Who To Start, Sit, And Scoop Up For Your Week 10 Fantasy Football Lineup

With the blink of an eye, here we are, possibly back around to the beginning of your schedule. It’s Week 10, and you’re either on the outside looking in of the fantasy playoffs, or you’re sitting pretty, starting to hoard late-season fliers. This has been a weird year, and parity always rears its ugly head around Week 10, so maybe you can still make a move, sneak into the playoffs and bask in fantasy glory.

This week’s byes: Buffalo, Detroit, Indianapolis, Oakland

Start of the Week

Melvin Gordon: Welp, through the first 9 weeks, Melvin Gordon has emerged as the No. 1 RB. We all thought he was touchdown dependent, now he’s creating big plays for himself and most importantly — he’s getting an insane workload. He had 32 carries in Week 9 with 4 catches and hasn’t seen less than 20 touches since Week 5. He’s real, and he’s going against a Dolphins team that’s giving up 136 yards per game on the ground.

Here’s the Raiders punter dancing for you, Melvin Gordon owners.

https://twitter.com/thrillis4/status/795469566063341568

Start/Sit

QUARTERBACK STARTS

Jay Cutler: A relatively cheap DFS play, and someone you can get on waivers without using a bunch of FAAB if you’re a Stafford/Carr/Ty-God person. Jameis Winston is on track to play, so this could turn into a shootout (see Miller, Zach in the TE section).

Eli Manning: Just hold your nose and bite your tongue, Eli is going to get the job done no matter how ugly it looks. Cincinnati is giving up the 8th-most points to opposing QBs, and with 4 top ten QBs on bye, this automatically moves Eli into top 12 consideration at worst.

Here’s this, by the way.

Carson Wentz: He isn’t the next coming of Dak Prescott like many thought he was at the beginning of the season, but Wentz is turning out to be a perfectly fine streaming option. Even with his two interceptions against the Giants in Week 9, he threw for 364 yards and should carve up the worst-ranked passing D of the Falcons this week. If you’re a Stafford/Carr/Luck owner, Wentz should get it done for you this week.

QUARTERBACK SITS

Blake Bortles: Your garbage time might not come through this week. The Texans have only given up 6 TDs to QBs this year, and Bortles looks worse and worse every week. It’s bad. Really bad. Allen Robinson finally got his (mostly in PPR formats), but this whole Jaguars offense is getting pulled down by the Bortles Black Hole.

https://twitter.com/barstooltweetss/status/795342652120190978

Cam Newton: I’m not even sure if this is a hot take anymore. The Cam is getting hit left and right, the Panthers offense from top to bottom isn’t nearly as explosive as last year, and they’ve given up the 2nd-most turnovers in the league. KC loves turnovers almost as much as Tom Brady loves Donald Trump, and Justin Houston might return this week.

https://twitter.com/TheFakeESPN/status/795411719883407361

Andy Dalton: I’m someone who believes in in all kinds of stats, and fully embrace the fact that the Cubs were cursed for over 100 years. Andy Dalton also has some sort primetime curse on him. Since 2011, the Bengals are 4-9 in primetime, Dalton has 16 TDs, 12 INTs, and has a QB rating of 36.4. The Giants have given up the sixth-fewest points to quarterbacks this season.

The mystical elements surrounding the NFL are real.

RUNNING BACK STARTS

Mark Ingram: A week after getting benched, Mark Ingram ran like a man on fire against the soft 49ers D. Yes, the 49ers suck on defense, but Ingram is also motivated to run hard and not put the ball on the ground. Now the roadmap is there — Denver is weak against the run, so if Sean Payton follows the path to success, he’ll be giving both RBs plenty of work.

Tim Hightower: Play ’em both! Once again, there’s a good chance both Saints RBs make it into the end zone. Hightower is getting the rushing touches (23/87) and should be getting the end zone work, while Ingram is doing the Pierre Thomas-esque work. This is the way the Saints should run their offense. They’re better like this. Hightower is an especially intriguing DFS play.

LeGarrette Blount: Maybe it’s time to reconsider Seattle’s defense much like we are Denver’s. Maybe they’re really good, but aren’t an automatic sit. Without Kam Chancellor, there seems to be gaps left wide open for Seattle, and the Patriots could take advantage. I don’t dare try to get in the mind of Bill Belichick, but I’m not going to sit Blount this week.

RUNNING BACK SITS

Jay Ajayi: There are situations in which Jay Ajayi is someone’s 3rd, 4th or 5th RB. This is for you lucky people. San Diego’s run defense is becoming more underrated by the week, and there’s a chance that Miami is forced to throw when they’re trailing thanks to San Diego’s underrated defense and still surprisingly potent offense. Miami has been dictating game flow these last few weeks with Ajayi, and that will be much harder to do in San Diego.

All Seattle RBs: Thomas Rawls might be back this week, which makes the whole Christine Michael/C.J. Prosise thing that’s not really happening all the muddier. The Seahawks only ran the ball 9 times Monday night in a close game against the Bills. They were making big plays down the field, but 4 of those 9 rushes were by Tyler Lockett and Russell Wilson. This is a passing team until notified otherwise. We’ve given these guys enough chances.

All Minnesota RBs: Maybe one day this mess can be figured out, but for now, stash Ronnie Hillman and get the hell out of the way. There was a pretty even-split three-headed monster on Sunday, with Hillman getting 8 touches (1 catch), Asiata 11 (2 catches) and McKinnon rushing 7 times. This offense is now dinking and dunking and that’s all we know.

WIDE RECEIVER STARTS

Steve Smith: He misses time, he comes back and looks like himself. So, you might as well use him against the league-worst Browns, who are clearly going to go 0-16. They will pay for the Cavs championship in blood.

They are cabinets.

Larry Fitzgerald: The legendary Fitz has seen 25 targets in the last two weeks, and just got a bye to rest up his still fully capable body. Hopefully, the Cardinals used the time to get their offense right and clicking at the perfect time — with a get right game against San Francisco, who just gave up 323 yards and 3 TDs to Drew Brees at home. Now their crumbling defense is traveling to Arizona, where Brucie Arians and his undeniable eye for fashion awaits.

Ty Montgomery: He’s an RB! No, he’s a WR! Ty Montgomery is a lot of things to a lot of people, but one thing is for certain — he scores points. He was on a snap count against the Colts, but he rushed 7 times for 53 yards and caught 3 passes for 35 yards. If he gets a full load, he should score big for whatever position you have him in.

WIDE RECEIVER SITS

Michael Thomas: The Saints know they have a star in their rookie wideout, but if Aqib Talib plays (there’s a possibility he won’t), it’s best to bench him. Even without Talib, Denver shut down the Oakland receivers (thanks in part to their strong running game) and there’s a good chance Thomas could get lost in the shuffle. There are a lot of mouths to feed in the New Orleans offense, and chances are Thomas isn’t one of your top 2 WRs, so put him on the bench this week. Just wait though, things are about to get real nice. Oh yes…

https://twitter.com/Chet_G/status/795459760703344642

Jarvis Landry: With the emergence of Jay Ajayi, Landry is averaging nearly 3 less targets a game. Play him if you got him, but Landry is becoming completely unnecessary to play or possibly own in standard formats. There’s a good chance the Dolphins are forced to throw this week, but… What if they don’t? The Chargers are a top ten pass D, the Dolphins have Kenny Stills and Devante Parker emerging… Landry still topped Miami’s opportunity report (6 targets for 20.7%) but the whole situation freaks me out.

Brandon Marshall: If Ryan Fitzpatrick is out against the Rams due to his sprained knee and Bryce Petty has to take the reins of the Jets offense, Marshall must sit. Even with Fitzmagic in for most of the game, and with 9 targets (30% of all passes were thrown his way), Marshall only had 6 catches for 45 yards. I repeat: Petty might play. That’s scary. You should be scared. Marshall has had 70 yards or less in the last 4 weeks, and only has 2 TDs on the year.

Dude is working hard, though.

TIGHT END STARTS

Jimmy Graham: He’s back, and Russell Wilson is officially looking far healthier than the beginning of the year, and that’s translating to MULTIPLE one-handed TD grabs by Jimmy Graham. Welcome back, Jimmy.

https://twitter.com/PFF_Gordon/status/795811164953382912

C.J. Fiedorowicz: Here’s your friendly reminder that the Texans TE has been a top 3 TE over the last 5 weeks. Until he proves otherwise and until Will Fuller makes it back from injury, Fiedorowicz has to be leaned on as a must-start TE.

Zach Miller: Through a whole bunch of unsexy quarterback play, Zach Miller has ended up as a top 7 TE. Last week with Jay Cutler under center, he saw 10 targets and 15 total in the last two weeks. It seems like he’s the third option on the offense after Jeffery and Howard, so roll him out against a Tampa secondary that’s giving up the 5th-most yards through the air this season.

TIGHT END SITS

Coby Fleener: It’s over. Even after *technically* being the third-best receiver on the team this week (3/42 on the road against San Francisco), I’m just done with Fleener.

There are 12 TEs I’d rather have than Fleener week-to-week once these damn byes are finished.

1. Gronk
2. Jordan Reed
3. Greg Olsen
4. Delanie
5. Jimmy Graham
6. Kelce
7. Fiedorowicz
8. Gate
9. Zach Miller
10. Rudolph
11. Ebron
12. Pitta (PPR)

In fact, if I had 2 TEs and Fleener was one of ’em, I’d drop Fleener right now to pick up Ladarius Green.

Vance McDonald: There are quite a few pundits and folks around social media that feel like TE is a shallow position. It’s not (see list above). We can’t let the beloved Vance McDonald be a thing. He’s the Jeff Janis of TEs. McDonald is completely inconsistent, with 9 catches for 86 yards, and 2 for 130 and 2 TDs.

Kyle Rudolph: The byes don’t hit TE too hard, so consider sitting Rudolph. He’s been solid, but he’s gone from 11 targets in Week 7, to 6 Week 8 and 3 in Week 9. Now he plays Washington who has quietly been a decent defense through the air. That said, someone on Minnesota is getting some action this week, but who????

Waiver Wire

NE RB Dion Lewis: Last call here. It’s looking more and more likely that Lewis is off the PUP and suiting up to play this Sunday. Adjust accordingly.

49ers RB DuJuan Harris: If Carlos Hyde is out again, Harris could be an excellent plug-n-play, even if they’re going against the Cardinals. We now have a decent workload to look at and Harris’ 192 total yards and a touchdown (and 2 fumbles) against the Saints show that the Niners trust him. Shaun Draughn is nowhere near this job, and he won people leagues last year. Let’s call Harris the 2016 Draughn, and enjoy.

MIN RB Ronnie Hillman: This Minnesota offense might be in a flux since Norv Turner suddenly resigned from the offensive coordinator position, but one thing is for certain — Ronnie Hillman looked like the best RB in Minnesota Week 9. Hillman had 7 carries for 30 yards and 1 reception for 32 yards. Asiata/McKinnon combined for 16/35 on the ground and 2/14 through the air.

ARI WR J.J. Nelson: Bruce Arians loves the undersized speedster, and for now, he has the starting job with Michael Floyd looking utterly lost in his contract year.

Here’s a quick reminder that no one knows what a catch is in the NFL.

https://twitter.com/Cianaf/status/794687911644041216

SD WR Dontrelle Inman: You have to expect that Travis Benjamin will get shut down soon with his PCL injury. He was a virtual non-factor against the Titans on Sunday, and Inman will be in his place. While Inman may be the 4th option after Melvin Gordon, Antonio Gates, and Tyrell Wiliams, that doesn’t mean he can’t give you WR3 production if Benjamin officially goes down.

NYG RB Paul Perkins: Stash him because he has a decent chance at taking the starting RB job down the stretch. He split carries evenly with Rashad Jennings (11 rushes and 3 catches each) and looked fresh doing it. If you have the room, he’ll be a nice wait and see option.