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14 waiver wire targets in fantasy football for Week 10

Kevin Hickey
·11 min read

Officially halfway through the season, fantasy football managers may have wanted to shield their eyes from the product on the field in Week 9. It was rough.

If you need a quick reminder of how the week unfolded and who the biggest studs and duds were, check out our winners and losers piece! If you’re itching to get to the waiver wire, though, it’s now time to turn our attention to Week 10.

Teams on a bye in Week 10 include the Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants. In order to qualify for the waiver wire, a player cannot be rostered in more than 50% of ESPN leagues. We’ll also include a section for players that are probably rostered but worth a look to see if they’re still available.

Here are 14 players to target on the waiver wire in fantasy football for Week 10:

Probably rostered but worth a look

These are the players that are probably rostered in your leagues but are worth a look. If they are available, they should be high-priority additions over most of the options below.

Quarterback

Running Back

Wide Receiver

QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 43.9%

Even though most managers probably faded Ryan in Week 9, he showed out against a tough Saints defense. He finished as QB3 on the week with a little boost from a rushing touchdown. But he proved he can be reliable option despite not having his top target in Calvin Ridley, who was placed on the Non-football injury list while he gets his mentals right. Ryan will be one of the top streamers this week with a juicy matchup against the Dallas Cowboys coming up. He’s now thrown multiple touchdown passes in six of his last seven games.

QB Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars

Melina Myers-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 28.2%

If there is a week for the No. 1 overall pick to break out, it’s this one. Despite the fact that he’s likely dealing with an ankle injury, the matchup in Week 10 makes Lawrence worthy of a streaming addition. Lawrence hasn’t been a reliable fantasy asset with just two finishes as a QB1 (top-12) this season. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in a game just one time and that came all the way back in Week 1. But the Colts have been fantasy gold for quarterbacks. They’ve allowed the most fantasy points to the position over the last five weeks and an average of 22.7 fantasy points per game in that stretch. The collective efforts of Mike White and Josh Johnson would have finished as the QB1 on the week in Week 9. This is the breakout opportunity for the phenom prospect.

RB Alex Collins, Seattle Seahawks

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Rostered: 38%

It isn’t yet clear if we will see the return of Chris Carson from his neck injury. He’s currently on the injured reserve list and is hopeful to return to practice Wednesday. But Collins should be added regardless, Given the volatility of Carson’s injury and the workload Collins has seen, he should be rostered in more leagues than he is. In three of his four games as the starter, Collins saw no fewer than 70% of the running back rushes. With Russell Wilson set to return against the Packers this week, Collins could be a strong FLEX option if Carson continues to miss. Even if Carson returns, Collins should be rostered as a high-value handcuff.

RB Eno Benjamin, Arizona Cardinals

AP Photo/Tony Avelar

Rostered: 0.1%

You might be asking yourself, who?? Following the ridiculous RB1 finish for James Conner in Week 9 somewhat due to the ankle injury Chase Edmonds suffered, we now turn to the second-year back in Benjamin as a back-end FLEX play. Benjamin (5’9″, 207) was a seventh-round pick in 2020 with the Cardinals. Conner took the majority of work following the Edmonds injury but given his own injury history, the Cardinals can’t afford to run him into the ground. Benjamin showed off some upside when he literally ran through Dre Kirkpatrick for a 21-yard touchdown run in Week 9 and wound up seeing nine carries for 39 rushing yards and a touchdown. He might not see the same workload that Edmonds did, but Benjamin is a talented runner and has built-in upside in case Conner does get hurt.

RB Jordan Howard, Philadelphia Eagles

AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Rostered: 8.5%

The backfield is messy in Philly as Nick Sirianni continues to pull quick ones over the fantasy community. That said, it was Howard who led the backfield in Week 9. His 17 carries out-paced the combined 12 carries for Boston Scott and Kenny Gainwell while Howard added a touchdown on his team-high three 10-zone carries. It’s a mess and probably best to avoid this backfield if you can, but Howard’s emergence amid the Miles Sanders injury warrants an addition to your fantasy lineup even if it will be a difficult decision in Week 10.

RB Brandon Bolden, New England Patriots

Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 7.2%

This is more for deeper leagues and PPR formats. The Patriots backfield is impossible to sift through for fantasy football but we might get some clarity this week. With both Damien Harris and Rhamondre Stevenson going down with head injuries in Week 9, we could see a whole lot of Bolden. Even if just one of those backs is out, Bolden is FLEX worthy. In four of his last six games, Bolden has seen a target share above 10%. He’s a nice fallback plan in case either one of Harris or Stevenson winds up missing Week 10.

RB Jaret Patterson, Washington Football Team

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Rostered: 0.9%

This is more of an insurance grab for those rostering Antonio Gibson. I wouldn’t make Patterson a priority addition, but he should be monitored. Maybe Gibson was able to use the bye week to get healthy but the last time we saw The Football Team play, Patterson had a season-high 12 carries, which was three more than Gibson. For those rostering Gibson, adding Patterson is insurance down the stretch.

WR Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys

Jeremy Reper-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 49.6%

Gallup is expected to come back from the injured reserve list this week after suffering an injury in the Week 1 opener. There are a lot of mouths to feed in Dallas but the offense can handle that. With Blake Jarwin on the injured reserve list, we can expect a lot more 11-personnel. Gallup will be volatile simply given the nature of the Cowboys offense and the many targets to be shared with Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb but he’s a weekly FLEX option given his upside.

WR Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers

AP Photo/Lachlan Cunningham

Rostered: 45.5%

Aiyuk came through as one of my sleepers in Week 9 to post his best fantasy day of the year. Despite a fumble, it seems the second-year phenom is out of Kyle Shanahan’s dog house. Even with George Kittle and Deebo Samuel in the mix, Aiyuk posted a season-high 93% snap share while his 21% target share was his second-highest of the season. He has a favorable schedule coming up so there’s a chance we’re talking about Aiyuk as a very important player during the second half.

WR Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Rostered: 25%

Bateman has been on this list before so we won’t linger too long here. He’s a first-round pick who is coming off of a season-high eight targets on an elite offense run by an elite quarterback. The passing pie might be smaller than most teams but he’s seen no fewer than six targets in a game this season. Rookie wideouts typically get better in the second half of the season and given that he’s only played in three games, that narrative certainly fits. He’s a FLEX play moving forward and has extreme upside in Week 10 on Thursday night against the porous Dolphins defense.

WR Elijah Moore, New York Jets

AP Photo/AJ Mast

Rostered: 15.3%

As much as I would like to say we should expect this every week, I’d be lying if I did. The Jets offense is not to be trusted but it was nice to see the talented rookie post a WR1 overall finish in Week 9. Even though it was only a 15% share, Moore’s eight targets were tied for a season-high while his seven receptions and 84 yards were season-high marks. With Corey Davis banged up, Moore should be able to carve out a role during the second half.

TE Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings

Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 47.6%

Though it may have been an uninspiring outing, Conklin was again a solid streamer in Week 9. He posted seven targets for the second consecutive game and hit a season-high 25% target share. For those needing a bye-week replacement, Conklin is probably the best of the bunch that’s widely available.

TE Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 32.9%

Freiermuth came through for fantasy managers with two receiving touchdowns on Monday night. The transition has officially taken over as the rookie should now be considered the TE1 for the Steelers. Though rookie tight ends typically don’t produce for fantasy, the absence of Juju Smith-Schuster combined with Freiermuth’s four targets and three touchdowns in the red zone over the last two weeks warrants an addition. He’s finished as the TE2 and TE1 in each of the last two weeks.

TE Logan Thomas, Washington Football Team

Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Rostered: 47.3%

This is simply to take a look to see if he’s available. If Thomas is out on your waiver wire, it’s wise to scoop him up. He’s eligible to return from the injured reserve list and has top-five upside at the position when he does return. Especially if you have an open injured reserve slot on your roster, Thomas can either be your new starter or trade bait when he returns.

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