Zach Zenner has taken on a larger role for the struggling Lions

For regular leagues, it’s fairly easy to figure out who the hot waiver names are to add. For dynasty leagues, however, it is much tougher, since the prospects of a player’s entire career must be considered. Put simply, every roster spot on your dynasty team could be considered a commodity, and you need to make the most of each one. This series will focus on adding those players that may, or may not, help you this year, but can help you down the road.

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Zach Zenner – RB – DET

He is a 24-year-old rookie who started the season buried on the depth chart. However, after an injury to Joique Bell, coupled with the Lions offense looking like garbage this season, he is starting to earn more trust out of necessity.

Many people see Ameer Abdullah as the more explosive player – and he is. However, he’s also a more of a change of pace, lightning in a bottle type back than a bruiser who can carry a full load. This is where Zenner comes in. Zenner has the potential to be the bell-cow RB eventually in Detroit, using his one-cut, downhill rushing style to his advantage.

Kamar Aiken – WR – BAL

Aiken is a journeyman receiver, going undrafted and from place to place since 2011 until now, where he’s finally found a home this season in Baltimore. Steve Smith’s injury has him thrusted into fantasy relevance. His Week 5 spotlight started strong, with four catches for 73 yards, but then faded in the second half. He’s got some maturing to do to grow, but under the right circumstance, he could use his speed to be a good role player for the Ravens, and a flex player for your fantasy team.

Charcandrick West – RB – KC

West made the Chiefs this offseason and has since passed perennial handcuffing-back Knile Davis for the right to lead the offense himself. He goes from unknown to now immediate RB2 material. He’s worth an add in all leagues, especially in dynasty, since he was already on the cusp of being rostered. Next season, Jamaal Charles will be 29 years old with two major knee injuries to his name. West ran an unofficial 4.27 at his pro day last year, which turned some heads, but not enough to make an immediate splash. The time is now.

Jamison Crowder – WR – WSH

Crowder has already made his splash in the NFL, filling in and picking up the slack in the Redskins offense, but in case he’s still available in your league, check him out. He’s a 22-year-old rookie who has 21 catches throughout the last three games, and has great instant speed. His knock on draft day was his hands, but his target to catch conversion rate has been over 82% through five weeks (23 catches on 28 targets).

Jaelen Strong – WR – HOU

In the short term, it’s hard to give the nod to Strong. However, when we talk dynasty, Strong has made a case this past week as somebody who might step up alongside DeAndre Hopkins. None of the other receivers on the team are healthy or good enough to compete with Strong. If he was able to polish his skills, more performances like the one on Thursday night will show the Houston coaching staff that he’s the guy that should continue to get playing time and opportunity to develop. After all, Houston is 1-4, so the time for seeing what they have in young talent isn’t as far away as it seemed only a few weeks ago. Plus, the quarterback situation can’t be terrible for his entire career.

Crockett Gillmore – TE – BAL

Gillmore hasn’t played since Week 3, which was the week after he broke out for two touchdowns against the Raiders. If a tight end-needy team got impatient and dropped him, now is your time to scoop Gillmore up. When you add up his physical traits (Gillmore is behemoth of a man at 6-foot-6) and the opportunity for playmakers on the Baltimore offense with Steve Smith retiring after this season, it makes sense that he could be in line to be the next big thing at tight end.

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Brian Riedmiller is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Brian, check out his website, FantasyPros archive or follow him @FantasyCouncil.