We're into the meat of the fantasy football schedule with the first set of bye weeks hitting and on top of all of the injuries this season, your roster might be looking thin.
Let's look at a few players you can stash now, before next week's waiver run happens.
Ja'Kobi Lane, WR, Baltimore Ravens
Ja'Kobi Lane is on his way back for the Ravens. He was a full participant in practice on Wednesday and could be activated for this week's game against the Browns. Lane is only rostered in 12% of Yahoo! leagues, and considering the lack of pass-catchers on the Ravens outside of Zay Flowers, his role has a high ceiling. If he's activated this week, so be it, but I like the landing spot next week against the Bengals' secondary.
Mike Washington Jr., RB, Las Vegas Raiders
There's been some odd news surrounding Ashton Jeanty, where he may
or may not be seeing some time off,. It's a bit strange, but if he were to miss time, Mike Washington -- who was a preseason darling -- would be a prime waiver wire target. He's not seeing a ton of time right now, but he does average 5.0 yards per carry, which is pretty darn solid for a backup. His efficiency would drop with more volume, but he's got some juice when he gets the ball.
Mike Gesicki, TE, Cincinnati Bengals
Gesicki is on bye this week, and next week we see the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders, and Jacksonville Jaguars on their bye weeks. That means Dalton Kincaid, Oronde Gadsden, Chig Okonkwo and Brenton Strange are not playing. Are those elite tight ends? No, but if you have one of them, you might want to grab Gesicki now, so you don't have to fight for a replacement tight end with FAAB bids. He has a lower 9.1% target share, but a team-high 42.9% goal-line target share, which brings that sweet touchdown upside.
Kendre Miller, RB, New Orleans Saints
I have no idea what the Saints are doing with their backfield usage, and apparently, neither do they. Travis Etienne is on IR, Alvin Kamara is terrible at this point and CJ Donaldson is a non-factor. Miller has played on 26% and 31% of the snaps in the last two weeks, and has a 26.1% red zone rush share and 28.6% goal-line rush share. Both of those are the highest on the team with Etienne out, which does bring solid fantasy upside in a murky backfield situation.
Christian Kirk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Given the injuries the 49ers have dealt with, there has to be something we can do in fantasy. That means being ahead of the curve with Christian Kirk coming off of IR. To be clear, he hasn't been activated, and his timetable is unclear right now. But with Mike Evans routinely banged up, Deebo Samuel out and De'Zhaun Stribling and Demarcus Robins on IR, they simply need healthy bodies. If and when Christian Kirk comes back, he'll be an interesting waiver option in a high-powered offense.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football waiver wire lookahead: 5 players to stash now
