Fantasy Football: Players to Stash Entering Week 1

If you're consistently a step ahead of the competition in your fantasy football league, it can help you win a title, and this weekly piece will aim to help you stay ahead of the pack.

The goal here is to help you identify players who could be hot waiver adds down the road as well as to point out week-ahead pickups that could prove useful.

Here are some players to consider adding now and stashing on your bench for the future.

All NFL projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Fantasy Football Stash Candidates for Week 1

Jaylen Wright, RB, Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins have a dynamic offense, and it seems ideal to have exposure to their backfield in fantasy football. Raheem Mostert and De'Von Achane are expected to share the majority of touches in Miami's backfield to begin the season, but rookie Jaylen Wright shouldn't be completely forgotten.

Wright flashed his explosiveness in the preseason, accumulating 91 rushing yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts. In his final collegiate season for the Tennessee Volunteers, Wright produced the 5th-most yards per attempt (7.4), 11th-most yards after contact per attempt (4.35), and 20th-most runs of 10-plus yards (35) among RBs with 50-plus attempts in 2023, via PFF.

The Dolphins were aggressive in getting Wright during the 2024 NFL Draft, trading a 2025 third-round pick to land him with the 120th overall selection in the fourth round after he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. The fact head coach Mike McDaniel also mentioned that Miami will deploy a "hot-hand" approach to their running back room paves the way for Wright to carve out a role sooner than later.

Additionally, Mostert is 32 years old, and he's had injury issues throughout his career before joining the Dolphins. While Achane is one of my favorite players to target for the 2024 campaign, Wright could be worth adding in deeper leagues if you have the roster spot and patience for him to get acclimated to the NFL.

Eric Gray, RB, Giants

It's tough to get excited about rostering Devin Singletary this season as he's expected to be the featured back for the New York Giants in Week 1 following the departure of Saquon Barkley. Even though Singletary has three straight seasons of 1,000-plus scrimmage yards, he registered a career-worst 4.4 yards per touch in 2023 despite logging a career-high 246 touches with the Houston Texans.

The Texans fielded an explosive offense a season ago, and they felt the need to upgrade the running back position after having Singletary start for most of the year. Singletary now joins a Giants team that is much worse on offense than the Texans are, and his lack of efficiency leaves the door open for someone else to earn touches out of the backfield.

Rookie Tyrone Tracy Jr. suffered a sprained ankle during training camp and missed valuable reps in practice in recent weeks, so Eric Gray could be the immediate backup to Singletary to begin the year. Gray saw limited opportunities as a rookie in 2023 with just 70 scrimmage yards on 23 touches, but he was a fantastic player in his final collegiate season for the Oklahoma Sooners in 2022.

Of the college running backs with 50-plus attempts in 2022, Gray produced the 24th-most yards per attempt (6.5), 23rd-most missed tackles forced (58), and 6th-most runs of 10-plus yards (44) while he totaled 99 receptions for 827 yards and 5 touchdowns in the passing game throughout his four years in college. Gray's three-down ability could make him a threat to steal touches -- and potentially take the starting job at some point -- from Singletary.

Jermaine Burton, WR, Bengals

Andrei Iosivas is expected to be the No. 3 wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1, and there's a chance he sees the field more if Ja'Marr Chase doesn't get his contract situation handled soon. Iosivas is entering his second year in the NFL after he notched an unimpressive 0.83 yards per route run and -3.0% catch rate over expected (via NextGenStats) for the Bengals last season when helping fill in when Tee Higgins or Chase were limited or injured.

Tyler Boyd is no longer on the team, so there is room for another wideout to become a valuable option in a Joe Burrow-led passing attack. Instead of hoping Iosivas can have a breakout season in 2024, I'd much rather take a flier on rookie Jermaine Burton after he exploded for 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on eight catches in the preseason.

Whether it was playing for the Georgia Bulldogs early in his collegiate career or Alabama Crimson Tide in his final two seasons, Burton was a vertical threat at receiver. Burton averaged 18 yards per reception and scored 22 touchdowns in his four collegiate seasons.

Among college wideouts with 50-plus targets in 2023, Burton recorded the 6th-most yards per reception (20.5) and 25th-most yards per route run (2.75) on the 3rd-highest average depth of target (20.2). Having a receiver who can stretch the field and make things easier for Chase and Higgins could take Cincinnati's offense to another level once Burton gets an opportunity.

Jalen McMillan, WR, Buccaneers

Mike Evans is chasing his 11th straight 1,000-yard season, and I've been very vocal about how much I like Chris Godwin in 2024 as he will likely see more slot snaps again under new offensive coordinator Liam Coen. There was plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers entering the 2023 season, but Baker Mayfield proved he's serviceable enough to make the offense an above-average unit.

While Evans and Godwin won't come off the field much, rookie Jalen McMillan is currently listed as a starter alongside that duo in the team's Week 1 depth chart. McMillan is accustomed to playing with two other capable pass-catchers after sharing the field with Rome Odunze and Ja'Lynn Polk during his time with the Washington Huskies.

Despite dealing with a knee sprain throughout the 2023 season, McMillan finished with the second-most yards per route run (2.30), most yards after catch per reception (6.4), and highest catch rate (71.4%) among Washington's receiver trio. Whenever McMillan was healthy for the 2022 season, he tallied 79 receptions, 1,098 yards, and 9 touchdowns while earning a formidable 2.32 yards per route run.

Coen worked under Sean McVay during the 2022 season, so there's a chance the Buccaneers deploy more 11 personnel on offense in 2024. With McMillan being versatile enough to play outside or in the slot, he could be an explosive wideout to stash as his value could skyrocket if Evans or Godwin misses time.

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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.