Every league has that one manager. You know the type. A starter goes down on Sunday afternoon, and before you can even refresh the waiver wire, you see the backup is already on their bench. They grabbed him two weeks ago. You check the transaction log, and they’ve been quietly stashing handcuffs and backups all season.

It’s frustrating. But they’re not lucky. They’re just a step ahead.

The NFL trade deadline is next Tuesday, and that’s our chance to be that manager. When a veteran gets shipped out, someone on the depth chart inherits his role. By Wednesday, that player is the top waiver claim, and everyone’s throwing half their FAB at him. Or we can be proactive and make the move before the NFL decides for us. Here are the players worth stashing now who could benefit when their teammates get traded.

Keenan Allen, WR, Colts

As of this writing, Keenan Allen sits at a 59% roster rate, so he’s likely sitting on someone’s bench in your league. But the Colts have a couple of pockets in their schedule that make the veteran WR a worthy target in negotiations independent of what happens on Tuesday. Three of his next four matchups will be against secondaries above the league average in PPG allowed to WRs. And he has a similar setup during the fantasy playoffs (at TEN, vs. CIN). More importantly, the volume has been there for Allen even with the current personnel in Indianapolis.

So, two things from this clip of Allen from last Sunday. First, look who’s throwing to him. Anthony Richardson came in for the final few drives. He only attempted three passes. Two of those throws went toward Allen. Second, check the time. It’s the fourth quarter, the team is down by double digits and the 34-year-old vet is still hoarding the opportunities. He had a 42.9% target share in the fourth quarter alone. But even before Week 8, Allen was siphoning looks away from the younger talent.

• Targets per Route Run: 26.7%, 1st (of all Colts pass-catchers)

• Target Rate in 3rd & 7+: 23.1%, 1st 

• TPRR when QB Pressured: 17.5%, 1st 

Of course, the immediate concern is tying yourself to Daniel Jones. Even before the Colts started making deals, Jones ranked 30th in CPOE amongst all starters. But he hasn’t had any issues getting the ball to Allen. His 80% catchable target rate sits at ninth among all WRs (min. 175 routes). Even with Downs, Allen has WR3 appeal in PPR leagues. If the Colts come out the other side of the trade deadline minus one receiver, Allen becomes a low-end WR2.

Ryan Flournoy, WR, Cowboys

So, I don’t want to overreact to a few games of Ryan Flournoy playing well. That’d be a short-sighted, results-based take. Let’s look at the bigger picture. Let’s start in 2026.

• EPA per Target: 0.33 (Lamb), 0.42 (Pickens), 0.34 (Flournoy)

• First Downs per Target: 44.6%, 45.2%, 38.6%

• Explosive Play Rate: 14.9%, 21.0%, 17.8%

At 44 targets through Week 8, Flournoy’s workload is less than half of Lamb’s, and he’s 18 looks behind Pickens. But he’s making a similar impact on the offense as the primary duo. Even though most of his routes only amount to him getting his cardio workout for the day, Flournoy has generated just nine fewer first downs than Pickens. He’s averaging more YAC per reception than Lamb (4.8 yards to 3.5). However, before you say this guy came out of nowhere, let’s go back to 2025.

Of the 93 WRs with 250 or more routes last year, Flournoy ranked 11th in first downs per route run. Across the 12 games where all three Dallas WRs were active, Dak Prescott had the highest passer rating when targeting Flournoy. He’s also opened up running lanes for his teammates downfield as a blocker. Essentially, even if Dallas doesn’t move on from Pickens, Flournoy’s track record has shown he should be a larger part of the passing game. That’s why the last few weeks, while irritating to gamers who roster Pickens, haven’t been surprising.

• Week 6: 12.9% (Plays w/ 2+ TEs), 4.3% (Plays w/ 6+ OL), 1.7% (Flournoy 2WR Snap Rate)

• Week 7: 24.6%, 13.8%, 16.0%

• Week 8: 37.5%, 20.8%, 18.4%

Over the last two weeks, Dallas’ play-calling has shifted to being more run-focused (-11.4% and -2.8% PROE in Weeks 7 and 8). Typically, that’d pull Flournoy off the field in favor of the Cowboys’ top two. Instead, he’s played more and scored his second TD of the season in the process. Flournoy is already creeping into WR3 territory as TE production in Dallas wanes. If the WR room also thins out at the deadline, Flournoy could go from a WR3 to a weekly starter overnight.

Nick Singleton/Tyjae Spears, RBs, Titans

I already re-lived the rollercoaster my Bengals put me through on Sunday. But at least I got to do it from Joe Burrow’s perspective. However, now I need to look at it from Tennessee’s side. Because it’s easy to say Tony Pollard has made himself a secondary option for teams in the Jonathan Taylor sweepstakes. But he didn’t do it on his own.

Just rewatching Pollard’s TD run, he was four yards past the line of scrimmage before somebody in orange and black got a hand on him. But the line has been slowly giving him better lanes over the last month. His rushing success rate was as low as 35.7% in Week 5, but has steadily picked up to 50+% over the last two weeks. To go with the added efficiency, Pollard’s rate of carries where defenders have met him at or behind the LoS has decreased (65% in Week 6 down to 42.9%). Coupled with the fact that the Titans’ PROE falls to -9.7% when they’re in scoring position, if Pollard had a new home by next Wednesday, Singleton, who has an RB1 athletic profile, would be able to excel in the right matchups. But they wouldn’t have to do it as rushers alone.

While Tyjae Spears was healthy, Cam Ward was targeting his RBs on 19.6% of his dropbacks. Since then, it’s been down to 12.0%. Despite averaging 21.7 attempts per game as the starter, Pollard has only earned 2.3 targets a week. Spears alone was up to an 11% target rate before getting injured. Assuming a change in the backfield rotation, his utility in PPR leagues should have FLEX appeal. But before you rush to the waiver wire, be sure to check out the Titans’ schedule.

Tennessee will face Jacksonville in Weeks 10 and 12. They’ve allowed 68.3 rushing YPG all season. In other words, there won’t be a line to acquire either RB via waivers. But if you check the wire afterward, you’ll likely be able to stash either on your bench for free.