Fridays are for Five Lists of Five here at DKNetwork, and we’re approaching the home stretch of the fantasy football regular season. Christian McCaffrey makes his big return; uncertainty surrounds high-profile players like Chris Olave, A.J. Brown, Ceedee Lamb, Dak Prescott, Trevor Lawrence—the list goes on. We need fantasy football stashes. Fantasy football streamers. Now more than ever!
I, once more, digress. Fantasy Fridays!
A reminder of the premise behind this specific series of lists: All I want is for you to be better than your friends. You’re going to be surrounded by them on Sunday, probably. How sweet would it be if you could be sure you’ve checked every box possible that might guarantee you a resounding victory this week? Some kick-your-feet-up insights? I’ve got some.
Again—I know my audience. The smoke-break audience. The quick-scan-of-the-phone-on-the-way-to-the-fridge audience. The give-me-as-much-info-as-possible-as-fast-as-possible audience. I’m a man of the people.
And so, once more: Five Lists of Five. Think of these as byte-sized, two-minutes-to-yourself lists to scan during your weekend as you foam at the mouth for any competitive fantasy edge. As much relevant analysis as I can fit into, like, 250 words per player.
Kicking it off this week with top five fantasy football stashes and sleepers! We’ll try to keep this as varied as possible from my Fantasy football Week 10 stash list.
Also available from my Fantasy Friday’s Five Lists of Five:
- Top five fantasy football smash starts for NFL Week 10
- Top five fantasy football streamers for NFL Week 10
- Top five wide receivers due for fantasy football breakouts in NFL Week 10
- Top five fantasy football trades to make for the home stretch
Stash ‘Em
Gus Edwards, RB, Los Angeles Chargers (21.0% rostered)
I’ve written about Edwards extensively this week, seeing as he’s practiced in a limited fashion both Wednesday and Thursday. It looks as if he has a chance to play on Sunday. And while I don’t think he’s a great play for Week 10, I do think he represents the perfect home-stretch stash:
The good news? He returns to a team whose offensive vision has now become an offensive identity. There’s a shot that’s going to create runway for Edwards within this Greg Roman offense to be as productive—especially in the red area—as he used to be.
He’s only 20.8% rostered in fantasy leagues,. And, just last year, Edwards converted eight of his nine goal line carries. Once the ankle is fully greased and back to total mobility, he could be just as effective, if not more, as a Bolt.
Whenever Edwards is activated—and it’s looking like that’ll be as soon as Sunday—he’s a heartbeat away from the presidency, as they say, insofar as he’s going to recapture his role as 1B to Dobbins’s 1A. Should Dobbins get injured, Edwards is the starting running back on a run-first team with one of the best offensive lines in the league.
Edwards, as ever, is a great fantasy football handcuff for the home stretch of the season. He’s well worth a bench slot in season-long leagues, and a close eye re. volume and trends for DFS contests.
Looks as if his roster percentage rose by 0.2% last night. The dansby_edits bump! Not to mention, he’s on record saying his ankle feels 100% healthy.
Grab Gus Bus and park him on the bench for a week or two.
Jonnu Smith, TE, Miami Dolphins (23.3% rostered)
A deep-sleeper TE making a second appearance on a Fantasy Friday! That’s just some electric energy.
This is more about matchups and the struggles with extracting production from the tight end position. Over his next three games, including Monday Night Football, Smith has plus-plus matchups: Rams, Raiders, and Patriots. All have been gashed by tight ends this year.
It’s terrifically unsexy. But Smith has seen six or more targets in the last four games. He’s caught at least four passes in that time. That’s a startable tight end in most PPR season-long leagues. And, at least for the next three weeks, he’s got paydirt upside.
Jordan Whittington (2.1% rostered)
Oh my god. I mean no offense to Jordan Whittington. But, golly—I’m so tired of his name appearing in so many of my weekly columns. Aren’t you?
Feel free to just scroll right by if you’re over the Will Whitty Play? carousel of 2024. But I’d be dishonest if I didn’t say he was worth a bench stash.
I, for one, hope the Demarcus Robinson luster does not take any turn toward fading. The inter-SEC love between former Georgia Bulldog Matthew Stafford and former Florida Gator Demarcus Robinson is enough to make hearts swell. After his fourth touchdown in two games, Stafford hugged him, told him he was proud of him; then Robinson emerged from the game with a toe injury.
It doesn’t sound serious, but the Rams seem perfectly happy to rotate pieces weekly depending on health, gameplan, etc. Other than Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua, and Kyren Williams, the fourth option in this ascending offense remains a question mark.
Should Robinson begin to fade at all, a healthy Jordan Whittington was making waves (7-72-0) in his last game before sustaining a shoulder injury. We know they like him in the organization.
May this be the last time I advocate for this man. It is my great hope his play begins to speak for itself. But just know this is an offense that’ll need to fight tooth-and-nail all through the fantasy playoffs, and will be looking to establish consistent playmakers.
Cam Akers, RB, Minnesota Vikings (15.5% rostered)
He’s the legit backup to Aaron Jones in Minnesota, now. That’s a statistical fact: he played over 20% (22%, to be precise) of backfield snaps in Week 9; Ty Chandler played 0%. Understandably—Chandler’s been a massive disappointment.
Akers ripped off six rushes for 46 yards, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. And, lookie there! Passing game value! He snagged two catches for seven yards.
Handcuff for an oft-injured lead back behind a good offensive line in a competitive division that might play out til the very last game? Yes please.
Trey Benson and Emari Demercado, RB, Arizona Cardinals (16.1 and 0.8% rostered, respectively)
Pulled directly from my Fantasy football Week 10 stash list:
This is less about James Conner’s potential for injury than it is about a Cardinals offense on the rise. We saw just what Benson and Demercado can do, given the opportunity, behind an ascending Cardinals offensive line. And though the passing attack may remain inconsistent with Murray at the helm, defenses have to respect the run game.
James Conner is the lead dog, and I’m not whatsoever concerned about his concussion/finger injury being long-term. But he’s a physical runner, and the Cardinals might be looking for more opportunities to spell him going forward if he keeps needing trainer attention in games.
Benson would probably represent the 1A option, here, but Demercado isn’t bad to stash, either.
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