Trashman’s Fantasy Fallout Going Into Week 10

Tooooo much caffeine this morning. I don’t usually touch the stuff, but I stayed up too late watching that haunted house show on Netflix. Is it just me, or is nothing outside of actual life that scary anymore? I digress, here’s the fallout for Week 9 going into Week 10….

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Raiders – 3 @ 49ers – 34

 

• Shrewd move Raiders, completely tanking in Week 9 to lull your Week 10 opponent into complacency. Really though, is there a worse offense in the NFL right now? Doug Martin held his own I guess(12 tou, 69 yards), but even Jalen Richard couldn’t get much going(4 rec, 45 yards) and he lead the Raiders in receiving.

 

• It only made sense that someone would step into the vacuum left by Amari Cooper, but that hasn’t happened in the 2 games since he left. The receiving corps looks decent on paper, but paper tigers are harmless. They get a few extra days to prepare for the Chargers, but I’m staying away from all Raiders pass-catchers until further notice.

 

• UDFA QB Nick Mullens came out of nowhere and made the Raiders defense look like the Raiders defense on Thursday, throwing for 262 yards and 3 TDs. If you saw that coming, we have a meagerly paying but character strengthening position for you here at RosterWatch. Mullens will probably get the start again this week against a middling Giants defense, so he’s not a bad streamer for those in dire circumstances.

 

• Raheem Mostert broke his arm Thursday night, likely ending his 2018 season. It’s a shame, as he was showing flashes of lead back talent. Matt Breida is dealing with nagging injuries himself, so Alfred Morris actually makes for a reasonable flex at home against the Giants this week.

 

• Marquise Goodwin now has only 1 game over 55 yards this season, not including this one(1 rec, 11 yards). He’s droppable in most formats, buuuut he does have the Giants and the Bucs over his next 2 games, so maybe there’s some DFS use still in him.

 

Bears – 41 @ Bills – 7

 

• Looking at the Bears’ stats you’re left wondering where all the points came from in this one. The offense is playing better on the whole, but their defense has had some monsters this season too. Chicago rode Jordan Howard, and it paid off with 2 TDs.

 

• Anthony Miller has overtaken Taylor Gabriel in the Bears offense. I would be surprised if Allen Robinson sits again this week, but Miller makes for a high upside flex even if he doesn’t.

 

• Someone, it’s not Einstein, said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. I teach psychology, so I can’t advocate for this definition in good conscience, but it works in the case of the Bills, so I’ll use it. They keep putting Nathan Peterman(189 yards 3 INT) on the field, expecting him to flourish in some way, but we’ve already seen everything we need to from this guy. You can’t play any Bills skill players these days, but you CAN stream otherwise mediocre defenses against them with confidence.

 

Buccaneers – 28 @ Panthers – 42

 

• Apparently it’s not only the fantasy prognosticators who can’t see Adam Humphries coming. I told y’all he’s sneaky productive, and he boomed big in Week 9 with a 8 rec, 82 yard, 2 TD line. He’s topped 75 yards in 3 of his last 4 games, and he needs to be owned in PPR leagues.

 

• Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t play great, but he did throw 4 TD to his 2 INT, and he will keep Jameis Winston from seeing the field for another week. The Bucs face a Washington team that just got dusted by the Falcons aerial attack this week, so he makes for a major boom or bust option.

 

• Peyton Barber(13 tou, 40 yards) turned back into a pumpkin in Week 9 after escorting us to the ball in Week 8. He tweaked his ankle late in the game, so that should give you a good enough reason not to trust him in Week 10 if his disappointing performances aren’t enough.

 

• Raise your hand if you were expecting a D.J. Moore(1 rec, 16 yards) breakout in Week 9. Don’t worry, my hand is raised too. On an offense where targets for players outside of Christian McCaffrey and Greg Olsen don’t come easy, Curtis Samuel(3 tou, 58 yards, 2 TD) is eating into to too much of Moore’s looks to depend on him right now. The Panthers do face Pittsburgh’s weak secondary this week, so both are dart throw DFS plays.

 

Chiefs – 37 @ Browns – 21

 

• Spencer Ware has 80+ yards in 2 of his last 3 games. He also had a goose egg in that other game, so he’s as unreliable as they come. That being said, he’s someone to monitor in deep leagues and someone to shake DFS tourney lineups with.

 

• New coach in Cleveland, renewed interest in Duke Johnson(10 tou, 86 yards, 2 TD). Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for the underutilized Johnson, who needs to be added this week, as the Browns face an Atlanta defense that is worst in the league at defending RBs out of the backfield.

 

Falcons – 38 @ Redskins – 17

 

• The bye week did well for Calvin Ridley as he broke out of his 3 game slump on Sunday(77 yards, 1 TD). He’s worth firing up again at Cleveland in Week 10.

 

• Ito Smith(64 yards, 1 TD) is hovering just under double digit touches over his last 3 games, but his propensity for the end-zone makes him a viable flex most weeks, including Week 10.

 

• I usually don’t touch on the major players that you’re going to start regardless of the situation, but I have to laugh at the fact that the one week Vegas gave Julio Jones unfavorable TD odds is the one week he actually scores. There is justice in the world.

 

• We know Alex Smith likes to fixate on short-range targets, so it doesn’t come as a huge surprise that he found one in current slot-WR Maurice Harris(10 rec, 124 yards) in a game where the ‘Skins trailed most of the game. There’s little to no guarantee he repeats the trend in Week 10, but Washington faces Tampa Bay, so it’s not a bad wager to make.

 

• Vernon Davis(5 rec, 62 yards) has been up and down all season, but the matchup with Tampa this week makes him a decent streaming option.

 

Jets – 6 @ Dolphins – 13

 

• Sam Darnold has taken a step or two back in recent weeks, throwing 7 INT over his last 3 games. He’s targeting his WRs but only seems to be able to hit his TEs and RBs inside. The Bills defense makes for a comfy play in Week 10.

 

• Elijah McGuire(10 tou, 67 yards) saw his first action of the season and flourished about as much as a Jets skill player can these days. Expect him to stay heavily involved against the Bills.

 

• TE Chris Herndon(4 rec, 62 yards) led the Jets in receiving even with Quincy Enunwa and Robbie Anderson on the field. He didn’t score per usual, but he was highly efficient. Keep him in lineups if you’ve been using him.

 

• Frank Gore(21 tou, 59 yards) surpassed Barry Sanders on the yards from scrimmage list in Week 9, so it’s hard to say whether his 20 carries were part of a strategy to keep the ball away from the Jets or whether the team was trying to get him past Sanders. Either way, Kenyan Drake(7 tou, 35 yards) suffered. Miami faces GB next week, and this approach won’t cut it against Aaron Rodgers and co. Look for Drake to bounce back.

 

• A week after going bananas, DeVante Parker(1 rec, 8 yards) faded back into fantasy obscurity just like that. He was more involved than his stat line gives him credit for, but the return of Kenny Stills to the lineup and the reality of having to rely on Brock Osweiler makes him more likely to bust than boom. He could get some deep looks against Green Bay, but I’m not looking at him outside of big DFS tournaments.

 

Lions – 9 @ Vikings – 24

 

• The no Golden Tate look on the Lions isn’t a good one. Theo Riddick(7 rec, 36 yards) did his best impression, but the offense definitely missed Tate’s presence. Hopefully this was just an off game, but things don’t look good for Detroit going into Chicago this week.

 

• Dalvin Cook hopped in and out-touched and out-gained Latavius Murray( 14 tou to 11 tou, 109 yards to 49 yards). Murray saved his day with a TD, but this is probably his ceiling from here on out. Cook gets a chance to rest up for Week 11 and help you coast into the playoffs.

 

• No one really stepped up in Stefon Diggs‘ absence, though Laquon Treadwell did lead the Vikings in receiving yards(37 yards). Diggs should return to the lineup after the Break, so there isn’t really much to see here.

 

Steelers – 23 @ Ravens – 16

 

• There’s still no sign that Le’Veon Bell will return to the Steelers for their Thursday night game against the Panthers. Keep firing up James Conner as if he’s still the lead back in Pittsburgh – He is.

 

• The Ravens are broken offensively, and Lamar Jackson may need to come in after the bye week and fix it. Joe Flacco hasn’t been terrible, but he isn’t doing enough to put his team over the top. John Brown(3 rec, 15 yards) had his 2nd straight clunker and Michael Crabtree(3 rec, 32 yards) is getting targeted but can’t seem to make anything of it.

 

Chargers – 25 @ Seahawks – 17

 

• Tyrell Williams(2 rec, 23 yards, 1 TD) just keeps on scoring. He didn’t get the yardage we’ve come to expect over the last several games, but he remains a focal point of the Chargers’ red-zone offense. I’m comfortable starting him against Oakland in Week 10.

 

• Austin Ekeler hasn’t been the standalone player we were hoping for as of late, but he could see considerable action this week against the Raiders in what is likely to be a blowout.

 

• Chris Carson left the game during the first drive of the 2nd half Sunday after accruing 40 yards on 8 carries. Mike Davis took over as the lead in his absence and performed well with 107 yards on 22 touches. Seattle faces the high-flying Rams this week, but Davis should remain involved, as his team continued to use the run even as they trailed the Chargers.

 

Texans – 19 @ Broncos – 17

 

• Alfred Blue out-touched Lamar Miller 15 to 14 in this one, after Coach O’Brien talked about scaling back Miller’s workload during the week. This would be more alarming if D’Onta Foreman had been activated this week, but that looks unlikely. The Texans get the bye this week, so things should be clearer next Monday. As things stand, I’m not making a move on Blue, as he doesn’t make for a sexy pickup against a normally stout Redskins front in Week 11.

 

• Deshaun Watson didn’t replace Will Fuller with another receiver, so much as he just fixated on DeAndre Hopkins even more than usual(12 targets). The closest pass catcher had just 3 targets on the day, so there wasn’t even a competition. Demaryius Thomas was one of the two players that did get 3 targets(Jordan Akins also got 3), and he amassed 61 yards on 3 catches. Thomas’ ceiling probably hasn’t gotten much higher in the move to Houston, but his floor should improve significantly.

 

• Is TE Jeff Heuerman(10 rec, 83 yards, 1 TD) the new Demaryius Thomas in Denver? Probably not, but he could see a permanent bump in Thomas’ absence. I’m still not dropping Courtland Sutton(3 rec, 57 yards), as Heuerman doesn’t project to have target share like this on the weekly.

 

Rams – 35 @ Saints – 45

 

• Nothing new in L.A., as Cooper Kupp returned from injury to put up 89 yards and a TD without a setback.

 

• TE Ben Watson has scored in 2 of the Saints last 3 games. With the offense firing on all cylinders, he’s not a bad streamer in a good match-up with the Bengals this week.

 

• Mark Ingram(10 tou, 34 yards) isn’t a must start right now. His welcome back game in Week 5 was exactly that, a welcome back. The Saints realize that Kamara is just as much an asset on the goal line as Ingram is.

 

Packers – 17 @ Patriots – 31

• Marques Valdes-Scantling(3 rec, 101 yards) needs to be owned in all formats. There’s no reason he should have had to be in the Garbage Grab for Week 9.

 

• Sony Michel couldn’t get activated after pre-game warmups on Sunday night. The fact that he was a consideration to play right up until then boosts his chances of returning in Week 10.

 

• Cordarrelle Patterson(12 tou, 68 yards, 1 TD) led the Pats’ backfield on Sunday night after James White injured his leg. White returned, but Patterson stayed involved. He could see a flex worthy role even in Michel returns in Week 10, as the Pats try to mitigate the loss of Rob Gronkowski from the lineup.

 

• Josh Gordon(130 yards, 1 TD) tied Julian Edelman for the lead with 10 targets against the Packers. His big play ability now makes him the primary receiver to own and start for the Pats.