Deep Stashes

Boston Scott, RB PHI

Getting cheap running back production is what you want in fantasy football. Players like Scott won’t make your roster look pretty, but they will give you at least one or two weeks during the season when they could help you pull out a win. At least once a season over the past three years, Scott has provided good fantasy production. Last year, after playing on 0 offensive snaps in five of the Eagles first six games, Scott was finally integrated back into the offense in week seven, after Miles Sanders suffered an injury against the Raiders.

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From that point forward, he continued to be utilized and played on 41% of offensive snaps (excluding the Giants game when he left with a hand injury). Over the final ten weeks of the season, Scott produced two top 12 scoring weeks, and another three weeks when he finished in the top 25 in running back scoring. He provides high-quality touches as a good receiver, and despite his diminutive stature (5’6”, 203 lbs.), and light usage to begin the 2021 season, led all Eagles running backs in rushing attempts from within the five-yard line. Scott is one of those end of your bench running backs who you can slide into your flex role when he gets a spot start.

Davis Mills, QB HOU

This one might have you scratching your head a little. Understandably so, but hear us out. Mills was beyond serviceable for fantasy purposes down the stretch, and in fact, was the QB11 over the last five games of the 2021 season. On the season the rookie finished as the QB29 overall. This may not sound like much, but given the state of the Houston Texans franchise, it is pretty darn impressive. The Stanford grad only played in 13 games as well. A full season would have likely vaulted him into QB2 territory.

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Mills was looking like the third quarterback in line behind Deshaun Watson and Houston’s signing of Tyrod Taylor. However, Watson ended up not being active for a single game all year and Taylor went down in week two, leaving the offense in the hands of the rookie. Watson is now in Cleveland and Taylor left for the Giants as an unrestricted free agent, leaving the former Stanford Cardinal atop the depth chart. Looking at the chart above, we see Mills held his own with the other, more highly touted rookies. In fact, he had just one fewer top-12 finish than both Justin Fields and Mac Jones and one more than number one overall pick Trevor Lawrence. Not too shabby for a third-stringer.

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It appears dynasty managers are taking notice. The 67th overall pick in the NFL draft finally cracked the top-250 in ADP and is narrowing the gap with Jones. Pep Hamilton is now the offensive coordinator in Houston, replacing Tim Kelly, who has held the job since 2019. Hamilton is highly regarded in NFL circles and was the quarterback coach for Mills in 2020. With Watson sent packing and the Texans staying put at the quarterback position for now, Mills is a deep stash who could pay off handsomely for you.

David Njoku, TE CLE

Njoku was an unrestricted free agent in 2022, but ended up getting the franchise tag from Cleveland. With  Deshaun Watson a surprise addition at quarterback and fellow tight end Austin Hooper now in Tennessee, Njoku is a prime candidate for a big upgrade. Still just 26, the Miami grad has always been long on talent but the tight end has been stuck in such mediocrity that it is easy to forget he was once a first-round draft pick of the Browns back in 2017.

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Njoku has had some injury trouble as well and has played in just 65 of 81 possible regular-season games, missing an entire season combined over his five-year career. When healthy, his numbers have been solid. With shoddy quarterback play, the youngster was still able to put up 13 games in the top-12, or in other words, he has been a TE1 in 20% of games played.

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Njoku has had some injury trouble as well and has played in just 65 of 81 possible regular-season games, missing an entire season combined over his five-year career. When healthy, his numbers have been solid. With shoddy quarterback play, the youngster was still able to put up 13 games in the top-12, or in other words, he has been a TE1 in 20% of games played.

Tyler Huntley, QB BAL

Huntley will be back with the Ravens, but only on a one-year deal. The undrafted free agent likely earned himself at least a chance to compete for a starting job somewhere the following season. In five games as a starter filling in for an injured Lamar Jackson, the Utah grad averaged 20.14 points. That was good enough for the 13th best average amongst the position, finishing just behind Kirk Cousins but ahead of Russell Wilson and Derek Carr. This is a name to remember at the back end of drafts as a solid deep stash.

We just got done talking about Njoku, but hear us out. Bryant played in 15 games as a rookie and another 16 in 2021. The departure of Hooper should open up some opportunities for Bryant and Watson is more than capable of making two tight ends relevant in both reality and fantasy.

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The Florida Atlantic grad has performed well, despite the competition for targets from Njoku and Hooper in the past. Bryant has three touchdown receptions in each of his first two years in the league and has hauled in 24 and 21 receptions each year respectively. The second-year tight end also outperformed both of the veterans in receiving points per opportunity in 2021. The 6’5”, 230 pounder fits the profile of an athletic tight end was comped to George Kittle by NFL analyst Lance Zierlein – these are the type of upside players we want on the back end of our benches in dynasty formats.

Like Tyler HuntleyJameis Winston was solid in 2021 from a point per game standpoint. The former Buccaneer signal-caller finished 16th in points per game with 19.2, ahead of Carson WentzJared Goff, and Matt Ryan. Also, like Huntley, Winston was a free agent in 2022 and will return to his previous team. Nearly half of the league was looking for a quarterback and the Saints had no problem bringing him back and signing him to a two-year deal when they whiffed on Watson.

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In the right situation, the Florida State grad has what it takes to be a QB1 as evidenced by his QB3 finish in 2019 under Bruce Arians. Winston is 28 but has only played in seven games over the past two seasons after backing up Drew Brees in New Orleans in 2020. There still should be plenty of tread on the tire left here and at pick #231, why not take a stab on a proven player and former number one pick who landed a job as a starter in 2022?

C.J. Uzomah, TE NYJ

Except at the elite end, tight end scoring tends to be volatile and the elite end of the position only runs about six players deep. Some fantasy players prefer to completely punt the position and just hope to find cheap week-to-week production. One player who fits this mold would be C.J. Uzomah, coming off the board as the TE36 is coming off a season when he finished as the TE19 overall. It’s not overly impressive, but it’s still a decent return on investment. What Uzomah can give you are spike weeks. At least a couple of spike weeks. Last year, he had two weeks with at least 20 fantasy points, just one fewer week than Kittle gave you last year. Admittedly, two of Kittle’s weeks consisted of 34 and 39 point weeks, so his ceiling (and floor) is obviously higher. In all, Uzomah provided five top 16 scoring weeks, but did also bust with six weeks as the TE29 or worse on a given week. Uzomah is strictly an option if you are punting the position in your startup drafts, or play in start two tight end leagues. His modest production exceeds his even more modest cost. After all, it’s not as if the Jets are exactly flush with playmakers.

James White, RB NE

After an injury-shortened 2021 season, and a disappointing 2020 as well, it’s easy to forget how good White has been as a fantasy player. Heck, even last year in two full games he scored 12.1 and 18.5 fantasy points. In 95 career games he’s averaged 5.38 targets, and 4.01 receptions per game. He’s exceeded 62 targets in five straight seasons from 2016 through 2020 and had 14 targets in the two games he played last year.

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White makes the perfect back of the roster player who you can start in case of injuries, or on bye weeks. He’s averaged 10.2 fantasy points per game in his career and has a couple of spike seasons in his recent past when he averaged 17.3 PPG in 2018 and 13.3 PPG in 2019. Though he is now 30 years old, White’s game has never been predicated on athleticism and instead more based on his football IQ. He’s a safety valve when defenses pressure the quarterback and is able to run legitimate routes as needed. At the end of your start-up drafts it’s rare to find value like White provides.

We have identified four players, one at each position, who could drop in ADP over the next year either due to underperformance, age, or both. All four players are big names that currently carry a hefty amount of dynasty value, but could change quickly. Learn why we believe you should be fading these players, even as they start falling down your draft boards.