Week-Ahead Stash Candidates for Week 5

This weekly article series will attempt to help you in two ways. First, we are going to be examining players who may not be the hot waiver pickups of the week. This will save you Free Agent Auction Bucks (FAAB) or waiver priority for when you need it most. Second, we will be diving into stats and trends that point to players improving their fantasy scores next week, not this current week. The goal is to sift through the rough to find those diamonds who emerge every single year, except you won't be sweating over whether or not you claimed them on waivers, because you will already own them. At least that's the goal.

Here's the third transparency report of the season. Before Week 3, I told you to grab these guys for a Week 4 start. Here's how they did:

It was kind of a rough week for me. A poor Case Keenum ended up hobbling Courtland Sutton, and Anthony Miller sat out with a shoulder injury. The bright point from this set of names is definitely Nick Chubb. If you were lucky enough to grab and stash him, you may be reaping the benefits soon, following a 100-yard, 2-touchdown performance.

Now, on to next week! Here are some guys who may not be startable for Week 5 but could be valuable next week and beyond. So, if you have space, add them now or hope that they fall through waivers after this week.

Jameis Winston

Yahoo Ownership: 15%

Well, unfortunately, the FitzMagic is gone. Midway through the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears, Ryan Fitzpatrick was benched for Jameis Winston. Winston didn't really do that great -- he completed 18 of 20 passes for 145 passing yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Luckily, this plays into one of the main reasons that Winston is a good pickup this week. Many waiver articles are telling fantasy fans to pick him up, but I think he will slip through the cracks for many leagues because of the Buccaneers' bye week being Week 5.

In Week 6, the Bucs will play against the hobbled Atlanta Falcons defense. Through the first four weeks, the Falcons have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to the quarterback position. In the Falcons' last two games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the New Orleans Saints, they have given up 80 combined points and and 802 yards of offense. Winston is stepping back into the starting QB role with one thing on his mind: keeping his job long term.

Blowing out the Falcons is a good way to get that ball rolling.

Ty Montgomery, RB, Green Bay Packers

Yahoo Ownership: 18%

Aaron Jones may be the new hotness in Green Bay right now, but I think that there is still fantasy value in Ty Montgomery. The key to Montgomery is knowing when to find spots to play him.

Last week against the Buffalo Bills, Aaron Rodgers found Montgomery twice on three targets -- once for 13 yards and again for 43 yards. Montgomery is a receiver by trade, so his pass-catching skills are well refined. Jones and Jamaal Williams are not known for catching passes, so Montgomery's role should stay constant even with Jones in the picture. Randall Cobb being banged up with a hamstring injury leaves more targets to be acquired for Montgomery, too.

Week 5 will be more of an Aaron Jones week, as the Detroit Lions are giving up the most rushing yards to running backs so far this year. So, I am looking forward to Week 6 for Montgomery. In Week 6, the Green Bay Packers will be playing against the San Francisco 49ers. And while the game script might not seem to favor the pass-catching running back, with Jimmy Garoppolo out for the season with a torn ACL, the 49ers have quietly given up the second-most receptions to the running back position. Their defensive line has also been somewhat stout against the ground game, only allowing 337 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Rodgers and company should be using Montgomery often to get around the Niners' front seven.

Tyler Kroft, TE, Cincinnati Bengals

Yahoo Ownership: 3%

While some leagues might not have their waivers cleared yet for some reason, Tyler Kroft's ownership is still way too low. Fellow Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert is done for the year with a broken ankle. That leaves Kroft to once again assume the lead tight end role for the Bengals for the remainder of the 2018 season.

Kroft started 14 games in 2017, because of another Eifert injury. In those games, he averaged 2.9 receptions, 28.5 receiving yards and 0.5 touchdowns per game. Not pretty numbers, but his 7 touchdowns in 14 games is somewhat promising for big weeks. The Bengals offense is also clicking much better this year since new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor had a full offseason to develop his playbook.

Figuring out which weeks Kroft will be worth a start might be tough at first, but I know it won't be against the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins have not given up a touchdown to the tight end position so far this year. They are one of seven teams to do so. Instead, I will give Kroft a chance in Week 6, where he will be playing against the sieve-like Pittsburgh Steelers pass defense. The Steelers have allowed 30 receptions to the tight end position through 4 games, good for most in the NFL. They have also allowed three touchdowns -- although two were from Travis Kelce in Week 2. Still, the Bengals should have no issue passing against the Steelers, and Kroft stands to benefit from that.

Muhamed Sanu, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Yahoo Ownership: 23%

Everyone is fawning over Atlanta Falcons rookie wide receiver Calvin Ridley, and rightfully so. The first-year receiver now has six touchdowns through four weeks, which is definitely impressive. Meanwhile, Mohamed Sanu garnered a sneaky nine targets in Week 4, which he turned into six receptions for 111 yards. In fact, Sanu is out-targeting Ridley 24 to 21 so far this season. Sanu has also had more air yards than Ridley in two of the four weeks. Ridley's touchdowns have been impressive, but a touchdown per target rate of 28.6% is going to regress back to the mean sooner rather than later.

Sanu is still in that "low-owned" category, while Ridley has been the hot pick-up for point chasing fantasy players. In Week 6, the Falcons face the horrificTampa Bay Buccaneers secondary. Many will start Ridley as a flex or WR2 in this game, but I'm going to pivot over to Sanu.

Obviously, the Bucs defense has been awful in coverage this season -- they have allowed nine receiving touchdowns to opposing wide outs so far -- but Sanu has a good track record against the divisional opponent since becoming a Falcon. In four games in the last two years, Sanu has averaged 7.25 targets, 5.0 receptions and 60.3 receiving yards per game. Sanu will be a sneaky flex option in deeper leagues if you have Lions or Saints receivers on bye.

Willie Snead, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Yahoo Ownership: 5%

If I had told you before the season that the Baltimore Ravens were eighth in the league in passing yards heading into Week 5, you'd probably call me nuts. But here we are. Joe Flacco is currently averaging 313 yards and two touchdowns per game. The Ravens drafting Lamar Jackson seems to have lit a fire under Flacco, and it's showing on the field. The Ravens also revamped their receiving corps this offense with John Brown, Michael Crabtree and Willie Snead. So far, 'Smokey' John Brown has been very productive, and he has been excelling as the team's top option. Crabtree is currently leading the team in targets, but he has been fairly unimpressive with his chances. He's only caught 19 of his 35 targets for 192 yards to date.

Meanwhile, Willie Snead has been much more efficient, catching 19 of 27 targets for 206 yards. He is also currently leading the Ravens' wide receivers in yards after the catch with 92. And Week 6 is a juicy matchup for Snead and the Ravens.

They will be taking on the Tennessee Titans, who are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Also, the Titans recently lost starting safety Kenny Vaccaro, who will be out 2-4 weeks with a dislocated elbow. If Snead continues to outperform the 31-year-old Crabtree, he could experience a huge breakout week against the Titans. He is playing 72% of his snaps from the slot, where he will most likely see slot cornerback Logan Ryan, who has allowed a 76.9% catch rate through Week 4, including three weeks of a 100% catch rate against.