8 Fantasy Football Stash Candidates Ahead of Week 7

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. With bye weeks in full swing and injuries plaguing rosters across the league, grabbing the right players can be a difference-maker in the weeks to come.

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 Carter, RB – Jets

Michael Carter was included in this article in Week 4, but he’s still only rostered in 52% of Yahoo! leagues. He is in a really nice spot to finally pay off. He’s fresh and coming off a bye week after seeing double-digit touches in four straight contests.

The Jets’ next two opponents are in the bottom half of the league in schedule-adjusted fantasy points, or aFPA to RBs so far in 2021, plus Carter gets a super-soft schedule for the fantasy playoffs with games against the 31st- and 23rd-ranked defenses in RB aFPA in Weeks 15 and 16.

Jaret Patterson, RB – Football Team

Antonio Gibson is dealing with a stress fracture in his shin this season that flared up on him at one point in Week 6’s contest. He does get a bye to rest in Week 9, but grabbing the next man up is not a bad idea at this point if you can swing it.

Jaret Patterson has seen nine touches in the past three games and would obviously see an expanded role if Gibson’s condition worsens and he ends up on the shelf for any period of time.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, WR – Packers

After a three-week stint on the I.R. for a hamstring injury, Marquez Valdes-Scantling can return as early as this week. Before being sidelined, the Green Bay WR saw the seventh-most air yards per game (116) among wideouts and he’s second behind Davante Adams in targets per game on the Packers.

With so many WRs watching football from home in the coming weeks combined with injuries around the NFL, Valdes-Scantling makes for a quality speculative pickup considering he’s in an offense playing fairly well this season. As an added bonus, Green Bay gets the 31st-, 22nd-, 21st- and 14th-ranked defenses in WR aFPA in their next four contests, making him a very appealing player to stash.

Will Fuller, WR – Dolphins

Similar to Valdes-Scantling, Will Fuller’s fractured finger landed him an I.R. spot, with Week 8 as his earliest return date. Tua Tagovailoa posted a QB11 performance in his first week back, which is encouraging for Fuller’s potential down the stretch if he can stay healthy.

We haven’t seen enough from Fuller this season to be able to gauge his volume, but considering the Dolphins have thrown the sixth-most passes this season through six weeks (237) and DeVante Parker is also dealing with an injury, Fuller should be fantasy relevant if he’s on the field.

Jeff Wilson Jr., RB – 49ers

The 49ers already have a crowded backfield that is tough to count on for fantasy purposes, but it’s about to get another member soon-ish. Jeff Wilson Jr. has been recovering from a torn meniscus he suffered in May and could be activated within the next few weeks.

Wilson ended 2020 averaging 20.4 half-PPR points per game over the final three weeks, with the fifth-most touches among RBs in that time frame. Elijah Mitchell seems to be the lead back in San Francisco for the time being, but the talented Wilson should slide in at the very least as their No. 2 RB, making him stash-worthy.

Jordan Akins, TE – Texans

Houston and their TEs are not a fruitful fantasy combination we’re used to, but Jordan Akins could be a player with some appeal moving forward. He’s seen eight targets in the last two games, including a red-zone look, and with Houston most likely to be in negative game scripts each week, Akins could be someone to use as a bye week fill-in in the weeks to come.

Jamal Agnew, WR – Jaguars

This is a rough one to write so I’m sure reading it brings out the same repugnant feelings, but here goes. Jamal Agnew has seen legitimate volume these past two contests without D.J. Chark, receiving seven targets in Week 5 and six balls last week, plus one carry against Miami for eight yards.

Agnew’s two-week output is good enough for WR38 in half-PPR points per game, which is WR3/WR4 territory. The Jags are on a bye in Week 7, but after they return, Agnew could make for a decent flex option or bye-week filler, especially in PPR formats.

Zane Gonzalez, K – Panthers

The fact that I have yet to include a kicker in this column this season is very off-brand for me, so I decided to correct this for Week 7. I really wanted to talk about Rodrigo Blankenship here since his schedule is primo for the next three weeks with games against the Titans, Jets and Jaguars, but he is dealing with a hip injury, so he might be out for a bit. Mike Badgley should be a nice addition to use for a few weeks if Hot Rod is out.

Zane Gonzalez also boasts a pretty soft schedule in the coming weeks, with three of the Panthers’ next five opponents ranking 24th or worse in kicker aFPA. If you don’t feel like streaming since there are so many teams with bye weeks ahead, grabbing either of these two and riding with them for a while could be the way to go.