Did you know the word stash originated from criminals in the late 18th century? It’s true. Etymologists suspect it was meant to combine the words stow and cache. As in “Hey Jeremiah, let’s hurry up and stow this cache of diamonds somewhere so we can go get one of them new smallpox vaccines everyone’s been chatterin’ about!”

Well I say it’s criminal NOT to scavenge your waiver wire for stashes. Especially at this point in the season, when you’re unlikely to find many diamonds sitting in plain sight. You may have to hoard some ordinary coal for a little bit and hope it gets polished into something much shinier in the coming weeks.

That’s the point of this article, folks: To discover high-upside assets that others might be overlooking. (That and writing doofy intros like this one that will one day be used to document my slow descent into psychosis.)

Okay, enough dilly-dallying. Let’s get into it.

High Upside Stashes

Brian Robinson, RB - 49ers

Upside Potential: 9.5/10

First things first: Let’s form a positive energy sphere around Christian McCaffrey, who has somehow defied the odds to become one of the few 49ers to abstain from the injury report. But let’s also be realists. As of this writing, McCaffrey is leading the NFL in rushing attempts and is on track for the heftiest workload of his career. This might be a wild take, but I’m not sure you want a guy at his age and with his injury history touching ball more than every urologist in the Bay Area combined.

I’ve been shocked at Robinson’s low rostership percentage in my leagues. Maybe people expect the CMC Train to keep running undeterred. Maybe they missed Pete Overzet highlighting him in yesterday’s newsletter. Or maybe they don’t realize that McCaffrey’s primary backups in San Francisco have averaged 14.6 PPR points when he’s been sidelined. Robinson could easily give us 2024 Jordan Mason or Isaac Guerendo levels of upside if he’s needed as their RB1.

Bhayshul Tuten, RB - Jaguars

Upside Potential: 8.0/10

Much like when I stumbled upon my great aunt’s open bedside table at 8-years-old, you might be thinking “this is more handcuffs than I expected.” But as the fantasy season starts to condense, it becomes even more valuable to load up on these players.

Travis Etienne has been an unexpected (and frankly delightful) workhorse through eight games, but we shouldn’t dismiss Tuten’s role and contingent upside. As Chris Allen mentioned in his weekly trade advice article, the rookie’s carved out a cozy piece of the short down and distance snaps. He also nabbed a rushing touchdown last week. If the worst happened to Etienne, Tuten’s increased opportunities combined with his combustible running style could lead to some monster weeks.

Greg Dulcich, TE - Dolphins

Upside Potential: 7.5/10

Let’s run through the tight end checklist in Miami. Julian Hill is not a pass-catching tight end. Tanner Conner is not a pass-catching tight end. And Darren Waller is probably busy scribbling lyrics for his third album tentatively titled Moving the Goalposts. (Rolling Stone is already calling it “a tougher listen than a Mike McDaniel press conference.”)

So that leaves Dulcich, who caught five passes for 49 yards in a Week 9 loss to Baltimore. A friendly reminder that Dulcich was on pace for just under 700 yards as a rookie in Denver before succumbing to some terrible injury luck. The Dolphins also have an extremely favorable schedule for tight ends once they get through the Buffalo buzzsaw this week. Miami needs more playmakers to step up and Dulcich should have the opportunities to do so.

Deeper Stashes

Adonai Mitchell, WR - Jets

Upside Potential: 7.0/10

Who has two thumbs and is super excited to have a fanbase that doesn’t know him as “the guy who fumbled at the goal line while trying too hard to look cool”? THAT GUY! [I’m pointing up at Mitchell’s name. I just realized you can’t see that.]

Mitchell was called out in this week’s waiver article after getting sent to the Jets as part of Indy’s trade for Sauce Gardner. He’s joining an offense that, at their season’s midpoint, has only one pass-catcher with 45+ targets. Oh and their No 2 receiver (Josh Reynolds) recently landed on IR. I’m not saying Mitchell could be a league winner, but he’s got the talent, draft capital, and wide open runway to successfully relaunch his career on the turfy grounds of Metlife Stadium.

Michael Wilson, WR - Cardinals

Upside Potential: 6.5/10

As a fantasy asset, Wilson has been about as sexy as a full diaper. But with Kyler Murray on IR (general ineptitude) and out for at least four more games, Arizona’s offense should continue to open up like a cactus blossom. Jacoby Brissett has averaged nearly a hundred more passing yards per game and has kept his pass-catchers well-fed.

That’s led to some decent showings from Wilson in the last three weeks, pulling a respectable 48 yards per game average. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but keep in mind that’s more than quadruple his typical stat line with Kyler. Crucially, Wilson’s catchable target rate rocketed from 53% to 77% after the QB switch. With a few more red zone looks, he could turn into a solid flex option.

Week 10 Big Brain Stash

Jayden Reed, WR - Packers

Upside Potential: 8.0/10

It hurts to even type this, but we must say goodbye to our sweet prince Tucker Kraft until next year. Yet we mustn’t dwell. There’s too much fantasy season left for that, so join me in changing the soundtrack from “I Will Remember You” to “I Will Survive.”

I know the popular pivot in Green Bay is Luke Musgrave, who should be leaned on quite a bit more going forward. But Musgrave is a tight end in the Jason Witten “catch the ball then immediately fall down no matter what” mold and can’t possibly replace Kraft’s YAC mastery. For that, they’ll need a triumphant return from Reed, who fared extremely well in that department last year.

Despite Matt LaFleur answering questions about Reed’s timeline like someone in the throes of a midlife crisis, there’s optimism that his 21-day window to return from IR could open soon. With Matthew Golden also banged up (and still needing to earn his quarterback’s trust), we could see plenty of three-wide receiver sets featuring Reed once he’s back.