5 Players To Stash Ahead of Week 8 (Ep. 1798)

Summary

FantasyPros – Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: 5 Players To Stash Ahead of Week 8 (Ep. 1798)

Release Date: October 25, 2025
Host: Lucas Wentel

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Episode Overview

Lucas Wentel dives into his top 5 low-rostered fantasy football players to target as waiver wire stashes before Week 8. The aim is to give fantasy managers a strategic edge by identifying upside players who could break out before the rest of the league notices, particularly in the lead-up to a heavy bye week slate. Each player discussed is rostered in 30% or fewer leagues, providing actionable recommendations across various positions, with context, stats, and actionable analysis.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Burchard Smith (RB, Kansas City Chiefs)

Rostered in: 30% of leagues
Timestamp: [01:22]

• Opportunity Context: Smith had 19 touches in Week 7, boosted by garbage time after the Chiefs dominated the Raiders and a Kareem Hunt injury.
• Potential Value: Lucas notes, “Burchard Smith is someone I've brought up multiple times this year and I do think he needs to be rostered in more than 30% of leagues.” [01:25]
• Skillset: As a converted receiver, Smith’s pass-catching ability is a major fantasy asset. “Three straight games with three-plus catches… That is valuable PPR upside.” [02:14]
• Risk & Reward: While the Week 7 context was unusual, Smith’s upside if Isaiah Pacheco goes down is significant. Lucas urges quick action: “The clock is ticking I think for how much longer you actually have to stash Bashard Smith.” [03:06]

2. Alec Pierce (WR, Indianapolis Colts)

Rostered in: 27% of leagues
Timestamp: [03:24]

• Offense Overview: Colts are currently the league’s top scoring fantasy offense, leading in several advanced metrics.
• Competition for Targets: Multiple skilled players mean volatility, but Pierce’s role is unique: “He is the explosive deep threat for this team.” [04:43]
• Recent Usage: 10 targets in Week 7 was a career high, with more opportunity if Josh Downs remains limited by concussion.
• Flex Appeal: “Alec Pierce is a fair home run swing to play in your flex. And even for the rest of the season, if Pittman or Downs miss any time, it’s very clear that Alec Pierce is next man up.” [05:03]

3. Isaiah Davis (RB, New York Jets)

Rostered in: 15% of leagues
Timestamp: [05:48]

• Situation: With Braylon Allen out, Davis is the clear handcuff to Breece Hall.
• Trade Rumors: Growing buzz about a potential Breece Hall trade before the November 4 deadline. “There is a lot, a lot of noise about Breece hall being traded ahead of the trade deadline.” [06:19]
• Opportunity Outlook: Lucas emphasizes urgency: “Once the trade buzz on Breece Hall becomes deafening, it will already be too late to stash Isaiah Davis.” [07:17]
• Current Production: Minimal so far (14 opportunities in 3 games), but the upside as a potential Jets lead back is reason enough to stash now.

4. Jalen Noel (WR, Houston Texans)

Rostered in: 7% of leagues
Timestamp: [07:45]

• Playing Time Frustration: Lucas is baffled by the team’s choice to prioritize Braxton Berrios and Xavier Hutchinson over their day-two rookie picks, notably Jalen Noel.
• Recent Surge: Saw a big spike in snaps and targets late in Week 7’s hurry-up offense. “Jalen Noel drew seven targets… compiling 77 yards and his 11.7 fantasy points was the most of any Texans wide receiver.” [08:23]
• Efficiency: “Ran 3.08 yards per route… eighth best of all wide receivers this week. He also drew a target on 28% of his routes…” [08:45]
• Path to Opportunity: With Nico Collins likely out (concussion) and Christian Kirk questionable, another solid game could cement a bigger role.
• Team Endorsement: Noted that Texans GM said Noel has “earned his opportunity.” [09:10]

5. Colston Loveland (TE, Chicago Bears)

Rostered in: 23% of leagues
Timestamp: [09:44]

• Injury Watch: Cole Kmet’s back issue opens the door for rookie Loveland.
• Roster Trends: Surprisingly, his roster percentage has dipped even as his opportunity rises.
• Rookie Adjustment Curve: Lucas reminds listeners, “For these rookie tight ends, it always takes time… when in reality it often takes half a season, if not a full entire season…” [10:12]
• Talent & Coaching: Loveland is a “matchup problem at 6'6", 248 with his acceleration.” [10:33] Ben Johnson (new Bears coach) has a proven track record of developing rookie TEs.
• Outlook: As the Bears offense stabilizes, the so-called “expansion pack” could unlock Loveland’s upside, especially if Kmet misses more time.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lucas on Burchard Smith’s PPR Upside:
  “That is valuable PPR upside that Burchard Smith is giving you and if anything does happen to Isaiah Pacheco, who says we don't get more Burchard Smith games like this with double digit carries and high value usage in the receiving game.” [02:31]

• Lucas on Alec Pierce:
  “If we were to strip away the blue and white… and just give you the raw stats for this offense, you would be wanting pieces… Colts are the number one scoring offense in fantasy football.” [03:49]

• Lucas on stashing Isaiah Davis:
  “The Isaiah Davis stash value right now is at an all time high and he absolutely needs to be rostered in more than 15% of leagues...” [06:04]
  “Once the trade buzz… becomes deafening, it will already be too late to stash Isaiah Davis.” [07:17]

• Lucas venting about Texans rookie usage:
  “To me it is inexcusable to take both of these guys with Day 2 picks in the NFL draft and be playing Xavier Hutchinson and now Braxton Barrios ahead of them.” [08:00]

• On Colston Loveland’s skillset:
  “He's a matchup problem at 6 foot 6, 248 with his acceleration. He finished with 35% of Michigan's receiving yards last year. That was the second highest of any FBS tight end.” [10:33]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:22] – Discussion begins on Burchard Smith (Chiefs, RB)
• [03:24] – Breakdown of Alec Pierce (Colts, WR)
• [05:48] – Isaiah Davis stash talk (Jets, RB) and Breece Hall trade rumor context
• [07:45] – Jalen Noel (Texans, WR), rookie usage criticism and breakout potential
• [09:44] – Spotlight on Colston Loveland (Bears, TE), Kmet injury and coaching impact

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Summary Table: Top 5 Stash Recommendations

| Player | Position | Team | Roster % | Reason to Stash | |-------------------|----------|------------------|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | Burchard Smith | RB | Chiefs | 30% | High-upside handcuff; pass-game usage | | Alec Pierce | WR | Colts | 27% | Deep threat in highest-scoring offense; spike week potential | | Isaiah Davis | RB | Jets | 15% | Trade buzz for Breece Hall; possible RB1 role opening | | Jalen Noel | WR | Texans | 7% | Rookie with proven efficiency; big opportunity looming | | Colston Loveland | TE | Bears | 23% | Rookie TE with talent; Kmet injury could spark breakout |

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Closing Thoughts

Lucas emphasizes the importance of aggressive waiver wire management ahead of Week 8, especially with six teams on bye and potential opportunity shifts due to injuries or NFL trade deadline moves. Each recommended stash offers unique league-winning upside, with in-depth context provided for timing and roster strategy.

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Original tone preserved: direct, analytical, and enthusiastically practical for redraft fantasy football managers.

Transcript

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It is that time of the week to outwork your league mates on the waiver wire. Yes, Week eight hasn't hit yet, but we can go ahead and stash high upside value players before your league mates even become aware of them after week eight. If you would have thought about stashing Kymani Vidal before his breakout, your team would be in a much better spot right now. So we're going to help you accomplish exactly, exactly that today. I'm Lucas Wentel here with Fantasy Pros, bringing you my top five waiver wire stashes ahead of Week eight and next week's waiver run as well. Before we dive on into that list of players though, we've got a special deal going on for you. All right now, unlock a month of Betting Pros Premium for free. Download the Betting Pros app today and use promo code FP1MONTH. Get access to tools like the same game Parlay tool, the Prop Bet Analyzer and the Prize Picks Prop Bet Cheat Sheet. Don't miss out. Try it 100% free for one month. Now available both on iOS and Android. Kicking off our list this week is Kansas City Chiefs running back Burchard Smith, who is rostered in 30% of leagues. I know we're sitting at the very tip top of my 30% threshold to start the video, but Burchard Smith is someone I've brought up multiple times this year and I do think he needs to be rostered if more than 30% of leagues. I also want to make sure we fully understand the context of his box score from Week 7 before we dive too far into that. 19 touches for Burchard Smith is really, really encouraging, but 13 of his 28 snaps did come in garbage time. And to take that even further, the Chiefs pulled all of their starters at the end of the third quarter as they were absolutely rolling the Las Vegas raiders. So while 14 attempts is super encouraging for Burchard Smith, who had only seen a high of four attempts in any game prior to it, was largely influenced by the Chiefs just obliterating the Raiders and also a Kareem Hunt injury earlier in the game. But still looking ahead at Burchard Smith's future value. I think he's still a very high quality stash on one of the best offenses in the NFL right now. As much as the Chiefs are Super bowl contenders and Kareem Hunt is like maybe a part of that vision. Question mark, they know they can't ride Kareem Hunt long term in this offense. Burchard Smith also clearly has the pass catching chops as a converted wide receiver. I believe it's three three straight games with three plus catches in this game. Five catches on five targets for 42 yards. That is nothing to slouch at. That is valuable PPR upside that Burchard Smith is giving you and if anything does happen to Isaiah Pacheco who says we don't get more Burchard Smith games like this with double digit carries and high value usage in the receiving game. Again, I know we're at the top of the 30% threshold for these videos and but I want to make sure I stash upside pieces on good NFL offenses on my fantasy rosters and the clock is ticking I think for how much longer you actually have to stash Bashard Smith. The second player on our list this week is Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce, who is rostered in 27% of leagues. For how insanely good this Colts offense has been, I do think Alec Pierce is going to wind up being a weekly contributor for this team. I fully recognize there's multiple mouths to feed here. Right. We've got Tyler Warren, obviously you've got Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Jonathan Taylor in the run game. Hello. But if we were to strip away the blue and white and take away the Indianapolis Colts logo and just give you the raw stats for this offense, you would be wanting pieces of this offense assuming it was a team like the Kansas City Chiefs. The Colts are the number one scoring offense in fantasy football. They are second in EPA per pass behind only the New England Patriots this year. They lead the league in EPA per play overall and they lead the league in success rate by 1.5%. That is a huge part as to why Alec Pierce has given you double digit fantasy points in three of five games this year and drew a career high 10 targets against the Chargers last week. I will also recognize Josh Downs was out with a concussion in that game, so that obviously helps. And as of this recording, Josh Downs has been limited at practice this week. But we also know how crazy good the spike weeks can be for Alec Pierce. He has the third highest average depth of target of all wide receivers this year and and he's sixth of all wide receivers in arear share. Alec Pierce plays a unique role in this Colts offense that is very different from Michael Pittman, very different from Josh Downs, very different from Tyler Warren. He is the explosive deep threat for this team. So I do think if your team is ever hit hard by bye weeks, especially this week with six teams on by like Alec Pierce is a fair home run swing to play in your flex. And even for the rest of the season if Michael Pittman or Josh Downs miss any time, it's very clear that Alec Pierce is next man up and will be utilized. The next player on our list is New York jets running back Isaiah Davis, who is rostered in 15% of leagues. I had brought up stashing Isaiah Davis after Braylon Allen's injury in Week 4. Not because I expected it to bear a ton of instant fruit, but more so because you had a guaranteed handcuff for eight to 12 weeks while Braylon Allen recovers. The Isaiah Davis stash value right now is at an all time high and he absolutely needs to be rostered in more than 15% of leagues because there is a lot, a lot of noise about Breece hall being traded ahead of the trade deadline. Diana Rossini has reported this and reporters like Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano have labeled the jets as active sellers before the trade deadline. Now the deadline isn't until Tuesday, November 4th, so by the time you see this video, we still have like 10 or so days. But the closer we get to that November 4th trade deadline, the buzz is only going to get louder. And as the buzz gets louder, you're going to your league mates will start to put two and two together and realize Isaiah Davis is the direct backup to Breece hall because no other running back on the roster has gotten a touch outside of Breece hall and Isaiah Davis. With Braylon Allen out Now, I'm not in the business of trying to like fake sell you on little to no meaningful stats for Isaiah Davis. He's only totaled 14 opportunities in three full games without Braylon Allen, but the prospect of him potentially being the jets lead back coming out of their week 9 buy should be intriguing enough for you to stash him now. Because like I said, once the trade buzz on Breeze hall becomes deafening, it will already be too late to stash Isaiah Davis. The fourth player on our list is Houston Texans wide receiver Jalen Noel, who is rostered in 7% of leagues. Look, I still have no clue what Nick Kaylee is waiting on here with both Jaden Higgins and Jalen Null. To me it is inexcusable to take both of these guys with Day 2 picks in the NFL draft and be playing Xavier Hutchinson and now Braxton Barrios ahead of them. Who Braxton Barrios was inactive for the last five games, yet here he is playing more snaps than Jalen Old. It's inexcusable to me. Similar to what I talked about with Jade Higgins last week. I just don't see it being sustainable to play Braxton Barrios in the slot ahead of Jalen Noel rest of season Late in the game on Monday Night Football against Seattle, the Texans were in hurry up offense and it was Jalen Noel on the field more frequently than Braxton Barrios. Thankfully, that led to Noel drawing seven targets on the evening while compiling 77 yards and his 11.7 fantasy points was the most of any Texans wide receiver. He also ran 3.08 yards per out this past week, which was actually the eighth best of all wide receivers. He also drew a target on 28% of his routes and his average depth of target was 18 yards. Those are great, great numbers for a rookie like Jalen Null, texans GM Nick Casario said about Jalen Noel this week. He's quote unquote earned his opportunity. So please Houston, let's just get this man on the football field. As of this recording, it seems like Nico Collins is unlikely going to play this week after suffering a concussion against Seattle. That should hopefully help Jalen Noel get on the field a bit more if Christian Kirk were to miss a second straight game as well. All it takes is one big game with these rookies before people jump all over them. So I would be stashing Jaylen Noel, who throws fingers crossed is actually going to get more opportunities in Week eight. The last player on our list this week is Chicago Bears tight end Colston Loveland, who's rostered in 23% of leagues. This is a slightly puzzling one to me because Cole Comet suffered a back injury last week against the Saints and didn't practice to open the week. So we could be in a spot here for Loveland to finally see the spike in snaps in production we have been waiting for all season, yet his roster percentage has actually dipped over the last two weeks. Again, I don't know Kemet's status for certain as of this recording, but even if he is playing banged up, I'd bet Loveland to be playing ahead of him this week. For these rookie tight ends, it always takes time, right? We often get mesmerized by the Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren this year, the Sam Laporta's of the world and make that our expectation for these guys when in reality it often takes half a season, if not a full entire season for these rookie tight ends to actually get acclimated to to the game Speed of NFL the reason I'm maintaining confidence in Colston Loveland though is because, number one, I'm a believer in the talent. He's a matchup problem at 6 foot 6, 248 with his acceleration. He finished with 35% of Michigan's receiving yards last year. That was the second highest of any FBS tight end. And Ben Johnson knows all of this, right? He's a smart dude. We saw him turn Sam Laporta into a stud during his rookie season and that upside still remains for Colston Loveland. The number two reason why I'm still maintaining hope though is because the Chicago Bears offense is only going to continue getting their footing. Ben Johnson came in and he had a lot of culture fixing to do with this team after the mess Shane Waldron & Co. Left it in last season. So Johnson was preaching basics, basics, basics all offseason and now that we see this offense starting to get its footing, we may start to see Ben Johnson install the expansion pack here for this offense. So what it comes down to though is that commitment for this week at least likely won't be 100% healthy. So we could see the snap shares flip between these two. And that's what ultimately sparks Loveland into being a high quality stash for me rest of season. Because we could finally see this upside start to hit in this Bears offense. And there you have it. My top five waiver wire stashes ahead of week eight. Again, these players are rostered in 30% of leagues or less. So go ahead, sprint to your waiver wire right now and make sure they're not picked up in any of your leagues. But, but before we sign off here though, remember we've got a special deal going on for you all. Unlock a month of Betting Pros Premium for free. Download the Betting Pros app today and use promo code FP1MONTH. Get access to tools like the same game Parlay tool, the Prop Bet Analyzer and the Prizepix Prop Bet Cheat Sheet. Don't miss out. Try it 100% free for one month. Now available both on iOS and Android.

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