Start ‘EM Sit ‘EM Week 10
Week 10 will send four teams to their Bye Week, which includes Cincinnati, New England, Baltimore, and the New York Jets. There is a lot of fantasy production that won’t be available, meaning bench depth and waiver wire saviness will be crucial to winning yet again. My start/sit recommendations from Week 9 fared nicely, as Rhamondre Stevenson led the way for running backs with an RB9 finish in PPR formats. Terry McLaurin, Chris Olave, and Tyler Boyd all finished as WR2s and WR3s, while Geno Smith produced another top-five fantasy finish in a decisive road win over the Arizona Cardinals. My sits were a mixed bag, as Mike Gesicki (TE47) and Michael Pittman Jr. (WR46) busted, while Derek Carr (QB9) and Michael Carter (RB10) were much more effective than expected.
The Week 10 slate has some exciting matchups on tap, including ten games with a one-score spread. Parity continues to drive the league in 2022, meaning there may be some surprises in this week’s edition of Start ‘Em Sit ‘EM. Let’s see which players should be in lineups and which ones should be benched ahead of Week 10.
Start
Raheem Mostert (RB) Miami Dolphins
The decision to trade Jeff Wilson Jr. to Miami at the trade deadline has capped Raheem Mostert’s ceiling but he still has a nice floor in a plus matchup against the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. The Dolphins will return home, where they are dominant, and Mostert will continue to be a factor with double-digit touches in another top-five matchup. Both Mostert and Wilson scored touchdowns in Week 9 against the Bears’ bottom-five run defense. While the YPC average dipped and Mostert failed to haul in either target, you can’t bench him until Wilson fully takes over, especially in such a favorable matchup.
Jamaal Williams (RB) Detroit Lions
Detroit rallied around its defense and running game to earn a much-needed 15-9 win over the spiraling Green Bay Packers in Week 9. Jamaal Williams handled the majority of the workload, even with an active D’Andre Swift, toting the rock 24 times for 81 yards. While Williams didn’t get any touchdowns or targets, he gets a great opportunity in Week 10 against Chicago, who is a top-seven matchup for fantasy running backs. Williams has scored double-digit PPR points in five of eight games played this season, so fire him up regardless of Swift’s injury status on the road at Soldier Field.
Deon Jackson (RB) Indianapolis Colts
Second-year running back Deon Jackson was hyped up heading into a Week 9 road matchup against New England, but it went south fast. Jackson suffered a knee injury but it doesn’t appear to be significant, so if he’s available and active against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10, he’s a borderline RB2 with mid-RB2 upside. Things are ugly in Indianapolis right now with the coaching and personnel decisions, but Jackson showcased his physicality and explosiveness against Denver and Jacksonville a few weeks ago. There are worse options out there, and Jackson did see 14 touches in Week 9, so roll him out there as a high-floor play during another short-handed week due to Byes.
Chris Olave (WR) New Orleans Saints
New Orleans may be making a quarterback change heading into Week 10 after a disastrous outing from Andy Dalton against a vulnerable Baltimore pass defense on Monday Night Football, but that won’t negatively impact rookie wideout Chris Olave. He’s recorded double-digit PPR finishes for seven consecutive weeks, while only scoring two total touchdowns. Olave is equipped with a high-floor and high-ceiling against Pittsburgh on the road in Week 10, especially since the Steelers’ pass defense is the top fantasy matchup for opposing wide receivers. Fire Olave up as a WR2 with WR1 upside.
Gabe Davis (WR) Buffalo Bills
There’s no sugar-coating Gabe Davis’ recent performances. Since blowing up against Pittsburgh with two long-range touchdown receptions, the Bills’ third-year wideout has been unable to get going, recording two receptions in consecutive games. Josh Allen’s UCL injury is ambiguous right now, but even if he misses Week 10, Davis gets a top-six fantasy matchup against the Minnesota Vikings pass defense at home. To be fair to Davis, he has gone up against two good pass defenses in the Packers and Jets, and he’s found the end zone against the Rams and Chiefs. This is not the week to fade Davis, so roll him out as a low-end WR2 with WR1 upside in Week 10.
JuJu Smith-Schuster (WR) Kansas City Chiefs
Even before Patrick Mahomes’ 68 pass attempts against Tennessee in Week 9, wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster has been heating up. The sixth-year wideout is adapting to his role within Kansas City’s dynamic offense, resulting in three double-digit PPR outings against Buffalo, San Francisco, and Tennessee. All three outings hit over 18 PPR points, and Smith-Schuster has found the end zone in two of these games. Jacksonville is a top-12 fantasy wide receiver matchup, so don’t hesitate to fire JuJu up as a high-end WR2 with WR1 upside at home in Week 10.
Evan Engram (TE) Jacksonville Jaguars
As good as Kansas City is playing, their defense still struggles against opposing tight ends. This bodes well for Jacksonville tight end Evan Engram, who is a key piece to the Jaguars’ offense. Engram was held to one reception for eight yards on two targets against Las Vegas, but he has three double-digit PPR finishes since Week 5. Tight end is a difficult position to fill most weeks, so if you have an opportunity to plug Engram into lineups in a plus-matchup, do it.
Justin Fields (QB) Chicago Bears
All of a sudden, Chicago’s second-year quarterback is a must-start. Justin Fields started slow, but the offense has grown leaps and bounds recently, resulting in him scoring over 23 PPR points in his last three games. This includes matchups against New England and Dallas, which are two of the top defensive units in the league right now. Yes, Fields won’t hit another 178 rushing yard performance like he did against Miami in Week 9, but Detroit is the third-best matchup for fantasy quarterbacks. He’s improved as a passer as well, throwing five touchdowns in the past two weeks. Fields should be considered a top-five quarterback option in fantasy lineups at home against Detroit in Week 10.
Sit
Devin Singletary (RB) Buffalo Bills
Buffalo is not gelling on offense currently and the lackluster run game is a big reason for it. Devin Singletary has not scored double-digit PPR points since Week 6 and has only delivered one 20-point finish back in Week 3. It won’t get easier against Minnesota’s run defense, which ranks as the sixth-worst matchup for fantasy running backs. James Cook is also starting to get more involved, while Josh Allen creates the majority of Buffalo’s big run plays.
Michael Pittman Jr. (WR) Indianapolis Colts
I am once again fading Michael Pittman Jr. due to the instability surrounding him in Indianapolis. Sam Ehlinger has not played well in two games as an inexperienced second-year quarterback, while the lack of confidence in coaching and the rest of the Colts’ personnel does not indicate a high floor for Pittman against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 10. Even in a good matchup for Pittman, he needs to show that he can hit 15 PPR points before he sees lineups again. It hasn’t happened since a dominant 26-point outing against Jacksonville in Week 6 when Matt Ryan threw for nearly 400 yards, so sit Pittman despite a favorable matchup.
Robert Tonyan (TE) Green Bay Packers
Green Bay needs all of the help it can get from its receivers, so one would imagine tight end Robert Tonyan would be a beneficiary of increased targets. Wrong. The fifth-year tight end has three consecutive single-digit PPR finishes and has only scored one touchdown in nine games. Dallas is a tough defense in general, and a bottom-12 matchup for fantasy tight ends, so sit Tonyan or cut him to waivers.
Justin Herbert (QB) Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers continue to win close games in sloppy fashion. Third-year quarterback Justi Herbert attempts 40 to 50 passes per game, but most of these are check-downs to Austin Ekeler. The pass attempts that don’t go to the running backs go to wide receivers not named Keenan Allen or Mike Williams due to an injured receiving corps. Herbert had the best matchup for fantasy purposes against Atlanta in Week 9 but only scored 12.1 PPR points with one touchdown pass amid 43 pass attempts. He gets a tough road contest against San Francisco off of their Bye, so sit Herbert and pivot elsewhere.
