Top five fantasy football players to stash for NFL Week 8

With potential injuries to marquee names like Jayden Daniels and Zay Flowers freeing roster spots, Dan Johnson gives you his top five fantasy football stash players for Week 8.

Fridays are for Five Lists of Five here at DKNetwork, and it’s both Week 8 and National Tight Ends day! You know what that means: we’re going to try to fit at least one tight end per list, so long as I earnestly believe they belong there.

A reminder of the premise behind this specific series of lists: All I want is for you to be better than your friends. You’re going to be surrounded by them on Sunday, probably. How sweet would it be if you could be sure you’ve checked every box possible that might guarantee you a resounding victory this week? Some kick-your-feet-up insights? I’ve got some.

Again—I know my audience. The smoke-break audience. The quick-scan-of-the-phone-on-the-way-to-the-fridge audience. The give-me-as-much-info-as-possible-as-fast-as-possible audience. I’m a man of the people.

And so, once more: Five Lists of Five. Think of these as byte-sized, two-minutes-to-yourself lists to scan during your weekend as you foam at the mouth for any competitive fantasy edge. As much relevant analysis as I can fit into, like, 250 words per player.

Kicking things off this week with my five best players to stash ahead of Week 8.

Also available from this week’s Five Lists of Five:

Stash ’em

Keaton Mitchell, RB, Baltimore Ravens (3.5% rostered)

Chalk stash, here. And, frankly, I’m a major Justice Hill fan; I don’t think he’s going to lose his role altogether when Keaton Mitchell returns from his torn-ACL recovery. But Mitchell was among the league-leaders for running backs in explosive plays in 2023, and the Ravens aren’t going to just forget about him.

You could do worse than stash a guy like Keaton Mitchell, who will absolutely find the end zone a few times before the fantasy regular season ends.

Taysom Hill, TE, New Orleans Saints (19.4% rostered)

One tight end per list for National Tight Ends day! A repeat name, here. Why? I wrote about it earlier this week. An excerpt:

Hence: Taysom Hill. For just about the last five years, he’s sort of been the Saints’ super-utility fantasy asset who savvy managers roster before his boom takes off.

To give you a sense of the history, here’s how many games after Week 7 of that year’s NFL season (but before Week 17, when most fantasy playoffs end) Taysom Hill scored over ten half-PPR fantasy points:

  • 2023: 5 (two of these were 20+ FPT games)
  • 2022: 4
  • 2021: 3* (*Hill only played in six games between Weeks 8 and 17 in 2021; two of the three listed here were 20+ FPT games)
  • 2020: 8 (five of these were 15+ FPT games; two were 20+ FPT efforts)
  • 2019: 3

For those who don’t want to do the math, there are ten total weeks in between Week 8 and Week 17. At his worst, Hill is providing 10+ FPTs from your tight end slot 30% of the time for the second half of the season. I really do expect this to be a trend that continues this year.

Provided Hill stays healthy, I expect the Saints offense to feature him and their newly-extended superstar Alvin Kamara, primarily, in this offense in the short game. There’s a ton of value to be had there, potentially and historically.

Too much value at a terrible roster slot to not consider Hill going forward.

Kendre Miller, RB, New Orleans Saints (7.7% rostered)

Two Saints in one list? Now that’s spicy. A little chalk here, too. Kendre Miller is to the Saints what Kimani Vidal could be for the Chargers. Miller himself has drawn comparisons to the back for whom he’ll play understudy—Alvin Kamara. It feels like every day-two-or-day-three running back that gets taken in drafts these days gets compared to AK. No different for Kendre Miller.

Miller’s pedigree at TCU is exactly why we’d love to catch his lightning in a bottle, but, to be honest, it’s fair to be concerned about his durability. He’s been off the field too much in his first two NFL years.

However, Jamaal Williams, for all his endearing qualities, is not exactly the most explosive backup running back. Kendre Miller would have plenty of opportunity to carve a role for himself on this offense if he could stay healthy.

Jalen Coker, WR, Carolina Panthers (0.1% rostered)

My colleague, Zach Thompson, wrote about stashing Jalen Coker last week against the Commanders. Rumors around Diontae Johnson getting shipped to a contender before the trade deadline aren’t exactly molten right now, but the fire is still stoked.

Same with Adam Thielen, who’s on IR anyways. And what a woof of a letdown Jonathan Mingo’s been, huh?

Zach said that Coker might start to climb the depth chart one way or another, and provided some context on Coker’s pedigree:

Coker flashed a little bit with a touchdown and 55 yards against the Bills in the final game of the Preseason but still landed on the team’s practice squad to start the year. He was promoted in Week 4 after a hamstring injury landed Adam Thielen on IR. He only played 10 snaps in hs NFL debut but stepped up and led the team in receiving yards two weeks ago against the Bears, catching 4-of-4 targets for 68 yards and 10.8 fantasy points.

Most of that production came in garbage time, but it earned him more work last week against the Falcons. He hauled in 3-of-3 targets for 30 yards in that contest. He played a season-high 65% of snaps in that game and out-snapped Jonathan Mingo who he seems to have passed on the depth chart.

Catching passes from Bryce Young doesn’t sound like a stash-worthy asset. But he might soon be the WR2, or even WR1, in an NFL offense.

Ray Davis, RB, Buffalo Bills (16.8% rostered)

Still only 16.8% rostered! How easily we jettison potential insurance plays!

Davis’s five carries against the Titans last week were, of course, as second-fiddle to James Cooks’s as his role was. But he’s one of the best handcuffs in all of fantasy football. Get him on your rosters today.


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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.


I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is thegreatdansby9) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information

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