GPPs are not won by using a lineup with all the most popular players on the slate. Being a contrarian in a big-field event in your roster construction can help separate your lineup and gain you leverage over the field when some of the more popular names bust.
Hence, the goal of this article won’t be to just highlight the popular “play-it-safe” names. We won’t avoid all the chalky names, because good players are still good players most of the time. However, highlighting contrarian roster constructions and ways to make your lineup unique while maximizing upside will be the goal.
Remember, in most cases, the person who finishes in 10,000th place and the person who finishes in 1,269th place receive the same amount of money in many of these larger field contests, so there is no reason to simply follow the crowd to feel comfortable.
Let’s dive into Week 10 of the 2025 NFL season.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st].
Top DFS Contrarian Stack
New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Drake Maye ($6,400) – TreVeyon Henderson ($5,600) – Stefon Diggs ($5,800) – Cade Otton ($3,900)
Drake Maye comes in having posted 21 or more DKFP in five of his last seven games and is in a good spot to continue that trend vs. the Buccaneers this week. The second-year QB faces a Tampa Bay defense that has improved vs. the pass this season but still ranks just 21st in success rate per dropback and has allowed over 340 yards passing against in two games this season already.
Maye also brings rushing upside and (27.4 rush yards per game) and has an explosive RB in TreVeyon Henderson, who may be able to pick up plenty of cheap yards this week. Tampa Bay still struggles defending around the line of scrimmage and has given up 50+ more yards than any other defense this season to RBs as receivers. With Rhamondre Stevenson ruled out after two missed practices, Henderson figures to get the bulk of the work again this week at RB and caught four receptions on six targets for 32 yards in his first start last week.
You could easily corner all the Patriots’ TDs with just Maye and Henderson, but double-stacking Maye has a lot of appeal too, given the relative cheapness of the Patriots’ WRs. You could certainly go in the cheaper direction with DeMario Douglas, who is coming off a great game and just $4,000 this week, but he also only played 24% of the snaps and feels like a bit of a value trap in this spot. I’d rather go with Stefon Diggs, who has scored in two straight starts and will go up against a Tampa Bay secondary that has struggled against No. 1 WRs this year.
Diggs is still under $6,000 in price and has shown to be the preferred option for Maye when the Patriots (who have had an easy schedule) get up against tougher competition. His best game of the season came against the Bills, who also lacked a true shutdown corner, a matchup in which he posted 10 catches on 12 targets and posted 27.6 DKFP without finding the end zone. A repeat performance or something close to it wouldn’t be shocking in Week 10.
Quarterback
J.J. McCarthy ($4,900)
McCarthy was a little inefficient in his return from injury last week, but did account for three TDs vs. the Lions in the upset win. Considering he only threw the ball 25 times and wasn’t forced to do a whole lot, the 19 DKFP he put up was a solid outing. While I’d likely want to avoid him against great defenses, the Ravens have continually given up big games and lots of yards to QBs all season.
They’ve allowed the ninth-most DKFP per game to opposing QBs and rank just 24th in EPA per dropback. Both Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are also in great spots this week, with Baltimore lacking a true shutdown corner and allowing the fourth-most DKFP to opposing WRs. Overall, with Baltimore’s offense back to full strength, this is a spot where I expect the Ravens will force McCarthy to drop back 30+ times, which could lead to some turnovers, but also plenty of explosive plays given the matchup for his top WRs. At under $5,000, he’s a solid upside value at QB and also easy to stack with Jefferson and/or Addison.
Running Back
Quinshon Judkins ($6,500)
With Kevin Stefanski handing over play-calling duties this week, there’s a sense of optimism surrounding Cleveland’s offense. A shake-up like this often brings a fresh/original approach, so an upcoming bump in efficiency for the Browns’ top fantasy options wouldn’t come as a surprise.
At the center of any potential offensive resurgence sits Judkins. The rookie is positioned to take advantage of a Jets defense that just shipped out cornerstone defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, and ranks 23rd in EPA per rush. Overall, this matchup sets the stage for what could be a career game from Judkins, making him one of the more intriguing mid-range RB targets on the slate.
Kenneth Walker ($5,200)
Walker looked good last week vs. the Commanders in a game he ended with 61 total yards, but didn’t see that many touches because of how efficient his QB was whenever he dropped back to pass. He also got a little unlucky as he had two carries from inside the five-yard line but failed to convert on either. Either way, a shift back to Walker getting more yards/TDs seems to be in order for Week 10.
Arizona has a far better secondary and pass defense than the Commanders, so I expect that Darnold will be held in check a little more, while Walker’s touches see an uptick. If that’s the case, we could see another vintage game from the fourth-year back, who put up 21.8 FP back in Week 2 and has the sort of upside that can return 5x or better at these sorts of low prices.
Wide Receiver
Rome Odunze ($6,000)
Odunze is coming off a ridiculous zero-catch game in the Bears’ ridiculous 47-42 win over the Bengals. Despite not catching one pass in one of the highest-scoring games of the last couple of seasons, he’s still a player I would not hesitate to go back to this week. The Giants’ corners have been great targets for WR1s all season and come into this week having allowed the fourth-most receiving yards and receptions to opposing WRs.
Further, while Odunze has been on the injury report of late with a heel issue, he practiced in full again this Friday and should be somewhat closer to 100% after taking the first portion of the week completely off. Whatever the case, with sentiment low after his bagel vs. the Bengals combined with the great matchup vs. the Giants, I’d not hesitate to roll the dice on the second-year WR. This game has lots of shootout potential, and the improved matchup should ensure Odunze is a big part of the action this time around.
Darius Slayton ($4,300)
Slayton bounced back with a solid game last week vs the 49ers. His seven targets and 62 yards were both season highs, and he’ll face off this week vs. a Bears secondary that does give up lots of fantasy points to WRs. For the season, Chicago has allowed the third-most fantasy points to opposing WRs, and given how porous the Giants’ defense is against the pass, I expect Slayton may again approach seven or eight targets in this game, which would make him a tremendous value at just $4,300 once again.
Even if the Giants tighten up a bit this week, Slayton is still a very good outside threat who can get behind defenses on a single play, and should be playing his regular 70-80% of the snaps once again. He’s setting up as a great value this week (and beyond) and perfect to use in GPPs as both a one-off GPP punt or as part of a larger game stack for the Giants-Bears tilt.
Tight End
Dalton Schultz ($3,600)
Schultz could be a big beneficiary of the QB change this week in Houston. With C.J. Stroud out for a large portion of the game last week, Schultz saw eight targets and actually led the Texans in yards, going for seven receptions and 77 yards in the loss. The matchup this week should push more of Davis Mills’ passes towards Schultz as well.
Jacksonville has allowed the second-most DKFP to opposing TEs this season already and six TDs, which is tied for second-most in the league. While the Jaguars have been burned by WR Nico Collins in the past, with Mills at QB, they may have an easier shot at shutting him and would likely be happy with funneling shorter passes to Schultz most of the game regardless. Look for the Houston TE to post another big PPR game and push to be one of the best values at this position.
Defense/Special Teams
Browns ($2,900)
Both of these teams have offenses that could self-destruct at any minute, but the Browns’ defense remains intact for the most part, while the Jets have completely gutted their depth chart on that side of the ball and should be at a significant disadvantage this week. Overall, Cleveland has been a tough matchup for pretty much every team they’ve faced, and for fantasy, they have put up some big totals vs. weak competition, including a 25-point game vs. the Dolphins just a few weeks ago.
While Justin Fields has yet to throw an INT this season, he has lost three fumbles already and is also the sixth-most sacked QB this year, despite playing in fewer than seven full games. Cleveland’s pass rush has gotten to the QB 10 times over their last two games alone. Given how poorly the Jets’ offensive line has played of late, they could approach that double-digit mark in this game alone. Overall, with the Jets coming off as fire sellers at the deadline and the Browns’ defense having a huge advantage in the trenches, that is a spot where you could see them put up another 20-burger and compete for top DST-scorer of the week once again.
