Congratulations, you’re reading this which means you survived one of the most scary NFL weeks of the season. Three of the best teams in the league as far as offensive production goes were on bye weeks and there was a lot of talent sitting on the bench. Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and the Dolphins, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, and also Travis Kelce and the Swifties had their bye weeks in Week 10, so there were a lot of holes to fill on fantasy rosters.
Nico Collins, Ja’Marr Chase and Josh Downs all had varying degrees of injuries, and it meant lineups were churned and streamers were picked up at an Olympic rate.
It means you potentially had to play some players on your roster who were encased in ‘Only Use In Case Of Emergency’ glass and you may have even had to use a player from… the New York Giants. The fantasy football waiver wire was alight last week, but there’s more stability this week, right? Not a chance.
The good news is that there were no significant injuries in Week 10 save for a few close calls. The perpetually semi-injured Deshaun Watson left the Browns stadium after the Ravens game in a walking boot but says he will be ready to go in Week 11. Baker Mayfield hurt his thumb and Derek Carr left the Saints game with a shoulder injury while also being assessed for a concussion. That might just mean it’s Jameis Winston time, the most wonderful time of the year, for the Saints. They’re on a bye in Week 11, so let’s keep that talk on hold for now.
The Las Vegas Raiders’ fortunes have changed, and they are now 2-0 since firing Josh McDaniels. Davante Adams showed signs of life and Michael Mayer even caught a touchdown. We are not willing to commit to Mayer just yet but it’s worth keeping in the back of your mind. Kyler Murray is also back, and the Arizona Cardinals’ offense looked a lot more coherent with the former No. 1 pick under center. Trey McBride continued his ascent, and we have written a little bit about Rondale Moore below.
Check out our fantasy rankings and fantasy comparison tool if you’re in doubt about your lineup or a specific matchup going into Week 11.
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Running Backs
Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens
- Rostered: 47% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 13.6 (RB17)
- Upcoming schedule: Bengals, @Chargers, bye week
There was some concern that Keaton Mitchell’s breakout game in Week 9 was a flash in the pan. He only rushed nine times but finished with 138 yards on the ground — 15.3 YPC, hardly a sustainable pace. Those fears were allayed on Sunday against Cleveland when Mitchell finished with three for 34 yards and a touchdown along with a massive catch-and-run that netted him 32 yards. Despite the limited usage, again, Mitchell finished with 12.6 fantasy points. Sure, not RB1 numbers but enough to be prioritized on the waiver wire this week.
Mitchell’s upcoming schedule comes against the Bengals, who are giving up 21.1 fantasy points per game to running backs (15th in the league). The Chargers give up 25.3 points to opposing running backs, which is the fifth highest mark in the league. The running back room is still confusing here with Gus Edwards and Justice Hill vying for their slice of the pie along with Lamar Jackson always more than willing to take off on the ground, but Mitchell’s ceiling feels higher than either of the aforementioned running backs. It’s a volume thing for now with Mitchell, which means for fantasy managers, it also may be a patience thing.
Devin Singletary, Houston Texans
- Rostered: 47% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 23.1 (RB3)
- Upcoming schedule: Cardinals, Jaguars, Broncos
The Houston Texans are cooking with C.J. Stroud at quarterback and an array of receiving talent that has had its way against some of the better defenses in the NFL in recent weeks. Dameon Pierce missed his second consecutive game on Sunday as the Texans put up a 30-burger on the Bengals. Singletary took full advantage with 30 carries, 150 yards and a touchdown and added a catch for 11 yards.
The Cardinals are giving up the third most points to running backs in fantasy football (27.2) and the Broncos (30.4) are conceding the most. The Jaguars, who they play between those two porous defenses, are ranked 12th and give up on average 19.2 to opposition running backs. Pierce is still struggling with an ankle injury, the Texans have a few very appealing matchups over next three weeks, and Singletary is the hot hand. Maybe Singletary’s hot streak doesn’t last, but now is not the time to be thinking too far into the future with fantasy football playoffs on the line.
Ty Chandler, Minnesota Vikings
- Rostered: 3% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 10.5 (RB25)
- Upcoming schedule: @Broncos, Bears, bye week
Josh Dobbs has breathed life back into the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason hopes after Kirk Cousins’ Achilles tear looked to have derailed their entire season. Justin Jefferson is very close to returning from a hamstring injury, and the Vikings’ seasons has been resuscitated. Lost in the QB whirlwind, Cam Akers also suffered an Achilles tear and has been replaced by Ty Chandler.
He out-carried Alexander Mattison in Week 10 against the New Orleans Saints and finished with 15 carries for 45 yards and a score. Mattison was one of the great unknowns coming into the season. After backing up peak Dalvin Cook the Vikings let Cook go and figured Mattison could take more on, but he has struggled with just two RB1 finishes in 10 games. Chandler might be ready to take over lead running back duties for the next couple weeks as Mattison left the game on Sunday against the Saints with a concussion. The Vikings have the Bears and Broncos in the next two weeks, two of the worst defenses in the league – teams against which game script may dictate plenty of opportunities on the ground.
Minnesota plays the Broncos this Sunday night, and Mattison will have a chance to recover in time for that. If he can’t go, Chandler will step right into a leading role.
Tyjae Spears, Tennessee Titans
- Rostered: 40% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 10 (RB27)
- Upcoming schedule: @Jaguars, Panthers, Colts
OK, so maybe Spears won’t ever take off while sharing a backfield with Derrick Henry, but Spears is one of best handcuff running backs in the whole league while still producing even without the lead back role. The Buccaneers have one of the best run defenses in the league and only give up 14.9 fantasy points a game to opposing running backs. Spears could only muster three carries for 18 yards during the Titans’ Week 10 loss but he added four catches for 42 yards through the air, leading the team in receptions.
The Will Levis Experience has hit some turbulence since takeoff three weeks ago, but the Titans have named him as their starter. It’s Billy Jean for the rest of the season, apparently, and the Titans are 3-6. Maybe Spears finally gets more of a look as the Titans try to figure out what the plan is for 2024.
Wide Receivers
Demario Douglas, New England Patriots
- Rostered: 36% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 14.4 (WR22)
- Upcoming schedule: Bye week, @Giants, Chargers
Who is the Patriots’ starting quarterback? Does it really matter? Mac Jones was replaced by Bailey Zappe for the final drive of the game against the Colts and ended up getting picked off as the Patriots chased a four-point lead. One thing to emerge from that game is that Demario Douglas’ role seems to have expanded as he caught six balls for 84 yards. Those six catches were double any other player on the Patriots.
His ceiling might be quite low on a bad offense that doesn’t do much work on the other side of the goal line, but the volume can’t be ignored. Devante Parker missed the game against the Colts, Kendrick Bourne is on injured reserve, and Douglas was the one to benefit from those absence. Juju Smith-Schuster caught just one pass for nine yards. This offense is primed for a reset with nothing to lose, and the rookie is on the ascent.
Rondale Moore, Arizona Cardinals
- Rostered: 9% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 9.3 (WR36)
- Upcoming schedule: @Texans, Rams, @Steelers
Ronalde Moore is suddenly relevant against with the return of Kyler Murray. It’s no surprise that he had season highs in targets (8), receptions (5) and receiving yards (43) in Murray’s first start of the season as they beat the Atlanta Falcons. Moore was a WR2 in four of eight weeks last season before his year was ended by injury.
James Conner is back, Trey McBride is a legit TE1, and things are looking positive for the Cardinals again. Of course, that isn’t to say they can climb out of their 2-8 rut, but this is fantasy football we’re talking about. Team records are but a construct. The Texans have been involved in two high-scoring affairs in recent weeks. Expect the Week 11 matchup against the Cardinals to be the same and Moore to command another healthy share of the targets.
Noah Brown, Houston Texans
- Rostered: 24% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 24.2 (WR6)
- Upcoming schedule: Cardinals, Jaguars, Broncos
The Texans have been slowly ramping up Brown’s usage over the last four games, and that culminated with seven catches and 172 yards on Sunday against the Bengals. Nico Collins and Tank Dell are locked in as the top two wide receivers, and for the purposes of this article it doesn’t really matter which order they rank on a given week. Brown is third on the depth chart, but he has proven that he can produce at the highest level for the Texans.
He has stacked two top-10 weeks in PPR leagues with Nico Collins out last week and has thus earned his far share of attention in the passing game going forward. Brown played in Week 1 and returned in Week 6. Since then, he has 24 targets with Tank Dell leading all Texans wide receivers with 29. Nico Collins has 17. If Brown stays injury free and can fill in when needed, he can play a significant role in fantasy football for the rest of the season.
Tight Ends
Tyler Conklin, New York Jets
- Rostered: 11% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 14 (TE4)
- Upcoming schedule: Bills, Dolphins, Falcons
You may have reverted to streaming tight ends if you didn’t manage to snag one of the top-three producers at the position in the draft. The Jets still aren’t scoring, but they have improved somewhat in recent weeks with Zach Wilson racking up some decent yardage numbers even if the touchdowns aren’t there.
Conklin saw a season-high seven targets and he caught all of them on Sunday against the Raiders for 70 yards. Over the last two weeks, his 13 targets rank eighth in the league. Only T.J. Hockenson, Dalton Schultz and Trey McBride have more receiving yards among tight ends in that time.
Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers
- Rostered: 23% on Yahoo
- Week 10 PPR fantasy points: 8.4 (TE13)
- Upcoming schedule: Chargers, @Lions, Chiefs
Musgrave caught his first touchdown in Week 9 and backed that up with his most receiving yards of the season in Week 10 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He finished the loss with just two catches for 64 yards. He’s not catching a lot of passes or even being targeted often, but the Packers have a relatively easy slate of games in upcoming weeks for tight ends.
The Chargers are giving up 23.9 points per game and have given up the most passing yards in the NFL this season (2,841). Musgrave is averaging 23 yards per catch in the last two weeks. Only George Kittle has a higher yards per catch average. It’s consecutive games with 50+ yards receiving for Musgrave, who might be worth consideration if you’re streaming tight ends due to injury.