. That role just became more valuable with one less mouth to feed. Stills — whose skillset as a speedy, big play threat mirrors that of Fuller’s — is not much of a drop off from Fuller, if at all. Now that Fuller and Stills won’t be eating into each other’s opportunities every Sunday, Stills becomes a weekly top 30 receiver play. Grab him while you Stills can.
Chris Herndon — Available in 74.6% of leagues
TE — New York Jets
Week 9 Matchup: at Miami Dolphins
It has been a patience-testing ride dealing with Herndon in 2019, however, that patience may soon be rewarded. The second-year player got in three limited practices this week as he returns from a hamstring injury he suffered while preparing to return from a suspension. The athletic target has a three-down skillset in an offense that has more than enough room for an addition target. Rumors are swirling that receiver Robby Anderson could be dealt before the trade deadline, which would leave an even bigger slice of the aerial pie for Herndon. Between signs pointing toward Herndon getting back on the field soon and the Jets’ cakewalk of a schedule, tight end needy fantasy owners would be wise to stash away this high-ceiling asset.
Corey Davis — Available in 41.6% of leagues
WR — Tennessee Titans
Week 9 Matchup: at Carolina Panthers
The switch to Ryan Tannehill prompted me to put Davis on this list last week, and he went for six catches, 80 yards and a score in the quarterback’s first start as a Titan. This week, Tennessee plays a Buccaneers team that has given up the second most fantasy points (PPR) to opposing receivers. The stigma around the Titans’ passing game is likely the reason he remains so widely available, but with the more aggressive Tannehill replacing the ultra-conservative Mariota, Davis’ value has undoubtedly risen. After Tampa Bay, Tennessee plays the Panthers, Chiefs, Jaguars, Colts, Raiders and Texans, all exploitable matchups for Davis.
Kareem Hunt — Available in 42.5% of leagues
RB — Cleveland Browns
Week 9 Matchup: at Denver Broncos
Hunt returned to practice this week and is eligible to play his first game as a Brown in week 10. Nick Chubb has been a stud in his role as the Browns’ lead ‘back, which puts a damper on Hunt’s upside once on the field. At most, Hunt could see 40% of the backfield work for Cleveland, which with his talent, would make him a solid FLEX play. Should Chubb succumb to his heavy workload and go down with an injury, Hunt suddenly becomes a top 20 running back, minimum. While I would tamper expectations with Hunt, he certainly needs to be owned in all leagues.
Ryquell Armstead — Available in 98.1% of leagues
RB — Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 9 Matchup: vs Houston Texans
Let me introduce you to mister Armstead. The fifth-round rookie is the primary backup to Leonard Fournette, who is on pace for a whopping 393 touches this season. Given Fournette’s fairly appointed “injury prone” label, it seems to be merely a matter of time before the LSU product is sidelined once again. Armstead is similar to Fournette in that he’s a bruising ‘back who possesses breakaway speed. The Temple product weighs 220 pounds, ran an unofficial 4.45 40 in the pre-draft process and rumbled for over 1,000 yards on 5.2 yards per clip during his final year of college. While it remains to be seen if Alfred Blue will return from IR and muddle this handcuff situation, Armstead, for now, appears to be one of the most underrated handcuffs in the game.
