FFT Express - Beat the Waiver Wire! MUST-STASH Players Before Week 7 (10/10 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today Express – Beat the Waiver Wire! MUST-STASH Players Before Week 7

Date: October 10, 2025
Host: Adam Aizer
Analyst: Dave Richard

Episode Overview

This episode centers around beating the waiver wire ahead of a tricky stretch in the fantasy football schedule. With top teams like Baltimore and Buffalo on bye in Week 7, and an impending “bye-mageddon” in Week 8, host Adam Aizer and analyst Dave Richard share their must-stash players at every position. The goal: help listeners prepare now for upcoming roster holes and stay a week ahead of their league mates.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Importance of Stashing Ahead (01:16)

• With back-to-back weeks featuring major bye weeks (Week 7: two teams, Week 8: six teams), now is the time to plan for holes in your roster—especially at quarterback, running back, and tight end.
• Dave: “It wouldn't be wrong to get ahead of things and start preparing for that now.” (01:44)

---

2. Headliner Stash: Colston Loveland, TE (01:39–02:49)

• Availability: 76% available on CBS leagues.
• Coming off a bye and looks ready to return from injury.
• Sixth-best projected TE schedule for Weeks 6–9 and no more byes.
• Dave: “He's going to be my favorite stash candidate out of everybody that we talk about.” (02:42)

---

3. Quarterback Stashes (02:59–05:19)

Top Names to Target:

• C.J. Stroud (Texans):
  • 32% available (could rise by weekend as teams tweak rosters for byes).
  • Week 7 matchup at Seattle: not ideal, but still viable.
• Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars):
  • 46% available.
  • Faces Rams in Europe in Week 7; matchup might look better after another week’s results.
• Josh Allen & Lamar Jackson Managers:
  • Likely in need of Week 7 fill-ins since both are on bye.
• Other Deep Options:
  • Sam Darnold (vs. Houston)
  • Tua Tagovailoa (at Cleveland)
  • Both have upside, though both under 50% available.
• Bryce Young (Panthers):
  • Weekly streamer for those desperate. Tough Week 6 vs. Dallas, but a good matchup with Jets next week—only if he shows signs of life this week.

Memorable Exchange:

"Would you trust Bryce Young if he doesn't have a big game this week against Dallas?"
—Dave (04:34)
"No. But… you might have to make the decision before that."
—Host (04:39)

---

4. Running Back Stashes (05:22–07:14)

• Availability Crisis: Hard to find upside on the wire—Dave jokes you’ll need to “hold your nose” when making moves.
• Top Speculative Adds:
  • Kendre Miller, Kareem Hunt, Kenneth Gainwell, Nick Chubb — typically rostered in most leagues.
• Chargers' RBs: Kamani Vidal & Hassan Haskins—few leagues have them available.
• Desperation PPR Hopeful: Tajae Spears (faces Patriots in Week 7, tough matchup).
• Under-the-radar gem: Trey Benson —
  • 34% available and dropping because of injury, but a top IR stash and upside play.
  • “If you see Trey Benson on your waiver wire, pick him up.” —Dave (06:26)
• Host’s Take: Tre Benson is ten times more desirable as a bench stash than Joe Mixon at this stage (06:38).

Quote:

“You’re going to need [your thumb and pointer finger] to hold your nose as you go pick up these players because they absolutely stink.”
—Dave (05:23)

---

5. Wide Receiver Stashes (08:38–10:18)

• Better depth/post-bye options at WR than RB.
• Top Check-Fors:
  • Matthew Golden
  • Juwan Jennings (returning to practice)
  • Rashid Sheed
  • Trey Tucker
  • Calvin Ridley
• Depending on injuries and byes, these could all see a usage bump.
• Other Key Stashes:
  • Kendrick Bourne (Pats): 45% available, faces TB (Week 6), ATL (Week 7)
  • IR stash: Jalen Coker — 77% available, monitor activation status.
  • Isaiah Bond (Browns): 87% available, faces Pittsburgh (bad), Miami (great matchup next week).

---

6. Tight End Stashes (10:19–11:58)

• Mason Taylor
  • 57% available, faces Panthers this week, Cincinnati next.
  • Justin Fields’ checkdown guy, excellent schedule.
• Other Names:
  • Harold Fannin (67%)
  • Jonnu Smith (77%)
  • AJ Barner (78%)
  • Jatavion Sanders (limited practice, worth watching)
• Taylor vs. Loveland:
  • If you need a starter now, go Taylor (“makes all the sense in the world”).
  • Want upside for later? Go Loveland.

Quote:

"Taylor really jumps out because… three of his next five matchups are against teams that are bottom five against tight ends."
—Host (11:18)

---

7. Defense/Special Teams (DST) Streamers (11:58–13:21)

• Patriots DST:
  • Possibly the top DST streamer—great matchups ahead: New Orleans, Tennessee, Cleveland, Atlanta.
  • “Man, the Patriots DST has been really good.” —Dave (12:05)
• Other Options:
  • Bears DST: 83% available, great form and favorable schedule.
  • Jets & Panthers: Less talent, but Jets getting healthy and face Carolina—upside noted.
  • Chiefs: Dropped in nearly half of leagues; get Raiders next week after facing Lions. “Great call.” —Dave (13:18)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the challenge of Week 8:

  "We're a week, two weeks away from the big Binato week… you better start planning now." —Dave (01:42)

• On RB options:

  "You’re going to need [your fingers] to hold your nose as you go pick up these players because they absolutely stink." —Dave (05:23)

• WR Upside:

  “Just make sure [Jalen Coker’s] off IR before you put him in your lineup. It’s pretty simple…” —Dave (09:20)

• Tight End Guidance:

  “If you're already good at tight end and you want to shoot for upside, that would be Loveland… [he] has more upside rest of season than Mason Taylor…” —Dave (11:32)

---

Key Timestamps

• 01:16 – Beating the waiver wire for Week 7 & 8; impact of byes
• 01:39 – Colston Loveland as the headliner stash
• 02:59 – Top quarterback stashes & bye week planning
• 05:22 – Desperate RB pickups & key IR stash (Trey Benson)
• 08:38 – Top WR adds, injury/buy-low candidates
• 10:19 – Tight ends to target: Taylor vs. Loveland
• 11:58 – DST streamers for Week 7 and beyond

---

Conclusion

The episode delivers a fast-paced, strategic rundown of every position for managers needing to get ahead on waivers and plan for the next two critical weeks. “Beat the waiver wire” is the central mantra, with actionable names and clear logic behind every recommendation. Whether you’re stashing for next week’s byes or swinging for high-upside bench plays, this guide will help you dominate your league’s waiver wire before your competition.

Transcript

[Host]

Fantasy football has a lot of ORs. Start or sit, draft or bust, buy or sell. But you don't have to pick because Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company. They're one of America's largest financial services companies, too. Insurance and financial services game changer for your insurance and financial needs. Nationwide is on your side. Nationwide Investment Services Corporation Member FINRA Columbus.

[Airbnb User/Advertiser]

Ohio so I've been hosting my guest house on Airbnb for a while now, and. And it's honestly been super simple. People come through book a couple nights and it's just extra money I wasn't making before. But here's the part I didn't really think about at first. You don't have to just host a separate space. Like, I've got a trip to Orlando coming up to play some golf, and while I'm out of town, my main place is just sitting there empty. Why not list that, too? It's already set up. I'm not using it. And it's such an easy way to cover some of the travel costs while I'm away. Maybe even a little extra for a box of Pro V1s or. Or some merch from the pro shop. That's what I like about Airbnb. You can make it fit your lifestyle, whether it's extra space or your own place while you're on vacation. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how [e-mail] host Baltimore and Buffalo on buy.

[Host]

Oh, my. We need some waiver wire replacements for fantasy week seven right now on Fantasy Football Today Express. All right, we're going to rush to beat the waiver wire and yeah, a couple of powerhouses there on offense. Baltimore and Buffalo on the buy. Of course, Baltimore hasn't exactly been that. But Dave, who's the headliner? Who's the big stash?

[Dave]

Well, before we get to the headliner, let's not forget that in week eight, two teams on by. In or week seven, two teams on by. And week eight, six teams on by. I was too busy trying to figure out how many fingers to hold up. The binato is in week eight. It wouldn't be wrong to get ahead of things and start preparing for that now. And there might be some instances during our little mini show here where I can tell you about some players to pick up for week six, Week seven, obviously, and then week eight. But the big stash, the guy I like the Most, Colston Loveland. 76% available on CBS. I think there's a post buy bump coming. Looks like he practiced on Wednesday. Sixth. Best projected schedule for tight ends, Week six through nine. And he's already had his buy already. So if you add him, you're getting yourself one of the top prospects in the 2025 draft. Be prepared to hold him not just through week six, obviously, but also week seven. We might be starting him in week seven. Heck, you might be desperate at tight end and might be starting him in week six against Washington. I think that might be going a step too far. But he's going to be my favorite stash candidate out of everybody that we talk about.

[Host]

How about that Colston Loveland. All right. We liked what we saw before he got hurt after only a few snaps a few weeks ago. And Colson Loveland is the headliner. Do you want to go to dsts? You want to go to quarterback?

[Dave]

Let's go to quarterbacks. All right, if you don't mind. Because Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. We're already without Lamar Jackson now. Another week without him. Week seven, he's on by. So is Josh Allen. Who knows if Brock Purdy will be back? And again, we're a week two weeks away from the big Binato week. First thing you need to do, check for C.J. stroud on your waiver wire. He's 32% available as of Thursday. By the time we get to Saturday, that could look like 40, maybe even 45% available. As teams start to trim their roster to get ready for week six. He's on buy in. Week six, you can't use him. Week seven, he's at Seattle. Not the best matchup in the world. But the way that the Houston offense has looked the last couple of weeks, I think Stroud can be okay. The other quarterback to look for, Trevor Lawrence, 46% available. He will get the Rams in Europe in week number seven. Again, not enough. Not a favorable matchup. But if we see another good game from Lawrence like we saw on Monday and another off game from the Rams defense like we saw last Thursday, I think we could buy into this one. So if you've got Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Brock Purdy, you need a replacement ready to go. You might have one already for Jackson and Purdy. Josh Allen, you almost certainly do not. Those two quarterbacks fit the bill. Two other ones, tougher matchups. Sam Darnold against Houston. Tuatanga Valoa at Cleveland. Again, two quarterbacks not available in even 50% of leagues. But they've got opportunities to put up some points.

[Host]

Yeah, I would. I would look at Bryce Young, obviously, because you got this week with Dallas. But then next week you have the Jets. So if you're the Lamar Jackson manager, that's someone you probably already have looked at.

[Dave]

Would you trust Bryce Young if he doesn't have a big game this week against Dallas?

[Host]

No. But, you know, you kind of. You might have to make the decision before that.

[Dave]

Sure. You could always pivot off of him if he. If you stash him and he stinks.

[Host]

Right.

[Dave]

Go and find another quarterback.

[Host]

Yeah. I mean, look, there are only two teams on a buy. One of those teams is already without its starting quarterback. So Lamar Jackson manager has already got a backup quarterback going this week. So you don't have that much quarterback competition next week on the waiver wire. So I. If Bryce Young does play well against Dallas, you're probably going to have some faith in him. Against the jets, they're a really good matchup. So that's kind of. That's, I think, where I would go first for. I. Yeah, I think I would go there first.

[Dave]

Interesting.

[Host]

First.

[Dave]

Yeah. Okay. All right.

[Host]

Well, we'll agree to disagree. Dave.

[Dave]

Running backs, I've got a secret weapon for you to use when picking up running backs this week. It's your thumb and your pointer finger because you're going to need them to hold your nose as you go to pick up these players because they absolutely stink. You can check for Kendra Miller, Kareem Hunt, you can speculate on Kenneth Gainwell, Nick Chubb. These are all guys that are already rostered in two thirds of CBS sports leagues and they would be gems compared to the guys that you might have to chance it on. And it's the Chargers running backs. Kamani Vidal, Hassan Haskins, they're not even available in 50% of CBS leagues. People are so crazy for running backs that it's really hard to get your hands on them. Otherwise, you're looking for a running back. Seven to 10 PPR points is what you'd hope for. Taje Spears would probably headline that list. And he's got the Patriots in week seven. That's not going to be an easy matchup. I'll have some other names for you on Saturday, but keep an eye out for one name who seems to be seeing his roster ship dwindle, and that's Trey Benson. We don't know exactly how long he's going to be out for, but he's available in 34 of CBS leagues and it's rising. And that's an IR stash for you to go and get. If you see Trey Benson on your waiver wire, pick him up.

[Host]

Yeah, but look, if you have an IR spot, you're probably already stashing him, so you have to make room. But it. It's still worth it. I think I would read. I would do everything I can to use a bench spot if I don't have an IR spot. On Trey Benson, for example, same roster percentage as Joe Mixon. And I'd rather 10 times as 10 times as desirable of a bench stash Trey Benson compared to Joe Mixon.

[Dave]

We don't even know if Mixon's gonna play. And if he does, we don't know what he'll look like, how effective he'll be. We've seen Trey Benson. We think he can come back to being a capable RB one for a team.

[Host]

Okay, let's take a break. Wide receivers and tight ends and DSTs after this, business owners, I'm going to give you a tool that will make a huge difference for you. It's called Quo, formerly openphone. It's the same great business phone system I've talked about before, just with a new name. And here's why it matters. Every time you miss a call, you're leaving money on the table. You need a phone system that keeps up and helps you stay connected 24 7. And that's why you need Quo. Over 90,000 businesses trust Quo, formerly OpenPhone, to streamline their customer communications. It works through an app on your phone or computer, so. So no more carrying two phones or using a landline. With Quo, your team can share one number and collaborate on customer calls and texts like a shared inbox. So anyone can jump in and keep response times fast and forget voicemail. Quo's built in AI agent can be set up in minutes to handle calls after hours, answer questions, and capture leads so you never miss a customer. Get started free. Plus get 20% off your first six months at quo.comfft that's qu-uo.comfft and if you have existing numbers with another service, Quo will port them over at no extra charge. Quo, no missed calls, no missed customers. All right, I've unplugged my nose, Dave. I'm ready to get some wide receivers.

[Dave]

It's a little bit better a wide receiver than it is a running back. Let's do a check for on these five names. And again, these are guys that are rostered in a high amount of CBS leagues, but maybe they're on your waiver wire. Some of them are coming off of an injury, others are coming off of a buy. In the case of Trey Tucker, he's Coming off of a game where he wasn't amazing. But Matthew golden tops the list. Juwan Jennings is next and we saw Juwan Jennings practicing on Thursday. Rashid She, Trey Tucker, Calvin Ridley, in that order. If they're out there, go and pick them up. Receivers who are usable in week six and week seven. It starts with Kendrick Bourne. He's 45% available at Tampa Bay this week, then against Atlanta. Just have to make sure that those 49ers receivers other than Jennings are still sidelined. That would be Piersall, that would be Iuk. I think Kittle is still going to be available in week seven. I don't know if that necessarily. It certainly doesn't help Kendrick Bourne, but I don't know if it hurts him that much. Another name, and we've talked about this name for a while, is an IR stash. Jalen Coker, 77% available, has Dallas this week if he's activated and if he's not, then he's at the jets next week. Just make sure he's off IR before you put him in your lineup. It's pretty simple when it comes to Jalen Coker and then one other stash guy, Isaiah Bond with the Browns 87 available. He's at Pittsburgh this week. I don't really love that. But then he's got Miami the week after and that's a really good matchup for him. So I think that you could see Isaiah Bond as somebody that can step up and be a good stash receiver. Get him now, give Dylan Gabriel a week and then go ahead and consider Isaiah Bond as a possible bi week replacement, maybe even a flex.

[Host]

Tight ends.

[Dave]

I'm going to give you the name that I like for this week and next week and the week after that at tight end and it's Mason Taylor. And our audience did not go crazy for Mason Taylor still out there in 57% of leagues. He's got the Panthers coming up after this week and then Cincinnati after that. So that's a nice one two punch for Mason Taylor. Seems to be the check down guy for Justin Fields. Should be able to keep commanding a decent amount of targets. We talked about Colson Loveland, other tight ends for week seven. Harold Fannin 67% available against Miami, John New Smith, 77% available. Oh, why would you want John who Smith? You're saying because he's going to take on Cincinnati in week seven and then AJ Barner. Tough matchup against Houston in week number seven. 78 available. Dude just seems to keep scoring touchdowns.

[Host]

Yeah, I knew you were interested in Jatavion Sanders too. He's back at practice. He was limited on Wednesday.

[Dave]

That's not a bad one. I'll probably add him to the list for the Saturday threat that I do.

[Host]

On X a lot of guys, but Taylor really jumps out because Taylor has great matchups. Three of his next five matchups are against teams that are bottom five against tight ends. He does have a buy unfortunately in there as well, but clearly looks like the number two target right now for the Jets.

[Dave]

And if you're asking me, well, I can only pick up one of Mason Taylor and Colson Loveland. I think it comes down to what you need. If you need a tight end as a starter for your team, Mason Taylor makes all the sense in the world. You should prioritize him. If you're already good at tight end and you want to shoot for upside, that would be Loveland. I think that he's the one that has more upside rest of season than Mason Taylor, even though Taylor's in a pretty good spot himself.

[Host]

Okay, and let's get some DSTs for fantasy week seven check for the Patriots.

[Dave]

We talked about them last week. In week six they've got New Orleans, then Tennessee, then Cleveland and then Atlanta. Man, the Patriots DST has been really good. They're available in about a third of CBS leagues. The next best one that I've got to recommend, and I don't really love recommending them, but at least they're getting healthy is the Bears DST, 83% available. They get the Saints after this week and 11 fantasy points or more to the two of the past three defenses that have taken on New Orleans and Chicago for what it's worth has scored 10 fantasy points their DST has in three of their first four games. So they'd probably be my favorite. You can try and convince me on one or the other of these next two DSTs. The jets and the Panthers. Not necessarily teams with a lot of great talent. Although the jets are getting healthier. We talked about it on the main show. Jermaine Johnson expected back for them. They take on Carolina. If the Panthers offense doesn't show signs of big improvement over the next couple of weeks, maybe you'd be interested in starting the jets against those panthers. They've allowed 13 or more fantasy points to three of the first five BSTs that they face.

[Host]

Got a big one for you here. Got the Chiefs. Chiefs are facing the Lions this week so people drop them. They're 51% roster. They get the Raiders.

[Dave]

Oh I love that. Great call. Yeah.

[Host]

All right. So the Chiefs, you can throw on that list as well. Thank you, Dave, Richard. Thank you, everybody, for watching and listening. We'll talk to you on starter suit for the ANFC home games on Friday on Fantasy Football today. See ya. Paramount Podcasts.