Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Stashes: 5 Hidden Gems Rostered in Under 30% of Leagues (Ep. 2255)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
14 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Oct 10, 2026
Published
Sat, October 10, 2026
7
Player insights
7
Players mentioned
Topics
Alec PierceAntonio WilliamsChris BellKimani VidalLaquon TreadwellQuentin JohnstonTre Harris
Player analysis
Player insights
Alec Pierce
NegativeInjury16:58
Alec Pierce's return from IR is uncertain, as the current injury is a recurrence of the same issue that sidelined him for training camp and the preseason. There is little confidence he will be 100% healthy by the end of his four-game minimum stint, potentially extending Treadwell's role.
Insight pageAntonio Williams
PositiveUsage7:22
Antonio Williams is a strong stash candidate who saw his route share jump to 73.2% in the absence of Terry McLaurin. He has been targeted on 25% of his routes this season and is an explosive playmaker who will likely see more field time once he connects on a big play that isn't nullified by penalties.
Insight pageChris Bell
PositiveSleeper3:56
Chris Bell is a high-upside stash for the Dolphins who is expected to see increased usage after the team's Week 6 bye. Despite a touchdown being called back recently, his profile as a former top-tier college prospect with deep-ball tracking ability makes him a priority add, especially as the team looks to create more explosive plays.
Insight pageKimani Vidal
PositiveUsage12:09
Kamani Vidal is a speculative stash in deeper leagues who is firmly in the Chargers' backfield rotation. He played more snaps than Amarian Hampton in Week 4 and produced 36 yards and a touchdown on seven touches, proving he is a viable part of the team's unpredictable three-man committee.
Insight pageLaquon Treadwell
PositiveRole15:14
Laquan Treadwell has stepped into the Alec Pierce role for the Colts, leading the team's wide receivers with an 82% snap share over the last two weeks. He has been surprisingly productive, outscoring notable players like Brian Thomas Jr. and Marvin Harrison Jr. over the same period, and may hold this role longer than expected given the uncertainty surrounding Pierce's injury recovery.
Insight pageQuentin Johnston
NegativeBust0:40
Quinton Johnston is losing his role to Trey Harris and may be out of the picture entirely by midseason. He is in a contract year and has been significantly less efficient than Harris, averaging only 7 expected points per game compared to Harris's 12.2 over the last two weeks.
Insight pageTre Harris
PositiveBreakout0:33
Trey Harris is emerging as the clear WR2 for the Chargers, outperforming Quinton Johnston in every advanced metric including yards per route run (2.47 vs 1.5) and target share (22% vs 14%). He has averaged 12.2 expected points per game over the last two weeks and is positioned to potentially take over the role entirely as Johnston's future with the team remains uncertain.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. You already know what time it is.
0:04It is time to help make you a smarter fantasy football manager.
0:08The manager that is staying two to three moves ahead of their league mates.
0:13The manager that's beating their league mates on the waiver wire because you're already thinking about which players to stash before they break out.
0:20I'm Lucas Wentzel here at Fantasy Pros bringing you my top five waiver wire stashes ahead of week five and next week's waiver run as well.
0:29So without further ado, let's just dive right on into our list of players.
0:33The first player on our list this week is Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Trey Harris who was rostered in 21% of leagues.
0:40Last week when we talked about Trey Harris, we named the reality that Quinton Johnston might not be cutting it for this Chargers team.
0:48Thus, Harris could start to chip away at the wide receiver to roll in this Chargers offense and that already started to unfold in week four.
0:56Harris led the team in routes run his five targets outnumbered QJ's two and Harris has just dominated.
1:02Quinton Johnson in every important advanced metric 2.47 yards per route run versus QJ's 1.5.
1:07He's drawn a target on 22% of his routes compared to Quinton Johnston's 14%.
1:11And Harris has averaged 12.2 expected points per game over the last two weeks compared to Quinton Johnston's seven.
1:17There is simply just no denying that Trey Harris has been better than Quinton Johnston this year.
1:23And we have a large enough sample now through four weeks to validate that.
1:27And not only could Trey Harris take over Quinton Johnston's role, but QJ might be out of the picture entirely come midseason.
1:34Johnson is in a contract here with the Chargers and with how things have been going thus far.
1:40I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely that the Chargers want to bring him back this offseason.
1:45And at what point do you just consider trading Quinton Johnston to guarantee you at least get something in return for his services this year?
1:53It's not that a ton of work would just immediately fall into Trey Harris's hands, but it is one less wide receiver in the room.
2:01After Ladd McConkie, Trey Harris immediately slots in as the wide receiver two for this Chargers offense.
2:06You still get a solid red zone threat in Trey Harris.
2:10He can stretch the field for this team and he might just be flat out better at playing the wide receiver two
2:17role Mike McDaniel was looking for in this offense.
2:20I know what we've seen with our eyes is that this Chargers offense has just been pitiful this year.
2:26But if you're reading the tea leaves of this situation, right, Trey Harris could sneak his way into wide receiver three relevance
2:33with Quinton Johnson potentially just falling out of the picture entirely.
2:36The second player on our list this week is Miami Dolphins wide receiver Chris Bell, who is rostered in 15% of leagues.
2:43Another player who made my list last week and we were literal centimeters from Bell being scooped up in another probably 10 plus percent of leagues out there.
2:52Bell had a 68 yard touchdown called back against the Vikings because his literal toenails stepped out of bounds before Malik Willis
2:59found him on a scramble drill catch and run touchdown.
3:02But this was the entire case that we made for Chris Bell last week without Devon Achan.
3:08And now this Dolphins team, goodness, they need to target their playmakers and create explosives by any means necessary.
3:14Even if it was on a dissolved play, Chris Bell can be that kind of playmaker for Malik Willis.
3:20This is why he was in talks of being a first round wide receiver in the NFL draft this past year.
3:27If it weren't for his ACL tear, the man, he was a semifinalist for the bullet in a golf award, which goes to the nation's most outstanding receiver.
3:35His 83 receiving yards per game was top 15 in the nation.
3:39His 72 receptions in just 11 games was 17th in the nation.
3:43He's lethal in space. He's fearless at the catch point.
3:46He has the deep ball track tracking to make the complex catches downfield just look simple.
3:51And if you're worried about Caleb Douglas inevitably coming back after this team's by, like I wouldn't stress too much about that.
3:58They clearly wanted to get him involved right away as Chris Bell was ramping up and Malik Washington.
4:04He's been reliable for this offense. He's been a stable wave wire pickup, but the Dolphins might not have any other choice
4:11but to get these two playmakers on the outside involved.
4:14I think we're going to see Bell have a surge after the Dolphins week six by when these rookies typically start to make their leap.
4:22It's going to be Bell and Douglas on the outside and two wide receiver sets.
4:27And I think it's just better to get him stashed now before your league mates think they can actually snag Chris Bell
4:34on his bye week when you're not expecting it.
4:37The reality is you're already one step ahead of them and you're stashing Chris Bell.
4:42Now the third player on our list this week is Washington Commanders wide receiver Antonio Williams, who is also rostered in 15% of leagues.
4:49How about another player who was robbed of an explosive touchdown last week?
4:54If not for an illegal shift, Williams would have tallied an 87 yard touchdown in London against the Colts.
5:00Just like Chris Bell, his roster percentage would have easily shot out by another 10 to 15%.
5:05These are the type of players that your league mates are just satisfied box score hunting, right?
5:10And not acknowledging the context, which actually reveals the true upside of these players.
5:15Without Terry McLaurin on the field last week, Williams saw his route share jump to 73.2%, which was tied with Stefan Diggs
5:22for a team high on the day. On said route share, he drew seven targets while being targeted on 23% of his routes.
5:29Now I get it didn't amount to much, only three sessions for 21 yards in the morning, but zooming out and looking
5:36at the whole season, the opportunity has been there for Antonio Williams.
5:40When he has been on the field, he's been targeted on 25% of his route so far.
5:45One in every four routes, Antonio Williams has been drawing a target.
5:49So trust what your eyes are seeing here on the football field.
5:53This is a young and explosive player who can make plays after the catch.
5:58He's savvy with his route. He can look, he can work over the middle of the field.
6:03So long that Terry McLaurin is out. And as of this recording, we're unsure where his status is for week five.
6:10You're going to get Antonio Williams a lot more on the field.
6:13And once he hits on a big play that isn't called back for a penalty, the commanders won't be able to keep him off the field.
6:22And that's just in the NFL. Like I said earlier, if that 87 yard touchdown actually counted last week, there's a possibility
6:29Williams wouldn't have even qualified for this video because he would have rostered in more than 30% of leagues.
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7:29The fourth player up on our list is Los Angeles Chargers running back Kamani Vidal, who is rostered in only 5% of leagues.
7:36Keaton Mitchell was a relatively popular waiver wire ad after his backfield leading 45% of touches in week four.
7:42But Kamani Vidal also chipped in to Amarian Hampton's workload.
7:46Vidal actually played more snaps than Hampton did last week.
7:49Vidal got seven touches of his own, which he turned into 36 yards and a touchdown, making him a borderline top 25
7:56running back on the week in week four. You remember that quote from Mike McDaniel before the season started about this backfield?
8:03Quote, bad news, fantasy owners. Good news is I see all three of these guys producing at a very high level.
8:09Bad news is I can't tell you which games those are.
8:13Like, hand up, I brushed off that comment probably a little bit too willingly this offseason, thinking Hampton would have no problem
8:20separating himself from Keaton Mitchell and Kamani Vidal. But now we need to actually consider the reality of what it looks like
8:27to have three different running backs involved in this backfield.
8:30Because we just saw it happen in week four.
8:33So what is that reality now? To McDaniel's point, I'm not a wizard or a fortune teller, right?
8:39I have no clue which week is going to be a Kamani Vidal week, a Keaton Mitchell week, and a Maureen Hampton week.
8:46But what I do know is that if Keaton Mitchell or Maureen Hampton misses any time, that is one less running back to figure out in this rotation.
8:55Is this a long shot stash? Yeah. Is this stash definitely meant for deeper leagues?
9:00It definitely is. But the reality doesn't change. Kamani Vidal is relevant and firmly in Mike McDaniel's plans of how to deploy this Chargers backfield.
9:08And thus, he should be a speculative stash to see how things evolve throughout the course of this season.
9:14And the last player on our list this week is Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Laquan Treadwell, who is rostered in only 2% of leagues.
9:22First and foremost, shout out to Laquan Treadwell, who manages to still find his way to stick around in the NFL after
9:29seemingly being a bust of a first round pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
9:33Now he actually finds himself playing a very relevant role in this Indianapolis Colts offense 10 years later.
9:39Treadwell has been thrust into the Alec Pierce role after Pierce found himself on IR.
9:44Over the last two weeks, Treadwell has actually led the Colts wide receivers in snap share at nearly 82%.
9:50In week four, he ran only three less routes than Josh Downs, but he was targeted on 21% of those routes, which
9:57resulted in five catches for 42 yards. Look, it's nothing astounding, but there are a lot worse options out there than Laquan Treadwell over the last three weeks.
10:05Just to name a few bigger names that have recorded less fantasy points than Laquan Treadwell.
10:11How about Brian Thomas Jr., Marvin Harrison Jr., and Corlton Sutton have all scored less points than Laquan Treadwell over the last three weeks.
10:18The earliest Alec Pierce can come back is in week seven against the Vikings, but let's pause and be honest with ourselves for a moment.
10:26How confident are you that Alec Pierce returns after only a four game minimum stint on IR?
10:32This is the same injury that kept Alec Pierce out for the entirety of training camp, the entire preseason, and it flared
10:39up not even a month into the season. So much so that it forced him to land on injured reserve, not just miss two or three games.
10:47Look, I want nothing but the best for Alec Pierce.
10:50He is a talented football player. I love watching him on the football field, but nothing whatsoever about this situation makes me
10:57confident that he'll be 100% healthy and ready for action by the end of this window.
11:03And we likely actually won't get any clarity until after week six, until we see if his IR stint is actually up.
11:10Treadwell may be in this role longer than we realize in this Alec Pierce role.
11:14And this Colts team is becoming just starved for wide receiver options with Keenan Allen also dealing with a groid injury and
11:21having two misdemeanor charges hanging over him as well.
11:24And there you have it. My top five waiver wire stashes ahead of week five.
11:29Go sprint to your waiver wire right now just to make sure that none of these guys are still floating out there in your league.
11:37They're all rostered in less than 30% of leagues.
11:40So there's a good chance they still might be available in yours.
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