Dynasty Waivers of the Future: Week 3

Every week, I gaze into my crystal football to find deep-league and dynasty waiver darlings who could emerge in the coming weeks, so you can acquire them now for practically nothing. I'm looking for players with a plausible path toward playing time for at least a few weeks, but not necessarily this season. I'm only looking for players who are rostered in fewer than one-third of Sleeper dynasty leagues, because players above that threshold are typically already gone in deeper leagues.

Even the deepest rosters don't have unlimited bench space, so look ahead for potential holes as injuries mount and bye weeks take healthy players out of your lineup as you decide whether to take a flier on these deep dynasty stashes.

Injuries to Jayden Daniels and Caleb Williams last week remind us to watch backup quarterbacks in our Superflex leagues. Since I can't roster every potential fill-in starter, I look for backups with a longer shelf life than one season, preferring rookies and early-career players over journeymen veterans. Last week, I highlighted Jalon Daniels, who beat out Jake Browning to be the only rostered backup to Baker Mayfield. 

QB Joe Fagnano, Baltimore (3% Rostered)

Joe Fagnano (pronounced fin-YAN-oh) arrived at Baltimore via a rookie minicamp tryout, where he earned an invitation to training camp over Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia. When Skylar Thompson was placed on season-ending injured reserve, Fagnano began to see more reps in practice. He played in all three of the Ravens' preseason games, completing 75 percent of his pass attempts for 509 yards while throwing three touchdowns versus one interception. As our Jeff Bell noted, it's rare for the Ravens to carry three quarterbacks on their 53-man roster, but Fagnano earned his spot. "You don't want to let good players like that leave your building," said head coach Jesse Minter. "This is a guy that took advantage of every rep. And then, when his number was called, and the lights were on, he really performed." 

Walking onto a team and earning a role is not new to "Cinderella Man," a nickname Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta gave him. Fagnano was a walk-on at the University of Maine in 2019 after receiving no FBS scholarship offers. He played well in relief of the Black Bears' injured starting quarterback and eventually earned the starting role. He transferred to Connecticut, where he played two seasons and took over for an injured starter. Last season, Fagnano was the only FBS quarterback with at least 210 dropbacks and fewer than two interceptions, according to The Athletic's Dane Brugler. 

Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley are signed through 2027, so Fagnano's only short-term route to playing time requires both of them to miss time together. The Ravens could also bring in a veteran quarterback in that scenario. View Fagnano as a longer-term project, best for managers whose leagues permit second- or third-year players to be eligible for taxi squads. Take the opportunity to get Fagnano now and park him before an injury moves him into the QB2 role, and he appears on your leaguemates' radar screens.

WR Josh Cameron, Jacksonville (22% Rostered)