Week 10 marks a tough week in fantasy football with the Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles all on bye.
With powerhouses like A.J. Brown, Jalen Hurts, Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill out of the picture, fantasy managers must be wary when searching for their replacements this week.
Here are some options to consider:
(All fantasy-related statistics are derived from FantasyPros.com and are based on standard format unless otherwise specified).
Ravens-Browns Fantasy Outlook
Start
Mark Andrews, TE
Given his position rank, Mark Andrews should be considered a must-start in fantasy every week (especially in deeper leagues), so it almost feels more than obvious to list him here. However, the Browns allow the fourth-most yards to tight ends in the league, making Andrews the clear pick on your roster should you be fortunate enough to be deciding between him and another TE who’s just as productive. Expect Andrews to be in the top-two of Lamar Jackson’s target share come Sunday.
Gus Edwards, RB
Despite his shaky first six weeks of the season, Edwards’ last three games have indicated that he’s a locked-in fantasy starter moving forward, even against teams with notorious rush defenses. Edwards finished with 17.2 fantasy points against Seattle which allowed the fewest yards per rush attempt to running backs headed into the game. The majority of these points, however, came from Edwards’ usage at the goal line where he rushed for two touchdowns. Scoring three touchdowns against Arizona the week prior, Edwards is looking like the go-to option to make a score for Baltimore in goal line situations.
Sit
Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt, RB
Running backs across the league have had hit-or-miss performances against Baltimore’s defense this year, which has allowed 13 points on average to the position over a nine-game span. Ford carries much more upside than Hunt this weekend, but both have great potential to bust against a defense that trails only behind the Falcons for fewest rushing touchdowns allowed (3).
Deshaun Watson, QB
Take Deshaun Watson’s ability out of the picture; it’s hard to start any quarterback against such a tough pass-pressure defense with a sneaky quick secondary. Watson is faced not only against the team with the most sacks in the NFL (35) but also against the team with the third-most interceptions (9) in the NFL, which makes for a bad mix in Cleveland’s pass game. Watson’s game log suggests he has a pattern of booming and busting, and the bust is due this week.
Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Around the League
Start
Noah Brown, WR
With Nico Collins trending in the direction of not playing this weekend against the Bengals, Noah Brown moves into starting consideration after his latest 27.3-point finish in PPR (despite splitting targets with both Collins and Tank Dell). Rookie C.J. Stroud has established himself as the best quarterback of his class and is already setting records, having just thrown the most yards in a game (470) and the most touchdowns (5) by a rookie in last week’s win over Tampa Bay. Houston’s wide receiver corps is expected to be slimmer on Sunday which means Brown is a must-start against a mid-tier Cincinnati secondary.
Cowboys D/ST
Although they’ve been hit or miss lately, the Cowboys defense is a lineup lock headed into Week 10 against the New York Giants. For those that have been streaming defenses week to week this year, it has been a fairly simple task as long as you’ve been picking whichever team plays the Giants who have averaged 18 points to defenses in standard format. The Cowboys have proven to be a top fantasy defense this year which means there should be no reason to look elsewhere this week.
Jahan Dotson, WR
Dotson is a player who can’t be ignored any longer with an average of eight targets in his last three games. Curtis Samuel’s absence last week was likely a big contributor to Dotson’s 16.9 finish in PPR, but the second-year receiver led the team in receptions in Week 8 against the Eagles while all other receivers were healthy and in turn finished with 24.8 points. Whether or not Samuel manages to overcome his toe injury ahead of this Sunday’s game against Seattle, Dotson’s latest finishes make him worthy of at least the flex spot.
Taysom Hill, TE
Hill now averages 18.05 fantasy points in his last four contests, meaning he’s too hot to keep on your bench especially at such a thin position. Hill’s target share has increased dramatically in his last four contests as well. He averaged just over a target in his first five games, but now he’s averaging around five targets in his last four. The Saints are starting to use Hill as a quarterback again as well (like in Week 8 when he threw for 44 yards), making him a versatile fantasy asset that has potential to earn you both receiving and passing touchdowns.
Sit
Kyle Pitts, TE
Whether you call it a low floor or a high ceiling, Kyle Pitts averages around eight fantasy points per game which makes him a low TE2 or flex option in deeper leagues and a benchwarmer/drop candidate in more shallow ones. Pitts only has one touchdown through nine weeks of the season, one less than fellow tight end Jonnu Smith who trails Pitts by only 1.2 targets per game. In a run-heavy offense like Atlanta’s, a crowded tight end room sets Pitts up for disaster moving forward, especially against Arizona’s secondary that has only allowed 4.33 fantasy points to the position on average.
Christian Watson, WR
This marks Christian Watson’s second straight week on my sit list as he continues to serve as one of fantasy’s biggest disappointments in 2023. Watson has not shown any signs of being a reliable starter since weeks four and five when he put up 8.5 and 8.6 fantasy points. Since then, he has yet to reach above 4. Watson’s projections on a week to week basis mislead him to be a starter at WR3 or flex, but Romeo Doubs and Jayden Reed have overshadowed him too much to make him worthy of a slot.
Waiver Wire Pickups
Top Pick: Cade Otton, TE
Otton is currently rostered in just 21% of Yahoo leagues and 19% of ESPN leagues which makes him a top waiver wire addition going into Week 10. The second-year tight end out of Washington is trending upward in PPR formats, averaging 10.76 points in his last five games. While Otton may not be a flashy starter as of yet, a tight end averaging above 10 points has been especially hard to come by this year.
Others to consider:
- Sam Howell, QB
- Keaton Mitchell*, RB
- Demario Douglas, WR
- Raiders, D/ST
- Brandon McManus, K
* A note on Keaton Mitchell: err on the side of caution if you plan to start him this week. While it’s hard to bench Mitchell after a 19.4 point performance in Week 9, it’s unclear whether that will be a consistent output moving forward. Baltimore has a committee backfield that makes its running backs make or break in fantasy depending on how they’re used at the goaline. It might be safer to bench Mitchell against Myles Garrett and the Browns in case last Sunday’s 138-yard finish was a fluke.
