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Speaker 1: You know what time it is. It is time to help make you a smarter fantasy football manager. The manager that is staying two to three moves ahead of their league mates. The manager that is beating their league mates on the waiver wire because you're stashing players before they break out. I'm Lucas Wentzel here with Fantasy Pros, bringing you my top six waiver wire stashes ahead of week 10 and next week's waiver run as well. Now, I'll admit to this week's list is pretty nasty. So if you're a true sicko, then this one's for you. First up on our list this week is Green Bay Packers running back Caleb Johnson, who was rostered in 20% of leagues. Josh Jacobs suffered a thumb fracture in week 9 against the Patriots, and the reported timeline right now is that he's going to end up missing 2-3 weeks. Typically, I don't want to focus on short-term stash players, but there is still a possibility that Josh Jacobs ends up on IR. And we should have clarity on that come Saturday. But after Jacob's departure in week nine, it was Caleb Johnson who stepped in handling 14 carries for 68 yards and a score. He was also 13th in rushing success rate while also ranking sixth in yards after contact per attempt as well. So even though it looks like the Packers will get Marshawn Lloyd back this week as well, Caleb Johnson is still the back that I am personally most interested in. None of them were particularly good. in the first six weeks without josh jacobs but caleb johnson at least had a run of 10 plus yards on 15 of his totes and he it seemed like he had the most juice to offer to this offense i'm not going to try and oversell you on this stash because this isn't a league breaking stash by any means but if josh jacobs finds himself out longer than expected the originally reported two to three weeks then this backfield then draws the saints the bills the dolphins bears and texans from week 13 on and all those matchups could produce points for the running back position Next up on our list is Cincinnati Bengals running back Samajay Pirine, who is rostered in 16% of leagues. I'll start with this fact. Samajay Pirine has 11 plus carries in two of his last four games. Now, a bulk of those did come at the end of last week when the Bengals were bleeding the clock in their matchup with Atlanta. But I'm filing this away nonetheless because we're now entering the point of the season where we need to be conscious of these high upside handcuffed running backs in fantasy football. Chase Brown is averaging nearly 13 rush attempts per game in addition to 5.5 targets per game. That would be quite the role to inherit if anything were to happen to Chase Brown for Samaje Pirine, and I know Chase Brown hasn't turned that opportunity into gold per se, but he's still running back 19 on the year, and Samaje Pirine would instantly launch himself into weekly flex territory if he were to take over. And it's not even the PRN has to inherit all 18 and a half of those touches because that's not going to happen, right? You're probably going to see a bit more Taj Brooks. I'm guessing the Bengals would probably take a look to see who's available to sign to the roster as well. But this Bengals offense is too high powered right now to not at least have Chase Brown's insurance policy stashed. The Bengals are ninth in red zone trips per game. they are scoring on 71% of those trips, and they're scoring on 82% of their goal-to-go scenarios, which is third best in the league. All those metrics come from sharp football analysis. So at this point, you know, it's unlucky that Chase Brown has only found the end zone once this year. And if Samajit Pirine does find himself as the lead back in Cincinnati at any point the rest of the season, he could easily turn himself out into a top 30 running back and a must-roster piece in your leagues. Coming in third on our list this week is Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Tutu Atwell, who is rostered in 13% of leagues. With Puka Nakua and Devontae Adams out at this point, Matthew Stafford, he needs to throw the ball to somebody in this Rams offense. I wouldn't be surprised, honestly. if they ran the ball 40-plus times against the Cardinals this week. But, you know, not every team can beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and throw the ball only three times in one game. And it's not like this is a one-game stash for Tutu Atwell either. Pukunuku will miss extended time. He won't be on IR, but the Rams' IR situation is just extremely complex right now. But Puka is still projected to miss four to six games. And as of right now, Devontae Adams is eyeing a week 13 return. And even though Sean McVay said he's, quote, optimistic, Adams will return sooner rather than later. You know, I would be, too, if I were the head coach of a depleted wide receiver room. It doesn't mean that he's going to be back in week 13. It could be week 15 before he returns. from a ruptured hamstring, not just a strain, a ruptured hamstring. Typically, Tutu Atwell has been used as this more vertical, deep threat for the Rams offense in his first stint with the team, but now that you have nobody to work in the intermediate portions of the field, I wouldn't be surprised if they have Atwell work underneath a bit more since he does have history in the Sean McVay offense. He does have that familiarity going for him. If Atwell were to establish himself as Stafford's top option in the passing game ahead of a Kanata Mumfield, ahead of a CJ Daniels, it's not hard to see a path to fantasy relevance over the next three to four games. And again, if either Puka or Devante is held out until weeks 15 or 16 even, then we have five to six games of relevance here in a season where injuries just seem to keep piling up and decimating fantasy teams left and right. So I definitely think Tutu Atwell is worth the perspective stash. Now, before we get to our last three players here, if you want a chance to win the ultimate symbol of fantasy football dominance,
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the five pound XL championship custom turnover chain, courtesy of our good friends over at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football trophies, then this is your moment. This massive five pound chain isn't just for show. It's a statement. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube channel right now, drop a comment below on any of our videos, and that's it. That's the only thing you need to do. We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on those notifications as well so you can know when new videos are up, and to come claim your prize when we announce it. The next player on our list is Denver Broncos wide receiver Pat Bryant, who is rostered in 12% of leagues. In his first game back from IR, Pat Bryant caught four or five targets for 56 yards and a score, which was good for the wide receiver 18 in week nine. Obviously, you have the caveat of Jalen Waddle being knocked out of that game with a concussion, and you do have the Denver Broncos on by this week now, but that's actually a good thing because none of your league mates are thinking to look for Pat Bryant right now on your waiver wire. Digging a bit deeper into Pat Bryant's usage without Jalen Waddell last week, he played 51 of 75 snaps, he ran 28 routes, which only trailed Cortland Sutton by 3 routes, and he led the team at fantasy points per route run with 0.56 points per route, over half a point per route. Now, I will say, everyone is expecting Jalen Waddell to return in week 11, fully ready to go, but... You know, Jalen Waddell doesn't exactly carry the cleanest bill of health for his career either. Just this season, for a good stretch of training camp, he was dealing with a hamstring injury. In week eight, he picked up that chest injury that knocked him out of the game early as well. He obviously got on the field for week nine, but not until he suffered the concussion, which we already touched on. So what happens if... Jalen Waddell doesn't just get knocked out for three quarters of a game, but he gets knocked out for three full games instead. Obviously, we do not wish injury upon any player around these parts, but Pat Bryant is first in line to receive an uptick in usage, clearly as displayed last week. Or what happens if it's Cortland Sutton who then misses time? Pat Bryant could easily step into his role since they win in the same areas of the football field. So I get there's plenty of contingency around this stash. It's not a straight line stash, but Pat Bryant is a good football player. In 14 plus man leagues, I would make sure he's on my roster as kind of a pseudo insurance policy for Jalen Waddle or even Cortland Sutton. The fifth player on our list this week is Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Reggie Virgil, who is rostered in 5% of leagues. You can copy what I said about Tutu Atwell and paste it here for Reggie Virgil, but the only twist is that you have to factor in that this is the Arizona Cardinals offense, led by Carson Beck and not Matthew Stafford and not coached by Sean McVay. I am more than willing to admit that this is a true, true lottery ticket through and through, but this team is now without Michael Wilson. Kendrick Bourne, and Jalen Brooks, so we have quickly run out of options in the Cardinals' wide receiver room. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Cardinals' fifth-round selection out of Texas Tech, here's the 30-second breakdown for you all. He's a 6'3 deep threat with great hands, good feel for finding the soft spots in zone coverage as well. His route running definitely needs to be polished, but he's at least savvy and made the jump from Miami, Ohio in the Mid-American Conference to the Big 12 in one offseason, which is really no small thing. And in the small sample we got last week against Seattle from Reggie Virgil, you saw the deep threat ability. His average depth of target was 27.6 yards, and he led the team with 83 air yards on the afternoon as well. He also ran a respectable 1.92 yards per route and drew a target on 23% of his routes, which again, is nothing to shrug at for Reggie Virgil. Like I said, this is a complete long shot. Trey McBride still exists, so of course he's going to be Carson Beck's best friend. but there's a chance. There's a chance there's some sort of rookie connection between Carson Beck and Reggie Virgil since they've had ample time to work together since being drafted. What if that's actually the case? It's a potential, but I'd be willing to toss him in at the end of my bench in the deepest of leagues just to see what comes from this Arizona Cardinals offense under Carson Beck and with Reggie Virgil operating as the wide receiver one. Last, but certainly not least, we have Houston Texans wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, who is rostered in only 3% of leagues. Look, I'm sorry I can't end with more of a bang this week, but similar to guys like Dylan Sampson and Traylon Burks that we've talked about in previous weeks, the unsexy production is worth rostering in your fantasy football leagues, in these deeper leagues. Let's start with the surface level and work our way down for Xavier Hutchinson. Hutchinson has had five-plus targets in all but one game this year. In three of his last four contests, he scored 10-plus points and has finished as the wide receiver 35 or better, and he's now caught two touchdowns in back-to-back games. But let's start digging deeper as to why we're not just box score hunting here. He's drawing a target on 23% of his routes, which is second to only Dalton Schultz and Marvin Harrison Jr. this year. That would be third, excuse me. This offense has completely spread out recently in a five-man rotation of Nico Collins, Marvin Harrison Jr., Tank Dell, Keishon Butte, and Xavier Hutchinson. And with Jalen Knoll out of the picture now, he's done for the season. Hutchinson is operating as the Texans' primary slot wide receiver, drawing a target on 25% percent of his routes and he leads the team in target share over their last two games it's only at 16.9 percent but that shows you how spread out this Houston Texans offense is at the moment this is a rosterable piece on fantasy football teams it is not sexy I won't even go out and say it's league winning to any stretch but Should he be sitting on waiver wires? Absolutely not. If he's going to give you this kind of production, this Texan team is going to live and die by the arm of CJ Stroud for the rest of the season. So Nick Cayley is going to be very, very content on scheming up targets for Xavier Hutchinson. He's proven that year over year. So frankly, I would just get him stashed at the end of your bench. It's not sexy, but if he's going to give you top 40 production, that's a rosterable piece of fantasy football. And there you have it. There are my top six waiver wire stashes ahead of week 10. Go sprint to your waiver wire right now. Make sure none of these guys are still floating out there. They're all rostered in 20% or less of leagues this week. We really got nasty down there, so they still might be available on your waiver wire as well. Make sure you hit that subscribe button as well and turn on the notification bell so you know when all of our newest content here at Fantasy Pros goes live, and we'll see you all next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at fantasypros.com slash review or on Spotify. 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