Every week, I gaze into my crystal football to find deep-league and dynasty waiver darlings who could emerge later, so you can acquire them now for practically nothing. I'm looking for players with a plausible path toward playing time, 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. Look ahead for roster holes when injuries mount and bye weeks take healthy players out of your lineup, as you decide whether to take a flier on these potential dynasty stashes.
TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, Dallas (7% Rostered)
When I highlighted Brevyn Spann-Ford in Week 2, I theorized that his fantasy relevance depended on an injury to Jake Ferguson, the Cowboys' unquestioned TE1 for the last three years. Ferguson was indeed injured Sunday against the Cardinals, and Luke Schoonmaker wasn't active. Spann-Ford played a career-high 88 percent snap share. However, he was already taking on a bigger role before Ferguson left the game, having played every snap during the first two drives. The balance was already tipping toward Spann-Ford. In Weeks 6 and 7, Spann-Ford played nearly as many snaps as Ferguson and out-targeted him, seven to four. Spann-Ford's 0.23 targets per route run is second on the team behind CeeDee Lamb.
Spann-Ford signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and made the initial 53-man roster. He has played in every regular-season game since, and he leapfrogged Schoonmaker for the role of Ferguson's primary backup in training camp. Spann-Ford has consistently demonstrated tenacious run-blocking and reliable pass-catching, particularly downfield. The Cowboys signed him to a three-year contract extension before the season started. Ferguson is signed through 2029, but the Cowboys have a potential out after this season, which would create $12 million in dead cap. Schoonmaker is a free agent after the season.
Ferguson entered the week as the fantasy TE26 in PPR formats, and nearly half of his fantasy points came from one game. Though he's been a fantasy TE1 in two of his four seasons, including last year's TE4 finish, he should be viewed as no more than a low-end TE2 going forward. If you have Ferguson on your roster, you should acquire Spann-Ford. He's otherwise a speculative pickup who could effectively be the Cowboys' TE1 as early as next season.
QB Quinn Ewers, Jacksonville (28% Rostered)
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