Next week is Week 11 of the NFL season, aka byemageddon. The six teams on bye are the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, and Seattle Seahawks.
Those are some heavy hitters in the fantasy world, so let's plan ahead.
Cam Ward, Quarterback, Tennessee Titans
Cam Ward has a really tough matchup this week against the Jacksonville Jaguars' defense, so I doubt anyone is starting him in fantasy football. However, he flashed some serious upside against the Bengals with 26.26 fantasy points, and most importantly, they play the Dallas Cowboys next week. Dallas allows the fourth-most (19.1) fantasy points to quarterbacks, which makes Ward a viable streamer next week.
Kenny Gainwell, Running back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Gainwell has posted 10+ PPR fantasy points in back-to-back games, which
is pretty darn solid for a player who's a clear backup running back. Next week, the Bucs are up against the Detroit Lions, where the lookahead game total is up at 47.5 points. Gainwell has flashed some nice pass-catching upside, which could be beneficial in a back-and-forth, higher-scoring game against the Lions.
Pat Bryant, Wide Receiver, Denver Broncos
Jaylen Waddle suffered a concussion in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers, and while the Broncos are on a bye this week, Bryant is still worth stashing. Yes, it's an extra week for Waddle to clear concussion protocol and be ready for Week 11, but if he doesn't, Bryant would be a clear waiver wire target. The Broncos are at home in Week 11, where they take on the Las Vegas Raiders, who allow the 12th-most (33.6) PPR fantasy points to wide receivers. I love that spot for the Broncos, and Bryant could be a sneaky add right now.
Terrance Ferguson, Tight End, Los Angeles Rams
I know the Rams are on their bye next week, but Ferguson could still be worth a stash. He was trending towards playing last week, but was held back with a hamstring injury. This is more of a deep stash considering Puka Nacua and Davante Adams are still out, and will be out even after the Rams come out of their bye week. If you have an extra bench spot or IR spot, I'd consider grabbing him since he's only rostered in 16% of Yahoo! leagues.
Emmett Johnson, Running Back, Kansas City Chiefs
I continue to believe Johnson is the premier fantasy stash this season. It's shocking to see he's only rostered in 32% of Yahoo! leagues. Yes, he is the clear backup to Kenneth Walker, but Johnson has found his way into the end zone in each of the last two weeks, and has some real pop when he touches the ball. I always hate to phrase things this way, but if something were to happen to Walker and he had to miss time, Johnson would be the best waiver wire option of the season. The Chiefs have a very favorable schedule upcoming, which has them primed for fantasy production.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football waiver wire lookahead: 5 players to stash now
