Fantasy football waiver wire lookahead: 5 players to stash before Week 9

Next week, the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a bye. Combine that with this season's injuries, and the roster crunch is here. Who should you look to pick up now, before Sunday's games start?

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Pittsburgh Steelers

Rodgers is on bye this week, and generally, fantasy players don't love the idea of picking up a "non-usable" player. However, this hasn't been a normal fantasy season. We have two top-flight quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, on injured reserve. We have four teams on bye next week, so we have to operate a bit differently this year. Rodgers is up against the Bengals after the bye, which naturally sets up for a higher-scoring game. He posted 17 fantasy points or more in four of his last six games, which is pretty darn solid.

Seth McGowan, RB, Indianapolis Colts

The trade deadline is this coming Tuesday. What if the Colts trade Jonathan Taylor? That's the question a lot of people are asking, and the outcome would put McGowan in a spot for a ton of volume. Are the Colts bad? Yeah, but any running back who could be in line to see 15-plus touches a game will have fantasy value. He may not score a ton of touchdowns, but low-end RB2 work or a flex spot would be firmly on the table for McGowan if he became the Colts' starting running back.

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Antonio Williams, WR, Washington Commanders

There are two reasons why I would stash Williams. First, there's a clear opening in the Commanders' passing game with Terry McLaurin out for the rest of the season. Second, there are a few rumors that the Commanders could look to trade Stefon Diggs, as some teams in the playoff hunt could use a veteran wide receiver. Williams saw a team-high seven targets in the first full game without McLaurin, and that should be his floor moving forward.

Mack Hollins, WR, New England Patriots

Depending on how deep your league is, Hollins might need to be on your radar. A.J. Brown is back from IR, but he didn't play last week and is questionable for this week. Romeo Doubs is still on IR. Hunter Henry left last week's game early and is questionable for this week. There's no denying Hollins didn't play a massive role before his stint on IR, but the snap share should be there for him, and low-end WR2 production could be his potential.

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Terrance Ferguson, TE, Los Angeles Rams

Ferguson has been on IR since Week 4, but has returned to practice this week, albeit in a limited capacity. If he's not activated off of IR for this Sunday's game, he could be good to go next week. Given the fact that the Rams are still without Davante Adams, there's a bit of an opening in the passing game. While Puka Nacua dominates the overall target share, Ferguson − who had a ton of offseason hype − could be in line for an emerging role.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fantasy football waiver wire lookahead: 5 players to stash before Week 9