Fantasy Football Cheat Sheet Week 10: Alternatives to Josh Allen, Vegas injuries, starts and sits
The weekly fantasy football cheat sheet provides a rundown of the best tips from all the fantasy football content that ESPN has posted over the past seven days. You’ll find answers to the biggest start/sit questions of the week and other pertinent matchup advice from our team, including Field Yates, Mike Clay, Eric Karabell, Tristan H. Cockcroft, Matt Bowen, Seth Walder, Al Zeidenfeld, Eric Moody, Liz Loza, Daniel Dopp and ESPN Insiders Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano, plus all of NFL Nation. It’s all the best advice in one handy article.
Here’s what our experts are saying about Week 10 in the NFL:
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Last week, the Buffalo Bills’ quarterback suffered a right elbow injury that was bad enough to keep him out of practice this week right up until a “limited” outing on Friday. The Bills’ coaching staff was very hesitant to reveal any information about whether or not Allen would be able to play on Sunday, with Sean McDermott actually using the phrase “hour-to-hour” to describe Allen’s status. With that in mind, our fantasy experts were getting their recommendations for replacement QB options ready to roll — of if they can even find anything at all worth trying to pick up.
For fantasy purposes, the equation is simple: If Allen plays, you play him. But replacing him is an impossible task under any circumstances, and given how mediocre quarterback play has been this season in fantasy, it’s especially tricky. We’ve belabored the point about how unspectacular usual fantasy QB stars have been (think Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Matthew Stafford, etc.), and there really haven’t been that many signal-callers who have overachieved this year, either. — Yates
I’m looking at Trevor Lawrence’s recent tape, plus the Week 10 matchup against a Chiefs defense allowing 19.5 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks (eighth most in the NFL). Lawrence was pretty dialed in during the Week 9 game against Las Vegas. Decisive with the ball, seeing it fast, pocket movement and more. There’s some big-time throws on the tape. The Jags’ quarterback completed 25 of 31 passes in the win over the Raiders, and he added another 53 yards rushing (on six carries). While we need to see more TD production from Lawrence as a thrower, he has scored at least 16 fantasy points in three of his past four starts. He’s a QB1 for me in the Week 10 rankings. — Bowen
Jacoby Brissett is a worthwhile streamer for those in a bye week or injury-related pinch. The Dolphins allowed Allen (26.70 in Week 1), Lamar Jackson (42.62 in Week 2) and Justin Fields (42.72 in Week 9) to score at least 26.70 fantasy points this season. — Cockcroft
When playing in a tournament, you want to take as many shots as possible. Who better to take a shot with than Tua Tagovailoa (and his duo of all-pro caliber WR teammates). Cleveland has the sixth-lowest interception percentage in the league and allows the seventh-highest deep completion rate at 55%. There are very few clean double-stack opportunities on this slate with viable bring-back plays. Tagovailoa represents very possibly the best of all of them. — Al Zeidenfeld
Looking for the latest injury news leading up to kickoff? Check out all of the Week 10 inactives here.
The Las Vegas Raiders placed both TE Darren Waller and WR Hunter Renfrow on IR Thursday, opening up a ton of potential targets in their own huddle while also sending some fantasy managers who had been hoping to get Waller back into their lineups scrambling yet again to the waiver wire.
Since Waller was the TE5 in our draft trends this summer, his absence has been particularly frustrating for fantasy managers. He has missed eight of the Raiders’ past 14 regular-season games. Waller and Renfrow will both miss at least four games, starting with Sunday’s game against the Colts, and will not be eligible to return until the Raiders face the Rams in Week 14. — Moody
How about Mack Hollins, though? He was on my deep sleeper radar ahead of his Week 3 blow-up at Tennessee. I personally picked him up and used him that week, but admittedly haven’t started him since. Now, Hollins has undeniable flex appeal. He has been running 35 routes per game and has 12 deep looks on the season. — Loza
Foster Moreau has played on nearly every offensive snap with Waller sidelined, but he has yet to either clear 45 yards or find the end zone this season. He’s a TE2. … Evan Engram went from four straight games with six-plus targets and 9.0-plus fantasy points to an 8-yard showing on a sad two targets in Week 9. Engram remains a fringe TE1, though, since this is a nice matchup against a Chiefs defense that has allowed the seventh-most TE fantasy points, along with five scores. — Clay
Chicago’s run-heavy offense, which limits the total throwing volume for Fields, has really impacted the fantasy profile of Cole Kmet this season. But let’s look at the tight end’s usage in the red zone over the past two weeks. During that stretch, Kmet has run nine red zone routes, with four receptions and three TD catches. Chicago is scheming for Kmet here, isolating him for Fields on play-action concepts — boot, delayed releases, quicks underneath. Kmet, who logged two touchdowns and posted a season-high 22.0 PPR points in Week 9 versus Miami, gets the Lions defense on Sunday. — Bowen
Since returning from injury, Greg Dulcich has been extremely steady, averaging 12.1 DraftKings points per game. Dulcich is averaging 15.2 yards per catch across his three games this season — a rarity at this position — and matches up well with the Titans, who are allowing the seventh-most yards per TE reception at 11.8. Dulcich brings us a solid floor of targets as well as big play potential at a bargain price on DraftKings. If you don’t feel like paying up for one of the higher-priced options, this is the place to go. — Zeidenfeld
The Rams’ Tyler Higbee (roster percentage down 8.3% this week) has a great matchup this week with Arizona. He just needs to do something with it. — Karabell
Get your lineups set for your Week 10 fantasy football matchups with analysis for each of the games left to be played, last-minute pickup options, and our take on the biggest stories of the weekend.
• The Playbook: Week 10
Mike Clay breaks down each game from all angles, with projections and advice for key players.
• Fantasy Field Pass
Field Yates on the potential impact of Josh Allen’s injury, how to value JuJu Smith-Schuster and more.
• Fantasy Hot Seat
Eric Karabell puts Leonard Fournette among players under most pressure in Week 10.
Also See: Week 10ankings | Daily Notes
It used to be that the RB position, once the fantasy draft was over, was of the “set it and forget it” variety, but that’s no longer the case, it seems, in 2022. Our NFL Nation team took a look across the league to see if the questions being raised in certain NFL backfields are legitimate concerns.
Dameon Pierce (zero targets in Week 9) is averaging 20 carries in the past six games while averaging 96 yards. Pierce not getting any targets against the Eagles isn’t an issue since he’s getting the lion share of the carries. The Texans want to run the offense through him as he’s their only offensive consistent threat. — DJ Bien-Aime
Miles Sanders (22 receiving yards in Week 4 but just seven yards on four targets since) will put up decent receiving numbers on occasion, but his opportunities are so limited — he hasn’t been targeted more than three times in a game in over a year — that production in that area of his game can’t be relied upon. The passing game runs through A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, as it should. Sanders’ work will continue to come primarily on the ground. — Tim McManus
I know it’s every fantasy manager’s least favorite thing to hear, but (Miami’s backfield) will be more of a hot-hand approach than anything. Jeff Wilson Jr. and Raheem Mostert split snaps nearly down the middle Sunday, but Wilson was more effective with his touches. There’s room for both players in this backfield, but probably not as anything more than a midrange RB2. No matter who is in the backfield, this is a pass-heavy office and that doesn’t look like it’s changing anytime soon. — Marcel Louis-Jacques
Prepare for frustration (with the Jets), because there will be a committee approach in the post-Breece Hall world. Playing time will depend on down-and-distance and opponent, but look for an even split between Michael Carter and James Robinson. Carter will be the outside threat, Robinson inside. One thing to remember about Robinson: He’s dealing with knee soreness that almost caused him to miss last week’s game. The bye week will help, but they will have to manage his touches to keep him from wearing down. — Rich Cimini
In Week 3, Byron Murphy Jr. shadowed Cooper Kupp on all seven of his perimeter routes but zero of his 18 slot routes. Murphy has also shadowed Davante Adams (2-12-1 receiving line on seven targets in the game), Justin Jefferson (6-98-0 on eight targets) and DK Metcalf (5-37-1 on six targets) this season, so we can expect similar deployment to the first game here in Week 10. That’s notable, because the Cardinals did a nice job containing Kupp, holding him to a 4-44-0 line on six targets. Despite the dud in the first game, Kupp is borderline matchup-proof, so we don’t really need to adjust expectations much here other than to perhaps go another direction in DFS. — Clay
Upgrade James Conner and Eno Benjamin at the Rams. Last week Leonard Fournette was in this spot and racked up 41 receiving yards on five receptions, beating both his receptions and receiving yards props. Now it’s Conner’s and Benjamin’s turn to face the Rams’ zone-heavy defense that leads to running back receptions. Conner and Benjamin each average 17-18 routes per game, but Conner is the one who I think earns the larger boost here: He has run more routes in the games both backs have played and is coming off a five-reception performance, albeit for only 19 yards. Still, those extra receptions can help in PPR. — Walder
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was breaking projection models earlier this season when he kept finding the end zone, as he scored five touchdowns in the first four games. He has since cooled off, with just 119 total yards and one touchdown over his past four games, each with fewer than 10 fantasy points. The Chiefs are as “running back by committee” as basically any team in the NFL, as they have just one back with more than 10 fantasy points in a game since Week 5 (that was Jerick McKinnon in Week 9). When we suggested trading away CEH when his value was soaring early in the season, this was why. It’s a backfield to avoid if you can. — Yates
Tight end Travis Kelce might be Patrick Mahomes‘ go-to option these days, but JuJu Smith-Schuster has emerged as Mahomes’ best target from the Chiefs’ wide receiver group. Smith-Schuster’s 19.2% target share is easily second on the team (Marquez Valdes-Scantling‘s 11.9% is a distant third), and his 11 red zone targets also rank second. That’s significant in a week like this, against a struggling Jaguars secondary that surrendered 26.4 PPR fantasy points to Michael Pittman Jr. in Week 6 and 36.6 points to Davante Adams in Week 9. — Cockcroft
Buried on the bench for over a year, Terrace Marshall Jr. has received 15 targets over the past two weeks, which he turned into seven catches for 140 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers still believe in his talent as a long-term option. — Fowler
There are rumors of a potential benching of Najee Harris so that undrafted Oklahoma State RB Jaylen Warren can get a chance. Warren has 41 touches this season. Harris does not look like his rookie version at all. — Karabell
I feel like I need to talk about Rhamondre Stevenson here. For those who forgot, like I did, Stevenson was drafted in the 10th round with an ADP of 93. He’s currently RB8 on the season averaging 14.7 points and he’s clearly the more talented of the two running backs in New England. Stevenson has double-digit fantasy points in every game since Week 2, he has had at least two targets in every game this year and over the past three weeks he has seen at least seven targets in every game. Add in all of the volume he’s getting in the ground game and it’s easy to see why there is hype around Stevenson. As the lead back, the dude has crushed every expectation this year. — Dopp