If it hadn’t set in before, then just seeing that double-digit Week 10 headline should hit home. The 2018 fantasy football season is flying by. As hard as it is to believe, we are a mere month away from the playoffs kicking off. This is the time to bolster your roster and strengthen your position for December.
Hopefully, you drafted well and haven’t had to use of all your free agent budget. Even if your FAAB is quite depleted, being proactive is still integral to get your team in the best position to win, not only in November but starting in Week 14 when it is do or die. Using ownership numbers from our friends at Yahoo, here are low-owned free agents to consider bidding on for Week 10 and how much of your remaining budget to consider using.
Eli Manning (NYG)15% owned (5% FAAB) Manning has thrown only eight touchdowns this season, which is worst in the league among NFL quarterbacks who have made more than five starts. Manning has started every Giants’ game and has thrown one or zero touchdowns in six of the eight. It’s been a rough year, which has opened up the raging debate of the sense of drafting Saquon Barkley with the second pick rather than a future quarterback.
If it hadn’t set in before, then just seeing that double-digit Week 10 headline should hit home. The 2018 fantasy football season is flying by. As hard as it is to believe, we are a mere month away from the playoffs kicking off. This is the time to bolster your roster and strengthen your position for December.
Hopefully, you drafted well and haven’t had to use of all your free agent budget. Even if your FAAB is quite depleted, being proactive is still integral to get your team in the best position to win, not only in November but starting in Week 14 when it is do or die. Using ownership numbers from our friends at Yahoo, here are low-owned free agents to consider bidding on for Week 10 and how much of your remaining budget to consider using.
Eli Manning (NYG)15% owned (5% FAAB) Manning has thrown only eight touchdowns this season, which is worst in the league among NFL quarterbacks who have made more than five starts. Manning has started every Giants’ game and has thrown one or zero touchdowns in six of the eight. It’s been a rough year, which has opened up the raging debate of the sense of drafting Saquon Barkley with the second pick rather than a future quarterback.
That will have to wait for April. For now, Manning should be in a solid position to post his best numbers for the 2018 season. Not only are the Giants coming off of their bye, but they also get a choice matchup against a beatable defense, the 49ers.
They then take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs are allowing 322 yards per game through the air and have surrendered multiple touchdown strikes in seven out of eight games.
Nick Mullens (SF)0% owned (5% FAAB) Mullens is an undrafted free agent who was made the surprise starter ahead of Thursday’s game with the Raiders. Mullen put 262 yards, three touchdowns and a whopping 11.9 yards per attempt on Oakland and is expected to get at least one more start.
This week, things get a little tougher as the Giants have allowed the 10th-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. If he can put together another solid outing, Mullens has a real shot at entering the QB2 conversation.
Blake Bortles (JAC) 22% owned (3% FAAB) There are only a couple of viable signal-callers on bye this week, so there are not too many people in the unenviable position of having to stream a quarterback this week. That’s a good thing because nobody really wants to stream Bortles, who always seems to be on the verge of getting benched.
Bortles has a subpar year throwing, even by his normal standards. He’s only thrown for 10 touchdowns. About the only thing that’s gone right for Bortles is as a ball carrier. He’s run for 20-plus yards in each game and is fourth among all NFL quarterbacks with 261 rushing yards for the season.
The Jaguars should be healthier coming out of the bye and have a solid matchup against an Indianapolis defense that has given up the 11th-most points to quarterbacks, including an NFL-high three rushing scores.
Running Backs
Mike Davis (SEA)24% owned (16% FAAB) Chris Carson has been battling several leg injuries, the latest of which cost him half of Seattle’s Week 9 loss to the Chargers. Carson has been acting as the team’s lead back but if he’s unable to suit up against the Rams, Davis would step up and likely command 20-plus touches.
Davis looked like a potential workhorse in the second half last week and had filled that role already this season, generating 124 total yards and a pair of touchdowns on 25 touches back in Week 4.
We can’t expect that kind of production against a much more competent Los Angeles Rams run defense, but Davis should be in a position to have a solid role, especially as a pass catcher. If news breaks that Carson won’t play in Week 10, bump up your bid for Davis by another 10%.
Theo Riddick (DET) 9% owned (10% FAAB)
Riddick missed three weeks with a knee injury but returned to action in Week 9, hauling in seven out of eight targets for 36 yards. He didn’t get a single carry, and likely won’t behind Kerryon Johnson and LeGarrette Blount, but Riddick is a proven pass catcher who offers RB3/flex appeal in PPR leagues.
Standard leaguers need not bother to bid on Riddick, who has little touchdown upside and is highly unlikely to rush the ball more than a handful of times all season. He’s strictly a cheap source of targets for PPR leagues.
Elijah McGuire (NYJ) 14% owned (10% FAAB)
After missing half the season, McGuire made his 2018 debut and touched the ball 10 times in Miami. With Isaiah Crowell entrenched into the starting role, McGuire will take over the change-of-pace duties formerly led by Bilal Powell, who managed to maintain weekly PPR flex value.
New York’s tepid passing attack won’t put the club into a good position to generate consistent fantasy efforts from one, much less two running backs. But McGuire averaged 6.7 yards per touch in his debut and may be a competent PPR option to consider in deeper leagues.
D’Onta Foreman (HOU) 13% owned (8% FAAB)
The Texans are on bye, so this is merely a proactive add. Foreman hasn’t played since he tore his Achilles’ late last season, which is a devastating injury for a running back. But by all indications, Foreman is nearing a return and Bill O’Brien said that the sophomore running back would practice this week.
That gives Foreman another week to recover while also working towards getting into game shape. Lamar Miller had a pair of solid outings but was out-touched by Alfred Blue in Denver. Foreman won’t play until the coaching staff is confident that he’s fully healthy, but once that happens, there’s a real chance he’ll take control of Houston’s backfield, just like he did late last season.
Wide Receivers
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (GB)38% owned (25% FAAB) Geronimo Allison may have opened the season with a big role, but Valdes-Scantling has surpassed him and become a legitimate fantasy option. Starting in Week 4, Valdes-Scantling has played 81.4% of Green Bay’s snaps, taking advantage of injuries to Allison and Randall Cobb. The fifth-round rookie has flashed some big-time playmaking ability, surpassing 100 receiving yards or scoring in four straight Packers’ games.
Moving forward, Green Bay will start the rookie opposite of Davante Adams, with Cobb in the slot. Valdes-Scantling will be in a great position to keep posting big games, and that makes him a priority roster add worth the biggest bid of the week.
Christian Kirk (ARI) 25% owned (15% FAAB)
Kirk has been Arizona’s No. 2 wideout all season and leads the Cardinals with 410 receiving yards. He’s played over 74% of the club’s offensive snaps and has registered three-plus grabs in every game since Week 1.
Season-to-date, Kirk enters Week 10 as a top-45 fantasy wideout. He’s had WR3/4 value all season but is owned in only one-quarter of fantasy leagues. After a bye to further retool a sagging offense with new playcaller Byron Leftwich, Kirk should be on the WR3 radar this week versus Kansas City’s leaky secondary.
Tre’Quan Smith (NO) 28% owned (12% FAAB)
Since moving into the starting lineup for Ted Ginn, Smith has caught multiple balls in each of his four games while scoring three touchdowns. He’s not getting a heavy target share in the Saints’ versatile attack, but his Week 9 touchdown was a red zone throw from Drew Brees, which bodes well for the rookie’s role moving forward.
The Saints also have a tasty Week 10 matchup in Cincinnati, facing a Bengals’ secondary that has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers so far in 2018. Smith will be on the WR3/4 radar for this week and has week-to-week value.
Adam Humphries (TB) 2% owned (10% FAAB)
Humphries has taken the majority of snaps out of the slot for Tampa Bay this season. In fact, he’s played more than 50% of the snaps in each game and comes off a huge 8/8/82/2 outing against the Panthers’ struggling secondary. We can’t expect another game like that his year, but Humphries has produced six straight games with three or more grabs and is a solid source of targets and catches worth adding in PPR formats.
Maurice Harris (WAS)0% owned (10% FAAB)
Harris has played more than 60% of Washington’s snaps in each of the past five games and just put up a stellar 12/10/124/0 line against Atlanta. Now that Paul Richardson (shoulder) has been placed on IR, Harris is a lock to keep getting extensive playing time, even when Jamison Crowder (ankle) returns to the lineup.
John Ross (CIN) 4% owned (6% FAAB)
Ross has missed three weeks with a groin injury but was back on the practice field Monday. Just in time too, as word broke that A.J. Green is expected to miss at least two weeks with a toe injury. This means that Ross is looking at a substantial snap share while Green is out of the lineup. He’s still raw and a boom-or-bust weekly play, but Ross has game-changing speed and has a superb matchup at home facing a New Orleans secondary that has allowed the most fantasy points to wide receivers this season.
Cordarrelle Patterson (NE) 5% owned (5% FAAB)
Patterson, with just 12 grabs for 121 yards all season, isn’t doing much as a receiver, but he’s managed to rush the ball 21 times in the past two weeks as the Patriots’ backfield has been hit hard by the injury bug. Patterson has registered 99 rushing yards in the past two games, including a short yardage score against the Packers.
If Sony Michel (knee) is sidelined against the Titans, Patterson could receive a handful of carries as a change-of-pace runner.
Tight Ends
Jack Doyle (IND) 38% owned (20% FAAB)
The Colts were off in Week 9, which likely explains why Doyle is still widely available on the waiver wire. In his first game back since Week 2, Doyle played over 70% of Indy’s snaps and relegated Eric Ebron to just 17 snaps. Make no mistake, Doyle is easily the team’s top target after T.Y. Hilton
Doyle caught six out of seven targets in his first game since Week 2 and led the way with 70 receiving yards and a touchdown. Considering the overall shape of the tight end position this season, Doyle is worth an aggressive free agent bid as a potential top-five fantasy option down the stretch.
Jesse James (PIT) 10% owned (5% FAAB)
James is running fewer pass routes than Vance McDonald, but he’s caught multiple receptions in four straight Pittsburgh games and has the best matchup of the Week 10 slate, facing a Carolina defense that allows the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. However, it is a short-rest week for the Steelers, which is a less than appealing situation. James has only topped 50 yards three times this season but can still be a decent one-week rental in this spot.
2012 Most Accurate Expert here at FantasyPros. Member of the Pro Football Writer's of America who covers the Texans for USAToday's Texans Wire. I also contribute to GridironExperts, Fanball, and FantasySharks. Past work includes Pro Football Focus and had articles featured on NFL.com, Yahoo and many other sites and magazines. I live in Houston and also host a podcast.
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