The Miami Dolphins and Los Angeles Rams matchup on Monday Night is all that is left in Week 10. As always, there were eye-catching performances around the NFL for good and bad reasons in fantasy football. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest takeaways from Week 10.
Week 10 Takeaways
It’s Hard to Trust Cowboys and Jaguars Players with the Injuries at QB
Heading into Week 10, we learned that Dak Prescott would be having season-ending surgery to repair his hamstring. On the weekly “Panic Meter,” I predicted that you should not start any Cowboys players this week outside of CeeDee Lamb. Between Trey Lance and Cooper Rush, the Cowboys quarterbacks went 17/29 for 66 passing yards and 1 interception. The highest scorer in fantasy football from the game was Rico Dowdle with 8 points. None of these Cowboys including CeeDee Lamb should be locked into your starting lineups weekly. The best strategy moving forward is to stream Cowboys players against favorable matchups.
In Jacksonville, Trevor Lawrence suffered an AC joint sprain which cost him Sunday’s game and could cost him the rest of 2024. The Jaguars scored seven points in the loss to the Vikings with Mac Jones throwing for 111 yards and 2 interceptions. Evan Engram was able to reach 10 points and should remain a weekly starter with Jones in your lineup. Brian Thomas Jr and Gabe Davis combined for 3 catches for 31 yards against the 29th-ranked defense against wide receivers. Meanwhile, Travis Etienne dominated backfield snaps as Tank Bigsby left early with an ankle injury. Outside of Engram, every other player in the Jaguars offense should not be in your starting lineup.
The Steelers Rest of Season Fantasy Outlook
The Pittsburgh Steelers improved to 7-2 with a Week 10 victory over Washington, powered by solid performances from both their offense and defense. While the defense has garnered most of the attention this season, the offense has been thriving, particularly under quarterback Russell Wilson. In recent games, the Steelers have posted impressive point totals of 32, 37, 26, and 28, showcasing the offensive growth. Wide receiver George Pickens has been a primary beneficiary of Wilson’s deep throws, recording five receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown against the Commanders. In Wilson’s four starts, Pickens has been targeted on 26.1% of his routes, averaging 4.25 catches and 82.25 yards per game, making him Pittsburgh’s top fantasy receiver.
The Steelers’ backfield is led by Najee Harris, with Jaylen Warren serving as a change-of-pace back. Over the past two games, Harris has carried the ball 40 times for 167 yards and a touchdown, while Warren has posted 23 carries for 112 yards and 4 receptions for 42 yards. While Harris remains an RB2 in fantasy, his value is limited by his lack of involvement in the passing game, a role now largely handled by Warren. If Harris were to get injured, Warren could step into an expanded role, potentially becoming an RB2 or at least a strong flex option.
The Bears Offense is a Disaster
Since their Week 7 bye, Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears have hit a rough patch, struggling to put up points in three consecutive games against non-elite defenses. The Bears scored just 15, 9, and 3 points, with Williams playing inefficiently—completing only 50.5% of his passes (48 of 95) and averaging a mere 4.93 yards per attempt. During this stretch, he’s thrown for just 131, 217, and 120 yards, taken 18 sacks, lost a fumble, and failed to throw a single touchdown.
As a result, Williams has become an unreliable fantasy option, and his struggles have hurt the fantasy prospects of several teammates, including DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet. Kmet and Allen should not be rostered in most 12-team leagues, while Moore and Odunze should be kept on the bench for now. The one bright spot in the Bears’ offense is running back D’Andre Swift, who remains the most valuable fantasy asset on the team, though he has faced increased difficulty in recent weeks due to defenses stacking the box against him. I am waiting for the team to fire offensive coordinator Shane Waldron to help improve this offense.
Wide Receiver Notes
After the bye week and a healthy set of their top three receivers it was going to be interesting to see which 49ers receiver stepped up as the team’s number two weapon in the pass game. Jauan Jennings seems to still be ahead of Ricky Pearsall right now as he out snapped him, ran more routes, and more targets in the win. Jennings finished with 7 catches for 93 yards on 11 targets while Pearsall had 4 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown. Both receivers had big days against a weak Buccaneers secondary, but Jennings is still the more valuable receiver in San Francisco. He is a low-end WR2 while Pearsall is a weekly FLEX option.
The Saints were down Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Cedrick Wilson Jr, and Bub Means on Sunday resulting in a new look receiver room. Veteran Marquez Valdes-Scantling who recently signed from Buffalo was the hero in the win with 3 catches for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns. MVS led the team in snaps and routes run followed by Mason Tipton and Kevin Austin Jr. Both players combined for 2 targets, and it appears the only receiver worth taking a look at on waivers is MVS. I would keep an eye on the status of Wilson and Means as they get healthier potentially making a bigger impact in the Saints offense.
With Michael Pittman sidelined due to back and finger injuries, the Colts adjusted their receiver lineup, moving Alec Pierce into Pittman’s Z receiver role and giving Adonai Mitchell a larger role at X. Mitchell, who had been a top backup, played a key part, recording a season-high four receptions lined up wide. Both Pierce and Mitchell had strong performances, each surpassing 70 yards. The offense clicked with these changes, suggesting the Colts might benefit from allowing Pittman extra healing time to explore this new receiver alignment.
Running Back Notes
The Broncos made a clear switch a running back with Audric Estime taking over as the primary ball carrier. Heading into the game today, Estime was efficient with his limited touches averaging 6.3 yards per carry. The Broncos opened the game with Jaleel McLaughlin and then Javonte Williams the following drive but ultimately Estime’s impressive third drive led to him dominating the backfield in snaps. Over the last three quarters he played 24 of 41 possible snaps finishing with 14 carries for 53 yards against the league’s best run defense. The Increase in snaps this week is going to make Estime a top waiver wire pickup as he will likely have more opportunities going forward.
Gus Edwards made his return from injured reserve and remained a large part of the Chargers offense. Despite only playing 14 snaps in his return, Edwards had 10 carries for 55 yards resulting in his best game of the season. His role within the Chargers offense consists of playing a high percentage of early-down snaps and getting the ball when he is in. Kimani Vidal was a healthy inactive today as the Chargers will lean on Edwards, JK Dobbins, and Hassan Haskins down the stretch. Earlier this season offensive coordinator Greg Roman mentioned they will “ride the hot hand” at running back which makes JK Dobbins less valuable. Edwards should be a priority pickup on waivers ahead of Week 11.
In Dallas, Rico Dowdle continued his takeover of the backfield earning 10 of the first 15 snaps at running back and started the 3rd quarter playing 7 of the first 11 snaps. He finished with 12 carries for 53 yards with 3 catches for 3 yards. Ezekiel Elliott was back from his team suspension and was a change of pace back on early downs for Dowdle. They utilized Zeke on the goal line where he fumbled and saw little snaps outside of garbage time. Dowdle is the back to own in Dallas as he has taken over as the clear early down running back in the last few weeks.
Christian McCaffrey made his return to the field on Sunday and dominated the 49ers backfield. He played 56 of 64 snaps with both Isaac Guerendo and Jordan Mason seeing 6 total snaps. In his debut, McCaffrey had 13 carries for 39 yards and had 6 catches for 68 yards on 7 targets. I fully expect him to produce like he has in the past for the 49ers making both Mason and Guerendo droppable this week.
Breakout Performances
Each Week I like to highlight three players whose stock is rising after a breakout performance. Jauan Jennings is our first player with his 7 catch 93-yard performance after returning from injury. I expect Jennings to fill into that Brandon Aiyuk role in this offense and continue to produce in fantasy football. Marquez Valdes Scantling is our second breakout player after his 2-touchdown performance against the Falcons. Expect him to be a hot waiver wire pickup this week. One of my biggest takeaways from this week was Calvin Ridley’s hot streak continues even with Will Levis. He had 5 catches for 84 yards and 2 touchdowns against a good Chargers secondary. I expect the veteran wide receiver to continue to produce down the stretch.
Low Scoring Week Outside of Thursday Night Football
Thursday Night Football dominated the scoring this week with Ja’Marr Chase (55.4), Joe Burrow (33.7), Lamar Jackson (32.9), Chase Brown (22.4), and Tylan Wallace (20.5) all having big weeks. Teams who started those players got out to big advantages and likely held onto them with low scoring performances from Sunday’s action. Some takeaways from the top scorers include Jalen Hurts, Kyler Murray, and Brock Purdy continuing their hot streaks. Chuba Hubbard and James Conner continue to produce 20-point performances like clockwork. George Pickens, Calvin Ridley, and Travis Kelce are all heating up ahead of the playoffs as well.
- Jalen Hurts QB (PHI): 29.7 Points
- Bijan Robinson RB (ATL): 29.4 Points
- Kyler Murray QB (ARI): 28.7 Points
- Marquez Valdes-Scantling WR (NO): 25.9 Points
- Calvin Ridley WR (TEN): 25.4 Points
- Chuba Hubbard RB (CAR): 24.9 Points
- Brock Purdy QB (SF): 23.8 Points
- James Conner RB (ARI): 22.3 Points
- George Pickens WR (PIT): 20.5 Points
- Travis Kelce TE (KC): 20.4 Points
Injury Notes
For the first time all season, we have a short injury takeaways list. Both Miles Sanders and Tristian Wirfs suffered major injuries and will likely be heading to the IR. Sanders had been serving as the RB2 for the Panthers likely allowing Jonathan Brooks to step right into that role for the Panthers. Meanwhile, the Tristian Wirfs injury could hurt the Bucs’ efficiency both on the ground and through the air. Dalton Kincaid suffered a knee injury, and his status is in jeopardy this week against the Chiefs. Sam LaPorta suffered a shoulder injury, and early reports are saying he could miss the Jaguars game. Bigsby returned to play after the ankle injury but is a situation to monitor this week.
Dalton Kincaid: Week to Week
Miles Sanders: IR Candidate
Tank Bigsby: Week to Week
Sam LaPorta: Week to Week
Tristian Wirfs: IR Candidate
For all of the Week 10 Reactions in Fantasy Football check out this YouTube Video
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