Week 10 of the fantasy football season has a great slate of games after six teams were on a bye last week. Hopefully, your carefully curated roster is in good shape after the devastating slew of injuries that have affected the NFL. You’re in the right place if you’re in a tough situation with your start/sit questions.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Start ’ems
We’ve dug through the latest roster percentages to identify fantasy football players who you must either start or sit. Our two start options are currently being started in around 40% or less in leagues, whereas our two sit players are at around 70% or higher. We’re also looking at players owned in a majority of leagues.
Jeff Wilson Jr., RB, Miami Dolphins
Is it possible Raheem Mostert lost his starting role less than two weeks after Jeff Wilson Jr. was acquired? I think the last game was telling about the Dolphins’ direction for the rest of the season. Remember, Mostert was brought in to back up Chase Edmonds in order to keep Mostert fresh and effective, but Edmonds’ poor fit led to a change.
Wilson, Mostert, and Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel obviously know each other from their time spent in San Francisco together. Wilson immediately saw nine rushes for 51 yards and three receptions for 21 yards and a touchdown in his first game with the Dolphins. Mostert had only 26 yards but a touchdown on his nine carries.
Both backs are good, but for different reasons. Mostert is the speedster. When he’s playing well, he’s really good. But when defenses can cause hesitation, Mostert is dead in the water. And with Miami’s offensive line being relatively poor, Mostert is prone to being nothing special more often than not.
Wilson can do a little more by lowering his shoulder and winning with nuance. Though he’s nowhere near the athlete Mostert is, Wilson has that dog in him, plus has more receiving ability. We’ll see Miami use both and favor the hot hand as the game progresses.
Week 10 is a great opportunity for both backs, but I think Wilson continues to see more touches. Cleveland has the seventh-worst defense in the NFL against running backs, allowing 104.5 rushing yards, 31.9 receiving yards, and 1.38 total touchdowns per game. Tua Tagovailoa may not have to carry the offense this week.
Brandon Aiyuk, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Sitting as the WR22 on the season, Brandon Aiyuk has quietly emerged as a really good starter thanks to Jimmy Garoppolo’s insertion into the lineup. Aiyuk’s recent three-game tear has been especially promising. He’s totaled 21 receptions, 246 yards, and three touchdowns in that span.
More of the same should be coming. The 49ers are coming off a bye and face a struggling Los Angeles Chargers defense at home. The Chargers are as average as can be at allowing receiver production, giving up 11.8 receptions for 135.4 yards and 1.13 touchdowns per game.
MORE: Week 10 Fantasy Football Rest-of-Season Rankings
Considering the defense is 30th in points allowed, I like that Aiyuk is trending upward as a red-zone target. He has the 14th-most red-zone points amongst receivers, catching six of eight targets for three scores.
We have Aiyuk as WR28 in our PFN expert PPR fantasy rankings in Week 10. He’s a stronger start option considering his ranking and can be played even as a WR2.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Sit ’ems
Aaron Jones, RB, Green Bay Packers
Fantasy managers who landed Aaron Jones certainly expected some sort of inconsistency from the backfield, with AJ Dillon’s presence usurping touches since the duo was put together. However, we didn’t expect Jones to be lacking production even without Dillon being a factor.
The Packers’ offense has been incredibly hit or miss, and Jones has only had a few playable weeks through nine games.
With three games over 63 rushing yards and one with two receiving touchdowns, playing Jones in your lineup is truly a 50-50 proposition. He’s prone to abysmal performances that can drag your lineup into an underachieving status. This is one of those weeks where Jones looks like a poor play.
The Dallas Cowboys’ defense is one of the best in the NFL against running backs, giving up 100.8 yards on the ground and 25.1 through the air. They’ve yet to allow a receiving touchdown to backs and have only given up three rushing scores all year.
Jones’ best chance of being fantasy-relevant this week is being heavily involved in the receiving game. Otherwise, Jones is 32nd in red-zone fantasy scoring amongst RBs for a reason.
The Packers’ offensive line hasn’t played up to expectations and the passing game stinks. And with the Titans and Eagles coming up soon, Jones may be sitting on your bench for a few weeks.
Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
Terry McLaurin certainly hasn’t been bad this season, entering Week 10 as the WR21 in PPR leagues. He’s 11th in yards with 609 and seventh in yards per catch. Yet, the Commanders’ offense has been otherwise inept, causing McLaurin to lack the consistency we were hoping to see after the team traded for Carson Wentz.
Part of the issue is the lack of red-zone opportunities. McLaurin has only six red-zone targets, catching four for 25 yards and zero touchdowns. He’s coming off a week with only five receptions and 56 yards on nine targets. This after Week 8 brought his most yards this season (113).
MORE: Fantasy Football Cut List Week 10
It’s been a roller-coaster season for the extremely talented playmaker. That’s not on McLaurin but rather a failing franchise on the brink of a major overhaul this offseason. McLaurin’s second-best game of the year came against Philadelphia in Week 3, but I’m not expecting a repeat showing.
Though McLaurin had six catches for 102 yards in his first game against the Eagles, Philadelphia’s secondary has played much better since that matchup. On average, the defense is giving up only 11.8 receptions for 128.3 yards and 0.75 touchdowns per game. I simply don’t see Taylor Heinicke being able to take advantage of a unit that is extremely strong on all three levels.
For this week, take the lower on McLaurin’s 63.5 receiving total on Underdog Fantasy for a deposit bonus of up to $100.