“There’s gold in dem thar hills” – Bugs Bunny
5 Players under 5% Owned
With three weeks, four for some, behind us in the college fantasy football season, it’s a great time in the schedule to take advantage of some of the under-owned contributors. All the players mentioned in this write-up hold value while sitting under 5% roster share and are either producing or on the verge of entering stardom. It’s time to get in on the floor before the potential market surge and your league mates start to catch up.
The major goal here is to separate the key unsung players from the one-week standouts who are here today and gone tomorrow. These players are in no specific order, so add them where you need them on your roster.
WR • Semaj Morgan • UCLA Bruins • Rostered 4% • 11.27FP/PG
2026 Stats • 18 Targets, 12 Receptions, 158 Receiving Yards, 2 TDs
2026 Pace • 72 Targets, 48 Receptions, 631 Receiving Yards, 8 TDs
Don’t let the pace fool you with Semaj Morgan. In the three games he’s played, he saw eight targets in two and two in the other. Morgan has also posted over 70 yards in each of those highly targeted matchups and scored twice against Purdue. As the Bruins’ primary slot receiver, Morgan ranks second in targets behind only Brian Rowe Jr., while outpacing him in yards and touchdowns.
Morgan’s receiving profile also matches Nico Iamaleava’s: an 8.6 average depth of target (aDOT) versus Iamaleava’s 9.3 passing aDOT. 54% of Iamaleava’s passes this season are 10 yards or less, which is an ingredient in any slot wide receiver’s success. Averaging 2.8 fantasy points per touch, if the usage for Semaj Morgan continues to carry deeper into the season, we have a potential WR2-3 sitting on the wire.
Outscoring preseason high-valued players like Dezmen Roebuck, Ian Strong, and Cooper Barkate, Morgan’s rest-of-season schedule, with his most recent usage, almost makes him matchup-proof. Maryland in week four, whose defense hasn’t really been overly tested through three games. The matchup against the Terps will be a good eye test for Morgan to see whether he is a plug-and-play asset or a matchup-streaming bench rider. UCLA has a bye in Week 5, and five of their eight matchups after that are positive spots.
RB • Tavorus Jones • UTEP Miners • Rostered 3% • 10.65 FP/PG
2026 Stats • 30 Attempts, 162 Yards, 1 TD, 6 Targets, 6 Receptions, 22 Yards
2026 Stats • 120 Attempts, 648 Yards, 4 TD • 6 Targets • 24 Receptions • 88 Yards
Another player whose pace is a disguise for a snap share that could lead to a breakout. Two of UTEP’s first three games were against Oklahoma in week one and Michigan in week three. The defenses they played are the big driver of the pace, or lack thereof, for Jones to start the season. In the one game they weren’t facing a power-conference front, Jones put up 17.1 fantasy points against Texas Southern, averaging 6.5 yards per carry for 104 yards. He’s the go-to in the backfield when the game script isn’t working against him.
Jones’ snap share and opportunity share in this backfield are exactly what we want from a free-agent pickup that could become a back-end RB2/3 weekly flex option. Jones holds an 80% running back snap share; it’s his backfield, and his only competition is his quarterback, who is outpacing him in attempts. Considering his matchups, Jones is averaging a healthy 5.4 yards per carry (YPC) and has seven runs of 10 or more yards. If you squint, you can see the opportunity, and in the coming weeks the return on the backfield investment is going to pay off.
Seven of his next nine matchups will put Jones in situations where his output will be closer to the Week 2 game than the other two games. North Dakota and New Mexico are the only other sit matchups for me; other than that, it’s full go. Oregon State, in Week 4, has allowed 159.7 rushing yards per game and six rushing touchdowns. The playoff outlook for the Miners also trends upward, with Wyoming, Air Force, and Northern Illinois on the menu.
QB • Austin Carlisle • Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks • Rostered 1% • 16.8FP/PG
2026 Stats • 53 Pass Attempts, 35 Completions, 312 Passing Yards, 3 Passing TDs, 37 Rush Attempts, 219 Rush Yards, 1 Rushing TD
2026 Pace • 212 Pass Attempts, 140 Completions, 1,248 Passing Yards, 12 Passing TDs, 148 Rush Attempts, 876 Rush Yards, 4 Rushing TDs
Austin Carlisle didn’t start every game, and his totals reflect that, especially his pace. If you look at the two games he started for the Warhawks, Carlisle paces out as a 1,000-yard rushing quarterback with 258 pass attempts. A solid number for a player who is currently owned in 1% of Fantrax leagues. In the two weeks as the starter, Carlisle is top 10 in rush attempts and yards per carry amongst all quarterbacks and is top 5 in rush yards. More positive games are on the horizon.
Amongst his peers, Carlisle is top 15 in rushes over 10 yards and leads in missed tackles forced while placing 16th in rush attempts. His efficiency is bananas; what he can create with the ball in his hands is worthy of an every-week start. If his passing output leans more toward the Week 3 game than the Week 2 matchup, where he averaged a 50% completion percentage, we have a true dual-threat option waiting to be rostered. With a 4.5 aDOT, Carlisle profiles as a checkdown merchant, and if you want to chase a stack in DFS matchups where you believe there is an advantageous role, starting-slot wideout Marcellus Jackson is the one to roster.
It’s the Warhawks vs. the Florida Atlantic Owls in Week 4, a team near the bottom of the NCAA in rushing and passing yards allowed. They’ve allowed 207.3 rushing yards and 250 passing yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks are finding a ton of success averaging 30.62 fantasy points against Florida Atlantic. A key matchup: Troy and App State are probably the only other two games where I may look elsewhere at the position; outside of that, I could see Carlisle with a close-to-60 % roster share if the usage keeps up.
WR • Xayvion Turner-Bradshaw • Marshall • Rostered 1% • 13.6FP/PG
2026 Stats • 17 Targets, 11 Receptions, 169 Receiving Yards, 1 TD
2026 Pace • 68 Targets, 44 Receptions, 676 Receiving Yards, 4 TDs
Another 1%’er and another player whose pace doesn’t speak to the usage uptick that Turner-Bradshaw has seen over the last two weeks. Posting 13 targets, 8 receptions, 152 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown, and a rushing score over his last two matchups, that Week 1 game versus Penn State may be an outlier when the season is over. The slot wideout who has already surpassed his 2025 output is looking to build on two back-to-back successful outings.
Turner-Bradshaw leads Marshall in pretty much every receiving category across the board. With a 96% slot percentage, the 14.6 YPR and 8.6 aDOT show there is some motion to his game. Yards per route run (YPRR) measures the yards a pass-catcher gains every single time they run a route, where 2.50+ is considered elite.
Outside of the Penn State game, Xayvion is averaging 3.32 YPRR. For a slot wideout, that’s nearly half a fantasy point per route run. Great efficiency for a guy who has come out of nowhere. Of course, there are some red flags. All these players have them; that’s why they’re not highly rostered. In his two bigger days, almost 50% of his yardage came from two big plays. Strip it back, and we get the same player from the PSU game. But opportunity plus target share usually equals fantasy points.
The Thundering Herd have another favorable schedule: Gardner-Webb this week, who had Liberty slot wideout Makai Jackson, a possible week two Five Under Five candidate, find the end zone while accumulating 69 yards. James Madison in week five, which lines up as a sit spot but may be a sneaky start given how well the slot wide receivers have performed in the two power-conference matchups, averaging 70 yards and a touchdown in those games. He plays Coastal Carolina in Week 6 and a stretch after his week seven bye that is set-and-forget worthy.
WR • Noah Jennings • Minnesota Golden Gophers • Rostered 1% • 11.73 FP/PG
2026 Stats • 26 Targets 15 Receptions 217 Receiving Yards 1 Touchdown
2026 Pace • 104 Targets 60 Receptions 868 Receiving Yards 4 Touchdowns
Sweet, sassy molassy, a player on this list whose pace doesn’t make you queasy. Noah Jennings, the top targeted wide receiver for the Golden Gophers, has seen 22 balls come his way over the last two games. It’s really been him and Javon Tracy as Drake Lindsey’s go-tos, but over the last two games Jennings has outpaced Tracy 21-15 in targets. After being stuck behind two NFLers in Cyrus Allen and Jeff Caldwell in Cincinnati, Noah Jennings is getting his shot to be front and center with Minnesota, and it’s paying off.
Jennings, the boundary wideout who has been consistent over his last two matchups, has produced a 12.6 aDOT, a solid 1.2 fantasy points per target, and 2+ fantasy points per reception this year. He’s a top-40 targeted wide receiver who is utilized in the middle of the field and also produces after the catch, but it isn’t his main driver. With a 94% route percentage, Jennings barely leaves the field, and with the underneath threat of Tracy plus the running game of Darius Taylor or whoever is in Taylor’s place, defenses can’t just eliminate one facet of Minnesota’s game.
Ok, the schedule down the stretch for Jennings isn’t like the prior players’; it’s filled with games against top-end defenses. Iowa, Indiana, Penn State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin- five teams that are, at least through three weeks, very stout against opposing pass attacks.
He does get a matchup vs. UCLA, who has been leaky against the pass, allowing 253 pass yards against on the season, and this week UCLA draws the Washington Huskies. Not a top-end defensive unit, but not the worst, allowing just 175 per game; however, their matchups have been against Utah State, Washington State, and Eastern Washington- no real big dogs. After that, it’s Michigan and a great matchup versus Purdue. So considering his matchups, it’s going to be an uphill battle for him to hit his pace.
That’s the lot for the week. Your attention to this article is greatly appreciated, and I hope these five pieces of coal turn into diamonds for you all. The best part of college fantasy football is you’re never really out until you’re out because of the vast amount of pieces on waivers that can turn your season around.
Best of luck!
