There are some solid players available in free agency who don't have a big role right now, but are waiting in the wings.
These are the "one injury away" players who could be in for a much larger role if a player ahead of them on the depth chart gets hurt. I try to keep a bench spot open to grab a player I like before Sunday's games, so here are five to consider:
Emmett Johnson, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
I firmly believe that Johnson is the best roster stash in fantasy football right now. Besides the fact that he's shown a bit of upside on his own, his role would be immense if anything happened to Kenneth Walker. The Chiefs' offensive line is looking great, Patrick Mahomes is looking great, and the production from Walker is great. Would he produce at the same rate as Walker? Probably not,
but the volume of touches and the lack of competition in the backfield would be there for Johnson.
Emanuel Wilson, RB, Seattle Seahawks
Wilson is only rostered in 16% of Yahoo! leagues, and it should be higher. Seattle has opened the practice window for Zach Charbonnet, who started the season on IR. Rookie Jadarian Price didn't practice on Thursday, Oct. 1 because of a chest injury, and George Holani was also limited in practice Thursday. It's a bit of a mess, but Wilson is healthy, and the Seahawks showed that they're willing to trust him with a high workload.
Pat Bryant, WR, Denver Broncos
Is the Denver wide receiver room good? Well, it might be on paper, but it hasn't shown it thus far. Both Jaylen Waddle and Courtland Sutton haven't made a huge impact this season. Waddle is up at a 23.6% target share, Sutton is at 18.0% target share, and Bryant is at 11.2%. Bryant leads the trio with 8.6 yards per target and 14.3 yards per reception. What if he has a breakout game? Can he vault himself into the WR2 role? Bryant has upside, and Waddle and Sutton aren't showing much right now.
Dontayvion Wicks, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles are expected to be without DeVonta Smith this week, making Wicks the de facto WR1. Yes, the Eagles' passing game has been lackluster this season, but Wicks has a huge opportunity in front of him. He's only rostered in 46% of Yahoo! leagues right now, and if he steps up with a big performance, people will be running to the waiver wire next week to try and grab him. Ultimately, the Eagles need a secondary option alongside Smith when he comes back, and if Wicks can cement himself there, the role could be stable going forward.
Ryan Flournoy, WR, Dallas Cowboys
Seeing 8 and 6 targets in the last two weeks is no joke. That's what Flournoy has gotten from the Cowboys, which is pretty darn good considering they have CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens ahead of him. With the Cowboys holding the 8th-highest pass play percentage (61%), there's a high volume of targets to go around. If one of those top two receivers were to miss time, Flournoy could see plenty of usage on a game-by-game basis. Also, if the Dallas defense continues to be bad, it will be forced into heavy passing game scripts.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football waiver wire lookahead: 5 players to stash before Week 4
