Week 10 Fantasy Football Panic Meter: What to do with Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill

Welcome to Blitz Sports Media’s Fantasy Football “Panic Meter”. Each week we will identify some of the disappointing performances from the prior week to identify if it is time to panic about a certain player. Below is the official Blitz Sports Media panic meter discussing the reasoning behind each panic meter level.

Let’s get into all of the players who made this week’s version of the panic meter.

Jaylen Waddle WR (MIA)

Panic Meter: 3

The return of Tua Tagovailoa has not been the boost many expected for both Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle over the last two weeks. Waddle has struggled more than Hill as he has 6 catches for 41 yards and a touchdown on 8 targets since the return of Tua. Since Week 1, Waddle has no performances over 8.6 points resulting in his 65th ranking in fantasy football in 2024. One of the biggest attributes to Waddle’s dip is his 55th ranked target rate among receivers while having the 79th average depth of target,

In the next three weeks the Dolphins face the Rams, Raiders, and Patriots providing great matchups for opposing receivers. Despite the great matchups it is hard to put Waddle into your starting lineup with his production this season. This season with Tua in the lineup the Dolphins target share shakes out as Hill 25.8%, Achane 20.4%, Smith 19.4%, and Waddle 13.7%. The involvement of De”von Achane and Jonnu Smith is a big concern for Waddle. He is in for some 10+ point performances in the next few weeks, but his long-term outlook is grim.

Tyreek Hill WR (MIA)

Panic Meter: 1.5

As with Waddle, the return of Tua was supposed to vault Tyreek Hill into one of the best players in fantasy football but that has not been the case. In the two weeks following his return, Hill has scored 25.2 points and has 156 receiving yards with no touchdowns. These numbers are not bad at all but considering the expectations many managers had for Hill the performances have been disappointing.

With Tyreek Hill, I think it is best to temper our expectations for the rest of the season. His target share is less dominant than in years past currently ranking 27th among receivers while ranking 178th in EPA this season. Hill still ranks 9th in air yards share and is currently 3rd in the NFL at beating man coverage. The threat of him going deep is still there as he leads the NFL in deep routes the last two weeks, but Tua has only thrown him the ball once on those routes. Hill is in for better weeks and is a low-end WR1 who has a lower floor than in years past

Travis Etienne RB (JAX)

Panic Meter: 4

The return of Travis Etienne clouded the Jaguars backfield after two strong performances from Tank Bigsby. Etienne started the game as the lead back playing 13 of the first 18 snaps for the team heading into halftime. After a slow start, they turned to Bigsby in the second half which sparked the offense. While Bigsby played more, D’Ernest Johnson also still had a role in this offense playing 11 snaps in the second half. Here is how each back performed Sunday.

Travis Etienne: 3 carries for 24 yards, 2 catches for 6 yards on 3 targets

Tank Bigsby: 8 carries for 22 yards

D’Ernest Johnson: 2 carries for 6 yards, 0 catches on 1 target

Doug Pederson is committed to this three headed running back committee as he always has been in the past. Etienne holds value being a 3rd down back with limited rushing upside. Bigsby will continue to lead the team in carries but holds little value in receiving. While D’Ernest Johnson will play 15-25% of snaps and frustrate Bigsby/Etienne owners. This is a backfield I want no part of in fantasy football

Michael Pittman Jr. WR (IND)

Panic Meter: 2

Joe Flacco’s return to the starting lineup in a favorable matchup did not go as planned last week and resulted in a few rough performances from some Colts. One of those guys Michael Pittman Jr. has had a rough 2024 season. In the last two weeks he only has 2 catches for 30 yards on 10 targets while leading the team in routes run and snaps. Pittman has been managing a back issue that was expected to land him on the IR but wound up missing no time. Heading into Week 10, Pittman currently is averaging 8.7 which ranks 62nd among all receivers.

Despite his rough start to the season, I believe Pittman should only slot in at a 2 on the panic meter. In Joe Flacco’s other three starts, he finished with 17.3, 14.7, and 12.5 fantasy points resulting in steady performances as a FLEX option. That is how we should be viewing him going forward is as a FLEX, not a must start WR2. He currently has the 7th highest unrealized air yards, 34th average target distance, and 31st route win rate among receivers. All of these stats suggest that Pittman should be averaging 13.3 fantasy points per game compared to the 8.7 he is averaging now. There are better days ahead for Pittman.

DJ Moore WR (CHI)

Panic Meter: 4

Moore made the panic meter last week due to how the Bears were utilizing him and his poor production on the season. In Week 9, Moore finished with fewer than 35 yards and in single digits fantasy points for the third game in a row. The Bears favorable matchups this season have forced Moore into many starting lineups that have led to empty box scores. This season Moore ranks 79th in separation, 65th in average depth of target, and 62nd in target share.

There are no underling stats that suggest that Moore will be a consistent wide receiver in fantasy football. His target rate is down, and his target value is low suggesting that he is going to continue having performances with 4 catches for 35 yards. Moore has moved down to a WR3 this season and should be traded after a big performance.

Dallas Cowboys Players

Panic Meter: 3

A potentially season ending injury to Dak Prescott clouds the impact of the skill position players in fantasy football. Cooper Rush steps in at quarterback and has a career 1786 passing yards, 9 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions in 30 career games. In 2022 when Rush filled in for Prescott, CeeDee Lamb averaged 6.2 catches per game for 76 receiving yards while hauling in 3 touchdowns in 5 games. Lamb’s value takes a hit without Prescott but is still a must start weekly.

As for the other playmakers in Dallas, it is hard to trust them in your starting lineups. Jake Ferguson had his second highest point total of the season last week with 14.1 points with an increased role. It is to be seen whether or not he will still be the second option in the passing game with Rush at quarterback. Rico Dowdle had a breakout game last week resulting in 21.7 fantasy points. While his role has increased in the offense, teams will be more ready to stop the run without Prescott at quarterback. With Ferguson and Dowdle leave them on your bench in Week 10 to see how they look with Rush under center.

Cut List | Panic Meter: 5

Caleb Williams QB (CHI)

Ezekiel Elliott RB (DAL)

Wan’Dale Robinson WR (NYG)

Christian Watson WR (GB)

Cole Kmet TE (CHI)

Check out all of the fantasy overreactions after week 9

Check out the Week 10 PPR Rankings!