‘Tis the season for fantasy football dynasty drafts and rookie drafts. There really isn’t a better time of the season to get together with your buddies and start another dynasty league or to have your rookie only draft. There’s also no better time to fleece someone in your dynasty league by buying buy-low on a player who could be a difference maker for you in the future. OK, that’s always a good time no matter what point in the season we’re at.
If you’re looking for how the first round of your rookie draft should go or who to target in the later rounds we have you covered. This piece is all about finding players to stash on your fantasy football dynasty roster. Whether that’s in a dynasty startup, a rookie only draft or simply through a trade.
The following players can also be viewed as buy-low candidates in dynasty leagues. Either way, these stash targets may not have an impact in 2024, but they could as soon as 2025. As great as it is to win a championship, it’s important to think ahead for the years to come so that you can win multiple championships. I believe the following players can be cornerstones for your roster.
Dynasty Stashes in Fantasy Football
Rookie Wide Receivers
Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
Jermaine Burton, Cincinnati Bengals
Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Javon Baker, New England Patriots
Malik Washington, Miami Dolphins
Brenden Rice, Los Angeles Chargers
Let’s start with a few rookie wide receivers to stash. From a redraft standpoint, Persall, Burton or McMillan may not make an impact at all in 2024. Apart from Persall, they’re all going outside the top 10 at their position in rookie drafts. They may not even crack your starting roster in your 14-team dynasty league. However, the future looks bright given their landing spots, and that’s especially true with Persall and Burton.
It’s possible Burton has a role this season with the departure of Tyler Boyd, but he could have a larger one next year should the Bengals part ways with Tee Higgins. After placing the franchise tag on Higgins this offseason, Cincinnati received a trade request from the disgruntled wideout. Even if he plays out this season, he could sign with a new team next year. Burton could be Joe Burrow’s number two option as early as 2025. There are also trade rumblings surrounded around Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, which could open up the door for Persall sooner rather than later. Either way, Kyle Shannahan is a special play caller and his team spent a first round pick on the polished route runner, so his outlook in San Francisco is promising. McMillan is unlikely to serve a big role this season, but he could be pending free agent Chris Godwin’s replacement in the slot next season. So could Trey Palmer. It’s a battle worth monitoring, but I believe in McMillan, and I don’t know if the Buccaneers believe in Palmer given the Day 2 selection of McMillan.
Wide Receivers
Dontayvion Wicks, Green Bay Packers
Cedric Tillman, Cleveland Browns
Andrei Iosivas, Cincinnati Bengals
A.T. Perry, New Orleans Saints
The Packers had the youngest wide receiver and tight end room in football last season. All eyes are on the likes of Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, but Wicks who had a decent rookie season with Green Bay. Wicks only caught eight passes over his first six games, but he finished with 29 over his final eight regular season games. He also scored four touchdowns in his final four games, including the playoffs. Watson hasn’t shown us that he can stay on the field, so Wicks’ strong finish to 2024 may carry over into 2025 and he could have a bigger role on your dynasty team pretty quickly.
Rookie Running Backs
Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
Jaylen Wright, Miami Dolphins
Isaac Guerendo, San Francisco 49ers
MarShawn Lloyd, Green Bay Packers
Audric Estimé, Denver Broncos
Benson should have a role this season as James Conner has never played a full season in the NFL. He’s also a free agent after this season. The Green Bay Packers could get out of Josh Jacobs’ contact as early as next season. That could happen, especially if they like what they see from MarShawn Lloyd in his rookie season. Jaylen Wright is part of a crowded running back room in Miami that consists of Raheem Mostert who led the NFL in rushing and total touchdowns last season, and De’Von Achane who had a sparkling 7.8 yards per carry in his rookie campaign. However, Mostert is a free agent in 2025 and Achane has already suffered multiple injuries. Wright has that speed Mike McDaniel and fantasy managers dream of. Guerendo has to play behind Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco, but tell me you don’t want a running back with Guerendo’s potential linked to Shanahan’s offense. I’ll wait.
Running Backs
Kendre Miller, New Orleans Saints
Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks
Roschon Johnson, Chicago Bears
Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens
Dameon Pierce, Houston Texans
Tank Bigsby, Jacksonville Jaguars
Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Zamir White would have been on this list this time last year after the Raiders placed the franchise tag on Josh Jacobs. Now that Jacobs is in Green Bay, White is one of the biggest offseason winners in dynasty leagues. Alvin Kamara isn’t a pending free agent like Jacobs was, but the soon-to-be 28-year-old hasn’t been breaking tackles and running away from defenders like he used to. The Saints selected Kendre Miller in the third round in 2023 and while he showed very little in year one (eight games), don’t be surprised if he starts to cut into Kamara’s workload in his sophomore season.
The stock for Charbonnet, Johnson, Mitchell and Bigsby are much lower this season than last year. The signings of Derrick Henry and D’Andre Swift hurt the outlook of Mitchell and Johnson, respectively. I’d be willing to stash Johnson despite the three-year contract for Swift in Chicago, and Henry only signed a two-year contract with Baltimore. The Ravens also let most of their running back depth walk through free agency. Charbonnet and Bigsby could have larger roles on their respective teams in two-to-three years. Charbonnet has a chance to be a bell-cow running back in the future.
What to do with Allgeier? If you’re a manager you already poured one out for him when the Atlanta Falcons drafted Bijan Robinson in the first round last season. Hopefully you sold high when he received more touches than he should have in his sophomore season. If not, you can look to flip him to the Robinson manager for a pick. If you’re old at the running back position, but you have a win-now roster, you could part with a late round pick in order to get Allgeier. It’s definitely a long-term play as I don’t expect him to get as many touches this year as he did last season with Arthur Smith out of town, but he’ll be a free agent in a couple of seasons. He already has a 1,000-yard season on his resume. It’s also possible a major injury happens to a running back and the Falcons decide to trade him to an RB needy team. This isn’t a home run stash, but it’s important to stockpile as much young running back depth as you can in dynasty formats.
Tight Ends
Isaiah Likely, Baltimore Ravens
Michael Mayer, Las Vegas Raiders
Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
Ben Sinnott, Washington Commanders
Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers
Sinnott and Sanders could have roles as early as this season. The path is clearer for Sanders, but the ceiling is higher for Sinnott. Likely proved last season he’s a top five tight end without Mark Andrews. The Ravens have to find a way to get Likely more touches even with Andrews on the field. Both players will be free agents in two seasons.
Mayer’s dynasty stock took a massive hit when the Raiders drafted Brock Bowers in the first round. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen two tight ends on the same team both be productive in fantasy football at the same time. It’s tough to stash a tight end as it could feel like a wasted roster spot. Having said that, Mayer could land on a new team in a couple of years. It’s a long wait, but the price is dirt cheap to acquire him and he could turn out to be a top-10 TE in the future.