Week nine was dominated by many forgotten, underused, or little known players. Last week’s top lineup would have included Nick Mullens, Duke Johnson, Maurice Harris, and Jeff Heuerman. If you had these four in your starting lineup, you likely won your Week 9 match-up. For Week 10, Marlon Mack and Sammy Watkins, among others, may not be available this week for fantasy football team owners. Your fantasy football waiver wire should still be filled with some quality players if you need the help.
Last week,we advised to be cautious to add Texans tight end Jordan Thomas who played additional snaps with tight end Ryan Griffin out. While he had one pass that went for a touchdown, that was far less than the four receptions for 29 yards and two touchdowns he scored in Week 8.
This week, be cautious of adding Seahawks tight end Nick Vannett who totaled six receptions on eight targets for 62 yards and one touchdown. Vannett hadn’t been targeted over five times until last week and tight end Ed Dickson is back from injury. This game appears to be an anomaly for Vannett rather than the norm.
It’s Week 10 and four teams are in their bye week. We’ll list extra players you can consider if your waiver wire is thin.
Don’t add a player to your fantasy football team if you don’t need one.
QUARTERBACKS
1 Andy Dalton, Bengals
2 Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buccaneers
3 Baker Mayfield, Browns
4 Dak Prescott, Cowboys
5 Brock Osweiler, Dolphins
6 Nick Mullens, 49ers
There are plenty of options at quarterback for fantasy football team owners.
It’s still amazing to see Andy Dalton available in almost forty percent of leagues especially with the favorable schedule he had for the three weeks before the bye. The Bengals emerge from their bye week to play the Saints in Week 10 in a game expected to be a shootout. He’s your top add if you need the help.
Despite the loss, the Buccaneers Ryan Fitzpatrick continued to throw the football finishing 24-for-40 for 243 yards and four touchdowns. The Buccaneers have a much tougher match-up against the Redskins but the Redskins just let Matt Ryan hit them for 250 yards and four touchdowns. Fitzpatrick is available in one-third of waiver wires.
Rookie Baker Mayfield threw multiple touchdowns for a third game in a row and passed for 297 yards against a decent Chiefs pass defense. The re-emergence of the Browns running game should keep pass defenses honest. Mayfield plays the Falcons this week whose pass defense has struggled all season long and is allowing top five fantasy points to quarterbacks. He’s available in six of ten leagues.
Don’t give up on Dak Prescott yet. The Cowboys offense is a project at work. They just added Amari Cooper. His presence seems to have helped Allen Hurns. Rookie Michael Gallup is improving each week. Their tight ends are young and still learning. The Cowboys short term schedule includes favorable match-ups including against the Falcons in Week 11 and Saints in Week 13.
The Dolphins Brock Osweiler will likely have several more starts with no real timetable on Ryan Tannehill’s return. Osweiler had been solid through his first two games as starter, averaging 37 pass attempts, 310 yards, and two touchdowns per game but then hit the wall the past two games averaging 30 pass attempts, 190 yards, and zero touchdowns per game. While this week’s game against the Packers doesn’t “sound that great,” the Packers defense, including the secondary is banged up making Osweiler a decent option in what should be a higher than average passing game. After this week, the Dolphins have a favorable passing schedule against the Bills, Colts, and Patriots.
In his first start in the NFL, Nick Mullens blew up the gridiron for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 16-for-22 passing. While it was against a lackluster Raiders pass defense, his work on the gridiron was still good. The 49ers play a Giants pass defense very much middle of the road. So, if you have no other options, Mullens is a decent play as he’ll be in Week 12, against the Buccaneers. He’s universally available on almost all fantasy football waiver wires.
RUNNING BACKS
1 Dion Lewis, Titans
2 Aaron Jones, Packers
3 Duke Johnson, Browns
4 Mike Davis, Seahawks
5 Austin Ekeler, Chargers
6 Jalen Richard, Raiders
7 Doug Martin, Raiders
8 Ito Smith, Falcons
9 Derrick Henry, Titans
10 Nyheim Hines, Colts
With injuries, there is again something on waiver wires for almost every fantasy football team owner. Give these running backs a look if you need help. The running backs with a longer view are once more ranked higher.
Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry were dropped in many leagues as the Titans offense struggled. Plus, the Titans were on a bye in Week 8. Between the two, Dion Lewis has consistently been more productive taking 19 touches for 155 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in Week 7 and 23 touches for 122 all-purpose yards and a touchdown in Week 9. Henry has been decent too as a touchdown hawk, scoring a touchdown in each of the last two games. But if you have an option, target Lewis. Lewis is still available in about twenty percent of the fantasy football leagues while Henry is available in near half of the fantasy football leagues.
Despite a fumble which saw Aaron Jones lose snaps, Jones still outpaced teammate Jamaal Williams taking 18 touches for 86 all-purpose yards (5.4 YPC) to Williams’ 9 touches for 54 all-purpose yards (4.9 YPC). Jones is the Packers running back to target off fantasy football waiver wires.
As noted in Week 9’s deep sleeper article, Duke Johnson had only 29 targets in the passing game through eight games. But with running backs coach Freddie Kitchens calling the shots as the Browns new offensive coordinator, Johnson saw more touches including nine receptions on nine targets for 78 yards and two touchdowns. Johnson should remain a big part of the offense going forward. Duke Johnson is available in a little over half of fantasy football waiver wires.
The Seahawks Mike Davis was the second highest ranked running back in targets, hauling in seven-of-eight for 45 yards and adding 62 yards on 15 rushes. Davis’ role is bigger in the Seahawks offense when Chris Carson is injured. Carson is battling injury (hip, thigh, and/or groin) and may not play this week.
Austin Ekeler has struggled over the past three games for the Chargers. So, he’s available in about a quarter of leagues. The Chargers next three opponents are the Raiders, Broncos, and Cardinals, all running back-friendly teams.
Falcons Ito Smith has scored at least a touchdown in four of the last five games, and double digit fantasy points in PPR leagues in three of five games. He’s a player to use in the bye weeks especially this week against the Browns.
With Marshawn Lynch placed on injured reserve, we saw Doug Martin establish himself as the Raiders most productive running back, taking 13 rushes for 72 yards (5.5 YPC) and adding 17 yards on two receptions. Jalen Richard was great too, but more in the passing game, taking his 8 receptions for 50 yards but his 13 rushes for just 38 yards (2.9 YPC). Despite the poor game against the 49ers, don’t give up on these two as the Raiders ran the ball effectively (Martin 4.5 YPC, Richard 10.3 YPR) but were forced to pass with the 49ers driving up the game score early. Richard is the better option in PPR leagues. Both Martin and Richard are available on near half of the waiver wires.
WIDE RECEIVERS
1 Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
2 Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers
3 Sterling Shepard, Giants
4 Tre’Quan Smith, Saints
5 Courtland Sutton, Broncos
6 Maurice Harris, Redskins
7 Adam Humphries, Buccaneers
8 Cordarrelle Patterson, Patriots
This is a good week to add a wide receiver who will serve as a WR3, flex-play or bye week replacement depending on the size of your league.
Over the Cardinals past two games, Larry Fitzgerald has come alive in the offense, posting double digit fantasy football points on 12 of 20 receiving for 142 yards and two touchdowns. For the remainder of the season, the Cardinals have one of the most pass friendly schedules in the league. Fitzgerald is still on a quarter of fantasy waiver wires.
Even with the return of Randall Cobb and Geronimo Allison, Packers rookie Marquez Valdes-Scantling remained a significant part of the Packers being targeted five times (as much as Cobb) for 45 yards and a touchdown in Week 8. In Week 9, he continued as a significant part of the offense hauling in three passes on six targets for 101 yards. In four games, he has 15 receptions, 317 yards, and two touchdowns. Now, Geronimo Allison is at risk of missing the remainder of the season with a core muscle injury. Valdes-Scantling is a WR3 option in all leagues. He’s available in almost two-thirds of fantasy football leagues.
Sterling Shepard is available in a little over of a quarter of fantasy football league waiver wires. He should be added back to rosters as the Giants have a pass friendly schedule through Week 15.
The Saints Tre’Quan Smith is the number two wide receiver on a pass happy Saints offense. Five of the Saints’ next seven games are against defenses ranked among the seven worst pass defenses. He’ll be a WR3/flex option going forward and is available in almost three-fourths of the fantasy football waiver wires.
Now that Demaryius Thomas has been traded, Courtland Sutton is worth a bench stash. Sutton will need to step up his game to be a weekly must start in fantasy football. The Broncos have great passing match-ups in Weeks 12, 13, and 16. Sutton is available on about one-third of waiver wires.
The Redskins Maurice Harris turned heads this week with a 10-for-12 for 124 yard performance. With Jamison Crowder banged up and Paul Richardson done for the season, Harris makes for a great streaming option in Week 10 and a flex-option thereafter.
With Sony Michel out, the Patriots continued incorporating Cordarrelle Patterson into the offense as a running back and he shined, going for 61 yards and one touchdown on 11 carries. However, his role will subject to the availability of Michel and the health of James White. He’s an option in only the deepest of fantasy football leagues.
TIGHT ENDS
1 Jeff Heuerman, Broncos
2 Jack Doyle, Colts
3 Benjamin Watson, Saints
4 Chris Herndon, Jets
5 CJ Uzomah, Bengals
With Demaryius Thomas traded, Jeff Heuerman benefitted most in the passing game where he was targeted a season high 11 times for 83 yards and one touchdown on 10 receptions. Heuerman has a tight end friendly schedule the rest of the way and is available in almost every fantasy football league out there. The Broncos are on their bye week in Week 10.
Jack Doyle returned to the Colts lineup in Week 8 and immediately made his presence felt, going 6-for- 7 for 70 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Luck has loved getting both his tight ends involved in the offense. Doyle is available on sixty percent of waiver wires.
Once more, the Jets Chris Herndon made an impact in the passing game hauling in four of four passes for 62 yards. He’s scored a touchdown in three of the last four games. Herndon is still available on most fantasy football waiver wires.
DEFENSES
1 Chiefs (v. Cardinals)
2 Jets (v. Bills)
3 Bills (at Jets)
4 49ers (v. Giants)
5 Redskins (at Buccaneers)
6 Chargers (at Raiders)
7 Patriots (at Titans)
Most of this week’s waiver wire adds highlight good defenses with favorable fantasy football match-ups.
Each defense noted above faces an offense in this week’s top ten of most fantasy football points allowed to opposing defenses.
Week 10 Injury Report