8 Fantasy Football Stash Candidates Ahead of Week 6

Stashing players ahead of your league mates is certainly advantageous if you can make it happen, and this series does its best to provide you with some names to consider every week.

These are guys who may be potential league-winners at some point in the future, whether that’s next week or a handful of weeks down the road. They may make this list if the player above them on the depth chart is on shaky ground or might be nursing an injury, or possibly a matchup-based situation in the weeks ahead.

Clear out those benches (check out my Dead Weight Report on who to drop) and make room for this week’s crop of emerging fantasy assets.

Michael Gallup, WR – Cowboys

A calf injury took Michael Gallup out in Week 1, but after a stint on the I.R., the fourth-year back could be ready to return to the field as early as this week but most likely will be held through the Cowboys' Week 7 bye.

Gallup saw high usage in Week 1, and it’s not like Cedric Wilson has set the field on fire in his absence (6.9 half-PPR points per game), so Gallup should be in for a nice rest of season performance as part of one of the most explosive offenses in the league. At a roster rate of just 46% in Yahoo leagues, Gallup makes for a great grab and stash this week.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR – Lions

Quintez Cephus suffered a broken collarbone in Week 5, which means either a lengthy absence or he possibly misses the rest of the season. The Lions' passing attack isn’t the easiest to decipher, which is why Amon-Ra St. Brown isn’t a must add, but he did see the most targets (8) in Week 5, which is encouraging for life without Cephus.

This unfortunate injury could just spell more volume for D'Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson, though, which is why grabbing St. Brown to stash for now is advisable. That way, if nothing comes of it, he's easily sent right back to the waiver wire.

Tyrod Taylor, QB – Texans

Davis Mills had himself a game last week against the Patriots, throwing for 312 yards and three touchdowns. This production is something we shouldn’t count on moving forward, but I suppose it could happen. In the event Mills comes back to earth as a rookie QB on a bad team, Tyrod Taylor is set to come off I.R. this week and is only rostered by 5% of fantasy managers.

Taylor started off the season strong in his first two outings and could slide right back in as a fantasy QB2 or a fill-in for upcoming bye weeks.

Giovani Bernard, RB – Buccaneers

You may have already drafted and dropped or added and discarded Giovani Bernard this season, but he’s now healthy and could be in a good spot at some point in the near future. Bernard had four carries for 21 yards plus two receptions totaling 14 yards and a touchdown last week against Miami, which is encouraging.

All his carries did come when the game was out of hand and he’s clearly behind Leonard Fournette in this backfield, even in targets (5-2 in Week 5). However, we’ve seen how RBs are just one injury away from fantasy relevancy far too often, so grabbing as much rushing depth as possible is never a bad thing.

Jameis Winston, QB – Saints

We're facing a massive bye week situation in Week 7, with fantasy managers having to go at it without the services of Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Dak Prescott, Kirk Cousins, Trevor Lawrence and Ben Roethlisberger. Getting in front of this will allow you to get the best QB options out there and Jameis Winston is in a really sweet spot not only for Week 7 but for the next two contests as well.

He gets the 21st-ranked Seahawks in Week 7, followed by the Buccaneers then Falcons, who sit 28th and 24th, respectively, in QB aFPA through five weeks.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR – Browns

The former training camp standout has had inconsistent usage so far in 2021, but his six targets were a season-high last week, which he translated to five receptions for 70 yards. Donovan Peoples-Jones isn’t quite a fantasy starter yet, but with Javis Landry still on I.R. and Odell Beckham Jr. not performing as expected, Peoples-Jones could emerge as a legit weapon in the Browns’ offense.

Cleveland now has a three-game homestand with contests against the Cardinals, Broncos and Steelers, who average a middle-of-the-league ranking in WR aFPA, so better days could be ahead for the sophomore wideout.

Carlos Hyde, RB – Jaguars

I know what you’re thinking and I totally get it. It’s James Robinson’s backfield and Carlos Hyde is nothing more than a secondary piece, stop trying to make him a thing, even though I personally haven’t been doing so. However, Hyde saw goal-line usage on fourth down last week, which is new for him, plus the 31-year-old was also privy to two carries inside the 10-yard line.

Hyde is not exactly going to be a league winner with Robinson in the mix and probably won’t be even if something were to happen to the lead back, but with RBs dropping like they have been, stowing Hyde away on a deeper roster could be to your benefit.

Ray-Ray McCloud, WR – Steelers

With JuJu Smith-Shuster out for the season, the targets in Pittsburgh may just be more concentrated on Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool, or the Steelers could get a third WR in the mix. James Washington is dealing with a groin injury, so the next man up is Ray-Ray McCloud. He’s seen seven balls in the last three weeks while others were injured, but with Smith-Schuster sidelined permanently that could increase.

Pittsburgh has a contest against Seattle this week, who rank 24th in WR aFPA, then have their bye week, followed by a mixed schedule after that. What is enticing is that in Weeks 15 and 16, during what’s most likely the fantasy playoffs, the Steelers get two bottom-three defenses in aFPA to opposing wideouts.