Fantasy Football ‘24: Waiver Wire, Week 10 edition

Welcome to the Fantasy Football Waiver Wire for Week 10! A strange this is happening on the NFL injury front this season. Wide receivers have been dropping like flies with a wide array of injuries, while running backs, remarkably, have for the most part stayed healthy. It’s a reverse of what we’re accustomed to seeing and it’s had a huge impact on both the NFL and fantasy football this season. It’s also had an impact on the waiver wire. I went back and looked at some of my waiver wire columns from the past three seasons and by and large the top names to target each week were running backs, in large part due to a steady stream of injuries to starters.

This Sunday’s action saw the continuation of that disturbing trend at WR. CeeDee Lamb, A.J. Brown, Drake London, and Chris Olave — all huge names at the position — went down with what could be multi-week injuries. For Brown, it’s his second injury this season. Olave’s situation is a scary one. He had one concussion while at Ohio State and now has suffered four in three seasons with the Saints, two of which occurred in the last three weeks. In addition to those Week 9 injuries, D.K. Metcalf, Mike Evans, Nico Collins, and Tee Higgins remained out this week from earlier injures, and that’s on top of multiple high-end WRs either missing time earlier this season or suffering season-ending injuries. It’s too many players to list, and you know who they are. You probably had one rostered. Sorry for the reminder. Anyway, we’ve seen this happen to the running back position, but I can’t recall a year where the WR position was decimated like this. When RBs go down, there’s often an immediate beneficiary who steps into a sizable portion of the injured player’s role. For the most part, that doesn’t happen in the same way with receivers, although injury often creates opportunity for others.

As for this week’s crop of free agents, it’s not so great and I wouldn’t go blowing too much free agent budget on anyone. But there are players that can help you, and with four teams on Bye, I suspect the wire will be a busy place in most leagues. Let’s get to it.

The Process: Each week, I try to identify the top Waiver Wire targets and evaluate the short- and long-term prospects of those players. I also do my best to reveal which players who are coming off a big week are fool’s gold. Finally, I look at streamers who might help you in a pinch (this is usually more important during Bye weeks). Note that I’m writing this column BEFORE the Week 9 Monday night game (TB@KC).

Some players discussed won’t be available in your league. I try to list players who are available in more than 50% of leagues. But what does that even mean? A 10-team league with six bench spots will have a much larger Free Agent pool than a 14-team league with eight. Most leagues fall somewhere in between. This isn’t “one size fits all.” By way of example, I won’t list Cedric Tillman or Hunter Henry this week, among others who probably aren’t available in any of your leagues. Those guys all would be priority WR adds if available.

WEEK 10 BYES: CLE, GB, LV, SEA

Week 10 Waiver Wire

Quarterback:

Need a second quarterback for a Superflex league, a streamer for this week, or another starting option in a 1-QB league? There are again some appealing choices this week.

Aaron Rodgers. A-Rod’s arm talent and the skills of his top two wideouts were on full display on Thursday night, and he put up his second-best fantasy performance of the season with 20 points. Rodgers is the QB17 on the season and has been “just OK” most weeks, but the arrow is pointing up due to the acquisition of Davante Adams and a favorable schedule. A mini-run feels pretty likely, as the Jets try to get back into the Wild Card mix. The Jets’ next two games are against the Cardinal sand Colts (sandwiched around a Bye), and the fantasy playoffs include the Rams and Jaguars. He won’t get into shootouts and the ceiling is capped, but he’s a good choice if you need a QB for the near future.

Drake Maye. I’ll keep listing Maye until I’m blue in the face. I don’t get why his roster percentage on the major platforms is still below 50% for 1-QB leagues. Maye has finished as a Top-12 QB in all three of the games he has started and finished. He’s a legit dual-threat (95 rushing yards this week) on a team that’s almost always chasing points. Yes, the weapons are sub-par and the O-line is bad, and there will be rookie mistakes, but he’s mostly exactly what you want in a second fantasy QB/streamer with upside. The upcoming schedule isn’t great, but neither was his Week 9 matchup (@TEN), and he still managed almost 18 fantasy points.

Matthew Stafford. As long as his top two WRs are healthy (and not getting ejected for fighting), Stafford is worth a roster spot. Like the Jets, the Rams feel like they could be starting a mini-run, and Stafford is a good candidate to throw for lots of yards and multiple TDs most weeks. He’s also now become a column regular. Add him.

Daniel Jones. Full confession: I was at the Giants-Commanders game on Sunday and when Jones had a stat line of 4-for-6 for zero yards (and somehow, 1 TD) at the half, I didn’t think he’d be in today’s column. By the time the second half was over, Jones had put up 24.4 fantasy points, and was the QB4 for the week (pending Monday night). It isn’t going to be pretty, his team struggles to score TDs most weeks, but Jones as decent weapons and when he runs, as he did on Sunday, he’s a valuable fantasy asset. This week’s matchup with the Panthers and the Week 12 matchup with the Bucs are super tasty, if you need a streamer. More good news: His fantasy playoff matchups currently rank as the third easiest schedule of any QB (assuming he remains the starter, which is definitely a risk).

Justin Herbert. The Chargers are throwing a lot more of late, and after zero Top-12 finishes through Week 7, Herbert has back-to-back Top-12 finishes the last two weeks. They’re winning with defense and a balanced offense, and the remaining schedule is fairly difficult, so don’t expect spike weeks. But he’s becoming a solid QB2 option with a decent floor. He also isn’t turning it over (one INT on the season), which is a plus.

Others to consider, as needed: Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, and Bo Nix.

Running Back:

Once again, there isn’t a lot to add at running back if what you need is an immediate streamer/starter. RBs are staying healthy, and we haven’t had too many cases of backups usurping the starting jobs. I’ll repeat something I said last week: Jaylen Warren and Tyler Allgeier are rostered at right around 50% on some of the major platforms and I’d grab either one if available. Both have some stand-alone value beyond their potentially massive handcuff value, in offenses that run a lot.

Beyond that, Ray Davis, Jr. produced big this week (most of it on a 63-yard TD catch and run where he showed off both tackle-breaking skills and long speed) on minimal touches, and he’s a handcuff who could be a league-winner if anything happens to James Cook. My advice continues to be to stash RB2s that are available, for depth. Some names that I’d continue to look at are: Braelon Allen, Kimani Vidal, Jaleel McLaughlin, Roschon Johnson, Justice Hill, Isaac Guerendo, and Blake Corum. All are one injury away from what could be a significant role. I’ve said it over and over: You want a couple of these guys on your roster at all times. I’d also take a look at Jaylen Wright, as Raheem Mostert was benched after losing his second fumble in three games. Wright was rotating in behind starter Devon Achane after that. There was a Trey Benson sighting this week, but I’d prioritize the other backs I mentioned over him at this point.

Photo by Matt Kelley/Getty Images

Wide Receiver:

Jerry Jeudy and Elijah Moore. Tillman is emerging as the clear No. 1 wide receiver after the departure of Amari Cooper, but these players also deserve roster consideration. Jeudy has at least eight targets and 70 yards in two straight games, and you know Jameis is going to keep slinging it until his arm falls off. Moore is a little more boom/bust, and less likely to crack your lineup. Don’t get too discouraged by what this passing offense did in Week 9. The Chargers don’t give up much on defense, period.

Keon Coleman, Ricky Pearsall, and Xavier Legette. I’ve listed all of these rookies before, and I’ll list them again. I think they’re more heavily rostered than the large platforms are indicating, but it might be that one of them is available to you. I like them in this order for the rest of the season. I think all three are very strong candidates for a second half mini-breakout that can help you down the stretch. All should be in line for more opportunities than they’ve gotten so far. The first two are in very good passing offenses, while Legette isn’t. But the advantage for Legette is a team that’s almost always trailing.

Parker Washington. I listed him here last week and I’ll run it back. His first game since the injury to Christian Kirk saw modest output, but it was a tough matchup. His upcoming schedule (Minnesota and Detroit) is extremely favorable for a receiver who works primarily out of the slot, and I expect the Jaguars to be trying to come from behind in both games.

Others to consider for WR depth: Quentin Johnston, Jalen McMillan, Demario Douglas, Cedric Wilson, Jr., and Jalen Coker.

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Tight End:

Taysom Hill. Warning! This is a cut-and-paste from last week, before Hill had nine total touches, a pass attempt, and a rushing TD last week, and before Chris Olave got hurt. “Why not? The problem with Hill is you never know when the big game is coming. But with Derek Carr potentially coming back as soon as this week and Rashid Shaheed done for the season, Hill has some upside in an offense people have forgotten about for the last month (and with good reason).” I also think Juwan Johnson is worth consideration, with Chris Olave probably looking at a long absence. I don’t think the coaching change will negatively impact Hill.

Mike Gesicki. Gesicki is benefitting in a huge way from the absence of Tee Higgins (he’s put up 12-173-2 on 14 targets over the last two games), but it’s hard to know what kind of target share and role he’ll have when Higgins returns. What we do know is that Gesicki is the TE1 over the past two weeks, the Bengals are humming on offense, and Joe Burrow is on pace to throw for 40 TDs. I want a piece of that, and this is one I can still get cheap.

Jonnu Smith. I’ve listed Smith many times this season, and I’ll put him in here again as he’s earned a pretty consistent target share in the 15-20% range, in what is hopefully an offense that will score more going forward.

Theo Johnson. The rookie had a big drop in the first half on Sunday, but came back in the second half with 3-51-1 including an impressive 35-yard TD catch down the seam. The fourth-round draft pick out of Penn State is athletic and has great size, and the Giants would be wise to continue to increase his participation in the passing game over the second half of the season.

Others to consider for depth or if you’re stuck: Tyler Conklin and Ja’Tavion Sanders.

PK and D/ST Streamers, Week 10 (ranked outside the Top-12 for the season):

PK: C. Santos (vs. NE), G. Gano (@CAR, in Munich, if he returns), J. Bates (@HOU), J. Elliott (@DAL)

D/ST: NYG (@CAR, in Munich), PHI (@DAL), ATL (@NO)

That’s all I’ve got. Good luck with your waiver claims!

***This column appears each Monday right here at Big Blue View. Each Thursday, my weekly fantasy preview with my rides, fades and sleepers (start/sit) appears here, and on Fridays you can find my weekly Giants Props of the week, also right here. ***