18 players to start or sit in fantasy football for Week 10
- Each week, we're listing players to start or sit in fantasy football.
- As always, these are less obvious choices - players fantasy owners might be on the cusp of starting or sitting.
- Here are our start 'em, sit 'ems for Week 9 of the NFL season.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
We return for fantasy football start/sits in Week 10 coming off a strong week, albeit with four big misses.
Each week, we determine a successful pick by whether quarterbacks or tight ends finished in the top 12 in scoring in their respective positions and if running backs and wide receivers finished in the top 30. By that measure, we nailed 12 of 18 picks last week.
Unfortunately, we guessed wrong on two games: Kenyan Drake and Jimmy Garoppolo, two of our "sits," went off on "Thursday Night Football." Meanwhile, Gardner Minshew and D.J. Chark, two "starts" who looked sure to post big weeks, completely flopped in London. So goes fantasy football.
As usual, we try to pick less obvious choices - players fantasy owners might be on the cusp of starting or sitting.
Check out our start 'em, sit 'ems for Week 10 below.
START: Philip Rivers, QB
Team: Los Angeles Chargers
Week 10 opponent: at Oakland Raiders
Why you should start him: The Chargers' offense finally got untracked in Week 9, scoring 26 points, their most in five weeks, while Melvin Gordon had some success in the run game. Rivers didn't throw any touchdowns last week, but this week, he gets the Raiders, who boast a solid run defense and weak pass defense. We're betting Rivers gets involved again and has a solid outing.
SIT: Jared Goff, QB
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Week 10 opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Why you should sit him: It makes us a little queasy to bet against Sean McVay coming off a bye week, but the Steelers don't present a good matchup for the Rams. Goff turned it around in the two weeks before the bye, but he is also only four weeks removed from a 78-yard performance against the Niners, so it's hard to rely too much on his recent production. The Steelers haven't allowed a top-15 fantasy QB finish since Week 3.
Start: Brian Hoyer, QB
Team: Indianapolis Colts
Week 10 opponent: vs. Miami Dolphins
Why you should start him: The Dolphins are a juicy matchup for anyone, even third-stringers. Hoyer played well against the Steelers when he had to come in for the injured Jacoby Brissett. While he doesn't offer a huge ceiling, he should be a fine streamer this week for those desperate at QB. The same applies to Brissett if he does play this week.
SIT: Kirk Cousins, QB
Team: Minnesota Vikings
Week 10 opponent: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Why you should sit him: Cousins has been one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league over the last five weeks, but the Cowboys present a tough matchup. Dallas has allowed just seven passing touchdowns in eight games. Cousins will be without Adam Thielen again, and the Vikings could lean on the run game more. Cousins should be fine, but we're not anticipating the top-five production he's had recently.
START: Aaron Jones/Jamaal Williams, RB
Team: Green Bay Packers
Week 10 opponent: vs. Carolina Panthers
Why you should start him: The Panthers are allowing a league-best 5.1 yards per carry and rank as the worst run defense in DVOA. Both Jones and Williams have proven to be fantasy-viable, even as they take touches away from each other. Over the past four weeks, Jones is RB6, and Williams is RB8. Note, of course, that Williams' ceiling is lower, barring a score, as Jones still gets the bulk of the touches.
SIT: Todd Gurley, RB
Team: Los Angeles Rams
Week 10 opponent: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Why you should sit him: Again, it makes us a little nervous to bet against Sean McVay after a bye week. What we do know is Gurley hasn't topped 51 yards since Week 2, with touchdowns saving his fantasy performances. He also has averaged over four yards per carry once in his last six games. Gurley was out-touched by Darrel Henderson in Week 8, though perhaps Gurley will handle the ball more after a week off. Our bar for a successful pick in these columns is a top-30 finish in fantasy scoring. Gurley should be able to manage that, but we doubt he's in the top 20 (he's 19th on the year in standard scoring), which is where owners probably expect him to finish most weeks.
START: Ronald Jones II, RB
Team: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 10 opponent: vs. Arizona Cardinals
Why you should start him: After being in a split with Peyton Barber through the first half of the season, Jones was finally named the starter going forward by Bruce Arians. In his first start, he gets a great matchup with the Cardinals. Jones is RB32 on the season while ranking 32nd in overall touches. He should thrive with a greater workload.
SIT: Kenyan Drake, RB
Team: Arizona Cardinals
Week 10 opponent: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Why you should sit him: We got burned on our call to sit Drake last week, as he went off for 162 yards and 2 TDs. However, we're calling for a benching again this week, as he gets the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. David Johnson is also back, meaning Drake's touches could be limited.
Start: Latavius Murray, RB
Team: New Orleans Saints
Week 10 opponent: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Why you should start him: Murray was a monster in his two starts while Alvin Kamara was injured. Kamara should be back this week, but the Saints may try to balance the two players' touches going forward, especially given Murray's recent production. With the Saints expected to lead big, Murray may also handle the touches late against a weak Falcons defense.
SIT: Kalen Ballage, RB
Team: Miami Dolphins
Week 10 opponent: at Indianapolis Colts
Why you should sit him: Ballage is now the starter after the Dolphins traded Kenyan Drake and lost Mark Walton to suspension. Full-time starting running backs are rare in fantasy, but Ballage doesn't inspire much confidence. He has just 110 total yards on 39 touches this year, and the Dolphins are rarely in a position to use their running backs.
START: Keenan Allen, WR
Team: Los Angeles Chargers
Week 10 opponent: at Oakland Raiders
Why you should start him: Few players have had as strange a drop-off as Allen this year. He began the year with 404 yards and three touchdowns in his first three games and has just 253 yards and 0 touchdowns in six games since then. However, the opportunity has been there, as he has averaged over seven targets per game the last six weeks. We're betting he breaks out of the slump this year.
SIT: Josh Gordon, WR
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Week 10 opponent: at San Francisco 49ers
Why you should sit him: Gordon is set to make his debut with the Seahawks. While he figures to be a solid addition down the road, we're hesitant to start a player in his first game with a new team, particularly since Gordon has been banged up and hasn't played in four weeks. A matchup with the 49ers' elite defense doesn't help either.
START: Emmanuel Sanders, WR
Team: San Francisco 49ers
Week 10 opponent: vs. Seattle Seahawks
Why you should start him: Sanders has been productive since joining the 49ers. Hescored a touchdown in Week 1, then went off for 112 yards and a TD in Week 2. Also encouraging: he has 11 catches on 14 targets in two games. The Seahawks have fallen to 27th in defensive DVOA, so Sanders has a chance to keep building this week.
SIT: Jarvis Landry, WR
Team: Cleveland Browns
Week 10 opponent: at Buffalo Bills
Why you should sit him: Landry's fantasy weeks have been tough to predict, but this isn't an encouraging matchup. The Browns have another mouth to feed beginning this week in Kareem Hunt, and Baker Mayfield said on Thursday that he wants to get Odell Beckham Jr. more targets. According to Mike Tagliere of FantasyPros, the Bills haven't allowed a touchdown from the slot yet this year.
START: Golden Tate, WR
Team: New York Giants
Week 10 opponent: at New York Jets
Why you should start him: Tate has topped 60 total yards in four of his five games and had 80 or more in three of them. He's had a safe floor as the clear-cut top receiver and should stay there with Sterling Shepard still out with a concussion. He gets a nice matchup this week against the Jets, who rank 25th in pass DVOA.
SIT: Devante Parker, WR
Team: Miami Dolphins
Week 10 opponent: at Indianapolis Colts
Why you should sit him: Since Week 4, your WR17 is... Devante Parker! A Dolphin! Parker has hit 50 yards or scored a touchdown in seven of eight games this season, a nice floor for the league's worst team. We're worried that comes to an end this week. The Colts' pass defense has improved, and the Dolphins are on the road. Though the Colts defense has been somewhat friendly to fantasy wide receivers this year, it's still a tough script for Parker, who has been anything but consistent in his career.
START: Jared Cook, TE
Team: New Orleans Saints
Week 10 opponent: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Why you should start him: Cook appears to be healthy after two weeks off. He recently told reporters that he's looking at the second half of the season as a fresh start after a disappointing first half. There was buzz during training camp that the Saints would lean on Cook a lot. Perhaps with Drew Brees and Alvin Kamara healthy, that turns out to be true. With tight end virtually unpredictable this year, Cook looks like a solid bet against the Falcons' poor defense.
SIT: Jacob Hollister, TE
Team: Seattle Seahawks
Week 10 opponent: at San Francisco 49ers
Why you should sit him: Hollister has become a red-zone weapon with Will Dissly on the IR. That gives him some appeal each week, but it also might make him a touchdown-or-bust option, a tough position with Josh Gordon also entering the mix in Seattle. With six teams on bye and tight end relatively weak, taking a shot on Hollister is fine, but it's a risk, especially against the 49ers defense.
Now, pick these guys up if you haven't already...
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