Welcome to Dynasty Nerds’ newest series: Deep Dynasty Stashes. In this series, we will look at players who you could stash on your taxi squad or at the bottom of your bench to see if there is a progression in these players to make a possible impact on your fantasy rosters.
Darnell Mooney, WR ATL
One of the quieter moves Atlanta made in the offseason was signing former 1,000-yard receiver Darnell Mooney. He signed a three-year, $39 million contract, which is significant money. Mooney is currently projected to be Atlanta’s WR2 and is ranked WR88 in consensus rankings among the Nerds staff.
Head Coach Raheem Morris brought in Zac Robinson to be his offensive coordinator. Robinson comes from the Sean McVay coaching tree, which tends to have offensive fantasy success. Mooney has sneaky PPR value. Kirk Cousins has shown he can sustain numerous fantasy options during his time in Minnesota (Jefferson, Hockenson, and Addison). I would start my negotiations for Mooney off at a 2024 fourth-rounder but settle for a third to ensure the deal gets done.
Ja’Tavion Sanders, TE CAR
Carolina reloaded their weapons for quarterback Bryce Young. The Panthers traded for former Pro Bowl receiver Diontae Johnson. They drafted wide receiver Xavier Legette in the first round and running back Jonathon Brooks in the second round.
Another addition was rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders. Coming into the draft, Sanders was hyped by many in the community as their rookie TE2 due to his hands and ability to stretch the field vertically. Head Coach Dave Canales’s only season as an offensive coordinator was in Tampa Bay. There, TE Cade Otton finished as TE20, finishing fifth in team targets. I would look to grab Sanders in the late third or early fourth rounds of your rookie drafts.
Spencer Rattler, QB NOS
Rattler is obviously well known in the NFL and fantasy community due to his appearance on the Netflix series QB1. And for famously being replaced by Caleb Williams at Oklahoma. It has come to light that Rattler fell to the fifth round in the NFL Draft due to GM’s concerns about his character, which were highlighted on the show.
However, let us not forget that Rattler was a high school kid for that filming of the show and has grown tremendously. Rattler was easily the most impressive quarterback at the Senior Bowl. The leash on Derek Carr could be short, given his massive contract and his failure to lead the team to the playoffs. The leash on Head Coach Dennis Allen has to be even shorter. He has a 16-18 record with the team and they haven’t been to the postseason since 2020. Rattler is going in the fourth round of most rookie drafts, and that’s the area in which I would be targeting him as well.
Trey Palmer, WR TBB
Tampa Bay was very active during the NFL draft, selecting several offensive skill players, including running back Bucky Irving, TE Devin Culp, and WR Jalen McMillan. Many have already projected McMillan as Tampa Bay’s WR3, but let’s pump the brakes on those thoughts.
That role is currently occupied by second-year player Trey Palmer, who has seemingly been kicked to the curb. In 2023, Palmer ranked fourth on the team in targets and finished his rookie campaign with 39 receptions, 385 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. In 2023, Palmer was miscast into a slot role. New offensive coordinator Liam Coen is on record for saying he wants to put Chris Godwin back in the slot where he saw most of his career success. That leaves the outside wide open to feature Palmer’s 4.3 speed.
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