Yahoo Finance Fantasy Football Week 10: Players to start or sit
Sit and start is relative and league dependent, so consider some of these suggestions more “fliers” and “fades” (note that some are targeted for DFS).
Good luck with your Week 10 lineups.
Washington Football Team @ Detroit Lions
Start: J.D. McKissic
Sit: Marvin Jones
McKissic led all running backs in routes run last week while racking up 14 targets, something that should continue with Alex Smith taking over at quarterback (McKissic has a 36.7% target share with Check-Down Alex), so he’s a strong PPR option. Fire up Antonio Gibson as well, as the Lions have allowed the most fantasy points to running backs this season.
Danny Amendola leads Detroit in targets in games without Kenny Golladay, while Jones has looked a step slow this season and faces a Washington defense that’s ceded the fewest fantasy points to wide receivers.
Houston Texans @ Cleveland Browns
Start: Duke Johnson, Rashard Higgins
Johnson disappointed in a favorable matchup last week, but he should get another chance as Houston’s lead back with David Johnson dealing with a concussion. Duke should be plenty involved as a receiver, and he may be asked to run more than usual with the possibility of extreme wind. Given the RB landscape right now, Duke is a top-15 option as long as David is sidelined.
[Week 10 Fantasy Rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | FLEX | DST | Kickers]
Pay attention to the weather Sunday, but Higgins shouldn’t be forgotten coming off a quiet game and then a bye, as his role should be significant without Odell Beckham Jr. Higgins gets a Texans defense that’s allowed the most fantasy points to his primary side over the last month.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Green Bay Packers
Start in DFS: James Robinson ($28), Aaron Jones ($35)
It’s not ideal that Jacksonville is a big underdog, but Robinson should see plenty of touches regardless, and he gets a Packers defense that’s ceded the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season. Despite entering his fourth year on the depth chart undrafted and playing for a 1-7 team, Robinson is on pace to finish with 1,610 yards from scrimmage and 14 touchdowns during a season in which seemingly every other running back is a bust.
Jones saw his normal workload during his return and benefits from extra rest coming off a Thursday game. He gets a highly favorable matchup this week with GB huge home favorites against the league’s last-ranked defense in DVOA. Jones is the No. 1 RB on my board in Week 10 and worth paying up for in DFS.
Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants
Start: Eagles D/ST, Giants D/ST
The Eagles enter with a huge advantage at the line of scrimmage and face a QB with a 6.1 YPA mark who’s committed 13 turnovers and taken 28 sacks this season, so they have an argument as this week’s top fantasy defense.
The Giants, coincidentally, have the pleasure of facing a QB who’s gotten just 6.2 YPA while committing 16 turnovers this season. Carson Wentz has also taken the most sacks this year, including a whopping 16 over three road games, so NYG is a strong D/ST start this week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers
Start in DFS: Leonard Fournette ($21)
Sit: DJ Moore
The Bucs are coming off a weird game in which they set the NFL record for fewest rushing attempts, but Fournette dominated the snap share and should continue to benefit greatly from being Tom Brady’s receiving back; the Panthers have allowed an NFL-high 63 receptions (and the fifth-most fantasy points) to running backs this season.
Moore is no longer a must-start (depending on the depth of your league) after totaling just 14 targets over the last three games, as he’s fallen behind both Robby Anderson and Curtis Samuel and gets a tough matchup this week against Tampa Bay’s #1 ranked defense in DVOA.
Los Angeles Chargers @ Miami Dolphins
Start: Troymaine Pope, DeVante Parker
Pope is a gamble with a low floor in an unpredictable backfield, but he clearly looked like the Chargers’ best RB the last time we saw him (he missed last week but is now recovered from a concussion), while Justin Jackson appears unlikely to play, Kalen Ballage was reverted to the practice squad, and Joshua Kelley has been thoroughly unimpressive (and Austin Ekeler is still not quite ready). In a week with a ton of uncertainty at the running back position, Pope is an intriguing flier (and DFS punt) against Miami’s #29 ranked rush defense in DVOA.
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Tua Tagovailoa proved he was capable of throwing downfield last week, and Parker is looking at a ton of targets with Preston Williams and Myles Gaskin out. It’s not the easiest set of corners, but Parker typically thrives against Cover 3 defenses like LAC, and this game projects to be high-paced with a ton of plays.
Denver Broncos @ Las Vegas Raiders
Start: KJ Hamler
Sit: Hunter Renfrow
While Jerry Jeudy looks like a budding star and a must-start after leading the NFL in air yards over the last two weeks, Hamler is also a sneaky play in deeper formats. Jeudy, Tim Patrick, and Noah Fant are all banged up (and Albert O is out for the season), so Hamler enters as the team’s healthiest receiver and coming off a 10-target game. He gets a Raiders secondary that’s been far more vulnerable to the slot than outside wide receivers this season.
Renfrow has a nice weekly floor in PPR leagues, but he has a tough matchup against a Denver defense that’s shut down the slot, where he’s lined up on 62% of his routes this season. The Raiders also run a frustratingly slow pace.
Buffalo Bills @ Arizona Cardinals
Sit: Devin Singletary
Start: Christian Kirk
Buffalo is unlikely to be so pass-heavy again this week, but Singletary has seen fewer snaps than Zack Moss for two straight games and ranks third on the team in goal-line carries. Coming off a two-carry game and facing an above-average defense, Singletary belongs on fantasy benches in Week 10.
Kirk has five touchdowns over the last three games and encouragingly ranked #10 in WOPR last week. He has a favorable setup Sunday with Arizona home favorites in a game with this week’s highest total (56.5 points) and with Tre’Davious White shadowing DeAndre Hopkins.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Sit: Joe Burrow
Start: Eric Ebron
Burrow remains on pace to finish top-10 all-time in single-season pass attempts during his rookie campaign, but he belongs on fantasy benches in Week 10. The rookie has gotten just 6.5 YPA while taking 20 sacks over four road games this season, and Pittsburgh has allowed the fifth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. This divisional matchup also figures to be lower scoring, especially with Ben Roethlisberger playing through knee injuries (or sitting with COVID).
Ebron has scored in back-to-back games and gets a Bengals defense that’s yielded the second-most fantasy points to tight ends this season, which is good enough to make him a top-five option at the position in Week 10.
Seattle Seahawks @ Los Angeles Rams
Start: Jacob Hollister, Josh Reynolds
Hollister is overtaking the role as Seattle’s #1 tight end, making him plenty fantasy worthy given the situation in Seattle (and with TEs around the league). This week the Seahawks get a Rams team that shuts down wide receivers, so Russell Wilson may turn to his tight ends more than usual in a game that projects to be high-paced and with one of this week’s highest totals.
Reynolds is the Rams’ aDot leader and ran the third-most routes among all receivers in the league in Week 8 before the team’s bye, so he’s a sleeper against a Seattle defense on pace to allow almost 1,000 more passing yards than any team in NFL history. The Seahawks have given up a whopping 10+ more fantasy points per game to wide receivers than the next worst team (the difference between #1 and #2 is greater than #2 and #22).
San Francisco 49ers @ New Orleans Saints
Start: Brandon Aiyuk
Start in DFS: Michael Thomas ($30)
Aiyuk ranks top-10 in WOPR over his last two games, and Kyle Shanahan said he planned 85% of SF’s game plan around the rookie wideout before he landed on the reserve/COVID-19 list and suddenly missed Week 9. Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, and Raheem Mostert all remain out (making Richie James and Jordan Reed sleepers this week as well), so Aiyuk should be targeted heavily as San Francisco’s clear No. 1 option in a game against New Orleans that’s likely to force them to throw aplenty. Marshon Lattimore has hardly been a shutdown corner this season, so I expect Aiyuk to finish as a WR1 this week.
Thomas’ DFS price (and rostered percentage) will only rise from here, as he should have a big game now closer to full strength and against an injury-ravaged SF defense. He should be matched up primarily against Emmanuel Moseley, who’s among the league’s most generous corners in fantasy points allowed per route this season. Thomas had 87 catches for 1,027 yards and six touchdowns over eight home games last year.
Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots
Start: Marquise Brown, Jakobi Meyers
I’m sure people are tired of hearing about Brown’s air yards (and starting him in their fantasy lineups), but he has a nice setup Sunday night against a Patriots defense that’s shutdown tight ends but otherwise has allowed an NFL-high 8.8 YPA and will likely be without Stephon Gilmore. It’s wild that New England’s defense looked historically good at one point last season yet currently ranks #31 in DVOA (if you prefer different evidence to DVOA, Joe Flacco lighting them up last week should suffice).
Meyers is an undrafted no-name in a tough matchup, Cam Newton hasn’t thrown a touchdown since Moby was a minnow, and N’Keal Harry may return this week, but Meyers’ ECR is still crazy low (WR#41) for someone who ranked #3 in WOPR in Week 8 and #2 last week. Meyers has 24 targets over that span while passing the eye test and has clearly become Newton’s #1 target, so he’s a top-25 WR on my board against a Ravens defense that’s stingy versus outside receivers but has allowed the third-most fantasy points to the slot over the last month.
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
Start: Kyle Rudolph, Darnell Mooney
I could tell you to bench Kirk Cousins (do it), but instead will throw out a deep sleeper at tight end, as Rudolph continues to see a strong snap share and could be more active than usual Monday night with Irv Smith banged up and facing a Bears defense that shuts down the run and wide receivers but has been beaten by tight ends this season.
Mooney would be talked about alongside the rest of this impressive rookie WR class if he had a competent quarterback, but he nevertheless remains a flier (and home-run, late fifth-round draft pick for Chicago) Monday night against a Vikings secondary dealing with a ton of injuries (and with Allen Robinson banged up).
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