This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
It's hard to believe it's Week 10 already and there's a shortened schedule as for the first and only time this season we'll have six teams on bye (Denver, New England, Washington, Philadelphia, Houston and Jacksonville). As a result, there will be 10 games on the main slate, which means there's still a healthy number of players from which to choose.
QUARTERBACK
The conversation for a cash quarterback this week has to start with the Saints' Drew Brees ($8,300). He's had an extra week to prepare for this game and arguably has the best matchup of anyone. The Falcons have allowed the third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks this season and face the Saints on the road. Don't hesitate to combine Brees and his favorite wide receiver (who I'll get to later) in any format. Next, Jameis Winston is right there with Brees as a consideration for any format given his home matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. There's actually an argument that Jameis should be used over Brees given his consistency since Week 3 (at least 17.1 fantasy points in six straight games) and the Cardinals have allowed the most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Pairing Jameis with both Mike Evans ($8,600) and Chris Godwin ($8,200) is extremely expensive but for that reason could keep their stacking ownership down. Just realize you'll have to be creative with the rest of your meager budget. The lower/mid-priced option to consider this week for GPPs is the Colts' Brian Hoyer ($7,100). Obviously Jacoby Brissett ($7,600) could still play but logic would say in a game against the Dolphins that he should be rested. Hoyer is one of the more experienced backup in the league and came in cold off the bench to score 16.32 fantasy points. He's had a week to work with the first stringers and a home matchup with the Dolphins is solid with the Fins allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Finally, the super cheap, Hail Mary player to consider for tournaments is the Bears' Mitchell Trubisky ($6,500). While you can certainly question my sanity, hang with me. He's extremely cheap at this price and given his recent production and calls for Chase Daniel, his ownership for tournaments will be at a minimum (less than five percent, easily). The matchup is decent as the Lions have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Remember too that Trubisky can earn extra fantasy points using his legs.
RUNNING BACK
While the Lions have been bad against the pass, they've been even worse against the run, allowing the most fantasy points to running backs. The Bears' David Montgomery ($6,400) is pretty cheap, has scored 22.1 and 22.7 fantasy points over the last two games and should be able to keep it going against the Lions porous run defense. The Bills' Devin Singletary ($6,700) finally had his breakout game last week (21.5 fantasy points) and get a Browns' defense allowing the ninth-most fantasy points to the other team's running backs. He's best left for GPPs as he needs to show some consistency before being used in cash games. Derrick Henry ($7,000) is the 10th highest-priced running back this week and has a good home matchup against the Chiefs, who are ranked 29th against the run. With Ryan Tannehill under center once again, look for the Titans to slow the game and try to establish Henry and the running attack. Ronald Jones ($6,300) will make another start and should approach 20 touches in this game. There's a high ceiling combining him and the Saints' passing attack with Jones' home matchup with the Cardinals. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Christian McCaffrey ($10,500) is this spot given his success this season. Am I going to use him in cash despite the high price? Absolutely. Looking at the higher price options if Saquon Barkley ($8,600), Alvin Kamara ($8,300) were just $8,000, they would need to average 21.46 fantasy points to be as good as CMC has been given his price tag and his 28.17 FPPG average. However, Barkley checks in at 15.81 and Kamara at 15.65 FPPG both over five points below the needed 21.46 threshold. Hence, McCaffrey is still somehow a value given his price and the Packers are ranked 24th against the run.
WIDE RECEIVER
It's absolutely feasible to start a cash game lineup with Brees, Christian McCaffrey and Michael Thomas ($8,700). Thomas has been arguably the most consistent fantasy player this season scoring at least 12.9 fantasy points in every game this season and historically has been fantastic with Brees at home. The Falcons are a terrible defense and the hope here is they can keep it close so New Orleans is still throwing in the second half. This game comes in second to the Tampa Bay/Arizona game in terms of over/under (52 to 51.5) so it makes sense to try to get as many players in both games into a lineup for cash. The Buccaneers have been the worst team in the league against wide receivers, so might this be the week that Larry Fitzgerald ($5,400) and/or Christian Kirk ($5,700) go off? They're a great tandem to stack along with Kyler Murray ($7,700) in GPPs as a cheap stack with a lot of upside. Some other quick thoughts at this position:
- Zach Pascal ($6,400) is the de facto No.1 wide receiver, gets the hapless Dolphins and Xavien Howard is on IR.
- The injury to Brandin Cooks means both Cooper Kupp ($8,100) and Robert Woods ($6,900) should benefit from a narrower receiving tree. Josh Reynolds ($5,200) is in play as well if you're willing to gamble.
- The injury to Corey Davis should benefit both A.J. Brown ($5,500) and Adam Humphries ($5,200). Think of them for tournaments only.
TIGHT END
I'm still trying to decide which is crazier: wasting time writing about Mitchell Trubisky or now talking about O.J. Howard ($5,000)? I have to think Howard makes a ton of sense this week; he's supposedly completely healthy, and while the Cardinals have addressed some issues on defense, the Cardinals still allow the most FPPG to tight ends. Given the structure of my cash game lineup, he'll likely be in there. With the return of Patrick Mahomes ($8,400), Travis Kelce ($6,700) is the safest option of the week. While the Titans are league average against tight ends, Kelce is still one of the few elite players at the position and his price is extremely affordable. The long shot of the week is the Jets' Chris Herndon ($5,000). He's finally expected to make his seasonal debut and the Jets have limited options in the passing game. Ryan Griffin ($5,100) has gotten onto the fantasy radar the last few weeks in this offense and Herndon offers more upside.
DEFENSE
With the slightly shortened slate of games, the defensive options this week seem pretty thin. Taking the Ravens defense ($5,000) against the Ryan Finley-led Bengals seems like a safe option although they could be in for a letdown after their big Sunday night game. The other game that stands out for both teams is the battle of New York. While we all know the Buffalo Bills are New York state's real team, both Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones should be good for a turnover or two. My preference here is the Jets' defense ($3,900) since they're $600 less than the Giants ($4,500). I definitely can see using the Giants against Darnold, who has nine interceptions in his last four games.
