In dynasty, you're always looking to add the guys who might be good tomorrow, if not today. Year-round, you scour the waiver wire hoping to find the next nobody in July or August who might be somebody in December, or NEXT September.
In my own dynasty league, here are some guys currently on the waiver wire (or regularly added and dropped from the bottom of rosters) who I'm monitoring. Maybe they're not available in yours; maybe they are.
A disclaimer: If you only play year-to-year leagues where you have brand new rosters each year, these guys probably aren't of interest to you. They won't be drafted -- shouldn't be drafted -- in typical 16-round drafts. If that's the case for you, I understand completely if you move along. But if you're in a dynasty league, or perhaps lining up later picks in a 28-round best-ball draft, enjoy.
Bub Means, Saints. When I was writing about my rookie draft a couple of months ago, someone asked about him. At the time I said I didn't expect him to be selected, and he wasn't, but he's been added and dropped once or twice to rosters since. You can't roster every sleeper. But the Pitt product has good size (6-1, 212) and some downfield ability, averaging over 17 yards per catch last year. The Saints selected him in the fifth round, and while they have lots of other candidates for snaps after Chris Olave, neither Rashid Shaheed or A.T. Perry has been productive enough to say that Means can't emerge as the long-term No. 2.
Trey Sermon, Colts. The 49ers have been to three straight NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl. Just imagine if they didn't keep wasting mid-round picks on running backs who wash out quickly for them, including Sermon (2021) and Tyrion Davis-Price (2022). Sermon is now with the Colts, and reports out of camp is that he, not Evan Hull, is the early favorite to serve as the backup for Jonathan Taylor. I'm not the most patient of dynasty coaches and figure if Sermon were going to break out he'd have shown a little something by now. But potential No. 2 running backs to franchise guys should be rostered in dynasty.
Gardner Minshew, Raiders. I believe Minshew's ceiling is low. He's had chances to run offenses in Jacksonville and last year, the Colts, and he's been good at times, but never great. Colorful dude and a capable quarterback with some running upside, but the league has basically spoken: not a franchise quarterback. Still, Aidan O'Connell doesn't strike me as an NFL starter either. And the Raiders didn't draft a quarterback in April, perhaps surprised by six going before their pick -- maybe they anticipated being able to select Michael Penix or Bo Nix. I think Minshew starts for them this year, and who's to say he doesn't start for them next year, too?
Bo Melton, Packers. Listen wiseguys, yes I'd rather have Dontayvion Wicks, or obviously Jayden Reed. But Reed definitely isn't available in any functioning dynasty league, and Wicks is rostered in a large percentage of them, including mine. But Christian Watson can't stay healthy and Romeo Doubs is just a guy. There's a non-zero chance that Melton is one of the Packers' top 3 wide receivers in a lot of games this year -- heck, even Wicks only did it for a couple of more games last year than Melton.
Dillon Johnson, Titans. While doing some research on Seattle's new offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, I was looking at his Washington Huskies college team last year. Johnson was a featured runner on that team, which was best known for its passing game, a factor perhaps in Johnson going undrafted. But the landing spot has promise from a dynasty perspective. This year, Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears will be the top 2. In 2025, who knows; both of those guys might have stumbled, opening the door for someone else. Johnson has to actually make the roster, so he's as long as longshots get. But I'll take him over Julius Chestnut or Hassan Haskins, at least for now.
Jordan Whittington, Rams. The Texas wideout was not on my radar prior to the draft. He fell to the sixth round. But considering his landing spot, he merits a look in deep dynasty leagues. Cooper Kupp, granted a third-round pick, exceeded expectations from the get-go. And Puka Nacua was just one of the best fifth-round wide receivers ever. The Rams have some success in plucking out and developing lightly regarded wide receivers. Whittington has good size (6-1, 205 pounds) but lacks speed and explosiveness, but could be a down-the-road option as a big slot receiver over the middle. He's not doing anything this year, but two years from now, maybe he's a guy we all wish we'd picked up.
Casey Washington, Falcons. Both Ian and I have talked up Darnell Mooney as Atlanta's No. 2 across from Drake London. But there's at least some merit to the concern that Mooney isn't actually that great; the last two years, since his 1,000-yard sophomore season, he's averaged just 2.6 receptions per game as a starter. And even if Mooney is legit, maybe there's room for a No. 3 wideout whose productive in a new offense that isn't flooding the field with tight ends. Washington is just a sixth-round pick but has good size (6-1, 197) and got some positive ink at minicamps and OTAs. He was one of the top receivers for Illinois last year, and a sign of how ordinary the Falcons' wide receiver depth is these days is that Ray-Ray McCloud was getting some first-team work last month.
Again: dynasty leagues. None of these guys might be 2024 factors; I'm not seeing the next Puca Nacua here. But I guarantee there will be some players in 2025 who are on rosters right now that will make an impact by them, and maybe one of these players is among them.
