Targets are paramount when it comes to evaluating pass-catchers for fantasy football. There are no receiving yards, touchdowns, or receptions without a target. We want the players on our rosters in fantasy football who will earn these targets because targets are the most important thing to look at when trying to separate one pass-catcher from another on a base level. Sure, the player that earned 160 targets may be a better fantasy option than the player who earned 110, but that doesn’t take into account the offenses these players are in, the target share percentages on their particular team, how deep down the field these targets were earned, and so on. Each week, we’ll take a weekly team-by-team look into these target earners and separate the wheat from the chaff. 

We're through 10 weeks of the NFL season, and we’re back down to four teams on bye this past week with the Ravens, Bengals, Patriots, and Jets on bye plus another quartet for Week 11, so we'll go through some team and player usage tendencies here in our Target Report. Before we get into the Target Report for Week 10, let's dive into a legend of terms we'll be referencing:

Bye Weeks:

Week 8: Chiefs, Chargers

Week 9: Browns, Cowboys, Broncos, Giants, Steelers, 49ers

Week 10: Ravens, Bengals, Patriots, Jets

Week 11: Jaguars, Dolphins, Seahawks, Buccaneers (Upcoming)

Week 13: Cardinals, Panthers

Week 14: Falcons, Bears, Packers, Colts, Saints, Commanders

NOTE:

Start Your Studs: Players you should be starting in all formats, regardless of matchup. Use your judgment in shallower leagues where players who are typically startable in some deeper leagues are plentiful.

Keep Them Rostered: Players that should be rostered in all formats assuming 12-team leagues with six-player benches. League size designations or other designations (bench stash, etc.) will be in parenthesis next to players for deeper leagues. As always, this is a general recommendation; depending on your league, use your best judgment.

Example: Terrace Marshall (14), Alexander Mattison (bench stash).

Dump ‘Em: Players that you should be dropping from your rosters. Use your judgment in deeper leagues where players with usefulness on waivers aren’t as plentiful.
 

NFL Week 10 Target Report

Arizona Cardinals

An “always fun” matchup of two teams that started backup quarterbacks is a great way to kick off the target report, right? Give it up to Colt McCoy, who is capable of actually moving the ball and performing the functions of an NFL offense, unlike Rams backup John Wolford, who is simply dog water.

I’m trying to be nice here.

McCoy at least targeted his best assets in DeAndre Hopkins (10-98, 14 targets, 100% route participation) and Rondale Moore (9-94, 13 targets, 95% routes). Both Hopkins and Moore combined for 92% of the team’s air yards and 77% of the team’s targets in Week 10. No other pass-catcher had more than three targets here.

Zach Ertz left early (23% of routes) with a knee injury, and he’s out for the season. This probably consolidates the offense at the top with Hopkins locked in, but especially Moore. If you had doubts about Moore’s future viability in 2022, this clears things up. It also clears the way for rookie second-round tight end Trey McBride to see significant snaps and routes for the Cardinals. He came in to run 80% of routes and didn’t put up much (1-7, one target). Still, he’ll be part of the game plan moving forward.

James Conner ran a whopping 96% of snaps, and the remaining running backs saw a combined six snaps, including just one snap in Week 10 for Eno Benjamin. He was released earlier this week and was claimed by the Houston Texans on waivers. This shuffles up the backfield and moves Keaontay Ingram to the preferred contingent play should Conner get hurt again.

With Marquise Brown’s return to the field opened up by the Cardinals, he’ll add another huge weapon back into the fold. It may not be in Week 11, but very soon. 

Week 10 Arizona Cardinals Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: DeAndre Hopkins, James Conner, Kyler Murray (when healthy), Rondale Moore, Marquise Brown (window to come off of IR was activated this week)

Keep Them Rostered: Trey McBride, Robbie Anderson, Keaontay Ingram (deep 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: With Zach Ertz out for the season, you can safely drop him. 

Atlanta Falcons

Week 10 was the first time that the Falcons passed more than they ran all season. Baby steps!

Honestly, it’s not like it mattered because nobody is a safe bet to earn consistent targets at all in this offense. Kyle Pitts (2-28, eight targets, 89% routes) was woefully inefficient, but that’s on the quarterback Marcus Mariota, who the calls from inside the house are clamoring for Desmond Ridder to take over. Head coach Arthur Smith has already shot that down out of stubbornness, ineptitude, or a combination of both. So we trudge forward.

Drake London (5-38-1, six targets) caught one of the two touchdowns on a season-high 92% of routes. Only one other Falcon (Olamide Zaccheaus) ran routes on more than 55% of routes. This still isn’t a passing game to target despite elite weapons.

Week 10 Atlanta Falcons Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Cordarrelle Patterson

Keep Them Rostered: Kyle Pitts, Drake London, Tyler Allgeier, Marcus Mariota (deep 12 & 14)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Baltimore Ravens

Bye in Week 10.

Week 10 Baltimore Ravens Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Mark Andrews (when healthy), Lamar Jackson, Isaiah Likely (should be started with Andrews out, a deep-league stash otherwise)

Keep Them Rostered: Devin Duvernay, Kenyan Drake, Gus Edwards, Justice Hill (deep 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Buffalo Bills

We talk about concentration and consolidation of targets a lot in this article and have all season — because it matters so much when we’re looking at a team’s offense. If targets are spread out by 6-7 different pass-catchers in an offense, it makes it harder to peg the week-to-week fantasy options and know who will get the ball. It (to a degree) is what separates the Giants and Titans from even average-to-good offenses to target.

Why is this important here with the Bills? There’s a clear gap between Stefon Diggs and the rest, then Diggs to Gabe Davis, and then it’s a free-for-all between players like Dawson Knox, Isaiah McKenzie, Devin Singletary, and whoever wants to take a step up that week.

Diggs and Davis both combined for 62% of the team’s targets and did a lot of the heavy lifting as the Bills came up just short. The one big takeaway here was Josh Allen looking healthy despite a right elbow ligament injury. You can’t take him out of your lineup as long as he’s active.

THIS was the best catch of the season before Justin Jefferson topped him later on in the same game:

Week 10 Buffalo Bills Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Josh Allen, Stefon Diggs, Devin Singletary

Keep Them Rostered: Gabe Davis, Devin Singletary, Dawson Knox, Nyheim Hines, Isaiah McKenzie (deep 12-& 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers only dropped back to pass 16 times for 108 yards for Week 10’s lowest pass play percentage (26.6%). Two pass catchers had more than one reception, and one of them was DJ Moore (4-29, six targets, 95% routes) in a poor effort for anybody who started him. To make matters worse, P.J. Walker was hurt in their Week 10 win, so in comes Baker Mayfield to… sink this offense even further into the abyss.

As a staunch Moore truther, watching this game and the Panthers #establishingtherun was akin to water torture. The Panthers out-Falcon’d the Falcons in this with 47 rush attempts.

Week 10 Carolina Panthers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Studs? In this economy?

Keep Them Rostered: DJ Moore, D’Onta Foreman, Terrace Marshall (deep 12 & 14 team), Chuba Hubbard (deep 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Chicago Bears

Are the Bears still a terrible offensive environment for pass catchers? Yes. The insane things Justin Fields is doing to put this team on his back (147 rushing yards and two touchdowns this week, sheesh) are keeping them in games, but to a point, it’s bringing some of the weapons with him. Cole Kmet (4-74-2, seven targets, 77% routes) has become relevant at a thin tight end position. Besides Darnell Mooney (4-57, four targets, 96% routes), you’re grasping at straws.

Even for Chase Claypool, who only got a slight routes run percentage bump from his first game last week (21%) coming over to Chicago to this week’s 27%.

While Fields is making actual big strides towards real-life NFL viability and in turn, fantasy football viability, there’s still a lot of work to do with the pass-catchers.

Week 10 Chicago Bears Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Justin Fields

Keep Them Rostered: David Montgomery, Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Khalil Herbert (when healthy)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Cincinnati Bengals

Bye in Week 10.

Week 10 Cincinnati Bengals Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Ja’Marr Chase (when healthy), Tee Higgins, Joe Burrow, Tyler Boyd

Keep Them Rostered:  Hayden Hurst, Samaje Perine (14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Cleveland Browns

Nothing from the Browns really jumped off the page besides Donovan Peoples-Jones (5-99, nine targets, 88% routes) becoming a thing in this offense the last few weeks and that trend continued in Week 10. He’s actually been pretty consistent in earning targets and being efficient with them, but it hasn’t parlayed into touchdowns yet. It’s got to be a good sign for when Deshaun Watson enters the fray in a couple of weeks as that should at least boost his floor.

Apparently, this is a real thing for Amari Cooper…

Cooper (3-32, three targets) was on the road this week but will be at home against Tampa Bay this week, so do what you may with that information.

Besides that, targets were spread out across eight other players, as is typical most weeks for the Browns as they're among the handful of teams that feature a flat target distribution across a large group of players.

Week 10 Cleveland Browns Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Amari Cooper, Nick Chubb, David Njoku (when healthy)

Keep Them Rostered: Kareem Hunt, Deshaun Watson

Dump ‘Em:  N/A

Dallas Cowboys

In a decently consolidated group of five pass-catchers who dominated the routes for the Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb (11-150-2, 15 targets, 96% routes) was head and shoulders over the rest. That said, Dalton Schultz (6-54-1, eight targets) looked about as healthy as he has all season, or at least in recent memory with 73% routes. He looks amazing right now, and it only gets better against a bad Minnesota Vikings secondary that’s allowed the MOST receptions and second-most yards to receivers in the past month.

We’ll see if Ezekiel Elliott will suit up in Week 11, but we do know Tony Pollard with a full workload is awesome. 115 yards and a touchdown on the ground, plus six targets through the air. He didn’t do much with the targets (3-13), but the market share (69% routes — nice!) is undeniable. Pollard is clearly the better back, and Jerry Jones is the only person on this floating rock we call Earth that doesn’t know it.

Week 10 Dallas Cowboys Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott (if healthy), Tony Pollard, Dalton Schultz

Keep Them Rostered: Michael Gallup

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Denver Broncos

This offense is just looking so lost, and Russell Wilson has zero confidence on the field right now, and they say teams take on the identity of their coaches, so this is incredibly apt when we’re talking about Nathaniel Hackett’s first season as head coach of the Broncos.

Jerry Jeudy was carted off with an ankle injury early on, so one-time quarterback Kendall Hinton (4-62, five targets) ran routes of 96% of dropbacks to okay success.

Courtland Sutton (6-66, 11 targets) led the team in targets, receptions, and tied in receiving yards, but it still leaves people wanting more in this offense. Much was made about how the Broncos would throw deep with Wilson’s accurate deep balls, but that really hasn’t come to fruition. It did for Jalen Virgil, as he caught his lone long target for a 66-yard touchdown.

Another deep ball was just inches away from changing Greg Dulcich (1-11, four targets) from zero to hero in Week 10.

Week 10 Denver Broncos Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy, Greg Dulcich

Keep Them Rostered: Russell Wilson, Melvin Gordon, Latavius Murray, Chase Edmonds

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Detroit Lions

It’s Amon-Ra St. Brown or nothing now that T.J. Hockenson is out of town. St. Brown (10-119, 11 targets, 97% routes) dominated utilization for the Lions, who didn’t have another pass-catcher above three targets.

These aren’t quite the YOLO Lions from Weeks 1-4, as they have slowed down quite a bit as injuries have taken a toll on their offense, but as far as St. Brown goes, he’s an obviously auto-start. He’s what works and is the “Cooper Kupp” of this offense.

Week 10 Detroit Lions Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jamaal Williams

Keep Them Rostered:  D’Andre Swift (as long as he’s not running a full complement of snaps/routes), DJ Chark, Jared Goff, Kalif Raymond, Jameson Williams (priority hold)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Green Bay Packers

Please ignore the part in last week’s Target Report where I said to dump Christian Watson. At least, I hope you did. In his season up to Week 10, Watson was often-injured, failed in his little opportunity, and the percentage of the routes he was given per game lined up with the previous factors.

Until he blew up this week. 

I hope the fantasy football accountability police banish me to the shadow realm for this egregious mistake.

The Packers have nothing else that resembles athleticism right now, so Watson (4-107-3, eight targets, 91% routes) might be the key chess piece if the Packers are going to make a huge run. Is he going to score three touchdowns each game? Of course not. But he will be a factor that builds on a huge wild swing in variance that he had in Week 10. The pendulum won’t swing far back in the other direction, but this kind of performance shows his absolute ceiling.

You can imagine that in a game where the Packers ran the ball at an almost 66% clip and only 20 pass attempts, there wasn’t much else for anybody in the passing game. And you’d be right. Allen Lazard (3-45, four targets) was the only other Packers pass-catcher that ran more than 57% of routes. 

Week 10 Green Bay Packers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Aaron Jones, Allen Lazard

Keep Them Rostered: Aaron Rodgers, Christian Watson, AJ Dillon, Sammy Watkins (14 team), Romeo Doubs

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Houston Texans

There are only two options that are even in the conversation of being started in fantasy leagues and those two combined for 46% of targets in what was a bit of a spread-out affair with targets in Week 10. Those two are Nico Collins (5-49-1, 10 targets, 81% routes) and Brandin Cooks (4-37, seven targets, 63% routes, coming back from injury) and neither jumped off the page from a target-earning standpoint.

There are some offenses to leave alone for fantasy, and this is one of them.

Week 10 Houston Texans Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Dameon Pierce

Keep Them Rostered: Brandin Cooks, Rex Burkhead, Brevin Jordan (deep 12 & 14 team), Nico Collins (deep 12 & 14 team), Eno Benjamin (deep 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Indianapolis Colts

The offense with Matt Ryan at quarterback now has a pulse as opposed to Sam Ehlinger who was dead on arrival. The Colts only threw the ball 28 times, but just six players earned a target so, in that regard, the slices of pie were bigger.

Both Parris Campbell (7-76-1, 90% routes) and Michael Pittman (7-53, 100% route participation) earned nine targets apiece (combining for 66% of the team’s targets); no other wide receiver caught more than one ball.

Honestly, it was a little different look for the Colts, who get so many of the secondary receivers and tight ends involved in the offense. We’d welcome a little more condensing of the offense, but this may just be a one-week blip on the radar. Good for Jeff Saturday though, as he earned his first NFL head coaching win under intense scrutiny from how he got the job in the first place following the firing of Frank Reich.

Week 10 Indianapolis Colts Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Jonathan Taylor

Keep Them Rostered: Michael Pittman, Parris Campbell, Alec Pierce, Matt Ryan

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Jacksonville Jaguars

More of this “farkakte” consolidation of targets here, with Christian Kirk (12) and Zay Jones (10) combining for 56% of the team’s targets in Week 10. Kirk (9-105-2, 96% routes) was awesome and continues his fantastic season, earning that huge payday he got in the offseason each week.

The Jaguars were pretty pass-heavy (8.8% pass-rate over expected — the fourth-highest mark of Week 10) here as they were down a bit here and had to chip away in garbage time. Jones (8-68) ran a season-high 98% routes here, and he’s been at worst, a solid flex option in fantasy as the Jags head into their Week 11 bye.

Evan Engram (3-14, four targets, 85% routes) had a touchdown called back, and without seeing it, I’m fairly sure Andrew Cooper was somewhere in the European countryside punching air on his honeymoon.

Week 10 Jacksonville Jaguars Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Travis Etienne, Christian Kirk

Keep Them Rostered: Evan Engram, Trevor Lawrence, Zay Jones (deeper 12 & 14 team), Marvin Jones (14 team), JaMycal Hasty (14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Kansas City Chiefs

Travis Kelce? #good. That goes without saying. But I said it. For emphasis.

With Mecole Hardman out and JuJu Smith-Schuster leaving the game early with a concussion, it was a low-volume, spread-out effort from the pass catchers. Kadarius Toney (4-57-1, five targets, 43% routes, 29.4% TPRR) snatched the “short-area, schemed touches” role that was earmarked for Hardman and literally ran away with it for a touchdown. I’m concerned about his low routes percentage and what that means when Hardman returns, but lord, it’s so hard to keep Toney off the field when the Chiefs have such a need for pure athleticism. Marquez Valdes-Scantling (3-50-1, four targets, 85% routes) continues to run cardio on the field but did chip in with a touchdown.

With Smith-Schuster out, it was Justin Watson (1-12, one target, 73% routes) who took a bigger role on the field, so if JuJu is out, it looks like Watson would be the deep-league add.

Week 10 Kansas City Chiefs Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, JuJu Smith-Schuster (when healthy)

Keep Them Rostered: Kadarius Toney, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, Jerick McKinnon, Isiah Pacheco, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Justin Watson (deep 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Las Vegas Raiders

Davante Adams? So, so #good.

Adams (9-126-1, 14 targets) dominated utilization for the Raiders, which is typical, but middling, inefficient performances littered the rest of the pass-catchers, with reception compiling from Josh Jacobs (6-28, eight targets, 67% routes), unrealized air yards from Mack Hollins (2-18, six targets, 100% route participation, 140 air yards — sixth in Week 10), and some nice cardio route running from Keelan Cole (two catchless targets on 85% routes) who filled in for Hunter Renfrow. Foster Moreau did catch a touchdown, so there’s that?

Rostering a pass-catcher in Las Vegas that’s not Adams, Darren Waller, or Renfrow is an exercise in futility.

Week 10 Las Vegas Raiders Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Davante Adams, Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller (when healthy)

Keep Them Rostered: Hunter Renfrow, Derek Carr, Mack Hollins (deep 12 team), Foster Moreau (should be rostered with Waller out, dropped when Waller returns)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Los Angeles Chargers

Perhaps Week 11 is where we’ll FINALLY get Mike Williams and/or Keenan Allen back? Maybe?

The Chargers were still without both in Week 11, so across the board, inefficiency reigned supreme with the top pass-catchers in terms of targets. The “Backup Brigade” was in full force as aside from Austin Ekeler’s 12 targets (7-39, season-high 72% routes), Josh Palmer (3-44, seven targets, 100% route participation) and Tre’ McKitty (3-21, six targets, 70% routes) were the next-highest target earners.

Just very “yikes”-worthy here from a clearly depleted Chargers team that desperately needs Williams and Allen back to salvage any kind of hope the team may have had.

Week 10 Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Austin Ekeler, Justin Herbert, Mike Williams (when healthy), Keenan Allen (when healthy)

Keep Them Rostered: Gerald Everett, Josh Palmer, DeAndre Carter (deeper 12 & 14 team), Isaiah Spiller (deeper 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Los Angeles Rams

So Cooper Kupp will have ankle surgery after leaving the game in the fourth quarter with a high ankle sprain. Kupp was placed on IR and will miss at least four weeks minimum.

The big question is: should we hold on to him? Yes. He’s an easy stash on an IR spot, but if your league doesn’t have that, then stashed at the end of your bench for sure. If he comes back in Week 16 or your fantasy championship in Week 17, he’s a clear and obvious difference-maker. You can’t let somebody else reap that reward. On the other hand, the Rams could just deem him out for the season, and that decision to drop him becomes obvious.

Who replaces Kupp? There is no one-for-one replacement, but it bumps up Allen Robinson (4-44, six targets, 90% routes) and Ben Skowronek (2-14, seven targets, 98% routes) in fantasy viability while Van Jefferson (3-27-1, three targets. 35% routes) still languishes on the waiver-wire/roster periphery. It also solidifies Tyler Higbee (8-73, eight targets, 65% routes) to an extent, but this offense as a whole isn’t one that’s been great the entire season through the sum of its parts outside of Kupp. Kupp was independent of the entire offense in terms of efficiency and production. Now? It’s below average at best.

Week 10 Los Angeles Rams Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: N/A

Keep Them Rostered: Tyler Higbee, Darrell Henderson, Matthew Stafford, Ben Skowronek, Cooper Kupp (started when healthy, obviously), Van Jefferson (deep 12 and 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins' offense wasn’t as prolific at the top end (see Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle) but the fact that they can find different ways to win bodes well for real-life NFL. In fantasy? They (mostly) threw touchdowns to the guys we didn’t roster. Like Trent Sherfield and Alec Ingold. Yuck.

Hill (5-44-1, six targets) did grab a touchdown here to salvage his day, but the Browns looked to take away both big playmakers and the Dolphins had to adjust to secondary and tertiary options. Waddle (4-66, five targets) did put up a double-digit fantasy day in PPR, but on a week where Miami scored 39 points, it left you wanting more.

Week 10 Miami Dolphins Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Tua Tagovailoa

Keep Them Rostered: Raheem Mostert,  Jeff Wilson, Mike Gesicki

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Minnesota Vikings

Game. Of. The. Year. (so far.)

Both the Vikings and Buffalo Bills combined for 93 pass attempts and the Vikings hit 50. THREE Vikings had double-digit targets. That wasn’t the story.

The Vikings were mega-concentrated as only nine players even ran a route for the team (that’s way less than league-average, which is typically around 11-12 players) but this seems to be a Kevin O’Connell trait as the Rams were heavily condensed when he was offensive coordinator.

Besides the Justin Jefferson blowup game (10-193-1, 16 targets, 100% snaps and routes, most air yards in Week 10), T.J. Hockenson (7-45, 10 targets, 88% routes) and K.J. Osborn (4-35, 11 targets, 92% routes) both earned double-digit targets to varying degrees of inefficiency.

One crazy stat that should floor you (as it did me):

Week 10 Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen

Keep Them Rostered: Kirk Cousins, Alexander Mattison, K.J. Osborn (deeper 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New England Patriots

Bye in Week 10.

Week 10 New England Patriots Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Jakobi Meyers, Rhamondre Stevenson

Keep Them Rostered: Damien Harris, DeVante Parker (when healthy), Hunter Henry (deeper 12 & 14 team), Tyquan Thornton (deeper 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New Orleans Saints

The Saints only ran 45 plays total, so you can imagine how that’s going to cripple most options here from a fantasy perspective.

The offense just wasn’t great as a whole, though Jarvis Landry did return to provide some reinforcements, though he only put up a 3-37 line on six targets. The 81% routes were nice though… if you’re into that. Not even Chris Olave (3-40, five targets) could reinforce this shaky foundation of an offense.

This offense is middling at best, and most weeks, we can count on Olave to at least provide a little bit of goodness. It wasn’t to be in Week 10.

Week 10 New Orleans Saints Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave

Keep Them Rostered: Jarvis Landry, Andy Dalton (deeper 12 and 14 team), Mark Ingram (deeper 12 and 14 team), Taysom Hill (deeper 12 and 14 team), Juwan Johnson (deeper 12 and 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A
 

New York Giants

The Giants only threw the ball 17 times, yet Darius Slayton (3-95-1, four targets, 74% routes) still put up a solid fantasy thanks to a 54-yard touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter. Wan’Dale Robinson (2-20, two targets) led the team in routes percentage (83%), but by and large, this isn’t an offense to really target pass-catchers unless they are named Saquon Barkley. I’d be willing to buck that trend a little if I had Slayton because of bye weeks and his penchant for bigger plays, however.

Week 10 New York Giants Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Saquon Barkley

Keep Them Rostered: Wan’Dale Robinson, Daniel Jones, Darius Slayton

Dump ‘Em: N/A

New York Jets

Bye in Week 10.

Week 10 New York Jets Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Garrett Wilson

Keep Them Rostered: Michael Carter, James Robinson, Elijah Moore. Tyler Conklin (deeper 12 & 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Philadelphia Eagles

I think this sums up my personal experience with the Eagles in Week 10:

Dallas Goedert (3-23-1, three targets) will be out for multiple weeks with a shoulder injury, which further condenses this offense to the two main weapons: AJ Brown (1-7, four targets) and DeVonta Smith (6-39-1, eight targets). Smith was the target earner in Week 10 for the Eagles and stepped up as Brown was dealing with a lower-body injury that he came out of the game for but then came right back.

As for the third target in this offense, will it be one of the backup tight ends like Jack Stoll (more of a blocker) or Grant Calcaterra, who profiles as a “move” tight end? Will it provide more opportunities for a player like Quez Watkins (4-80, four targets, 61% routes) or Zach Pascal (1-10, two targets, 43% routes)? It’ll be interesting, and we’ll see how the Eagles approach this situation minus Goedert for at least four weeks.

Week 10 Philadelphia Eagles Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: AJ Brown, Jalen Hurts, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, Miles Sanders

Keep Them Rostered: Kenneth Gainwell (deep 12 & 14 team), Boston Scott (14 team), Quez Watkins (14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

Pittsburgh Steelers

In previous weeks, the good thing about the Steelers and Kenny Pickett, in particular, was that the offense was at least aggressively challenging defenses downfield and throwing quite a bit with volume. The hope was that with Chase Claypool now out of the equation, the volume the Steelers had would now fixate on just three options instead of four with Claypool. That wasn’t the case this week as they were in a neutral game script and then put up 10 points in the fourth quarter thanks to a Pickett rushing touchdown and field goal midway through.

Only one pass-catcher had over 50 yards (Diontae Johnson), and nobody had over four receptions. It wasn’t a big volume day for anybody, but it was fun to see the Steelers using George Pickens (3-32, four targets, rushing touchdown) very creatively. All three of Johnson, Pickens, and Pat Freiermuth (4-36, team-leading seven targets) ran routes on at least 90% of dropbacks, and nobody else on the team ran over 40%. It’s very much consolidated here.

Week 10 Pittsburgh Steelers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Diontae Johnson

Keep Them Rostered: George Pickens, Najee Harris, Jaylen Warren, Pat Freiermuth, Kenny Pickett (deep 12 and 14 team)

Dump ‘Em: N/A

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers were very run-heavy on Sunday night (-13.7% pass rate over expected) and to the surprise of many, the return of Elijah Mitchell (35% snaps, 18 carries) put Christian McCaffrey (65% snaps, 14 carries, 4-39 on six targets) on the sidelines more than anticipated. Perhaps that’s going to cut the upside of McCaffrey just a little bit, but a bump in efficiency just by switching from the terrible Panthers to a solid 49ers team should mitigate some of that. Still, a very stark change from the every-down McCaffrey we had gotten used to over the past few seasons.

Moving over to receivers, the run-heavy ways affected the bottom line of this group, but Brandon Aiyuk (6-84, seven targets, 75% routes) was the clear leader in all receiving categories for San Francisco. Routes were managed in this one as Deebo Samuel (2-24, six targets) and George Kittle (1-21, two targets) were both at 70% or lower.

Week 10 San Francisco 49ers Fantasy Takeaways:

Start Your Studs: Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk

Keep Them Rostered: Elijah Mitchell, Jimmy Garoppolo (deeper 12 & 14 team)