Welcome to the Weekend Waiver Wire Stashes column. Each week I’ll be helping you get ahead of your league mates and stash players who have interesting matchups in the weeks ahead. The players in this column will be rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues, giving you an excellent shot at sneaking in there and picking them up before your league mates turn their attention to them.

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – which allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team, and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Fantasy Football Weekend Waiver Wire Stashes: Week 2

Quarterback

Carson Wentz (WAS)
Rostered: 48%

Week 1 provided a glimpse of the very best side of Carson Wentz as he passed for four touchdowns for the first time since Week 14 of the 2017 season and totaled 27.7 fantasy points. Wentz finished Week 1 as the QB3 and has matchups against the Lions, Eagles, and Cowboys to come. An argument can be made that if Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Curtis Samuel all play to their potential, Wentz could have a very successful season.

Wide Receiver

Jahan Dotson (WAS)
Rostered: 40%

Doubling down on Washington players here with a player who doubled down on touchdowns in Week 1. Dotson wasn’t viewed in the same light as some Round 1 rookies this offseason, but he showed in Week 1 why the Commanders liked him. Washington kept him on the field for 88% of snaps. Any player with a near-every-down role can be worth keeping an eye on in fantasy. If Dotson has a big Week 2 against the Lions, he’ll be expensive on the waiver wire if you don’t get to him first.

Robbie Anderson (CAR)
Rostered: 34%

After Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, Head Coach Matt Rhule was quoted as saying that he had had a philosophical shift over the Summer and wanted the Panthers to be more pass-heavy going forward. Despite this, only three Panthers wide receivers ran a route on Baker Mayfield‘s dropbacks. Shi Smith operated firmly out of the slot and DJ Moore operated as the number one. Anderson is the clear deep threat in the offense. Despite the offseason narratives around Robbie Anderson not wanting to play with Mayfield, they seem to have a fine connection.

Jarvis Landry (NO)
Rostered: 54%

Michael Thomas made the highlight reels with his late two touchdowns against the Falcons, but Jarvis Landry was the more consistent player on the day. Landry racked up 3.6 yards per route run, which was ninth-best amongst receivers to run 10 routes or more. This helped him to an 18.40-point game in PPR. If Jameis Winston latches onto Landry as his safety net, then Landry can be the perfect WR3/flex play on your team as we approach the start of bye weeks.

Running Back

Khalil Herbert (CHI)
Rostered: 47%

All Summer long, we heard whispers that the Bears coaching staff might prefer Khalil Herbert‘s running style to David Montgomery, and in Week 1 Herbert had more rushing attempts (9) than in any game David Montgomery was healthy for in 2021. Montgomery saw the most rushing attempts but was woefully inefficient, taking 17 attempts for 26 yards while Herbert rushed for 45 yards on nine attempts and also scored a touchdown. Herbert’s standalone value remains to be seen, but if anything should happen to Montgomery, Herbert could end up having huge value. After a tough matchup against Green Bay, the Bears play a non-threatening Texans in Week 3.

Rex Burkhead (HOU)
Rostered: 33%

The Dameon Pierce hype train broke down on departure from the station last Sunday, with the rookie playing just 28.6% of snaps while 32-year-old Rex Burkhead dominated the backfield and saw 64% of the backfield usage. This kind of workload is highly unlikely to continue, and it’s fair to question how long a running back in their thirties can hold up under such pressure, but for now, at least, it seems clear the Texans plan to use Burkhead and will rely on him particularly in key situations. For example, the overtime period where Burkhead played every snap. If you drafted with a Zero or Hero RB strategy then Burkhead might be the kind of player you need to give you a few usable weeks while you wait on rookies to seize larger workloads or a player to become available on the waiver wire. It might not be for a long time, but Burkhead would do more good on your roster than on waivers.

Tight End

Robert Tonyan (GB)
Rostered: 32%

The Packers season got off to a stinker from the offense’s very first play last weekend when Christian Watson dropped what would have surely been a 75-yard touchdown. By now it seems clear that while Aaron Rodgers didn’t want the Packers to spend draft picks on a quarterback, he also didn’t care whether they spent them on wide receivers. Sammy Watkins looks to be running on empty, Allen Lazard hasn’t made an appearance yet, and when he does, does he have enough juice to deal with being the focal point of an offense? All of this is a roundabout way of coming back to Robert Tonyan, who seems to have recovered from his ACL injury without too many lasting side effects. Tonyan is practicing without limitations, and we’re not too far removed from the days of him being a very fantasy-relevant tight end. If you waited on tight end and are now juggling the likes of Irv Smith or David Njoku after their deflating season-opening performances, then grabbing a backup option like Robert Tonyan makes plenty of sense, if only because at least Aaron Rodgers seems to actually not dislike him.

Hayden Hurst (CIN)
Rostered: 14%

Tee Higgins could potentially miss the Bengals Week 2 matchup with concussion side effects. If that is the case, then Hayden Hurst is a worthy stream for this week against the Dallas Cowboys, let alone moving forward. We’ve seen Joe Burrow look to the tight position at times during his tenure with the Bengals. Down the stretch when the Bengals caught fire in 2021 Burrow targeted C.J. Uzomah an average of 5.8 times from Week 13 on. With Hurst the clear TE1 in Cinncinati, he makes for a good streamer and with games against the Cowboys, minus Dak Prescott, the Jets, minus Zach Wilson, and then the Dolphins, Hurst doesn’t have any particularly difficult matchups on the horizon. Hurst will likely be touchdown-dependent going forward, but that’s typically the case of all tight ends available on the waiver wire.

Defense

Eagles D/ST
Rostered: 34%

The Eagles defense didn’t shine in Week 1 against the Lions, allowing Jared Goff to bring Detroit back into the game when it should have been put away, but this defensive line is fierce and after facing Minnesota this week they play the Commanders, Jaguars, Cardinals, and Cowboys (who will likely still be without Dak Prescott). During that run, the Eagles will face some questionable offensive lines, and I’d be highly surprised if this defense doesn’t turn in some fantasy-worthy days.

Cowboys D/ST
Rostered: 45%

The Cowboys might be missing Dak Prescott during the next few weeks, but this defense still has some stars. If they’re going to remain in games, it’s going to be because the defense made it happen. After a tough matchup with the Bengals, they will face the Giants and the Commanders. When a defense has playmakers at multiple levels, they can always be dangerous.

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