5 Players to Stash in Dynasty Fantasy Football Before Week 1

A bad habit of dynasty players can be thinking about who can help tomorrow before who can help today.

There will be current free agents in dynasty leagues who have returns (or arrivals) to fantasy relevance in 2025. We saw Ameer Abdullah, Ray-Ray McCloud, Olamide Zaccheaus, Zach Ertz, and others live on the wire months before becoming extremely worthy of a roster spot in deeper leagues. Heck, they might have even found your lineup in spots.

If you're like me, you're never truly happy with your dynasty roster. With rookie drafts (mostly) come and gone, I'm perusing the wire for anyone who might be picking up a pulse in camp to fill roster spots voided by last year's weekly fill-ins.

Here are five picks for guys that might become that in 2025 that can be had before the season begins.

Note: Outside the top 200 of KeepTradeCut's superflex rankings, these players are designed to be current free agents in a half-PPR 10-team league. At worst, they should be easily available trade targets in every league.

Dynasty Fantasy Football Stash Candidates for Week 1

Tahj Brooks, RB, Bengals

I cannot believe Tahj Brooks is still outside the top 200 as a pristine "injury away" handcuff in one of the best offenses in the NFL.

It's not even like we'd demand good efficiency out of him. Incumbent Chase Brown averaged -0.07 rushing expected points added per carry (RuEPA/c) last year but used his role of 22.4 adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets) per game to dominate the back half of the season.

While Samaje Perine would likely pluck receiving work off him, Brooks would still be in line for the predominant role as a runner after consecutive 1,500-yard seasons on the ground with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He averaged just 3.5 yards per carry (YPC) in the preseason, so maybe an impatient manager has already decided he's not a dynamic talent. He's much more like a Najee Harris profile at 220 pounds anyway -- especially at the goal line.

If Brown turns an ankle, everyone in redraft is going to bid FAB on Brooks, and he'll be a weekly starter in dynasty. Especially if you're a contender, shuffling a third-round pick away is more than fair. When most leagues did rookie drafts, the Cincinnati Bengals still had Zack Moss.

Will Shipley, RB, Eagles

There's an interesting "cold war" of sorts for Will Shipley managers in dynasty.

Shipley's viability in fantasy -- potentially forever -- is directly tied to the health this season of Saquon Barkley, who didn't seem to as much as suffer a scratch in a 2024 season where he averaged 142.7 scrimmage yards per game. However, he also handled 482 touches, which is a giant red flag for durability and efficiency in 2025.

If Saquon misses time, the Philadelphia Eagles have spent few resources in their running back room. Shipley paced A.J. Dillon in the preseason, and the team just signed Audric Estime to the practice squad.

The competition isn't strong, but I don't know how much faith I have in Shipley after 2.7 YPC in his rookie year behind the same offensive line that produced Saquon's historic year. The defending champs seem content with him leading the show, though. At worst, he's the best receiver of these three by a country mile.

Rebuilders should try to get something for Shipley now. I can't imagine that Philadelphia won't draft a running back in 2026 if Barkley gets hurt and opens his door in the first place.

Roman Wilson, WR, Steelers

Justified grief given to Aaron Rodgers is warranted in spots, but the 41-year-old supported two top-notch fantasy receivers last year. Roman Wilson might be worth a second chance.

Wilson's lost rookie campaign leaves him dangerously close to "bust" territory with another stinker, but the drumbeat as the Pittsburgh Steelers' WR2 has been strong through training camp highlights and preseason production.

It's not a huge surprise. The former third-round pick ran a 4.39 40-yard dash at the combine and averaged 2.33 yards per route run (YPRR) in college with the Michigan Wolverines. The "blemish" that has him outside the top 200 on KeepTradeCut right now seems to just be the one-off injury.

Really, the concern for Wilson is just the overall role for a WR2 in a run-heavy Arthur Smith offense. However, there should also be Rodgers concepts and staples integrated into the system, and Wilson might show enough to retain this role even beyond Rodgers and Smith's tenure.

At just 24, I don't see the reason that Wilson is so heavily discounted over current third-round rookies like Kyle Williams and Jaylin Noel.

Theo Johnson, TE, Giants

Tight end in dynasty is getting to be a frightening advantage (or disadvantage) with how rookies are taking the league by storm. We've got another pair of early picks in 2025 who might add to the list, too.

Still, I think there are two sophomores that aren't getting enough buzz with realistic -- albeit unlikely -- paths to be top-12 dynasty tight ends by the end of 2025. The first is Theo Johnson of the New York Giants.

Johnson was starting to piece things together before the setback. In his final five weeks after Week 9, he was the TE14 in fantasy points per game (7.9 FPPG) on a 19.2% target share. That share would have been 10th in the NFL at the position extrapolated across the whole season.

Keep in mind that this was with Daniel Jones. If Jaxson Dart takes over this year and becomes a franchise QB with rushing upside, Johnson's now attached to a top-shelf quarterback. At worst, Russell Wilson is likely a marginal upgrade.

Rather than continue to funnel Wan'Dale Robinson a boatload of short targets, I could continue to see the athletic freak get a comparable share of opportunities behind Malik Nabers. Remember, Brian Daboll authored a nine-touchdown season for Dawson Knox during his final year in Buffalo.

Ben Sinnott, TE, Commanders

Here's a second hyper-athletic tight end who's looking to take a page out of Trey McBride's book.

McBride had just 265 receiving yards behind Zach Ertz in his rookie campaign. Similarly, Ben Sinnott was held to just 28 yards last year for the Washington Commanders behind both Ertz and John Bates, who is one of the best blocking tight ends in the NFL. Running just 14.3% of D.C.'s routes, that season was much closer to an "incomplete" grade than an "F."

Unfortunately, Sinnott still has this obstacle after D.C. retained Ertz's services for another year. However, the 34-year-old tight end had missed at least seven games in four of five seasons entering 2024. If he were to get injured again, that's Sinnott's path to a real audition as Jayden Daniels' security blanket. That's exactly what happened for McBride.

If you have Travis Kelce, George Kittle, or Mark Andrews at tight end without much of a contingency plan, Sinnott could be a low-risk option to potentially start one.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.