Welcome to the Fantasy Football Week 10 Waiver Wire pickups, where we give you the players to start immediately, stash at the end of your bench, and stream for a week or two.
Let’s look back at Week 9 and dissect the top prospects for the Fantasy Football Week 10 Waiver Wire.
Week 10 Bye Weeks: Chiefs, Rams, Dolphins, Eagles
Note: Roster % based on Yahoo leagues and should have roughly 50% ownership
FANTASY WEEK 10 WAIVER WIRE PICKUPS
START
- Tank Dell, WR Houston Texans (48%)
- Demario Douglas, WR New England Patriots (35%)
- Zach Charbonnet, RB Seattle Seahawks (44%)
- Cade Otton, TE Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5%)
- Jonnu Smith, TE Atlanta Falcons (28%)
The hype surrounding rookie Tank Dell died down after an injury and the Texans’ bye week, which kept his ownership under the 50% threshold. Those days are now over, as Dell exploded on Sunday with 6-114-2 on 11 targets. The chemistry with CJ Stroud is so prevalent that the potential of these two connecting at a high level is tremendous.
This was Demario Douglas’ first game as the Patriots’ WR1. The Patriots offense has been a disaster, but the injury to Kendrick Bourne left the WR1 spot open for the rookie out of Liberty to take for his own. ‘Big time’ free agent signing JuJu Smith-Schuster played only 36% of snaps, as they ran Jalen Reagor as the WR2. Douglas is clearly the best available and most talented receiver left on this team. Plus, they’ll be playing from behind frequently.
For the second straight week, Zach Charbonnet out-snapped Kenneth Walker. This game was an overall disaster for the Seahawks, as they couldn’t get anything going offensively. However, Seattle turned to Charbonnet to handle all third down and two-minute drill snaps over Walker. These were the results of funky game scripts falling behind in both games, but Pete Carroll loves himself some Charbonnet.
Tight end Cade Otton has extremely high usage numbers, but the only problem has been getting him the football. Ninety-one percent is his lowest snap rate of the year, so Otton has been out there nearly the whole season, and just now, Baker is starting to get him the ball with 21 targets over the last three games. Mainly involved in the red zone, Otton could be a massive help to TE-needy teams.
The Falcons’ TE1, Jonnu Smith, has been at or near the top of the Falcons’ target totem pole this season. This week, with Taylor Heinicke under center, the two connected for a 60-yard score. Whether it’s Heinicke or Desmond Ridder commanding the offense, Smith has been a consistent fantasy tight end for most of the season.
STASH
- Leonard Fournette, RB Buffalo Bills (31%)
- Keaton Mitchell, RB Baltimore Ravens (4%)
- Michael Wilson, WR Arizona Cardinals (12%)
- Will Levis, QB Tennessee Titans (45%)
- Noah Brown, WR Houston Texans (1%)
- Luke Musgrave, TE Green Bay Packers (22%)
- Wan’Dale Robinson, WR New York Giants (20%)
- Juwan Johnson, TE New Orleans Saints (10%)
- Khalil Shakir, WR Buffalo Bills (6%)
- Darnell Mooney, WR Chicago Bears (14%)
It took eight weeks, but Leonard Fournette will soon make his 2023 NFL debut after signing with the Buffalo Bills. Lombardi Lenny will take over the Latavius Murray role, aka the goal line carries, right away. However, he is a proven pass-catcher after recording 144 receptions over the last two seasons. Would it really surprise anyone if Fournette out-scores James Cook if he’s the RB2, goal line, and pass-catching back on one of the league’s top offenses? Weirder shit has happened down the stretch.
What a bizarre game between the Ravens and Seahawks this week. Part of Baltimore’s beatdown included a great performance from Keaton Mitchell, who led the team with 138 yards and a score on just nine carries. Who is Keaton Mitchell, you might ask? We covered him a while back, actually. There’s tantalizing upside in a backfield that’s dealt with so many injuries, but Mitchell was super efficient. Gus Edwards handled the work early on, and then Justice Hill got his reps in for the remainder of the blowout. I’m not sold that Mitchell will take over the lead role from Edwards, but it’s not out of the question.
Michael Wilson missed the Cardinals game this week, but he makes for a solid stash with the return of Kyler Murray likely happening this week, barring no setback. Wilson had a strong grasp on the WR2 role for the Cardinals, consistently playing 80% of snaps over the likes of Rondale Moore. Obviously, Murray’s return raises the offense’s ceiling.
Week 8 sensation Will Levis returned to Earth in Week 9 on Thursday night after a tough game in Pittsburgh. While the Steelers’ defense presents a difficult matchup, you can see what tools Levis offers and his ability to stretch the field with his rocket arm. He gets a much better opportunity this week against the Bucs, who CJ Stroud just gutted.
Of course, if you can’t get Tank Dell, you have to target Noah Brown to get a piece of this CJ Stroud-led Texans offense. That’s just straight-up weird to say in the year 2023. But, after Stroud shredded the Bucs’ defense to the tune of 470 passing yards and five touchdowns, Brown was on the receiving end with 153 yards, six receptions, and a 75-yard touchdown catch. As long as Brown is starting, the Buckeye connection is strong in Houston, making him a solid stash/streamer if needed.
Scoring his first touchdown of the season, Luke Musgrave is trending up on a weekly basis. Jordan Love looked better than he had previously (low bar), and the return of a fully healthy Aaron Jones helped move the offense along. With Christian Watson MIA, Musgrave has the chance to earn a more significant share of the receiving work moving forward.
The Giants’ offense right now is just a giant cluster fudge. Daniel Jones is done for the year, meaning we’ll have Tommy DeVito and Tyrod Taylor when he returns. Nonetheless, second-year wideout Wan’Dale Robinson has shown promise, despite seeing a drop in usage this week. He did, however, catch a touchdown and is the team’s best receiver– if that even means anything at this point.
In his second game back from injury, Juwan Johnson returned to higher-end usage numbers by playing 75% of the snaps. Johnson figures to slide right back into the TE1 role as Foster Moreau saw a significant dip in playing time, while Taysom Hill is still Taysom Hill.
Two straight weeks now of >50% snap share for Bills receiver Khalil Shakir. With Daddy Davis putting up a goose egg and continuing to be the most bipolar fantasy receiver, Shakir is slowly carving into Buffalo’s offense. I’d still have him fourth behind the two receivers and Dalton Kincaid, but Josh Allen is a QB I’d trust with most fantasy receivers.
The last two weeks have been the most we’ve seen Darnell Mooney on the field for the Bears, and this week was his first double-digit performance since Week 1. Justin Fields is looking to return soon for Chicago, and the Bears are extremely limited, with roughly three viable pass catchers on offense.
STREAM
- D’Onta Foreman, RB Chicago Bears (56%)
- Baker Mayfield, QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers (48%)
- Joshua Dobbs, QB Minnesota Vikings (17%)
- Seattle Seahawks DST (41%)
Twenty carries this week for D’Onta Foreman as he continues to be the lead back for the Bears. They have a short week playing the Panthers on Thursday night, meaning Khalil Herbert might not be ready to play just yet. This would be a good week for Foreman as the Bears can lean on their run game and possibly be favored in this contest.
The Bucs continue to be a pass-heavy team, which is good for Baker Mayfield. They face the Titans this week, who have funneled offenses more through the air thanks to a stout run defense.
What Joshua Dobbs did on Sunday was extremely impressive, filling in for the Vikings with next to no experience or knowledge of the team’s offense. Now, with a week of practice and familiarity with his new teammates, he should be more comfortable against the Saints this week.
The Seahawks DST returns home after getting smashed by the Ravens last week. They’ll get some home cooking when they welcome in Sam “Sacks” Howell, who has been sacked an absurd 44 times this season. On the flip side, Seattle has sacked the QB the sixth-most in the NFL and should be in for a major bounce back in front of the league’s wildest home crowd. Check out our Week 10 DST Streamers for more options on that side of the ball.
