Fantasy Football Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups Advice

Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be owned in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the ownership percentage coming from Yahoo.com.

Quarterbacks

Baker Mayfield, Browns (38% Owned): At this point in the year, you’re either streaming QBs, or you have your locked and loaded week-in, week-out starter. Mayfield isn’t a player you’ll want to rely on often, but this week with a matchup against Atlanta on tap, he’s a nice stream. Mayfield has struck for two touchdowns in three straight games, and has the ability to run as well. With Hue Jackson gone, Duke Johnson may become a more featured weapon again as well, which will help pad Mayfield’s passing numbers. I’m not super stoked to start him, but you can.

Marcus Mariota, Titans (27% Owned): Mariota has had a very underwhelming season, but he remains a threat to go off for 30+ at any point. The encouraging aspect of Mariota lately is increased rushing; he’s run the ball 17 times in the last two weeks for 70 yards and a touchdown. He also returned to the two-touchdown club in the air Monday night vs. Dallas. If he continues to run he has a usable floor of production, and this week’s matchup vs. New England could lead to a pass-heavy game script.

Nick Mullens, 49ers (3% Owned): I’m not thinking that all of a sudden Nick Mullens is the second coming of Tom Brady, but we can’t ignore that he threw three touchdown passes in his first NFL action, even if it happened against the Raiders. This week he gets the Giants, who are deader than dead, and the Buccaneers after that. That is two more opportunities to get high-end QB numbers from a guy who will probably be free to add. I will definitely be recommending him for DFS players.

Running Backs

Josh Adams, Eagles (10% Owned): Adams’ ownership didn’t change much thanks to Philadelphia’s bye week, but I didn’t forget about him. The Eagles’ backfield is very crowded, so there’s certainly risk here, but Adams appears to be emerging as the most talented option to lead the way. Adams saw a season-high nine carries in Week 8 and rewarded the Eagles with 61 yards. He leads the team in yards per carry (5.4) and caught his lone target for six yards. Don’t go nuts, because he is still going to give way to Wendell Smallwood, especially on passing downs, and he could still cede a little work to Corey Clement. However, he’s worth more than a $0 bid here, because as we get closer to the fantasy playoffs he may start getting a workload that’s in line with what Jay Ajayi had before his injury.

Mike Davis, Seahawks (24% Owned): Davis would easily be the top add if I knew for sure Chris Carson will be out this week, but that clarity opens the door to add Davis more cheaply. Seattle is going to run the ball down your throat, and they’ve proven that they’ll follow that blueprint even without Carson. Davis has produced when he’s the lead back; in Week 4 he popped for 101 yards and two scores, and last week he tallied 107 all-purpose yards. This week’s game may be pass-happy if the Rams start torching Seattle early, but Davis caught seven balls for 45 yards last week, so don’t lose sleep over it. Davis is going to likely be playable regardless of Carson’s status, but if Carson misses the game Davis will be a borderline RB1.

Duke Johnson Jr., Browns (48% Owned): Johnson is alive! The Browns made major coaching changes, and suddenly Johnson posted 78 yards on nine catches. Johnson is never going to be an RB2, but he does have FLEX appeal, especially in PPR formats, if he’s going to return to his role as a heavily targeted option on passing downs who sometimes runs slot routes. I still wouldn’t trust him yet, but he’s absolutely worth an add if he’s hanging around your waiver wire.

Ty Montgomery, Ravens (19% Owned): Montgomery is no superstar, but when given enough opportunity he can be a valuable fantasy contributor. The Ravens’ usage of Alex Collins is weird and unpredictable, and they would often – frustratingly – use Javorius Allen just as much as Collins. Collins’ usage has been ticking up lately at Allen’s expense, but now Collins is also banged up in addition to being a mediocre receiver. Montgomery was likely added to completely erase Allen from the game plan, so he can be expected to catch the ball quite a bit. Montgomery also may be an option for Baltimore at the goal line, as Collins has fumbled three times in 2018 and fumbled four times last season. There are no guarantees here, but Montgomery will probably be a cheap add with his Week 9 DNP fresh in owners’ minds.

Elijah McGuire, Jets (13% Owned): McGuire is back, and at minimum he’s going to handle passing down duties for the Jets. He was being hyped as a breakout player by the Jets’ coaches in the preseason before suffering an injury, so it’s reasonable to assign Bilal Powell’s numbers to him at minimum. Powell was underrated, but never particularly explosive, so McGuire has a chance to actually overtake Crowell as the lead back and relegate him to being a change of pace hammer.

Frank Gore, Dolphins (28% Owned):  Gore is still not sexy to own, but he remains a workhorse by modern standards. He only rushed for 53 yards last week, but received 20 carries! That’s a ton, and against defenses weaker than the Jets, he could do damage with that kind of work. With upcoming dates against the Packers and Colts on the schedule, Gore is playable for owners dealing with injuries/bye weeks.

LeGarrette Blount, Lions (16% Owned): Blount is the best handcuff in the league. If Kerryon Johnson goes down, he’s immediately a high-volume RB2. Unfortunately, he’s not playable anymore outside of a Johnson injury.

C.J. Anderson, Panthers (12% Owned): Anderson is still talented and could be useful, but Christian McCaffery is so good that he can’t come off the field. Anderson is absolutely unplayable while McCaffery is healthy, but if C-Mac gets injured, Anderson is a rock solid RB2 right away.

Wide Receivers

Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers (39% Owned): Valdes-Scantling is a promising receiver for the Packers, who benefits from catching passes from the best QB in football. The biggest problem for Packers’ receivers who aren’t the No. 1 is often opportunity. Valdes-Scantling is not the No. 1 in Green Bay, but Geronimo Allison’s injury could end his season, and Randall Cobb is clearly well past his prime. Valdes-Scantling’s target share isn’t incredible, but it has been consistent. At 6’4, he’s going to be given long chances when he’s one-on-one, and Aaron Rodgers is going to look his way in the end zone. He is a weekly WR3 and a playable FLEX in shallower leagues based on matchups.

Tyrell Williams, Chargers (45% Owned): Williams’ low target share is alarming AF, but how much longer can we ignore his touchdown habit? He’s scored four times in the last three games, averaging a shade less than 29 yards per reception. That’s absolutely ridiculous. I’d say it can’t last, but Philip Rivers is playing at a Pro Bowl level, and those types of targets are not going anywhere. He’s clearly not an ideal player for PPR formats, but touchdowns are touchdowns, and despite his low catch count, he’s making up for it in yards and scores.

Adam Humphries, Buccaneers (2% Owned): Humphries is no household name, but it’s really gone under the radar how much he’s being targeted these days. Humphries has been thrown to at least eight times in three straight games, scoring twice last week  and notching 76 yards in the previous game. With Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm, the Bucs are going to throw, throw, throw. Forget about Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones, it’s going to be an all-out air assault rest of season. Humphries isn’t going to be a reliable source of TDs, but he can be considered as the next level up from Cole Beasley. Humphries is absolutely playable in PPR formats, and he is a useful WR3 in standard formats too thanks to his yardage.

Danny Amendola, Dolphins (48% Owned): Amendola has caught five or more passes for four consecutive games, and Kenny Stills is still out. Amendola has a bit of a rapport with Brock Osweiler – I know how weird that sounds – and while his upside is super limited, he’s very safe these days in PPR formats.

Terrelle Pryor, Bills (2% Owned): Pryor saw five targets in his Bills debut, and I’m intrigued by him for a few reasons. First, Pryor has clear value as a Wildcat QB. He owns the NFL’s longest TD run by a quarterback, and was a prolific college QB, so throwing passes is well within his skill set. As a WR, he won’t have to deal with Nathan Peterman this week. Reports are out that Derek Anderson will return if Josh Allen can’t go. While no one should sing Hallelujah for the return of Derek Anderson, it’s hard to envision a worse QB than Peterman. Pryor has shown that he can be fantasy-relevant when he’s the only show in town, which is the case in the Bills’ WR corps. His status as a target hound, plus his ability to run out of the Wildcat, or even straight up play QB makes him someone to watch.

Robby Anderson, Jets (34% Owned): Jets coach Todd Bowles has to be feeling the heat. One way to cool down his seat is to let rookie QB Sam Darnold take chances, and inject some excitement to the NFL’s most boring offense. It’s unfathomable how poorly Anderson has been used this season when healthy; as one of the fastest WRs in football, he should be receiving weekly bombs from Darnold, who has an excellent arm. I would be shocked if we didn’t see more of Anderson down the stretch as the Jets try to salvage what could have been a building block season. His current 8.4 yards per target simply isn’t good enough.

Tight Ends

Chris Herndon, Jets (14% Owned): Herndon continues to be a safety blanket for Darnold. For the first time in weeks he didn’t score, but Herndon did pull down four catches for 62 yards in the Jets’ dismal effort vs. Miami. There are definitely better tight ends out there, but Herndon has quietly been very consistent while bigger names like David Njoku have sprinkled in some doughnuts.