FFT Express - Beat the Waiver Wire! MUST-STASH Players Before Week 5 (09/25 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today Express — Beat the Waiver Wire! MUST-STASH Players Before Week 5

Episode Date: September 25, 2025
Hosts: Adam Aizer and Dave Richard

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Episode Overview

This FFT Express episode is all about staying one step ahead in your fantasy football league by beating the waiver wire heading into Week 5. With key teams going on bye, hosts Adam Aizer and Dave Richard break down 'must-stash' players at every position, discuss which roster-clogging players you can cut, and provide insights into defenses, quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers who could pay off over the next two weeks. The focus is on making strategic adds now, before your league-mates realize who’s about to become valuable.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Roster Management Going Into Team Byes

[01:52] - Dave Richard:

• Falcons, Bears, Packers, Steelers all have a Week 5 bye.
• Opportunity to cut underperforming or injured players from these teams to free up roster spots for possible breakouts.
• Cut Candidates: Michael Penix, Aaron Rodgers, Kyle Menungai, several WRs (Romeo Doubs, Jaden Reed, Calvin Austin, Luther Burden, Darnell Mooney) and tight ends (Colson Loveland, Jonnu Smith, even Kyle Pitts in shallow leagues).

“These are all players that you can cut...if you want to try and use that roster spot for someone who might break out in week four or five.” — Dave Richard [01:56]

Defense/Special Teams (DST) Adds & Cuts

[02:51]

• Adds:
  • Colts DST (75% available): Great matchups vs. Las Vegas (Week 5) and Arizona (Week 6).
  • Cardinals DST (for Week 5 vs. Tennessee).
• Cuts: Falcons, Steelers DSTs are fine to drop. Packers DST worth holding if possible. Texans DST could be bold drop — great Week 4 matchup but poor for Week 5 and on bye Week 6.

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2. Tight End Targets to Stash

[04:22]

• Must-Stash: Ronde Gadsden II (Chargers, 95% available)
  • See expanding role and favorable matchups Weeks 4–6.
  • “He could certainly see more routes, get more targets. This is a great offense in LA. Gadson's a name that I'm interested in.” — Dave [04:22]
• Darren Waller is also worth a look for the coming weeks.
• Harold Fannin (against Lions, 46% available) as a week-to-week option.

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3. Quarterbacks to Target Before Week 5

[05:39]

• Key QBs with upcoming byes or bad matchups: Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, Drake Maye, Baker Mayfield, Bo Nix, Brock Purdy.
• Top Waiver Options:
  • Bryce Young (69% available): Playing the Dolphins, who have given up the second-most fantasy points to QBs.
  • Jackson Dart (55% available): Facing Saints, who have allowed 20+ points to every QB faced.
  • Other viable names: Sam Darnold, Matthew Stafford.
• Reminder: Always check the current waiver pool — don’t force a stash if decent alternatives exist later.

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4. Running Backs: Stash These Players

[09:14]

• Woody Marks (Houston, ~50% available): Ascending behind Nick Chubb, young with pass-catching skills.
• Taje Spears (Tennessee): On IR but spotted walking; could slot in as a flex or replacement soon.
• Washington’s Three-Way Split: Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols — both widely available, potential for opportunity due to injury or performance.
• Blake Corum (Rams, 44% available): Premium handcuff if Kyren Williams gets hurt.
• Tyler Allgeier: Worth a stash if you roster Bijan Robinson.
• Other Mentions:
  • Devin Singletary (Houston RB2, 4% rostered)
  • Brashard Smith (Chiefs), though Andy Reid seems cautious about overusing him.

“Two more running backs and then just kind of like a PSA at the position...it's okay to grab your best running backs handcuff as long as that handcuff is good.” — Dave Richard [11:46]

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5. Wide Receivers: Sneaky Adds Before They Break Out

[12:24]

• Ellic IO Manor (Titans, 53% available): After tough matchup vs. Houston, easier games follow—potential to become the WR1.
• Torrey Horton (Seattle, 76% available): Could emerge as team’s WR2 with high route rate and versatility.
• Troy Franklin (Denver, 52%): Trending upwards, high usage, wait another week if you already stashed.
• Parker Washington (Jacksonville, 97%): 11 targets and increased route rate, could be top pickup from JAX.
• Jalen Coker (Panthers, 88% available, IR stash): Worth stashing in IR for a potentially significant role upon return.

“It's the people like you, me, and whoever’s watching. We’re a step ahead. We’re those chess masters here.” — Adam Aizer [08:16]

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Notable Quotes / Memorable Moments

• On being proactive:

  “There aren’t a lot of people who think about beating the waiver wire. They’re just playing fantasy and going through the motions. It’s the people like you, me, and whoever’s watching. We’re a step ahead.” — Adam Aizer [08:16]

• Waiver wire chess moves:

  “If you’re gonna have to drop someone to beat the waiver wire, take a look at the waiver wire at quarterback especially and see if there are other options.” — Adam Aizer [08:56]

• Why stash now:

  “You can do that now before your backup becomes the next Trey Benson and everybody’s running to the waiver wire to pick them up and it’s not you who gets them.” — Dave Richard [11:46]

• RB depth philosophy:

  “It’s okay to grab your best running backs handcuff as long as that handcuff is good.” — Dave Richard [11:46]

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Key Segment Timestamps

• [01:52] Bye weeks, cut and stash candidates, DST recommendations
• [04:22] Tight ends to target
• [05:39] Quarterbacks to target and QB strategy
• [09:14] Running backs with stash value, handcuff philosophy
• [12:24] Wide receiver must-stash options
• [14:16] Final notes: Brandon Aiyuk injury update; close of episode

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Final Takeaways

• Take advantage of bye weeks to free roster spots and stash high-upside options before Week 5.
• Prioritize DSTs, tight ends, QBs, RBs, and WRs with favorable upcoming matchups or expanded roles—especially those with low rostered rates.
• Don't be afraid to cut underperformers or make risky adds: being proactive is what separates contenders from league-mates who just “go through the motions.”

“You could have a running back who could fall into a decent role sooner than later. Just because of how things are going...” — Dave Richard [10:06]

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Stay aggressive on the wire, and you'll stay ahead in your league. For more start/sit advice, catch tomorrow's FFT episode!

Transcript

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[D]

All right, everyone. Gotta beat your fantasy opponent and you gotta beat the waiver wire right now on FFT Express. And welcome, everybody. It is time to beat the waiver wire.

[B]

Hey.

[D]

All right. Yeah. Keep it going.

[B]

You actually did it.

[D]

Keep going for Dave Richard, folks. All right, Dave. Bye. Week start next week.

[B]

Oh, no. It's the Falcons, it's the Bears, it's the packers, it's the Steelers. They're all on by. So there are some players that you can actually cut now if you're not using them. I look to see who was rostered in a decent amount of leagues. Michael Penix and Aaron Rodgers at quarterback, Kyle Menungai at running back. A lot of receivers, Adam Romeo Dobbs, Jaden Reed, Calvin Austin, Luther Burton, and shallow leagues, Darnell Mooney. These are all players that you can cut. Here's a couple of tight ends. Colson Loveland, Johnu Smith. And even in the shallowest of leagues, Kyle Pitts. I'm not saying you have to cut these guys, but if you want to try and use that roster spot for someone who might break out in week four or week five, these are the types of players you can move on from. You could always double back and get them before week five because no one's going to pick them up because they're not playing in week five.

[D]

That's true. Would you pick up Tyler Algier if someone dropped him?

[B]

Probably not. Unless I had Bijan Robinson. I would, I would, I would make that move. And we'll talk about those types of handcuffs later. It's really like a sentence for later in the video. We should probably also mention a couple of DSTs. Sure. Obviously, if the Falcons and the Packer or the Steelers and the packers aren't playing, you can't use them in week five. Falcon Steelers cut them. I don't think you're cutting the Packers. I wouldn't want to cut the Packers. And that means it's time to go get one for that following week. The Colts are 75% available. They're against Las Vegas. Vegas, through the first three weeks of the season has allowed at least 10 fantasy points to each DST that they faced. And then they play Arizona after that. So you might be able to use the Colts for two weeks. The Cardinals defense, we can go back to them. Don't use them. You have to pick them up before Thursday. But the Cardinals DST, they've got Tennessee in week number five. Tennessee's allowed 13 fantasy points to each of the first three defenses that they face. The Giants, the Jets. Not sure. I'm really in love with picking them up, but those are more desperation options if you want those alternatives. And one more DST you can cut. And this is kind of bold, but the Texans, I don't think you should do it because they've got a great matchup in week four, but week five, they're against Baltimore. I don't think you're going to use them then. And then week six, they're on by.

[D]

Interesting point. Okay, all right, so how about quarterbacks? Or if you want to maybe just start with one headliner for beating the waiver wire and then transition to the quarterbacks. But what do we got?

[B]

Sure. Well, why don't we start with tight ends? Because the headliner for me is a Ronde gads in the second with the Chargers, 95% available. We know he's going to play more. I don't mind his matchup this week against the Giants. And then he's got the Commanders in week five, the Dolphins in week six. It's a three week Runway for Gadsden. Who could concert, certainly see more play. He could certainly see more routes. I could talk one of these days, see more routes, get more targets. This is a great offense in la. Gadson's a name that I'm interested in and I'm much less interested in Darren Waller, but he's expected to play sooner or later. He's got the jets in Week 4. That's a tough matchup. Week 5, the Dolphins are at the Panthers. That's a matchup that could be good. If Waller's good in week number four. Those are two names to look at. Other ones with week four matchups that you might consider. There's really only one. It's Harold Fannin, 46% available. He's against the Lions.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[D]

Gadsden is so intriguing because, man, if they start throwing to him, then it's going to be like the, the. A better version of the Browns, right? Where it's just so spread out and sure, you may not have enough. Right? I mean, we, we can't have that. I'm sorry, Dave. We cannot have that. It's too many mouths to feed.

[B]

Well, it's just more people taking targets away from lad McConkey. And as long as we're okay with that, then everything will be just fine. But no, I've been watching a lot of Chargers film today. Gadsden does stand out as somebody who can win one on one matchups against linebackers and could be a good short area option. Could be a guy that Herbert leans on when he's pressured. And his offensive line, especially against Denver, did allow a lot of pressure. But enough about Gadsden. He's somebody that I absolutely would try and stash. Let's talk quarterbacks. And you can't use Caleb Williams or Jordan Love in week five. Or if you want an alternative to Drake May, who's got the Bills, Baker Mayfield, who's got the Seahawks, Bo Nix, who's got the Eagles, or Brock Purdy, who's against the Rams. He's only had one good career game against the Rams. Take a look at Bryce Young, 69% available, taking on the dolphins. Dolphins have allowed the second most fantasy points to quarterbacks through the young seasons, and it's at least 28 fantasy points that they have allowed. It's a pretty good reason to start a Jets quarterback this week as well. And then Jackson Dart is worth stashing. He's got the Saints in week number five. They've allowed at least 20 fantasy points to every quarterback that they've taken on. And he's available in 55% of leagues. Those are the two quarterbacks that I would target first and foremost. Sam Darnold, Matthew Stafford, two other ones that you could go after.

[D]

Okay, yeah. Bryce Young and that Jackson that, that Saints Giants game is just kind of an interesting one for beat the waiver wire purposes. Could you maybe think about a DST in that game? Would you go so far as Spencer Rattler? I hope not.

[B]

I hope not for Rattler and the Giants would be my preferred option.

[D]

But you still have guys like Rashid Shahid and Wanda Robinson who have a little bit of availability. You know, two receiver leagues. You could probably get one of those guys. So they're not the worst options. All right, we're going to take some breaks. Just one break, actually.

[B]

Six breaks. Six breaks starting now.

[D]

We're gonna take a break and we're going to talk about running backs and wide receivers to add right now before it's too late on fft.

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[D]

Transition into a break.

[B]

We have really been tripping over our words on this show.

[D]

Yeah. But we're just having so much fun, Dave.

[B]

We, I, I love it. I love doing this. And here's the thing. There, there aren't a lot of people who think about beating the waiver wire. They're just playing fantasy and going through the motions. It's the people like you, me, and whoever's watching. We're a step ahead. We're those chess masters here.

[D]

Yeah. I got one league where I have Jordan Love, and I'm actually looking at the waiver wire right now. If you're on cbs, you can sort by week five projections. And I want to badly pick up Bryce Young, but I don't really want to drop anyone. So I don't think I'm gonna do it now because you also have to look at are there other quarterbacks that are halfway decent on the waiver wire? And I think I could probably get by if I don't get Bryce Young next week. But.

[B]

All right.

[D]

Anyway, back to all of you. So that's, I'm just saying that's another thing is you just have to. If you're gonna have to drop someone to beat the waiver wire, take a look at the waiver wire at quarterback especially and see if there are other options. And if there are other options, then you don't have to be so desperate. Okay?

[B]

Sure.

[D]

Dave Running with finance yeah, yeah. Running backs, what do you got?

[B]

Woody Marks is the headliner there. He's available in 50 of leagues. It's starting to feel like it's just a matter of time before he overtakes Nick Chubb as the better running back in Houston. I don't know if that necessarily means that he's going to be great for fantasy. Texans have a lot of problems and it starts with their offensive line, but at least he's a younger running back, versatile, can catch the ball a little bit. They're running out of options there and they need some wins. So I wonder if Woody Marks ends up getting some opportunities. And then we've been banging the drum for Taje Spears pretty much since he went on IR because we told people you could take him with your last pick, shove them in an IR locker and just wait for him to come back. The latest report out of Tennessee is that he's been spotted without his walking boot and without a scooter, so maybe he's getting closer and it's just like Houston. Tennessee's offense isn't anything to write home about, but Tony Pollard hasn't been amazing. I do think that offensive line does have potential to be good and Taje Spears is a versatile running back, so kind of like Woody Marks in that regard. He's somebody that you can go and stash, especially if you can put him in an IR spot for one more week and then once he's out off of ir, you can go ahead and potentially use him as a bye week replacement, as a flex and maybe his role grows a little bit and he starts to kind of nail that ceiling that we thought he's had ever since he came into the league. Two more running backs and then just kind of like a PSA at the position. The commander's running backs Chris Rodriguez, Jeremy McNichols, both available largely 70% of leagues. They're out there, they're not amazing. McNichols is the third down guy. Rodriguez will work on first and second down. Cross game merit is not at 100%. I believe he practiced on Thursday, but we know that it's a three way split. @ bare minimum. You could have a running back who could fall into a decent role sooner than later. Just because of how things are going in Washington. It's not like Crosky Merit is setting the world on fire. And then Blake Corum is the fifth name 44% available and he's the poster boy to remind everybody that it's okay to grab your best running backs handcuff as long as that handcuff is good. Corum behind Kyron Williams. We've seen him already do some nice things. If Kyron Williams goes down, Blake Corum will see more work. Tyler Algier. You brought him up earlier in this video. If he were available and you've got Bijan Robinson, of course you'd want to have him there because he has not been bad when Bijan Robinson either hasn't played or wasn't a Falcon. We saw that from Tyler Algier a couple years ago. So you can do that now before your backup becomes the next Trey Benson and everybody's running to the waiver wire to pick them up and it's not you who gets them.

[D]

Two more names that Dave has said previously but not today. Devin Singletary 4% rostered as the RB2 and then if you're looking at a team that has gotten gotten nothing out of their running backs and has a young speedy guy that they might want to get in there. Burchard Smith for the Chiefs.

[B]

The one thing I'll say about Brashard Smith is Chris Collinsworth mentioned on the broadcast last Sunday night that he tried to get Andy Reid to talk about Smith in their production meetings and Reed really seemed to caution that they didn't want to overuse him. So I'd be surprised if he ended up becoming a 60% of the snap guy for Kansas City.

[D]

All right, let's talk about wide receivers to stash.

[B]

I've got some interesting names here too. Obviously the favorite is going to be Ellic IO Manor. He's available in 53% of leagues. Tough matchup this week against Houston. He's got Arizona and Las Vegas in the weeks that follow. Could end up being the best receiver for the Titans this season. Don't hate the idea of grabbing him, putting him on your bench. You're going to need him to be a bye week replacement along the way. And I like Torri Horton's future in Seattle. We know that JSN is going to be the main guy, but it looks like Cooper cup is just over the hill at this point. There isn't a tight end that really looks good. I think Torrey Horton could end up being number two in that team in targets and I like what we've gotten from him. 71% route rate in weeks one and three and he's not just a deep threat. Adam His ADOT was 7 1/2 yards last week and he's shown flashes of speed and good hands since the preseason. Available in 76% of leagues. That's Torrey Horton. Other wide receivers. I mentioned him last week. Troy Franklin. He's very good. Available in 52% of leagues. 88% route rate each of the last two games for Denver. I wonder if he starts to see a little bit more of an opportunity. I think that he's someone. If you picked him up last week and he's still on your team, hang on to him for at least one more week. Parker Washington in Jacksonville 97% available. He might be the only wide receiver that you can grab off the waiver wire. From this list. 11 targets last week season high 74% route rate. That number can go up. I think that he could end up being a very good complimentary option for the Jacksonville Jaguars. And then, last but not least, we've talked about them a bunch. Here we go again, the Taje Spears of wide receivers. Jalen Coker 88% available. He's an IR stash. It doesn't sound promising that he's going to rush right back to the lineup for the Panthers as soon as he's available. That would be week five, but we'll see. And as long as he's sidelined and he's on ir, you can just keep him in IR and just let him sit on the bench. And then when he's available to play, I think he's going to have a good role for the Carolina Panthers.

[D]

Thank you, Dave Richard thank you everybody for watching. Listening to Fantasy Football Today Express in case you didn't see the news, big news today. Brandon Iuk is not close to returning, so that's not someone you need to stay, Dash. Especially if you don't have an. If you have an IR spot, whatever. But he's not going to be back anytime soon. So take him. Cross him off. Then we'll be back tomorrow with Fantasy Football Today starter sit for the NFC home game.

[B]

See ya.

[C]

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