We may have officially entered the second half of the 2023 NFL season, but that doesn’t mean we still aren’t getting a handful of surprise fantasy football performances every week.
Need proof? Joshua Dobbs, Keaton Mitchell, Tank Dell, and Cade Otton all were top options at their respective positions in Week 9. It’s time to take a closer look at some of my sleeper options for your fantasy football heading into Week 10.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Quarterbacks
Baker Mayfield | Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. TEN
Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud stole the show with his outstanding 470-yard, five-TD performance against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the other signal-caller also put together a pretty solid performance in his own right.
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield threw for 265 yards and two scores against the Texans, which was good for 23 fantasy points and a top-10 finish at the QB position in Week 9. This week he’ll draw a matchup against the Tennessee Titans, who have given up a handful of big performances through the air this season.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Running Backs
Tyler Allgeier | Atlanta Falcons @ ARI
The Atlanta Falcons have played nine games this season, and Tyler Allgeier has never seen fewer than seven carries in a game. His dynamic backfield partner, Bijan Robinson, saw fewer carries than Allgeier in a game for the fourth time this season.
Sure, the efficiency is rough in comparison to his rookie counterpart, but Allgeier simply continues to see a consistent workload out of this backfield. Since that is the case, he draws one of the best possible fantasy matchups an RB can with the Arizona Cardinals, who are giving up an average of 24.5 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs.
Allgeier is a quality Flex option this Sunday.
Keaton Mitchell | Baltimore Ravens vs. CLE
Raise your hand if you got some De’Von Achane vibes from Baltimore Ravens rookie RB Keaton Mitchell against the Seattle Seahawks. For those of you who can’t see me writing this article, I slowly raised my hand.
MORE: Early Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups
His nine carries for 138 yards and a score gave the Ravens an explosive playmaking option out of this backfield that simply hasn’t existed since J.K. Dobbins suffered an injury back in the season opener. Sure, he did some of his damage out on the edge, but he did a fair share of his damage between the tackles and proved to be pretty slippery for those Seahawks defenders.
The matchup against the Cleveland Browns isn’t ideal, but Mitchell is certainly worth a dart throw if the Ravens choose to expand his role after a fantastic NFL debut.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Wide Receivers
Quentin Johnston | Los Angeles Chargers vs. DET
The Los Angeles Chargers have already had to navigate one injury to their WR room this season when they lost Mike Williams for the season due in September. Now starting WR Joshua Palmer has been sent to injured reserve while dealing with a knee injury of his own.
This could open the door for the talented rookie, Quentin Johnston, to see a significant increase in work in this potent Chargers passing attack.
Rashid Shaheed | New Orleans Saints @ MIN
New Orleans Saints WR Rashid Shaheed has probably made more appearances on this weekly sleepers piece because of his very specific role in this Saints passing attack. He is a low-volume, big-play option who has produced big fantasy performances on three occasions this season. He’s also put up his fair share of duds in 2023.
Such is the life of a deep-threat option playing behind Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara in the pass-catching pecking order. This doesn’t mean Shaheed still won’t have those boom weeks on occasion, which is definitely possible against a Minnesota Vikings defense that gives up an average of 30.2 fantasy points per game to opposing WRs. Shaheed falls into the high upside WR3 range in my Week 10 rankings.
Khalil Shakir | Buffalo Bills vs. DEN
Fantasy managers were right to be skeptical about Khalil Shakir’s breakout performance against the Bucs in Week 8, but after four more receptions for 57 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, perhaps we need to reconsider what his role could be in this Bills passing game for the back half of the 2023 season.
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Shakir outplayed fellow WR Gabe Davis — who finished with no receptions on two targets — by a wide margin and finished third behind Stefon Diggs and Dalton Kincaid in receptions and yards in Week 9. While the Denver Broncos’ defense has certainly been playing better recently, they are still a matchup where Shakir could have success if Diggs gets the shadow treatment from Patrick Surtain in Week 10.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Sleepers | Tight Ends
Cade Otton | Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. TEN
Remember when I said Mayfield threw two touchdowns against the Texans on Sunday? Well, both of those scores went to the second-year tight end, Cade Otton, for his best fantasy outing of the 2023 campaign. His nine targets, 70 receiving yards, and two touchdowns were all season highs.
If the Bucs struggle to run the ball against the Titans, it could force Mayfield to continue to throw the ball to generate points. Translation, Otton is certainly a streaming option at the TE position in Week 10.
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