It feels like we just started the season yesterday and we’re already on to Week 10. This week, per request of the chat, you will see a percentage sign next to player’s names. This is the amount of your budget I would spend on that player. Not every player deserves to have money spent on them during the waiver process and should be targeted Wednesday morning if they pass through waivers. So if you see a “0%” next to a player’s name, that is the category this player falls under. Either bid $0 on them or let them go unclaimed through waivers and save your equity whether it be currency or a waiver priority. 

*For reference, I’ve compiled all of the remaining weeks  to help you project forward on matchups.*

Upcoming Bye Weeks

Week 10: BAL, CIN, NYJ, NE

Week 11: JAX, TB, SEA, MIA

Week 12: NONE

Week 13: ARI, CAR

Week 14: ATL, CHI, GB, IND, WAS, NO

QB

Justin Fields (Chicago Bears) – 100%

Everyone should have Fields already on their teams. I viewed Fields as a top 10 option for the remainder of the season and it’s possible I was too low on him. He just dropped 42.72 fantasy points which was led by 178 yards rushing and a rushing score. He is matchup proof and gets the Detroit Lions in Week 10 and the Atlanta Falcons in Week 11. 

Daniel Jones (New York Giants) – 2%

Daniel Jones is coming off of a bye and will face off against the Houston Texans at home. The Texans are halfway decent against the QB position but it is likely due to them being putrid against the run. I expect the Giants to be able to move the ball against the Texans thus giving Jones more opportunities to score. He offers a great floor with his legs, having the 4th most rushing yards in the NFL for QBs and scoring at least 12.38 points in every game this year except for Week 8. 

Andy Dalton / Jameis Winston (New Orleans Saints) – 0%

A good streamer for the week is whoever is going to be the QB in New Orleans. The Saints may stick with Dalton but he is coming off of a dreadful performance last night. Whoever does get the nod will get to face one of the league’s worst pass defenses. The Steelers are giving up the 5th most fantasy points to opposing QBs while giving up the 4th most passing yards and have yielded the 3rd highest YPA (7.1) and are tied with the lead league with 17 passing TDs scored against them. It is likely no one is on the Saints QB situation after they got worked on MNF by the Ravens so you should be able to let waivers pass, snag Dalton, and then make the switch to Winston if he is announced the starter. It is worth noting that early reports indicate Dalton will be the starter in Week 10.

Deshaun Watson (Cleveland Browns)

This is a weekly reminder to keep an eye on Watson and to pick him up. He comes back in a month and becomes a QB1 immediately for fantasy. Watson’s schedule once he returns is HOU, CIN, BAL, NO, and WAS to end the typical fantasy football season with PIT Week 18 if your league plays throughout the season.

RB

Jeff Wilson (Miami Dolphins) – 20%

I was hesitant to go after Wilson due to the fact Mostert is a solid RB and was already commanding the majority of the backfield snaps. Well, Wilson looked better than Mostert in his first game action since the trade. He actually saw more snaps than Mostert (28 to 27) and out performed him, rushing for 51 yards to Mostert’s 26. Wilson also caught all three of his targets for 21 yards and a score while Mostert didn’t catch either of his two targets. There is a solid chance that Wilson and Mostert are subject to the hot hand approach but both will be solid FLEX plays during the bye weeks until we get more clarity. 

Jerick McKinnon (Kansas City Chiefs) – 3%

McKinnon has quietly led this backfield all season long. He just turned in his highest snap share of the season at 62%. I don’t think this is necessarily what we can expect to see moving forward but what we can expect to see is McKinnon being used as the passing down back parlayed with a few carries. Throughout the season, McKinnon has led the backfield in seven of the eight games played in regards to snap share. He has seen at the minimum a 43.3% share in every game but the one he didn’t lead the backfield. McKinnon is nothing more than an emergency FLEX at the moment during bye weeks but he does have a higher ceiling if there were an injury to this backfield. 

Chuba Hubbard (Carolina Panthers) – 0%

This pick up is more or less the same thought process as last week. Hubbard is still going to be mixed in a lot when he returns and is likely to command the majority of the receiving work for the backfield. It is still up in the air if Hubbard plays this week on a short week with the Panthers playing on TNF but he is worth a stash even if he doesn’t. 

Zack Moss (Indianapolis Colts) – 0%

Moss was quietly included in the trade that sent Hines from the Colts to the Bills. Moss was inactive on Sunday when the Colts played the Patriots but is expected to be active against the Raiders this week. This is more of a stash to bet on the perceived talent coming out of college. It is not unheard of for a player to just change scenery and systems and produce. He is in line to be the handcuff to Jonathan Taylor, battling against only Jordan Wilkins since Deon Jackson got injured on Sunday. If Taylor misses again this week or any games beyond that, look for Moss to get a shot to prove what he has. If he plays well, he can earn himself some playing time next to JT and be his main handcuff when he’s out. It is worth nothing that Jeff Saturday is the Colts new head coach. He is a former NFL center that has never called plays before. My best guess is this team will become a run first team which also bodes well for this running game.

Updated Handcuff Rankings (Under 50% Rostered) – 0%

• Alexander Mattison (Minnesota Vikings)
• Eno Benjamin (Arizona Cardinals)
• Isiah Pacheco (Kansas City Chiefs)
• Jaylen Warren (Pittsburgh Steelers)
• JaMycal Hasty (Jacksonville Jaguars)
• Isaiah Spiller (LA Chargers)
• Elijah Mitchell (San Francisco 49ers)

WR

Terrace Marshall (Carolina Panthers) – 10%

Everyone is probably tired of hearing Marshall’s name from me at this point since he’s been in the last two waiver articles and DFS articles. However, he is still widely available in over 90% of leagues. He is the clear 2nd option in the air in Carolina moving forward. He saw six targets in Week 9, and as I mentioned his heightened chances at a TD, he scored a TD. He finished going 3/53/1 on those six targets and the last two weeks he has not put up 12.7 and 14.3 PPR points. He is a weekly FLEX start for the remainder of the season. It is worth mentioning he gets the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10.

Wan’Dale Robinson (New York Giants) – 7%

The Giants are coming off of their bye week so Robinson may fly under the radar, especially since he only saw 3 targets in their Week 8 loss to Seattle. Seattle has proven as the season has progressed, they are a very good pass defense. The Giants have a generous remainder of the season for WRs. They will face Houston in Week 10, followed by DET, DAL, WAS, PHI, and WAS again. Robinson is still the WR1 for this Giants team and I expect him to improve and earn more market share as the season progresses and he gets more acclimated to the NFL.

Jarvis Landry (New Orleans Saints) – 1%

I would take a stab at Landry this week if he is available on your waivers. He was very close to playing this week but they ultimately held him out. With the expectation he plays in Week 10, he will get to face the leaky Pittsburgh Steelers defense that gives up the most PPR PPG to slot WRs. During the playoff run, the Saints will face the Falcons, Browns and Eagles. All three teams are very beatable from the slot. I’m not saying Landry is going to set the world on fire to end the season but he has a very favorable schedule on his side and a Saints team that will not throw in the towel, regardless of how bad it gets. 

WR Fliers – 0%

I want to take a section here at the end of WRs to go over a cluster of guys who are expecting to be coming back from IR or joining new teams. I would rather take a flier on both Treylon Burks and Jameson Williams over OBJ.

Treylon Burks (Tennessee Titans)

Jameson Williams (Detroit Lions)

Odell Beckham Jr. (None) – 0%

I’m not going to bend over backwards to get OBJ. I had made a note a few weeks ago to stash him if you had the spot so some of you may have done that but given the bye weeks and how tough this season has been, that’s unlikely. There was a report this last weekend that he will be cleared to play by this upcoming weekend so he is going to be likely targeted by some of your league mates. The issue I have with OBJ is that he is joining a new team here in the middle of November AND he is coming off of a torn ACL. The idea behind signing OBJ from an NFL perspective is to have a WR of his caliber for a Super Bowl run. Out of all of the teams linked to him, he would be the clear 3rd option or worse. So all in all, he will be joining a team late for a super bowl run, is coming off of a torn ACL, and won’t be the primary target unless he goes to the run-first Baltimore Ravens where he is still 2nd behind Andrews. To expect a high ceiling out of OBJ would be fools gold. However, he can offer WR4/FLEX appeal during your playoff runs if the chips all fall properly and in that situation I would rather stash RB handcuffs or WR longshots over OBJ.

TE

Cade Otton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) – 8%

Otton has really emerged as a primary option for Tom Brady. He was having an average day before he compiled 4/58/1 in the 4th quarter including two major catches to get them the win. He caught a 28 yarder to set them up to score and then proceeded to catch the game winning 1-yard TD from Brady. Brady accels in the middle of the field and historically loved throwing to his TE, which Otton has emerged as the best on this Bucs squad. He is up to an 11% share over the last three games on an offense that throws towards the league lead. He has seen at least 3 targets each of the last six weeks including counts of 7, 5, 5, and 6. It also helps that Otton gets to face the leaky Seahawks TE defense in Week 10 in Germany so he has immediate startability with a great matchup. 

Cole Kmet (Chicago Bears) – 2%

Kmet is coming on the last two weeks and it coincides directly with Fields playing better. As I mentioned last week, Kmet was in line for another game with increased odds of scoring a TD, and he scored two. He has now scored three TDs in his last two games, scoring 31.1 PPR points over the two games. He has seen eight targets, pulling in seven of them for 52 yards with those three scores. In Week 10, he will face off against the Detroit Lions who are giving up the 5th most points per game to the position. With Justin Fields riding hot, the stackability of Kmet at TE with Fields at QB is a rare one to find this late in the season but it’s there and Kmet will basically be free again because no one will want to be chasing the points.

Juwan Johnson (New Orleans Saints) – 0%

Door #3 is tough this week. After the first two options here everyone has a rough matchup or is just not very good. Juwan Johnson falls in the middle here where his matchup is a winnable one but it isn’t anything to write home about. He is seeing volume at a nice rate, seeing 157 targets over his last four games, pulling in 13 of them for 129 yards and three scores. I envision a great matchup for the Saints QBs so if they are scoring more, I’ll take the TE who is getting the volume and redzone work if I am left with no other options. 

DST

San Francisco 49ers – 10% 

Check your waiver wires for the 49ers. They had a bye week last week and are down to only 81% rostered in leagues across all formats. They should be 100% rostered and a weekly set and forget it DST but the bye weeks have taken a toll this year. If they are out there, snag them. It is worth noting that most of their matchups are average but they face the Commanders at home during Championship week.

Las Vegas Raiders – 3%

The Raiders are the weekly winner of facing the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10. The Colts are an absolute dumpster fire and don’t have a single coach on their newly implemented staff who has ever called a play in their NFL career. Now led by former NFL Center, Jeff Saturday, there will be plenty of rough patches ahead. This hiring of Saturday to be the interim head coach screams of Jim Irsay doing Saturday a solid to give him experience while also tanking for the 1st overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft next April. The Colts schedule for the remainder of the season is, LV, PHI, PIT, DAL and then for the fantasy playoffs they will face MIN, LAC, and the NYG for the championship. If you have the space, we are approaching the time to stack defenses for matchups if need be. Keep an eye on MIN, LAC, and NYG as the playoffs get closer. 

New Orleans Saints – 1%

The Saints defense is worth a look this week. They will face the Steelers coming off of as bye and in Pittsburgh so it is not the ideal environment but the Steelers offense has been putrid this year. They rank dead last or near the bottom for nearly every statistical category. The Steelers have scored the fewest amount of points in the NFL and have thrown a league leading 10 interceptions. 

Baltimore Ravens – 1%

Keep an eye out for the Ravens after waivers process this week. As I mentioned above, bye weeks have been a bitch this year. The 49ers were dropped by almost 20% of teams and I think the Ravens are even easier to drop for most managers. For the fantasy playoffs, the Ravens will face CLE, ATL, and PIT. A fine and easy schedule that will produce points for a defense that is getting healthier, just acquired priced LB Roquan Smith and their rookie defensive coordinator is getting his legs under him. Look for a big end of the season for the Baltimore Ravens overall. 

Droppable:

Kyren Williams (RB – LA Rams)

Romeo Doubs (WR – Green Bay Packers)

Isaiah Likely (TE – Baltimore Ravens) 

Robert Tonyan (TE – Green Bay Packers)