Week 10 Waiver Sherpa

Week 10 is very underwhelming on the wire, as most players who were going to break out have done so. From here on, we’ll be scraping the bottoms of rosters and trying to find suitable bye week fillers. I’d get more aggressive with your FAAB now, as there’s probably not much to be saving it for. 

I group the adds by position and then within the position, rank them in order of preference. The sherpa will only advise players who are rostered in less than 50% of ESPN leagues.

This went to press before the New England/New York game.

Single QB – Just one streamer of note

Drew Lock (1%) – I am not a Drew Lock aficionado by any means, but he has produced for fantasy in back to back weeks. He has one more tasty matchup that can be exploited as Denver travels to Las Vegas. He can be a bye week filler, and I may even start him over Joe Burrow (@Pit) in week 10. 

Superflex / 2QB – The Washington QB door continues to rotate

Alex Smith (25%) – Kyle Allen fractured his ankle and so the feel good story of the year continues as Alex Smith returns and will start his first game since 2018 in week 10. Temper expectations, but in multi-QB leagues he can be useful once he shakes off the rust. 

RB – Will we finally get Duke SZN?

Duke Johnson (20%) – With David Johnson suffering a concussion, Duke saw lead back duties and converted a 1 yard score. we’ve been waiting years to see this guy in a feature role and there’s a chance it will happen next week. The offense is good enough that Johnson is in immediate consideration as a RB2. 

Troymaine Pope, Kalen Ballage (20%) – It seems very clear that Josh Kelley is the 2 in a any 1-2 punch the Chargers have in their backfield. No matter who goes down with injury, someone other than Kelley sees an uptick in use at his expense. Even the butt of many jokes, Kalen Ballage was promoted off the practice squad and into a feature role in week 9 after Justin Jackson injured himself in warmups. Week 8 darling Troymaine Pope sat out with a concussion, so Ballage saw 17 touches to Kelley’s 14. Pope may be preferred here, if he’s back healthy in week 10. This is a pretty fruitful backfield so grabbing one of these guys can bridge you until Austin Ekeler returns which appears to still be a while away. 

Tony Pollard (10%) – Zeke Elliott was less than 100% but Pollard has looked good of late and is certainly being incorporated into the offense more frequently as a sophomore. He’s a premium handcuff, with some stand alone value in desperation mode. 

Gus Edwards (10%) – Mark Ingram’s lingering injury had opened the door for Edwards to be relevant. He has scored short yardage touchdowns in back to back weeks, and is a FLEX starter until Ingram comes back. 

Cam Akers (5%) – Still worth an add, potential league winner if injuries pile up in LA. 

WR – Jalen Reagor should be 75% rostered

Jalen Reagor (20-25%) – Reagor was back healthy before the bye and scored a touchdown in his return. Now, with a post-bye rookie bump due, add him now for the stretch run. He is an elite playmaker on a team that desperately needs them. The Eagles have been terribly disappointing but will get Miles Sanders back in week 10. Philadelphia should be primed for a NFC East title, even if it is at 7-9.

Curtis Samuel (15%) – Samuel saw his first week of good volume on the year and delivered. Instead of scoring 2 TDs on 5 touches he actually received 12 looks and converted them into 118 yards and a score. The curious case of D. J. Moore continues as he fell back into the shadows with 2 catches on 3 targets. Samuel will likely continue to be frustrating player for fantasy but worth adding now to see if he’s really climbing the target pyramid. 

Allen Lazard (15%) – He is inching back to the field, and despite Marquez Valdes-Scantling scoring twice last Thursday, I think Lazard will be the preferred second target behind Adams once activated off the IR.

K. J. Hamler (10%) – The electric rookie saw 10 targets with Tim Patrick healthy, indicating he may be ready to be Jerry Jeudy’s right hand man. A threat to take any ball to the house, Hamler is probably worth a start against Las Vegas next week for WR needy teams. 

Mack Hollins (5%), Malcolm Perry, Lynn Bowden (post-waiver free adds) – Hollins caught the game-winner against the Cardinals over the shoulder of a corner in dramatic fashion. The former 4th round pick of the Eagles could be next in line with Preston Williams out indefinitely. Perry and Bowden are interesting adds that will go unnoticed but are rookies that could make their way onto the scene. 

Nelson Agholor (5%) – He’s a rare touchdown dependent wide receiver, a store brand Torrey Smith. I won’t be rostering any Agholor, but given his penchant for getting to the end zone, he’s on the desperation spot start radar. 

TE – One TE1 is still largely unaccounted for

Dallas Goedert (10%) – Zach Ertz will miss at least a few more weeks, leaving Goedert as the main tight end in an offense that historically has favored that position. He’s certainly worth of a start right out of the bye in week 10.

Mike Gesicki (5%) – It’s unclear how the Dolphins will divvy up targets in the wake of Preston Williams’ injury, but Gesicki is much closer to a receiver than a tight end. He may find himself in the slot or even outside in mismatches against smaller corners. Worth an add in deep leagues or for bye week filler. 

Dalton Schultz (5%) – He doesn’t seem to be a world beater but 15 targets over the last 2 games will do for a replacement tight end streamer. This offense can’t relax if they’re going to try and win games, so the targets should continue to be plenty. 

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