Week 9 has already had some surprising results and amazing finishes, providing plenty of drama and some significant surprises. Even with Sunday and Monday night matchups still to come, several names are already popping as strong pickups from the waiver wire for Week 10.
As we get ready for Week 10, it’s important to remember that the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be coming back after their bye week while the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans are out of action in Week 10.
Throughout the week, DK Network will have you covered with potential waiver wire pickups and strong plays for Week 10 and for the rest of the season. Be sure to stay tuned to the outstanding coverage from the whole team. This post is designed to be an early look at some of the names to keep an eye on coming out of Week 9.
Another key factor to keep a close eye on every week is new injuries. Here are some new situations to monitor moving forward:
Players with new injuries from Week 9 to watch:
- QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans
- RB Rico Dowdle, Caroline Panthers
- RB Aaron Jones, Minnesota Vikings
- WR Brian Thomas Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR Puka Nacua, Los Angeles Rams,
- WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
- WR Kayshon Boutte, New England Patriots
- WR Matthew Golden, Green Bay Packers
- WR Dyami Brown, Jacksonville Jaguars
- WR Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers
- TE Tucker Kraft, Green Bay Packers
- TE Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
With those injuries in mind, here are some of my early names to watch if you’re shopping on the Week 10 waiver wire.
WR Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 9’s wild games gave us several breakout wide receivers to consider, led by Olamide Zaccheaus (17.8 FPTS) of the Bears and Parker Washington (17.0 FPTS) of the Jaguars. While both have good potential going forward and need to be on your radar, Washington’s the better option if both are available since he has a much clearer path to playing time.
On Friday, I broke down the Jaguars’ receivers situation after Travis Hunter (knee) landed on IR and will miss at least the next four games with a non-contact knee injury suffered in practice. With Hunter out, Washington’s ownership rose to just under 20% coming into the week, but it will skyrocket even higher after Sunday’s game.
Washington did his part in the Jaguars’ 30-29 victory, playing as the WR1 after Dyami Brown suffered a concussion and Brian Thomas Jr. may have suffered a high ankle sprain. He finished with eight catches for 90 yards on nine targets, all of which led the team.
He has a couple of tough matchups the next two weeks against the Texans and Chargers, but he has so much playing time potential that he makes a great pickup for his value potential going forward.
Zaccheaus is also a strong option based on his play, even though the Bears’ receiver room is much more crowded. DeMario Douglas (23 FPTS) and Alec Pierce (20.5 FPTS) also had big games at low ownership, but Zaccheaus and Washington are stronger additions going forwards.
RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Stepping into larger roles Kyle Monangai (25.8 FPTS), RJ Harvey (16.6 FPTS) and TreVeyon Henderson (12.7 FPTS) all had big games but are already added in most leagues. If you’re shopping on the waiver wire in Week 10 for running back help, though, it’s important to realize that the Rams running back situation is starting to turn into more of a timeshare with Blake Corum (5.8 FPTS) and Kyren Williams (20.4 FPTS). Williams is still clearly the lead back and had over 100 rushing yards and a touchdown, but Corum is mixing in enough to be on the fantasy radar.
Rams Coach Sean McVay has talked about trying to share the load more in the backfield, and in blowout wins on each side of the bye week, Corum has looked productive in his role. Against the Jaguars in London, he had 12 carries for 37 yards and a catch for six yards. This week, he showed even more big-play ability and racked up 58 yards on his 13 carries, both season-highs.
While Devin Singletary (7.1 FPTS) also got a little more work than expected in the timeshare, I’d rather stash Corum as part of a much better offense since Singletary and Tyrone Tracy Jr. are sharing time with rushing threat Jaxson Dart, while Corum is in a better offense with a system more tilted toward running back success.
QB J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings
I highlighted J.J. McCarthy (19.9 FPTS) last week since he was expected to move back into the starting lineup in Week 9, and he not only had a strong showing, but he also led his team to an upset win on the road in Detroit.
McCarthy completed 14 of his 25 pass attempts for a total of 143 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He added a third touchdown and 12 rushing yards on nine carries as well.
His stat line was similar to Week 1 when he ran for 25 yards and a touchdown while throwing for 143 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
After knocking off the Lions, McCarthy and the Vikings have a great stretch ahead since they take on the Ravens and the Bears in Week 10 and Week 11, who are both top-10 matchups for quarterbacks. Looking further ahead, he also has top-10 matchups in Week 14, Week 15 and Week 16, when most fantasy football leagues are in the playoffs.
He’s still available in over two-thirds of fantasy leagues, and his rushing potential and favorable schedule make him a great grab from the waiver wire if you have to go quarterback shopping from the waiver wire in Week 10.
TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Two main options emerged in the early Week 10 waiver wire tight end market: Colston Loveland (32.8 FPTS) and Luke Musgrave (6.4 FPTS).
Loveland had the game-winning catch in one of the wildest games of the season and was the second-highest scoring tight end of the entire week coming into Sunday night.
Loveland finished with six catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns in the Bears’ wild 47-42 win. The rookie battled injuries and took some time to grow into coach Ben Johnson’s offensive system, but hopefully you listened when we identified him as a stash play a few weeks ago, since it looks like he’s ready for a big second half of the season.
He has at least three targets in each of his last five games and at least three catches in each of his last three games.
The Bears have a favorable tight end schedule with the Giants, Vikings and Steelers in the next three weeks. Looking further ahead, Loveland also has a great stretch of matchups from Week 14-Week 16 in the fantasy playoffs.
Musgrave makes sense as a speculative pickup because he’ll be stepping into a larger role with Tucker Kraft (knee) expected to miss time. Dalton Schultz (13.7 FPTS) continues to turn in solid PPR numbers, and Juwan Johnson (12.1 FPTS) got into the end zone in Tyler Shough’s Saints’ debut start.
Browns DST
The Browns DST and Myles Garrett come off their bye next week with a favorable matchup against the Jets. While the Browns are only 2-6 in their eight games, the issues have mostly been on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, they have at least three sacks in six of their eight games and also have 10 takeaways in their last six games, with one defensive touchdown.
The Browns play the Raiders in Week 12 and the Titans in Week 14, so there are some other favorable spots on the board ahead for the team if you’re looking to add them into a rotation. If someone else in your league held or already has the Browns, the Bills (at MIA), the Panthers (vs. NO), and the Bears (vs. NYG) are good choices.
