8 Fantasy Football Stash Candidates Ahead of Week 3

What makes a player stash-worthy? 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.

Editor's Note: Check out the Week 3 Waiver Wire Watch

I’m looking at all kinds of stash-worthy guys in the event 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 these up-and-comers.

Khalil Herbert, RB - Bears

David Montgomery had a solid outing in Week 2, posting 14.6 half-PPR points against the Packers as Chicago’s RB1, but there is some pie left over for Herbert. The Bears have been very ground-heavy to start the season, running the fifth-most rushing plays in the NFL (64) to just 28 pass attempts. Herbert carried the ball on 13 of those attempts with an additional two targets in the first two weeks.

On the horizon are the Texans and Giants, who’ve allowed 48.7 and 45.5 half-PPR points, respectively, to opposing backfields so far in 2022. Herbert’s 7.7 half-PPR points per game thus far may not jump off the page, but he’s one of few backup RBs with any standalone value and becomes even more beneficial if anything were to happen to Montgomery.

K.J. Hamler, WR - Broncos

Denver’s offense is suffering from a combination of anemia and poor coaching, but the potential and talent are still there. Jerry Jeudy left Week 2’s tilt with a shoulder injury and is considered day-to-day, which could open the door for K.J. Hamler upon his return. The 23-year-old was held out of the game against Houston to allow for more recovery time for his knee/hip, but he could return as early as this week.

Upcoming opponents for the Broncos aren’t too stout when it comes to defending WRs, and include the Raiders in Week 4, who gave up 24.9 half-PPR points to LAC WRs in Week 1 and 23.3 to Cardinal wideouts last week, and then the Colts, who just yielded 22.8 half-PPR points to Christian Kirk on Sunday. If you have the space, stashing Hamler in the event Russ figures out how to cook in Denver may be beneficial down the road.

Marlon Mack & Tyrion Davis-Price, RBs - 49ers

With Elijah Mitchell out for a while, Jeff Wilson has taken over the RB1 role in San Francisco, or at least whatever that means for the 49ers backfield. Tyrion-Davis Price was activated in Week 2 and was pretty heavily involved, garnering 14 touches while in on 39% of the offensive snaps.

TDP’s output was a mere 33 yards on those 14 carries, but the usage is encouraging, and with how unlucky the 49ers RB room seems to be, grabbing the rookie now may be wise in deeper leagues. With the news of a high-ankle sprain putting TDP on the shelf for a few weeks, Jordan Mason will be a hot waiver wire claim, allowing you to stash Davis-Price and Marlon Mack, who will most likely be elevated from the practice squad this week.

Zamir White, RB - Raiders

Here’s another guy who was inactive for the first contest and didn’t do anything of note in Week 2. Josh Jacobs saw 20 of 22 possible RB touches against the Cardinals and turned that volume into a very inefficient 89 yards from scrimmage with no trips to the end zone.

Josh McDaniels may go to his rookie RB sooner rather than later, either to preserve Jacobs’ body or due to his paltry output, so having Zamir White already parked on your bench puts you ahead of the game.

Olamide Zaccheaus, WR - Falcons

Rookie Drake London is emerging as Marcus Mariota’s favorite target, but slot guy Olamide Zaccheus is quietly carving out a nice role for himself in the Atlanta offense. The 25-year-old was in on the second-most snaps at the WR position behind London and is currently sitting as a fringe WR4/5 in total half-PPR points.

Atlanta’s offense isn’t the sexiest, and the team is sitting at 0-2, but game script could call for some Zaccheaus moving forward and he’s certainly widely available as a stash candidate at this early spot in the season.

Juwan Johnson, TE - Saints

While the positional focus has been on Taysom Hill in fantasy land, Juwan Johnson is silently emerging as the starting TE in New Orleans and is the TE18 in half-PPR points per contest thus far. Johnson has been thrown to 12 times, which he’s turned into a 6-83-0 line in both games combined.

With the TE position, some hits and a lot of misses, Johnson could be a player who gains even more momentum as the season rolls on. A former college WR, the 26-year-old is in a good spot to possibly run receiver routes and even has the benefit of some favorable matchups on tap. In Weeks 5-9, the Saints play four defenses that were ranked 22nd or worse in TE schedule-adjusted fantasy points per game (or aFPA) last season.

Mack Hollins, WR - Raiders

After a solid offseason campaign, Mack Hollins earned the WR3 spot in the Las Vegas offense behind Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow. He’s seen nine targets so far through two games and snagged five of eight last week for 66 yards. Hollins actually outperformed both WRs against the Cardinals, but that’s not something that should happen too often, if at all moving forward.

Renfrow took a shot from Isaiah Simmons, which left him in the concussion protocol, and if he were to remain sidelined, Hollins could see more action in Week 3. If not, the former Dolphin and Eagle is still worthy of a stash as we see how this Vegas passing attack pans out. It also doesn't hurt that they face the Titans this week who allowed the second-most aFPA to WRs last season and an insane WR1 performance from Stefon Diggs (38.8 half-PPR points) on Monday night, followed by Denver, who’s been soft against opposing wideouts so far in 2022.