My colleague Jeff Blaylock and I gaze into our crystal footballs each week to find players who may become popular waiver targets in the future so that you can pick them up now for next to nothing. We'll start with our priorities, then gaze deeper for lightly rostered gems who have been largely ignored by dynasty managers so far.

JOSH: We are fully into the Spooky Season and my kids brought home a lot of candy so the Dad Tax was huge and I am frankly all sugared up right now and writing this from my ceiling with a very loose grip on things like punctuation and time and space. 

Something big is happening this week, though, right, Jeff?

JEFF: I think what Josh is trying to say is we're writing this the day before the trade deadline, so our visions of the far future may get upended by events of the immediate future.

JOSH: Yes, that's what I was trying to say. But there is nougat stuck in my keyboard, and the words just won't come out. Anyway, with my sugar high fully engaged and Jeff as the adult in the room, let's get to this week's choices.

Priority Pickups

QB Tyson Bagent, Chicago Bears (15% Rostered)

JOSH: It has been fun to watch Bagent's career as he's seized a valuable spot as the backup quarterback in Chicago. He was an unheralded prospect out of high school who went to Division II Shepherd University. He had enough success at Shepherd that he received offers to leave for bigger schools, but he chose to stay. His dad is a multiple-time world champion arm-wrestler who started left-handed, got bored with winning that way, and then switched to right-handed and won several more world titles.

Go ahead, read that last sentence again. I'll wait. Good? Ok.

So that's the kind of grit Bagent brought to the NFL, and the Bears like what they've seen as they rewarded him with a two-year contract extension before the season. He won't overtake Caleb Williams as the starter in Chicago, but if Williams is injured, Bagent is a talented and driven young prospect who would be paired with Ben Johnson's top-flight offensive mind and surrounded by young weapons at wide receiver and tight end. Bagent is worth stashing, especially if you are in a superflex league or a single-quarterback league where you also have Williams.

RB Chris Rodriguez Jr., Washington (49% Rostered)

JEFF: Rodriguez has led the Commanders in rushing yardage twice and in rushing attempts three times, two of those being ties with Jacory Croskey-Merritt. He's had double-digit snap counts four times. More than 80 percent of his rushing yards have come after contact (YAC), and he's sixth in the league in YAC per attempt among running backs with at least 30 rushing attempts. He's averaging 5.4 yards per carry rushing inside the tackles, which ranks fourth in the league among backs with at least 25 such runs. He's one of nine backs to reach 20 miles per hour on a run inside the tackles, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Not bad for a team's RB2.

Washington selected Chris Rodriguez Jr. in the sixth round of the 2023 draft. He has 604 rushing yards on 125 career attempts with six touchdowns. He has not been a receiving threat, but he has caught all three career targets. He averaged 6.2 yards per carry in five years at Kentucky, and his average yards per game increased every season. Since his pro career began, he has handled 14 goal-to-go carries, second-most on the team in that span behind Brian Robinson Jr, who is now a 49er. He has converted four of those attempts into touchdowns. This season, he has four goal-to-goal attempts, one fewer than Croskey-Merritt.

Dynasty managers can never have too much depth at running back. Bye weeks and injuries often force backups into our starting lineups in the second half of the fantasy season. I'm not expecting Rodriguez to threaten Croskey-Merritt's lead role, but he's one of the more capable backs who might have to step up at some point this season, even if the starter is healthy. If Rodriguez is on the waiver wire in your league, chances are high that he's the best running back available unless it's a small-bench league. He's a priority add for deeper leagues, and he's a smart speculative add for shallower leagues. 

JOSH: The way you know for sure he's a good pickup is that I have added and dropped him multiple times this year. Most recently, I dropped him. Career week is incoming.

Deep Darts