NFL teams regularly scramble to sign undrafted free agents annually after every NFL Draft to claim talented, high-upside prospects to their roster. Dynasty fantasy football managers should be doing the same thing once their rookie draft is completed to best position themselves for future contributors.
Here are eight players you should try to stash away on your dynasty roster heading into the 2024 NFL season.
What Is a Dynasty Stash?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term “stash” in dynasty fantasy football, it can simply be described as a player with low fantasy value at the moment but has a significant amount of upside in the near future.
These are typically players who are widely available in dynasty leagues and are not well-known. Thus, you can acquire them for very little off of your waiver wire or trade block.
Top Players To Stash in Your Dynasty League
Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers
One of the FBS players I was super high on during the pre-draft process was Holy Cross WR Jalen Coker, who unfortunately did not hear his name called during the 2024 NFL Draft. This makes him a great candidate to add to your roster after the completion of your rookie draft.
Coker was exceptionally productive against smaller competition with 59 receptions for 1,040 yards and 15 TDs in 2023. Yet, what makes me far more excited about him as a prospect is his athletic profile.
Outside of a subpar 40-yard dash time (4.57), Coker tested extremely well in the explosive testing metrics for a 6’1”, 208-pound receiver. He has the best vertical jump (42.5”) of all the receiver prospects in the class, posted a great broad jump (10’8”), and had a 10-yard split in the 40-yard dash of 1.52, which was the same split as Washington’s Rome Odunze.
Yet, his athleticism is only a part of the equation regarding my optimism about his game translating favorably to the NFL. Coker flashed exceptional route-running nuance with great tempo variation, attacked defenders’ leverage, and consistently created separation at the breakpoint with fluid and controlled movements in and out of breaks. In addition, he has great hands, top-shelf body control, and GPS-type ball-tracking skills.
Coker enters a Carolina Panthers receiver room with Diontae Johnson and aging veteran Adam Thielen as the only proven options in this passing attack. The team did invest first-round draft capital in Xavier Legette, but the opportunity to compete for a roster spot is certainly present. If he makes a positive impression during training camp, he could carve out a larger role than expected.
Brenden Rice, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
Speaking of teams with unproven options in their receiver room, the Los Angeles Chargers parted ways with Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Austin Ekeler, and Gerald Everett this offseason.
After spending second-round draft capital on Georgia WR Ladd McConkey, the team’s other options at the position are Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston. This doesn’t make it too farfetched for a receiver farther down on the depth chart to potentially factor into this passing’ offense at some point in the 2024 season.
Enter Brenden Rice, who is the son of the greatest WR of all time, Jerry Rice, who fell until Day 3 in the 2024 NFL Draft. He has a physical profile comparable to his father at 6’2”, 208 pounds, and possesses one of the best competitive motors at the position.
He plays physically at the catch point and after the catch, and he flashes some of the route-running details that made his father a legend of the gridiron.
It doesn’t hurt that he is entering a situation where the vast majority of last year’s receiving production is off the roster and he has a great franchise quarterback in Justin Herbert under center. If Rice can make an impression on new head coach Jim Harbaugh early in training camp, then he will not only have a chance to make this roster but potentially carve a sizeable role shortly.
Malik Washington, WR, Miami Dolphins
Another receiver who plummeted way farther down the draft board was Virginia WR Malik Washington, who didn’t hear his name called until the sixth round by the Miami Dolphins.
There was some buzz surrounding his landing spot as a candidate to compete for the third receiver role behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle immediately after the 2024 NFL Draft, but the hype train immediately hit a stopping point once the team signed veteran WR Odell Beckham Jr. to a one-year deal earlier this month.
This does potentially cloud some of Washington’s immediate upside in 2024, but this isn’t the same Beckham we saw tearing up opposing defenses as a member of the New York Giants nearly a decade ago.
Washington is a great YAC threat, a crafty route runner, and a dog of a competitor which gives him a great chance to make this roster and potentially surprise some fantasy managers in his rookie year if Beckham’s play doesn’t offer much more than we saw from him in Baltimore in 2023.
Blake Watson, RB, Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos may have spent fifth-round draft capital on Notre Dame RB Audric Estime to potentially compete with Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, and Jaleel McLaughlin for work in this backfield.
But another name worth keeping an eye on is undrafted free agent Blake Watson, who possesses an intriguing athletic profile and has the type of explosive playmaking ability to be a candidate for Sean Payton’s renowned Joker role in this offense.
Watson is a bit undersized at 5’9”, 189 pounds, but his explosive testing metrics were off the charts at his pro day. His 40-time (4.39 seconds), vertical jump (41.5”), and broad jump (11’3”) were all amongst the better marks in the class and he plays to that speed on the field.
He may never be a feature back at his size, but could he carve out a complementary role as a slashing-style runner with real upside as an option in the screen game for Payton’s offense down the road? I believe so.
A.T. Perry, WR, New Orleans Saints
Many dynasty managers put WR A.T. Perry off of their fantasy radar when he slipped to the sixth round in the 2023 NFL Draft. It didn’t help that the talented prospect from Wake Forest also found himself buried on the New Orleans Saints depth chart through the first nine weeks of his rookie year.
A.T. PERRY, MY GOODNESS 😮💨
Jameis Winston is out there dealing!#Saints | #GoDeacs
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 12, 2023
However, when injuries plagued the WR room down the back half of the season, Perry saw plenty of run with starters to finish his rookie campaign. He finished 2023 with just 12 receptions for 246 yards but did manage to find the end zone four times on 18 targets.
The official release of veteran WR Michael Thomas, who was dominating the snap share and targets alongside Chris Olave early in the season, helped Perry’s cause for an expanded role in 2024.
Perry has the physical tools to be a contributor as a possession receiver alongside Olave for years to come and should be rostered in your dynasty league. In addition, the team didn’t make any significant additions to this receiver room outside of Bub Means in the fifth round to suggest Perry’s opportunity to compete for a role in this offense looks any worse than it did before the start of this NFL offseason.
Tucker Kraft, TE, Green Bay Packers
Stashing away a tight end who appears in a timeshare at best isn’t exactly an exciting venture, but Green Bay Packers TE Tucker Kraft showcased during his limited time in an expanded role that he could be a productive streaming option at a thin position.
From Weeks 14 to 18, Kraft was the TE7 in fantasy football with 21 receptions for 260 yards and a score. The vast majority of this production came with Luke Musgrave inactive due to injury, but that doesn’t change the fact that Kraft produced as a rookie when given an opportunity.
One reason to believe Kraft has an outside shot to steal the starting role was his noteworthy snap share in the Packers’ two playoff games last year, where he hit an 80% snap share in both contests.
This one isn’t exactly a sexy stash, but one that is worth your while if the trend we saw in the playoffs continues into 2024.
Andrei Iosivas, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver situation feels a bit uncertain at the moment.
Tee Higgins — who has seen an average of 101 targets a year over his first four seasons — has been hit with the franchise tag and has been the subject of trade rumors for months.
With Higgins’ future up in the air and the departure of Tyler Boyd, who saw 98 targets in 2023 and signed with the Tennessee Titans this offseason, there is all of a sudden a large role catching passes from QB Joe Burrow opening in 2024.
Many assume any large available target share is highly likely to funnel towards Jermaine Burton, who the team spent third-round draft capital on in the 2024 NFL Draft — with his plus-level prospect profile, but I still believe it is worth stashing Andrei Iosivas away on your dynasty bench.
Iosivas registered five receptions for 36 yards and two touchdowns in the regular-season finale against the Cleveland Browns, which made a compelling case for an expanded role in the offense heading into his second season.
If Higgins remains on the roster for 2024, Iosivas would have to beat out Burton and Charlie Jones for snaps in this offense. But with the uncertainty behind Ja’Marr Chase at receiver at this exact moment, I believe Iosivas showed enough potential to warrant a stash on your dynasty roster to see if Higgins gets traded ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
Deuce Vaughn, RB, Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys’ decision to bring back RB Ezekiel Elliott makes for a nice headline but doesn’t exactly inspire a ton of fantasy excitement due to his lackluster efficiency the last time we saw him as this offense’s leading ball carrier.
This is a great time to remind you that fantasy managers saw an undersized second-year RB with minimal production during his rookie season come out of nowhere this year to be a league-winning option at the RB position.
In case you don’t know who I’m referencing, it’s Kyren Williams in the Los Angeles Rams’ offense. Williams’ 2022 campaign produced an uninspiring 215 total yards on 44 touches, making him an easy player to write off heading into this season.
However, the instincts and skills we saw from him during his collegiate days at Notre Dame led to him taking the role from Cam Akers early on in 2023, and the rest is history.
This is the time when I mention the even smaller Deuce Vaughn, who is flying under the radar even more than Williams after a forgettable rookie season. He still has a diverse skill set and elite feel for the position with the ball in his hands.
Vaughn was an exceptional player at Kansas State. He had one of the best tape grades for any running back in the 2023 class and proved fully capable of handling a bell-cow-type workload. Additionally, he has the receiving chops to exploit mismatches against slower linebackers in the passing game.
If the Cowboys give this young man an expanded role behind Elliott in 2024, the results could surprise you.