The bye weeks are on the horizon as we head into Week 3, so it’s time to start being very selective about who you roster and what you’re getting from then, along with what you could get from them in the future.

Saving your FAAB or waiver wire priority for players who are worth it is essential. In this column, we’ll give you guys you can currently scoop up for free before next week’s waivers instead. All players are rostered in fewer than 50% of Yahoo leagues.

• Waiver Wire Advice
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Waiver Wire Stashes

Geno Smith (QB – SEA): 41% Rostered

The Seahawks’ overhaul this offseason was as drastic as it was necessary and Geno Smith seems to be revitalized in Ryan Grubb’s offense, completing over 72% of his passes in both games and ranking first in adjusted completion percentage. He has also, most importantly, finished as a top-10 quarterback in back-to-back weeks.

Given the number of dual-threat quarterbacks in the league right now it’s quite something for Smith to be playing to that much of a high standard and helping teams win fantasy matchups. Smith is the perfect quarterback to grab if you drafted a player like Caleb Williams, who has potential, as he can provide some guaranteed points to help you win.

Through 2 weeks of season—-best QB basically no one has talked about

Geno Smith

Throwing it about as well as anyone.

— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) September 16, 2024

Chuba Hubbard (RB – CAR): 49% Rostered

The Panthers started the season feeding Miles Sanders the majority of running back opportunities despite him looking truly awful in 2023. All it took was one performance in Week 2 for Chuba Hubbard to become the lead back. Hubbard went from six touches in Week 1 to 14 in Week 2. Andy Dalton provides a marked improvement at quarterback, so there’s hope this offense could move forward positively. Hubbard might not have too long to be the No. 1 RB in this offense if Jonathon Brooks returns soon, but he’s worth grabbing if you’ve been impacted by injuries to Joe Mixon or Isiah Pacheco.

Khalil Herbert (RB – CHI): 18% Rostered

The D’Andre Swift hive gets quite mad at you if you dare to mention that Khalil Herbert could be just as good as Swift, but if Swift doesn’t start to improve soon it won’t be surprising to see Herbert get more chances. The Bears have given Swift 24 rush attempts through two games. Fourteen have gone for one yard or fewer, with plenty of them resulting in negative yardage. Swift is facing eight or more defenders in the box on only 8% of his runs, the fifth-lowest rate in the league, but it hasn’t helped him whatsoever. It’s time to consider Swift might not have this backfield locked down.

D’Andre Swift attempting to run behind a non top 3 o line pic.twitter.com/6O4VHTFJDq

— Ludi (@LudiColorado) September 16, 2024

Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC): 45% Rostered

Year one was frankly awful for Quentin Johnston but year two is showing feint silver linings with Johnston leading the Chargers in receiving yards through two games. Johnston has been used in a variety of ways, leading the team in slot snaps (31%), ahead of perceived slot receiver Ladd McConkey, but that 31% hasn’t so much meant Johnston has been playing exclusively there. The Chargers are moving Johnston around and trying hard to get him going. The Chargers haven’t really had to pass much so far, with Justin Herbert yet to top 150 passing yards. With a potential shootout against the Chiefs in Week 4 we might finally glimpse the potential of this passing offense.

Greg Dortch (WR – ARI): 11% Rostered

The Cardinals have plenty of flashy names and Greg Dortch might not be in that category but he does have a consistent role on the offense and lives in the slot on 65% of his plays, an area Kyler Murray likes to target. Dortch has seen a 19% target share over the past two games. The Cardinals are an ascending offense and grabbing pieces from them will be a good move for when the bye weeks arrive.

Mike Gesicki (TE – CIN): 33% Rostered

The Bengals have force-fed tight ends over the opening games of the season with 35% of their targets heading to the position, the second-highest rate in the league. It’s possible this was a result of Tee Higgins being injured, but it’s also possible their new offensive coordinator leans a bit more toward involving the tight end position than the previous coordinator. Mike Gesicki, for his part, has been solid, putting up 10 catches for 109 yards and 20.9 PPR points. Eat your heart out, Travis Kelce. Gesicki is a perfect stash for this week, to see whether his involvement stays fantasy-worthy with Higgins returning. If it doesn’t then he’s an easy waiver wire drop later in the week.

.@Bengals go for it on 4th and 4 and get a big gain from Gesicki!

????: #CINvsKC on CBS/Paramount
????: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/WxyzVnkt4b

— NFL (@NFL) September 15, 2024

Colby Parkinson (TE – LAR): 30% Rostered

The Rams continue to struggle through injuries and what looked like a promising season could already be in danger with the NFC West looking very competitive. The Rams spent all offseason talking about how Colby Parkinson could unlock plenty for them at the tight end position but we’ve yet to see it with only 59 receiving yards through two games. The positive for Parkinson was that in Week 2 without Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, Parkinson’s role developed into a deeper one with his air yards per target jumping from 2.2 to 7.5. Parkinson might not develop into much but Matthew Stafford could also end up peppering him with targets. Thanks to their awful defense, the Rams will continue to be in pass-heavy scripts.

Seattle Seahawks D/ST – 40% Rostered

Mike Macdonald helped the Ravens’ defense look the best it had since their historic 2000 team before leaving to take over the Seahawks. Through two games, the Seahawks rank highly in defensive value over adjusted (DVOA), standing third in passing defense and sixth in run defense, along with allowing the sixth-fewest completions over expected, the fourth-lowest average depth of target (aDOT) and a league-low 4.16 yards per target. There’s a real chance this defense is going to be very good all year.