The bye weeks have started, and it's getting tougher and tougher to have a strong fantasy football lineup. How can we get around those bye weeks and be ahead of the curve? Stash players now. If you've filled up IR spots, you may have an open roster spot, and these are a few players you should consider grabbing now:
Tank Dell, WR, Houston Texans
Dell plays football this week! After a horrible knee injury in December 2024, Dell is set to make his season debut for the Texans. Will he be good? Will he see usage? Those are complete unknowns right now, but given the upside we saw from him in 2023 and 2024, he might become a waiver wire target next week if he's able to show some life against the Giants. He does have a crowded path forward in the Texans' wide receiver room, which
could certainly hold him back.
Christian Kirk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
A very similar situation to Dell above, Kirk is set to make his season debut for the 49ers this week. What's different here is that he could see steady usage every week, since the 49ers are decimated by injuries. It's entirely possible, if Kirk is ready to go, that he plays 60% or more of the offensive snaps and manages a roughly 15-20% target share. The 49ers need healthy receivers and, with a high-powered offense, Kirk is set up to be a waiver wire target next week. Be ahead of the curve on this one.
T.J. Hockenson, TE, Minnesota Vikings
Next week, the Saints, Giants, 49ers, and Texans are on their bye weeks. That means TEs 1, 3, 7, and 11 are not playing. That's Isaiah Likely, George Kittle, Juwan Johnson, and Dalton Schultz. Hockenson is coming off a bye week, and prior to that, he left Week 5 early due to a concussion. He's back and ready to go this week, and he's only rostered in 44% of Yahoo! leagues and has the softest matchup on the schedule in Week 8 against the Detroit Lions defense.
Jacoby Brissett, QB, Arizona Cardinals
Just like above, next week we see Tyler Shough, Brock Purdy, C.J. Stroud, and J.J. McCarthy on their bye weeks. Brissett and the Cardinals are set to take on the Dallas Cowboys, where the look-ahead game total is set at 51.5. That's a massive game total, and a great spot against the lowly Cowboys' defense, which has allowed 21.3 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, which is fifth-worst in the NFL.
Treylon Burks, WR, Washington Commanders
The Commanders are on their bye week, and we often see fantasy managers pass on picking up players that aren't going to help them immediately. That has left Burks at only 1% rostered in Yahoo! leagues, and I like his upside going forward. We know that Terry McLaurin is done for the season, which should thrust Burks into a much larger role. In the Monday night game last week, Burks played on 55% of the snaps, had a 25% target share, and a 25% red zone target share. If the Commanders' defense continues to be terrible, they'll likely be forced into higher-scoring game environments every week, and Jayden Daniels needs to pass the ball to someone.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football waiver wire lookahead: 5 players to stash now
