4 Players to Stash in Fantasy Football Entering NFL Week 8

If you're consistently a step ahead of the competition in your fantasy football league, it can help you win a title, and this weekly piece will aim to help you stay ahead of the pack.

The goal here is to help you identify players who could be hot waiver adds down the road as well as to point out week-ahead pickups who could prove useful.

Here are some players to consider adding now and stashing on your bench for the future.

All fantasy football projections via our numbers at FanDuel Research, and NFL odds references are to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Fantasy Football Stash Candidates for Week 8

Kyle Monangai, RB, Bears

Since coming out of their bye week in Week 5, the Chicago Bears have inched closer to a split backfield workload between D'Andre Swift and rookie Kyle Monangai. During Chicago's victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 7, Monangai produced season-high marks in snap rate (46.3%), route rate (39.3%), scrimmage yards (94.0), and adjusted opportunities (carries plus 2x targets; 19.0), via Next Gen Stats, while he also found the end zone for the first time in his young career.

Despite Monangai seeing increased playing time, Swift has also looked great in his first two games out of the bye week, logging 156.5 scrimmage yards per game and 1.61 rushing yards over expected per attempt on 20.5 adjusted opportunities per game during that span. It remains to be seen if we can fully trust Monangai in our lineups on a weekly basis just yet, but he's certainly worth stashing on your bench in case his role expands even larger in the coming weeks.

Brashard Smith, RB, Chiefs

Up to this point, the Kansas City Chiefs' rushing attack has been non-existent, but it hasn't really mattered due to the team just fully leaning into the idea of letting Patrick Mahomes cook, which is undoubtedly an ideal strategy. While Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt continue to handle most of the carries out of the backfield, rookie Brashard Smith is beginning to get more opportunities, and he can carve out a valuable role down the stretch.

In each of his last four games, Smith has hauled in three-plus receptions, and while the Chiefs were blowing out the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7, he did lead KC's backfield with 19 touches (14 carries and 5 receptions). Even if Smith doesn't become the full-time starting back for the Chiefs, he can be a viable option if he earns a Jerick McKinnon-esque role as McKinnon was the RB21 in fantasy with Kansas City in 2022 because of his 56 catches, 512 receiving yards, and 9 receiving touchdowns.

Alec Pierce, WR, Colts

Although Luther Burden III and Jalen Coker are receivers I'd still be looking to stash on my bench right now, I wanted to include someone I have yet to mention this season. The Indianapolis Colts are proving to have one of the best offenses in the league right now, and with the team enduring injuries at the wide receiver spot, Alec Pierce is worth a look in deeper leagues where you need help at the position.

Besides Pierce having the second-highest snap rate (79.1%) and second-highest route rate (77.4%) among the Colts' wideouts this season, he's averaging the most receiving yards per game (63.4) on the team. After posting 5 receptions for 98 yards on 10 targets in Week 7 with Josh Downs sidelined, Pierce is seeing 4.6 downfield targets (targets of 10-plus yards) per game, and he's yet to find the end zone this season following a 2024 campaign where he notched 7 touchdowns.

Colston Loveland, TE, Bears

It hasn't been the start to the season that many wanted to see from rookie Colston Loveland, but there should be better days ahead for the first-year tight end. Amid Sunday's double-digit win against the Saints, Loveland logged career-bests in snap rate (67.2%) and route rate (57.1%) with Cole Kmet exiting with an injury.

In addition to Loveland catching 3 passes for 24 yards, the Bears are trusting him more as a blocker, and Ben Johnson even dialed up plays where the talented pass catcher was lined up out wide against a smaller defensive back to create advantageous looks. With Kmet dealing with an injury and producing underwhelming results up to this point, we should continue to see Loveland's playing time trend upward, making him a prime stash candidate at a thin position in fantasy.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.