VideoFrom Ron Stewart
Ron Stewart
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
17 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 6, 2026
Published
Sun, September 6, 2026
14
Player insights
14
Players mentioned
Topics
Braelon AllenChris BellCyrus AllenDak PrescottDenzel BostonJ.K. DobbinsJonah ColemanKeaton MitchellKyle PittsMalik WillisRashod BatemanRay DavisTerrance FergusonZay Flowers
Player analysis
Player insights
Braelon Allen
PositiveBreakout3:17
Ron Stewart highlights Braelon Allen as a high-value handcuff available in 85% of ESPN leagues; he is the direct backup to Breece Hall and would immediately become a reliable RB2 for fantasy lineups if Hall were to miss time.
Insight pageChris Bell
PositiveBreakout11:31
Chris Bell is a high-upside rookie wide receiver with a tantalizing 6'2, 220-pound profile; he is a strong stash on a Miami offense that lacks a clear WR1, with a range of outcomes comparing him to elite physical receivers like AJ Brown. Ron Stewart notes he is available in 97% of ESPN leagues and possesses the highest upside among recent rookie additions.
Insight pageCyrus Allen
PositiveSleeper11:07
Cyrus Allen is a crafty rookie wide receiver available in 95% of leagues; he is a strong separator who could work his way up the depth chart to earn a role attached to Patrick Mahomes, similar to Rashee Rice's rookie trajectory.
Insight pageDak Prescott
NegativeUsage1:56
Ron Stewart views Dak Prescott as a comfortable quarterback one, advising managers to avoid rostering a backup quarterback to maximize bench depth for other positions.
Insight pageDenzel Boston
NegativeBreakout9:53
Denzel Boston is a round-two prospect with rookie wide receiver upside who appears to be the starting boundary X receiver; however, his fantasy outlook is dampened by a difficult situation involving his quarterback.
Insight pageJ.K. Dobbins
NegativeInjury4:17
J.K. Dobbins is viewed as an injury risk entering the later stages of his career, creating a clear path for Jonah Coleman to potentially seize the primary grinder role in the Broncos' backfield.
Insight pageJonah Coleman
PositiveSleeper4:17
Jonah Coleman is a high-upside target in the Broncos backfield, which has seen the sixth-highest fantasy volume over the last three seasons under Sean Payton. Owned in 25.8% of ESPN leagues, he profiles as a volume-heavy back capable of handling 15+ touches per game, with prospect comparisons to Zack Moss, Kamani Vidal, and David Montgomery. His ceiling is tied to a potential J.K. Dobbins injury.
Insight pageKeaton Mitchell
PositiveSleeper5:28
Keaton Mitchell is a high-upside stash candidate who, despite a potential Week 1 absence, is worth holding in IR spots. He demonstrated elite efficiency with a 6.3 yards-per-carry average and big-play ability comparable to Devon Achane.
Insight pageKyle Pitts
PositiveUsage1:52
Ron Stewart identifies Kyle Pitts as a reliable tight end one who does not require a backup roster spot, allowing fantasy managers to use that bench space for high-upside stashes.
Insight pageMalik Willis
PositiveSleeper14:35
Ron Stewart recommends Malik Willis as a high-upside QB2 stash for managers with pocket passers, highlighting his 'Konami code' rushing ability. Willis offers the highest rushing ceiling among active quarterbacks and averaged 23.3 points per game in his last three games as a Packer with 80%+ snap shares.
Insight pageRashod Bateman
NegativeDepth Chart8:52
Rashod Bateman is currently positioned ahead of Jacobe Lane on the Ravens' depth chart, though he has been dealing with off-field issues.
Insight pageRay Davis
PositiveValue10:46
Ray Davis is a recommended handcuff running back available in 90% of ESPN leagues; he serves as the primary backup to James Cook, especially with Ty Johnson currently banged up.
Insight pageTerrance Ferguson
PositiveBreakout13:36
Terrence Ferguson is a perfect upside stash available in 75% of ESPN leagues; he is effectively the Rams' WR3 with a tight end tag, coming off a year where he led tight ends in average depth of target (18 yards). He is a strong year-two breakout candidate.
Insight pageZay Flowers
NegativeDepth Chart7:57
Zay Flowers is expected to suit up for Week 1 despite dealing with an injury; he remains ahead of Jacobe Lane on the depth chart. Ron Stewart notes that if managers doubt Flowers' touchdown-scoring ability, Jacobe Lane could potentially emerge as a touchdown threat in the Ravens' offense as a 6'4" contested-catch specialist.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00What's going on, man? Welcome back to the basement. I'm Ron, and this time of year, whenever I'm hanging out with my
0:05buddies, they got to show me their fantasy football team. I take their phone, I look at it, I say, "Yeah, this
0:09looks like a solid team, I suppose." And then I go over to the waiver wire section, and every time I am blown away
0:15by the options sitting there for the taking. There are always gems available, and I imagine a lot of your leagues have
0:21the same situation going on. So, today, I am going to give you the 10 players you need to stash before Week 1 kicks
0:29off. As always, if you enjoy, leave a like, subscribe if you're new, and let's get right into this. Cuz every time I
0:34make this video, you guys are like, "Well, Ron, we drafted. I don't have players to just cut." Well, a lot of you guys do have
0:40some fat you can usually trim off of your team. First of all, if you have an IR spot, any of your players have a
0:46bumper bruise or a questionable tag, throw them in the IR spot and open up a spot to grab players off of waivers.
0:53I'll also say, if you have a second kicker or a second defense, cut those guys. You only need one kicker, you only
0:58need one defense. And then I'll say as well, the quarterback and tight end allocation. And this is a big one. This
1:04is the list for both positions where if I had one of these tight ends or one of these quarterbacks, I am not rostering a
1:11second one. So, if I have Kyle Pitts on my team, I am not rostering a second tight end. If I have Dak Prescott on my
1:17team, I am not rostering a second quarterback. These, to me, are the comfortable, okay, this is my tight end one or my quarterback one. I don't need
1:25a backup to play the matchups or hope for an upside swing later on in the season. Now, with that being said, let's
1:31talk about the type of stashes we're going to talk about here. Of course, we are going to have running back stashes.
1:37These are really handcuffs, and it's a little bit boring to talk about handcuffs, but handcuffs are massive lottery tickets to store on your bench.
1:46You think about it, when Garrett Wilson twists his ankle and sits out for a week, Elijah Mitchell is like maybe a
1:52wide receiver three, wide receiver four that no one's really excited to start, but if Breece Hall twists his ankle, Braelon Allen all of a sudden is a firm
2:00ready to roll RB2 you can throw immediately into your lineup. So, the more of these handcuffs you can stash, the better, just in case of their
2:08starter getting hurt, and then all of a sudden you have a player you can throw into your lineup, or you could sell to
2:13the running back owner who got hurt.
2:16Then, at wide receiver, we do have rookie wide receivers, which are always a good option to stash. I have this stat
2:22that I compiled last season looking at since 2010, rookie wide receivers to average 16 plus points per game from week nine on. It's a massive list. 16
2:32plus points per game would have been the wide receiver eight last season. Of course, you have your blue chip stocks, but OBJ was a guy that was gotten
2:39or picked up off of waivers his rookie year because of a hamstring injury where he missed four games. Elijah Moore, similar deal, late-round pick.
2:46Tank Dell was a waiver wire add. I want to say Michael Thomas probably wasn't drafted in 2016. You can also look at
2:53Jaylen Waddle was a late-round guy.
2:55Jayden Reed was absolutely a pick up off of waivers. And then guys like Rashee Rice as well, guys who aren't even on
3:01this list like your Amon or Amon-Ra St.
3:04Brown is on this list. He was somebody I was probably pick picking up off of waivers as well. I'll also add Christian
3:09Watson was one of these guys as well his rookie year. And even guys who had kind of full season dominance out of nowhere
3:15like Chase Claypool is one of these guys. As crazy as it is to say, Chase Claypool was a monster as a rookie.
3:20Rookie wide receivers tend to be some of the best upside swings in the sport.
3:24Here's a study from a long time ago from Jack Miller dating back to the 2018 season, but I would believe that it still holds
3:32up today looking at how rookie wide receivers improve their points per game over a given season, whereas veterans decline. So, I am always more
3:42inclined to stash rookie wide receivers on my bench over the Trey Tuckers, De'Von Achane, Jaylen Nailers, insert wide receiver two on a bad team
3:52here type of player. I would rather just swing for upside with the rookie receivers. Now, with that being said, let's get into our stash players. First
4:00up, we have Jona Coleman. All of these players are under 30% owned in ESPN leagues. He is owned in 25.8% of ESPN
4:07leagues. It's very simple with Jona Coleman. Less of a pure handcuff, and really more of a three-headed backfield upside play. Now,
4:16the highest ceiling outcome for Jona Coleman is a JK Dobbins injury. If that happens, he then has the upside to fill
4:23the between the tackles grinder role.
4:25Because there's a chance that R.J.
4:26Harvey doesn't actually absorb much of the JK Dobbins role. He stays in the R.J. Harvey role, and then Jona Coleman is more of JK Dobbins handcuff. But,
4:33there's also a chance that as a rookie, Jona Coleman comes out here, and could just be straight up better than JK Dobbins, who is always
4:39hurt, banged up, getting into the later half of his career at this point. And with Jona Coleman, he finds himself on
4:45the Broncos, Sean Payton here. Over the last three seasons, a stat from Ryan Heath, he has the sixth highest total backfield fantasy volume. That means we
4:53want to be targeting this backfield.
4:55There's going to be plenty of opportunities, targets, carries, goal line looks, all of that. So, we want to be drafting Jona Coleman. This is from
5:02my prospect model. His three closest comps, Zach Moss, Kamani Vidal, David Montgomery. He is 5'8", 220 lb, can catch passes, can do it all. Not the
5:12most athletic back in the world, but that's why Zach Moss is his number one comparable player. But, that's a fine player in a vacuum, right? We're talking
5:18about a volume sponge guy who can handle 15-plus touches per game. Jona Coleman has some upside on a Broncos team that
5:25has the best offensive line by establish the run. Then, we'll talk about Keeton Mitchell. Now, he's a sneaky one.
5:31There's a chance he misses week one, and if that happens, you could stash him in your IR spot. I know there's a lot of
5:37sleeper leagues out there where it's like if he just misses the game, you can put him in your IR spot. He doesn't
5:42actually have to go on IR. He's only rostered in 20.9% of ESPN leagues. He is of course the RB2 on the Chargers. He is
5:50competing of course with Cam Akers for that RB2 spot, but he's a very fun player. He has over 100 career rush
5:56attempts in the NFL, a career 6.3 yards per carry. That is absurd. He's just like super explosive back for the Chargers.
6:05He comes from the Ravens where he was somebody that kind of went toe-to-toe with a rookie Devon Achane in terms of
6:11big play ability and per touch efficiency. He's of course been banged up ever since, but Mike McDaniel did literally put up a wanted poster looking
6:19for Keaontay Ingram this off-season and kind of hand-picked Keaontay Ingram.
6:22We've also of course seen Mike McDaniel support multiple fantasy RB1s when he had Devon Achane and Raheem Mostert over there in Miami.
6:32Again, Keaontay Ingram might be in jeopardy for week one, but because they didn't put him on the IR before the 53-man roster came out, that at least
6:39tells me that it's going to be a very short-term injury for Keaontay Ingram.
6:43Then we'll talk about Emari Demercado.
6:44This is probably the most realistic pick up so far where he's only rostered in 6.1% of ESPN leagues. He is the Chiefs
6:52handcuff behind Kenneth Walker. That's a very big deal to me. Uh we've seen Kareem Hunt give you usable weeks in this role before just as being the
7:00Chiefs RB1 as a player that isn't even that talented. Emari Demercado, the reason why he's here, he's gotten a big boost since the 53-man rosters came out,
7:08is Emari Demercado getting cut is a really big deal. That means that this is a stamp of approval that Emari Demercado
7:15is the clear handcuff in the situation.
7:17Jacob Sanderson breaks it down here. In my prospect model, Emari Demercado comes out with some tough comps, right? Evan Hull and Eric Gray are not guys you want
7:25to see, but Kenneth Gainwell and Tony Pollard for an undersized day three pick that catches passes, those are two really strong upside scenario comps.
7:33Kenneth Gainwell and Tony Pollard for Emari Demercado. If he can be that style of player, if Kenneth Walker was to ever
7:39go down, a a that we've seen struggle to stay healthy here and there. Emitt Johnson is absolutely free right now in
7:45your ESPN fantasy football league. Then we'll talk about Tank Bigsby, rostered in 19.2% of leagues, nothing crazy here.
7:51He's just the Eagles handcuff that needs to be rostered in 50% of ESPN leagues.
7:57Then we'll get into our first wide receiver here, Jacobi Lane. He's only rostered in 18% of ESPN leagues. He's this 6'4
8:06uh perimeter boundary contested catch specialist style receiver, rookie out of USC. He competed with Makai Lemon and before that Zachariah Branch. And he's
8:16not the best prospect in the world, but he gets drafted round three. He has massive hands. He's a super big framed
8:21receiver. And now that the Ravens lost Isaiah Likely, and if you are among the idea or of the idea that Zay Flowers
8:27can't score touchdowns, there's a chance that Jacobi Lane leads this team in receiving touchdowns. And in a year where Lamar Jackson goes nuclear for 40
8:36passing touchdowns, Jacobi Lane could emerge here. As of right now, he does sit as the wide receiver three on the depth chart according to Zane Dinani. I
8:43would assume that that would mean Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, then Jacobi Lane. I think Zay Flowers suits up for week one, but it is worth mentioning
8:50that Zay Flowers has been dealing with an injury. Rashod Bateman's been dealing with stuff off of the field. And Jacobi Lane has been like the story of training
8:57camp. He crushed it in preseason. He is a very fun rookie with upside. That like I guess this video's also kind of a
9:03sleeper video that you you need to be drafting Jacobi Lane late in your fantasy football drafts. Then we'll talk about Kaylin Black, a hand-picked Kyle
9:13Shanahan 49ers running back. He goes in the third round of the NFL draft after not getting an NFL combine invite. Now,
9:18I will say he certainly should have had an NFL combine invite, but he certainly should not have been drafted in the third round
9:24uh in this class. John Metchie was a better prospect than him. Mike Washington was a better prospect than him. But Kyle Shanahan hand-picked this
9:31guy. He's available in just under 90% of ESPN leagues. And he's listed currently as the RB2 behind Christian McCaffrey who's coming off over 400 plus touches
9:41and could find himself as sort of similar to what Jordan Mason was a couple years ago as the lead back when
9:47McCaffrey is hurt, and that's a big time role to stash on your bench in fantasy football. Then we have another rookie
9:53receiver here, Denzel Boston available in about 3/4 of ESPN leagues. He has the rookie wide receiver upside, a round two prospect, a much better prospect than
10:01Jacquoby Lane on paper, but a much higher hill to climb where when you have DeSean Watson and Shedeur Sanders and you are a perimeter boundary
10:10receiver, it's going to be tough to kind of do the Rube Goldberg machine or whatever you call that thing where it's like, you
10:17know, the dominoes come down and then the thing comes down and the ball rolls down and then it's like all to do these
10:21things. That's what it's going to be like for Shedeur Sanders to complete a pass to a boundary receiver, and it's why I like Casey Concepcion, and it's
10:28why I like Harold Fannin. Just give them the easy button stuff, you know, 5-yard A-dot, screens, hand-offs, all of that.
10:35The Denzel Boston experience is going to be a tough one, but on day one he does seem like he's starting boundary X
10:40receiver, which should mean something, and if he is that good, he could transcend his situation. Then you have Ray Davis. Very simple here, he's
10:48available in 90% of ESPN leagues. He's the James Cook hand-uh handcuff. As of right now, Ty Johnson is banged up.
10:55Similar deal with Braelon Allen, we actually mentioned him in the opener.
10:58He's available in about 85% of ESPN leagues. He's the Breece Hall handcuff, and he's shown to have some talent in the past as a runner. Then we have
11:07another rookie wide receiver with upside here, Cyrus Allen, a guy that we talked about with Matt Harmon. He is available in 95% of leagues here.
11:15Matt Harmon loves him as a separator. He had a really good success rate versus man and against zone. He was drafted
11:19higher than the other guy on the Cincinnati team that had all the hype in the world. He tested really well. His name is escaping me at this
11:27point right now, but Cyrus Allen is this kind of like crafty receiver that finds himself currently as the wide receiver four on the depth
11:38chart. It's Rashee Rice, it's Xavier Worthy, it's Tyquan Thornton, and then it's Cyrus Allen so far. And he's somebody that could work his way up the
11:44depth chart similar to what Rashee Rice did as a rookie and end up carving out a role attached to Patrick Mahomes. Then
11:49we have another rookie with upside here, Chris Bell.
11:54A really interesting profile. He tore his ACL late last season.
12:00That ended up making him not be able to compete in the combine. He then slipped in the NFL draft. I think he would have
12:04been a fringe first-round pick if not for the torn ACL. Instead, he goes in round three to the Miami Dolphins.
12:10He is somewhere on this range of outcomes of the tantalizing 6'2 220-lb wide receiver. At the high end, that is A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel, DK Metcalf. On
12:22the low end, that is Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo, guys who just flat-out can't play in the NFL. Chris Bell falls somewhere in those range of outcomes. I
12:32tend to fall in love with the upside.
12:34Last year against a loaded Miami defense, he put up nine catches, 136 yards, and two touchdowns in a win against Miami, the national championship
12:43runner-up. He did it in primetime, everybody was watching. He's a nice upside swing on an offense in Miami that doesn't really have a wide receiver one.
12:49I think Caleb Douglas is an interesting rookie, Malik Washington's a guy as well, but we're talking about guys that can actually get into your redraft
12:55fantasy football lineup. I think Chris Bell has the highest upside, so he is who I have listed here. And he's available in 97% of ESPN leagues. Now,
13:03that is our like 10 real stashes here.
13:05What I will say is I'm going to give you a quarterback and tight end in case if you saw this graphic first and maybe your QB1 is like
13:13Patrick Mahomes, you're like, "Oh, Like I I didn't draft a QB2." Now, I will say that's one of those ones where it's
13:18iffy, but if you have an extra bench spot and you don't feel great that your tight end or quarterback weren't on this
13:24list of guys that I'd be comfortable running only one of them with and you're like, "Okay, my tight end one is like Juwan Johnson.
13:30Let me pick up a second tight end."
13:32Uh that would be this section of the video where we have Terrance Ferguson here. He's available in 75% of ESPN leagues. He is the
13:39perfect upside swing. He's in an awesome offense on the Rams. He's been the recipient of a lot of buzz here out
13:47of training camp. We have this from Ryan Heath where Terrance Ferguson's been called the Rams wide receiver three. He buys into that and then he goes, "I
13:53would actually recommend reading this tweet." Like he goes into full detail as to why that is, but the too long didn't
13:58read version of that is he's the wide receiver three for the Rams essentially with a tight end tag. Uh last year he
14:04had the highest recorded average depth of target for a tight end ever in the fantasy points database, 18 yd downfield. Why that matters is it means
14:12he can catch the ball three times and give you 60 yd in a touchdown uh in a massive spike week in your tight end
14:17spot. He also heads into year two as a really strong prospect and this is where we see the highest breakout percentage
14:23for tight ends that year one to year two jump. So, he is a very fun play. And then I'll say as well, if you have one
14:29of these pocket passers like a Matthew Stafford or a Jared Goff or a Jordan Love and you kind of want to just have a
14:34quarterback two in here, I think Malik Willis is perfect. He's available in 80% of ESPN leagues. He is somebody where he's a Konami code scrambling upside
14:42quarterback. This could go terribly wrong like a Justin Fields in the past or a Trey Lance in the past or this could be the next Justin Fields
14:51that one year on the Bears. I want to say it was like 2021 where he was an amazing fantasy quarterback. That could
14:55be Malik Willis. He has averaged 23.3 points per game in his last three games as a Packer where he played 80% or more
15:02of the snaps. It's all there for him to have the highest rushing ceiling among all active quarterbacks and then kind of
15:09what they have coined the term as Konami code. I want to say that's a Rich Rebar term from back in the day. Malik Willis
15:15has all the rushing upside in the world to kind of be a fantasy cheat code. So, he's definitely worth a pick up if you
15:20feel weak at quarterback. But, that's going to do it for us today. I will say, of course, the only thing I really have
15:26to promote is subscribe to this channel.
15:28We're going to do in-season content all season long to make sure you guys are ready to roll to win your fantasy
15:33football championships. We'll have waiver wire videos. Uh the rookie receiver report is a big one. Like these rookies are going to be stashing. We're
15:39going to be tracking them every single week to figure out who needs to stay on your roster, who can get cut, who can be
15:44the next Rashee Rice, Amon-Ra St. Brown style out of nowhere league winner.
15:49Uh and then on top of that we'll have like trade targets and we'll have start sits, all of that going on. And then of
15:54course, my uh premium content, I suppose you could say, is on the patreon, patreon.com/ronstewart, where you can get my in-season rankings, my waiver
16:04wire article every week. You can get my rest of season rankings, my dynasty content, my start sit streams every Sunday. All of that and more. And then
16:11of course, I know it's Sunday, September 6th, so there's some There are some last call fantasy drafts happening right now.
16:16So, check out the basement draft guide if you haven't and you have a draft coming up the basementdraftguide.com to get my entire rankings and draft
16:24guide. With all that being said, thank you guys for watching and I'll see y'all in the next one.
16:30>> Oh, yeah.
16:31>> [music and singing] >> This is record.
16:37>> [music and singing] >> Yeah.
16:38Oh, yeah.
16:40Maybe I stone.
16:42Like this froze.
16:43Ice cold. But, oh, oh. But, I saw her in my body like I'm frozen.
