You may recall Matt Stiles told you last week that he’d be out enjoying himself on a much-needed vacation. I mean, who takes a vacation in the middle of the fantasy football season? C’mon Man! Well, Bobby can address that during contract negotiations in the offseason.
Rewind to the present, I heard the bullpen phone ring and took the call. The arm is loose and I’m ready to throw some heat! Fear not my friends, I’ve got you covered here and with all your needs. Drop all your questions in the comments below and let’s set some winning lineups together. They don’t call me “The Lineup Builder” for nothing. Let’s get right to it.
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Start These Players:
- Position: QB
- Player: Sam Darnold
- Week 10 Opponent: at the Jacksonville Jaguars
The move to Minnesota has resurrected the career of Sam Darnold. He’s been such a great fit there that Viking fans probably don’t remember who the starting QB was last season. I kid, of course, but to that point, Darnold is 4th in the league in QB rating (107.8) while the “former guy” comes in 9th at 101.9. That’s all fine and good, but we care about fantasy production…and I hear you. So, let’s look at that. Outside of Week 5 versus the Jets, Darnold has returned at least 19 fantasy points in every game this season. This week he draws the friendliest Defense vs QB of all his peers. The Jaguars are giving up a league-leading 27.33 fantasy points to QBs, including averaging 275 yards and over 2 TDs per game. Darnold also has a new weapon in T.J. Hockenson, who looked strong in his limited return last week. Justin Jefferson continues to be a beast and Aaron Jones is also rolling right now. Start Sam with confidence this week!
Sneaky Play: Brock Purdy draws a nice matchup on the road in Tampa Bay. The Bucs defense is allowing a stout 25 fantasy points to QBs and based on our Home/Road Player Splits tool, Purdy is actually averaging slightly more fantasy points on the road.
- Position: RB
- Player: Jonathan Taylor
- Week 10 Opponent: versus the Buffalo Bills
After a dud last week, 13-48-0 against the Vikings, I’m here to tell you not to lose faith in Jonathan Taylor. The Bills rank 26th in the league in allowing points to RBs (20.0) and specifically are allowing the most receptions to RBs (6.8). For his part, JT is averaging a little over 4.0 yards per carry and 3 targets per game. Neither Trey Sermon nor Tyler Goodson is cutting into his workload in a meaningful way so this remains a one-man show. Look for the Colts to control the clock to keep the Bills offense on the sidelines, meaning a healthy workload for JT.
Sneaky Play: I see Rhamondre Stevenson continuing his mid-season fantasy resurgence this week at the Bears. After posting back-to-back 20+ point fantasy outputs over the last two weeks, the 4th worst defense in rushing average (5.1 rushes per attempt) will have a tough time corralling this runner. The added stress a rushing QB also puts on the defense, having to account for misdirection or designed QB runs, should also limit the Bears ability to stack the box and limit Stevenson’s output. Call me crazy, but this Patriots offense has fantasy-relevant players again and is fun to watch.
- Position: WR
- Player: Darnell Mooney
- Week 10 Opponent: at the New Orleans Saints
The Falcons have a number of weapons on offense, including Bijan Robinson and Drake London, but it’s Darnell Mooney who receives my endorsement this week. Mooney comes in after posting back-to-back games with 85+ yards and a TD. His snaps consistently place him amongst the team leaders each week and target share remains about 20%. Cousins clearly has confidence in Mooney and with the trade of Marshon Lattimore by the Saints this week, the already struggling New Orleans defense should be outmatched by the pair.
Sneaky Play: Jauan Jennings should return to the lineup this week after sitting out three weeks following the hip injury in Week 6. A return this week is none-too-soon for the 49ers as they travel East to Tampa without Brandon Aiyuk and a still battered Deebo Samuel. Tampa boasts one of the friendlier fantasy matchups against WRs, especially wideouts like Jennings.
- Position: TE
- Player: Dalton Kincaid
- Week 10 Opponent: at the Indianapolis Colts
Dalton Kincaid was expected to be a top 5-7 TE for fantasy this year. To say he’s underachieved that projection is an understatement. Looking over his season, he’s drawn some difficult matchups as well as limited targets early, which explains some of the struggles. Lately, the Bills has emphasized his targets, averaging over 7 per game for the last 6 contests. Enter the Colts, which allows the T-5th most fantasy points to TEs. Looking ahead to next week, the Chiefs allow the 2nd most fantasy points to TEs. Kincaid looks like a very good 2-week option before the Week 12 bye.
Sneaky Play: T.J. Hockenson is back and looked strong in his first action of the season. The best news is he came out of that game unscathed and more importantly, passed the eye test in strength and mobility. To say there’s an upward trajectory here is putting it mildly. We probably won’t see 100% workload for a few weeks but a matchup against the Jags who allow the T-5th most fantasy points to TEs may be worth the risk – especially with the shortage of TEs due to bye.
That’s All Folks
Be sure to drop all your questions and comments below. Like Matt, I’ll answer every question received.
As always, all our articles and rankings are free at https://football.razzball.com. Also, don’t forget to join the Razzball boys, Bobby (@BobbyLamarco), Sky (@SkyGuasco), Matt (@Stiles08), Jeff (@Jefferson_21) and me each week for our live show. Come for the insight, stay for the fun!
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Until next time, my friends!
