Every Monday of the NFL regular season, we will showcase exceptional player performances from the weekend and analyze their potential for sustained success in fantasy football. We will rank these performances from ? to ????? based on whether we believe they are momentary or long-term options for your fantasy teams.
Fantasy Football Heat Index
Quarterback
Stats: 23/39, 356 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 2 att, 8 rushing yards, 1 TD
Position Rank (pre-MNF): QB9 (19.04 points)
Analysis: With another impressive performance in Week 10, Houston’s C.J. Stroud is starting to cement himself as a locked-in QB1 moving forward. One week after finishing as the QB1, Stroud is the current QB9 this week thanks to 356 passing yards and two total touchdowns.
If he keeps racking up stats like he is, not only is Stroud a lock to win Rookie of the Year, but he should be mentioned in the MVP conversation. He’s led consecutive game-winning fourth-quarter drives and has Houston right in the thick of the playoff picture.
Heat Index: ????
Running Back
Stats: 15 att, 101 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2 receptions, 9 receiving yards, 4 targets
Position Rank (pre-MNF): RB6 (18.0 points)
Analysis: Have the Pittsburgh Steelers finally looked in the mirror and realized Jaylen Warren is the best running back on the team? While that level of self-awareness might not exist on their offensive staff, it’s certainly promising to see an increased workload for the second-year pro.
Former first-round draft pick Najee Harris was still involved, but Warren’s usage continued to rise against the Green Bay Packers. One week after setting a career-high with 88 rushing yards, Warren reached a new career-best with 101 on the ground.
With an increased early-down role in addition to his usual passing-game work, Warren is going to be difficult to sit moving forward. The up-and-down nature of Pittsburgh’s offense will inevitably lead to variance, but Warren looks like a flex starter at worst, and an RB2 if things continue trending upward.
Heat Index: ????
Stats: 12 att, 79 rushing yards, 1 TD, 0 targets
Position Rank (pre-MNF): RB16 (13.9 points)
Analysis: It was a free-for-all for the Dallas offense. The majority of the damage came through the air (more of that below), but the Cowboys’ offense also found success on the ground.
Unfortunately for fantasy managers, that success came from backup running back Rico Dowdle instead of starter Tony Pollard. While Pollard was falling forward for 55 scoreless yards, Dowdle led the Cowboys with 79 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Pollard will remain the starter moving forward, but he’s clearly been lacking the same juice he had last season. Assuming he doesn’t regain his powers overnight, Dowdle should probably be rostered in most leagues. Not only is Dowdle one of the best handcuffs in football, but his Week 10 performance might have earned him a bigger slice of the pie in Week 11 and beyond.
Heat Index: ???
Wide Receiver
Stats: 9 receptions, 173 receiving yards, 1 TD, 10 targets
Position Rank (pre-MNF): WR3 (27.8 points)
Analysis: The Dallas Cowboys have been waiting on offseason addition Brandin Cooks to make his mark on the team. It took half the season, but Cooks finally broke out in Week 10’s 49-17 thumping of the New York Giants.
Entering the week, Cooks had 165 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in his first seven games of the season. On Sunday, Cooks finished with 173 receiving yards and his third touchdown of the season. That’s right, Cooks more than doubled his yearly receiving output in one game against the New York defense.
While Week 10 is the very definition of an anomaly, it’s worth wondering if Cooks can keep that momentum heading into the stretch run of the season. I doubt Cooks is available on many waiver wires, but it’s worth looking to see if he was dropped by frustrated fantasy managers.
Heat Index: ???
Tight End
Stats: 6 receptions, 33 receiving yards, 0 TD, 7 targets
Position Rank (pre-MNF): TE14 (6.3 points)
Analysis: If you want proof that the fantasy football industry is desperate for tight end production, use this week as the perfect example. It’s Week 10 and some are wondering if Bengals backup Tanner Hudson can repeat his “breakout” performance of 6.3 fantasy points.
Hudson (20 snaps) trailed both Drew Sample (23 snaps) and Irv Smith Jr. (21 snaps) in playing time at the tight end position, but he did get more work in the passing game. Hudson ran the most routes of the group and had three more targets (7) than Sample and Smith Jr. combined (4 total).
Hudson could have decent weeks in Cincinnati’s offense, but he’s going to completely bust in most weeks. I know the tight end landscape is pretty ugly, but it’s become fairly deep this season. You can do better than a backup tight end stuck in a three-person timeshare.
Heat Index: ?
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