9 Fantasy Football Stash Candidates Ahead of Week 9

Grabbing some waiver wire magic and stashing them 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.

Editor's Note: Check out the Week 9 Waiver Wire Watch!

D’Ernest Johnson, RB - Browns

Cleveland is reportedly willing to deal Kareem Hunt before the trade deadline, which would open the door for D’Ernest Johnson in an offense that is not only run-centric but productive in their ground efforts. Nick Chubb is still the clear RB1, which is not up for debate, but if Johnson becomes the RB2, he’ll become a flex option down the stretch.

The Browns are off in Week 9, which should help keep his speculative adds at bay, but upon return, contests with Miami and Houston over the next four weeks are appealing, as they rank 26th and 32nd in RB schedule-adjusted fantasy points allowed or aFPA.

*Update: No trade but he could still be valuable down the stretch in case of an injury.

Jimmy Garoppolo QB - 49ers

As the fantasy QB19 in points per game so far in 2022 with 15.4, Jimmy Garoppolo hasn’t been putting up the sexiest numbers, but he does have a new weapon in Christian McCaffrey, who he clearly loves to throw to, as the former Panther RB led the offense in targets with nine in Week 8.

The 49ers are on their bye this week but boast a very favorable QB schedule for the remainder of the fantasy season. Weeks 10-14 feature two teams ranked 25th or worse in QB aFPA, and then for the fantasy playoffs, Jimmy G will face the Seahawks, Commanders, and Raiders, who sit 18th, 27th, and 32nd, respectively, in that same metric. If you’re struggling at QB and very few of us aren’t, Garoppolo could be a difference-maker in the weeks ahead, and he’s only on 49% of Yahoo rosters.

Terrace Marshall, WR - Panthers

Yes, he’s burned us before as last year’s training camp standout, but we have to remove recency bias and look at the big-ish picture. Terrace Marshall is now the clear WR2 for Carolina, and his involvement has ballooned since Robbie Anderson left the building, going from 45% of the snaps in Week 6, to 86% in Week 7 and 93% on Sunday.

The 22-year-old saw 25% of the Panthers' targets last week, which resulted in 87 receiving yards. As an offense, Carolina is not exactly anything to covet for fantasy purposes, but if that volume continues, paired with another tilt against Atlanta in Week 10 and the Steelers and Lions on the horizon, Marshall could be a sneaky add to fill in bye-week holes.

Jaylen Warren, RB - Steelers

I’ve included Jaylen Warren in this column in a prior week, but it’s time he made another appearance as we move further into the 2022 season. Like in other backfields around the league, Warren is showing a more impressive RB portfolio (5.3 yards per rush, 7.3 yards per catch) than the player in front of him (3.3 yards per rush, 4.7 yards per catch for Najee Harris), but is still living that backup life as the third-down RB.

We’ve seen no indication that Mike Tomlin will be switching it up any time soon, but it may get harder if Warren continues to separate himself. The rookie has averaged 6.2 half-PPR points over the last two weeks, and with all the byes coming up, he could have some stand-alone value even if Harris remains healthy.

James Cook, RB - Bills

Another repeat stasher, James Cook, is currently only on 22% of Yahoo rosters and could be in for a really productive second half of the NFL season. Cook saw five carries in Week 8, which was his highest volume since the second game of the season and his snap count was also the second highest on the year at 25%, just one percent off his Week 2 campaign of 26%.

The Bills are certainly gunning for the Lombardi Trophy and have a fairly easy remaining schedule, so resting Devin Singletary and giving the rookie more playing time down the stretch is not out of the question. Securing Cook now ahead of your league mates could be beneficial with 22 teams yet to be sidelined by their respective bye weeks.

*Update: With Nyheim Hines now in town Cook becomes less of a stash, but we'll have to see how the usage shakes out.

Chuba Hubbard, RB - Panthers

The second-year RB was on the shelf in Week 8 with an ankle injury, and some managers may have dropped Chuba Hubbard and will likely forget about him due to D’Onta Foreman’s impressive 26-118-3 line last week in Atlanta.

However, we can’t omit Week 9, when Hubbard was technically the starter before sustaining that injury in Week 7, and upon return, this backfield could revert to more of a split. Hubbard is only on 43% of Yahoo rosters, and he’s someone that shouldn’t sit on the waiver wire with the potential for decent volume if he suits up soon.

K.J. Hamler, WR - Broncos

This stash becomes of lesser priority if the trade deadline passes without a Jerry Jeudy deal, but if someone does make a trade for Jeudy, K.J. Hamler inherits the WR2 spot in Denver.

I know that’s not saying much based on how the Broncos' offense has performed in 2022, but Hamler’s role has been steadily increasing with 40+ snaps in back-to-back weeks, and if they can find a way to put more points on the board and he gets a promotion, Hamler could be a nice roster addition.

Mike Badgley, K - Lions

If you want to grab a kicker and leave him in for a while without having to stream based on matchups, Mike Badgley could be your guy. He’s posted 17 total fantasy points in the last two games and is set up for success for the next three weeks when 14 kickers are out for their byes.

The opposing defenses Badgley faces in the next three contests yield an average of 8.03 fantasy points to enemy kickers, including the Packers, Bears, and Giants. The 27-year-old is a perfect 8-8 on the season, kicking for both the Bears (in Week 5 only) and the Lions for the last two weeks in place of Austin Seibert, who was let go due to groin injury.

Kansas City Chiefs Defense

Averaging six fantasy points per game, the Chiefs' defense isn’t exactly among the elite fantasy defenses in 2022, but better times should be ahead. Their next four games feature opposing offenses that are all in the bottom half of the league in total points scored, with the Titans and Rams posting just 18.9 and 16.8 points per tilt, respectively, and the Jaguars and Chargers not much better with 21.5 and 23.4 average totals this season.

Kansas City has found success in some areas on defense, as they are second in the NFL in QB pressures with 79, and tied for fourth in QB hurries with 29, so if Malik Willis is back under center in Week 9 for the Titans, havoc may be wreaked. Feel confident in stashing the Chiefs for the next few weeks if you want to focus on other parts of your roster during waiver wire time.