With any luck, fantasy football owners made it through another tough week in terms of byes and scored wins based on smart waiver-wire adds and lineup decisions.
Week 10 will look like a paradise by comparison. Looking at past performances, injuries and other factors, the wire offers a nice balance at all positions compared to most weeks. In the long run, this means hopeful contenders can bolster their rosters before the playoffs.
Lineup decisions won’t get any easier, though (see: Oakland Raiders running back Latavius Murray dropping 30 points on the Denver Broncos in Week 9).
But the wire? This week’s is generous, so let’s take a look.
Week 10 Waiver-Wire Targets
Joe Flacco, QB, BAL (26.3 percent)
Many owners will probably roll their eyes at this one.
Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been far from a fantasy stud this year—or any year, for that matter. This season, he has scored more than 20 points in a game once and 16 or more just twice.
One look at the talent around Flacco says why, but that’s another story for another day. Quarterback is such a simple position to project that owners can stream on a week-to-week basis with little in the way of long-term adds.
So simple, in fact, that Flacco is a must-have pickup in Week 10. Coming off a week in which he totaled 14 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Flacco next gets the Cleveland Browns.
Those Browns have allowed 19 passing touchdowns through eight games, and three opposing quarterbacks have managed 20 or more points. The unit overall has coughed up three passing scores in five different games this season.
Maybe Flacco only lasts on rosters for a week, but it will be a great one.
DuJuan Harris, RB, SF (31.4 percent)
San Francisco 49ers running back DuJuan Harris came out of obscurity this week to give owners everywhere a quality option at the most difficult position.
Playing in place of the injured Carlos Hyde, the Troy product rushed 10 times for 59 yards and caught five passes for 83 yards and a score against the New Orleans Saints, good for 17 points.
Owners shouldn’t be quick to dismiss Harris’ performance as fluky against a bad defense or expect him to disappear once Hyde returns. Al Sacco of 49ers Webzone provided a nugget of interest:
Keep in mind, too, that Hyde’s injury is a shoulder issue, which is a tricky area for a running back to heal, given the nature of the position.
At the least, Harris is a nice bet to keep seeing snaps in the coming weeks, especially since he surprisingly passed Shaun Draughn and Mike Davis on the depth chart, meaning the coaches trust him to lead the way.
So should owners.
Marqise Lee, WR, JAC, (3.3 percent)
Looking at things from a week-to-week basis, Jacksonville Jaguars wideout Marqise Lee has been all over the place.
He’s scored six or more points in three of his last four outings, but Week 8 was a zero-point affair. This isn’t uncommon, though, for a slot option in a middling passing attack.
For Lee to become relevant, stats need to hint at bigger things, and his role has to look like it will increase.
Check off both boxes there.
Lee ranks third on the team in targets at 49 (compared to 60 and 81 for Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson, respectively) yet sits at 442 receiving yards, one off the team lead. In two of his past three outings, quarterback Blake Bortles has gone his way with eight targets.
Now keep in mind that one of the guys ahead of Lee in the pecking order, Hurns, exited the team’s Week 9 game with a possible concussion.
Should Lee’s role increase with Hurns out, he’s going to have big games. Even if Hurns doesn’t miss time, Lee could be perhaps the most prone Jacksonville weapon to big games, which falls on owners to analyze matchups and figure out when it will happen.
Dominique Jones, TE, MIA (0.0 percent)
A 2012 undrafted free agent, Dominique Jones made the most of absences by Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims at tight end for the Miami Dolphins.
Jones saw four targets and caught three of them for 42 yards and the first touchdown of his career, giving him and his zero owners 10 points.
Not bad. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill seemed to love the consistency of going toward the new face, which is a shock because he’s mostly ignored the position this year in favor of wideouts such as Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker.
Jones might have just changed the preference. With Cameron on injured reserve and Sims owning all of 12 targets on the year, fantasy owners might have a new starter at tight end who can hit on regular production.
At the least, it’s worth the gamble while seeking out consistency at an erratic position.
All scoring info and statistics courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.
Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.
Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com
