Week 10 Fantasy Football Risers and Fallers

Week 10 of the NFL season had some very fun matchups that were enjoyable to watch but didn’t yield a ton of fantasy football production. Sure, fantasy managers who invested in the Chargers and Cowboys’ offenses were ecstatic to watch Justin Herbert and Dak Prescott air it out, but many other managers were wildly underwhelmed.

It certainly didn’t help that some of the most fantasy-friendly offenses had the week of thanks to the byes, but that still isn’t an excuse in a season that has seen teams struggle behind porous offensive lines with bad quarterback performances. Week 11 will have four more teams on bye, but there aren’t many fantasy-relevant players to hurt us on the Colts, Patriots, Saints or Falcons.

Even with NFL scoring down, we can glean important information that can help us push for a fantasy championship. Check out Week 10’s risers and fallers below.

Week 10 Fantasy Football Risers

Joshua Dobbs, QB, Minnesota Vikings

Joshua Dobbs has firmly entrenched himself in the weekly QB1 conversation. Dobbs looked excellent in his first start with the Vikings, scoring 25.1 fantasy points thanks to 268 passing yards and one passing touchdown with 44 rushing yards and a rushing score. Dobbs now has three straight 20+ point fantasy performances (including his absurd relief performance with zero practice snaps in Week 9).

The veteran quarterback has four straight games with a rushing touchdown and seven games with at least 40 rushing yards to start the season. Dobbs looked great against a tough Saints defense and will get an additional boost with Justin Jefferson on the cusp of returning from his hamstring injury. All arrows are pointing up for Dobbs.

Devin Singletary, RB, Houston Texans

The Texans were once again without Dameon Pierce this week, which gave Devin Singletary control of the backfield once again. Singletary responded by handling a career-high 30 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown while adding an 11-yard reception. The veteran running back was already starting to siphon touches away from Pierce when both backs were healthy, but this is the kind of game that should see him take over the backfield.

Houston will undoubtedly work Pierce back into the backfield rotation once he is healthy, but Singletary could be a huge boon for fantasy managers pushing for a fantasy championship.

Jerome Ford, RB, Cleveland Browns

There was (rightfully) concern in fantasy circles when Cleveland added Kareem Hunt back into their backfield after Nick Chubb’s season-ending injury. However, the last two weeks have shown that Jerome Ford is still the back-to-roster on this team.

Ford nearly doubled Hunt’s snaps (50-28) in a victory against the Ravens that saw the Browns playing from behind for a majority of the game. Ford handled 17 carries (to Hunt’s 10) and saw the lone target out of the backfield for Cleveland. Hunt still has a pesky role as the team’s short-yardage back (which gives him the touchdown upside), but Ford is the volume play for fantasy managers scrambling for an RB2 with upside.

Rico Dowdle, RB, Dallas Cowboys

Sure, blowout conditions probably led to a great performance from Rico Dowdle. But fantasy managers (and Cowboys fans) have no choice but to admit that Tony Pollard has been a colossal disappointment this season as the team’s lead back.

Dowdle has quietly played at least 15% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps in the team’s last four games. The team has also been turning to him more in goal-line situations thanks to Pollard’s inability to punch the ball into the end zone. Sure, Week 10’s performance (12 carries for 79 yards and a touchdown) will be a box score anomaly as long as Pollard is healthy. But it also wouldn’t be surprising to see Dowdle’s role grow in the offense with Pollard struggling so much this season.

Noah Brown, WR, Houston Texans

Injuries to Robert Woods in Week 9 and Nico Collins in Week 10 have pushed Noah Brown into Houston’s wide receiver rotation in each of the last two weeks. Credit goes to him for making the most of his shot and pushing to play a bigger role in Houston’s passing attack.

Over the last two weeks, Brown has racked up 13 receptions for 325 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers and Bengals. The veteran receiver is now averaging 20.9 yards per reception this season and has emerged as a big play threat any time he touches the ball after flashing occasionally with the Dallas Cowboys in previous seasons.

It seems logical that the Houston coaches have taken notice of Brown’s abilities, which should result in more run with the first-team offense with all of Houston’s offensive weapons healthy. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the wide receiver start to push Robert Woods for snaps in three-receiver sets.

Week 10 Fantasy Football Fallers

Mac Jones, QB, New England Patriots

The Mac Jones era hit a new point in Germany, with the veteran quarterback benched on a potentially game-winning drive after completing 15 of 20 passes for 170 yards and one of the worst interceptions you’ll see a professional quarterback throw in the red zone.

Many expected Jones to return to his rookie season form (me included) with the team bringing in an actual offensive coordinator in 2023. However, through Week 10, Jones has just 2,031 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. Jones couldn’t even get a vote of confidence from Bill Belichick after the game, with the coach refusing to endorse Jones as the team’s starting quarterback after their Week 11 bye.

Lamar Jackson, QB, Baltimore Ravens

Lamar Jackson was getting some love earlier in the season in the MVP conversation after flashing as a passer in Baltimore’s new offense. However, fantasy managers are reeling after two very underwhelming performances in the last two weeks.

In the last two games, Jackson has completed 34-of-49 passes for 410 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. The veteran quarterback has added 18 carries for 101 yards during that stretch, but that isn’t going to get it done in fantasy football.

Jackson is still in the midst of one of his best NFL seasons and will be fine in both real and fantasy football, but he still seems to lack the consistency to reach the QB1 ceiling that he hit during his MVP season in 2019.

Jahan Dotson, WR, Washington Commanders

There was hope for Jahan Dotson after a stretch from Weeks 7 to 10 that saw the second-year receiver catch 17 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Sure, those performances came in a more condensed passing attack missing Curtis Samuel, but it felt like the Commanders finally figured out how to unlock Dotson in Washington’s new offense under Eric Bieniemy.

Curtis Samuel returned in Week 10, which ultimately led Dotson back into the cellar for fantasy production. Dotson put up 0.0 fantasy points in a shootout against the Seattle Seahawks, converting on none of his two targets. Samuel’s return forced Dotson back onto the perimeter and away from Sam Howell’s reads.

It just doesn’t seem like Dotson will be a consistent presence in the passing attack as long as Curtis Samuel is healthy and running routes this season.

Odell Beckham, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Odell Beckham has found the end zone twice in the last two games for Baltimore. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, he isn’t providing much unless he finds the end zone.

Rashod Bateman has started to look more explosive over the last few games and the Ravens have noticed, putting the receiver on the field more to the detriment of Beckham’s snap share. 

Bateman played on 21 of Baltimore’s 27 snaps in two-receiver snaps against Cleveland with OBJ earning just four snaps on those same formations. The third-year receiver set a season-high with a 75% snap share.

Baltimore continues to pass at a higher rate in Todd Monken’s offense in 2023. However, it is still a very condensed passing attack between Zay Flowers and Mark Andrews, which has reduced Odell Beckham to a “touchdown or bust” contributor.

The General Concept of the New York Giants Offense

Daniel Jones’ season is over due to an ACL injury. Tyrod Taylor is guaranteed to miss two more games thanks to a trip to the injured reserve. That led the team to start Tommy DeVito against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 10. DeVito hadn’t shown much in his previous time on the field, but Week 10 was objectively a disaster.

DeVito completed just 14 of 27 passes for 86 yards with two touchdowns and an interception in a game that was over after the coin toss. DeVito did show some mobility (seven rushes for 41 yards), and to his credit did outscore Lamar Jackson in fantasy this week, but that isn’t the highest bar based on Week 10 stat lines.

With DeVito at the helm, the entire Giants’ passing attack struggled. The team’s leading receiver was Daniel Bellinger, who caught two of three targets for 34 yards. Teams will continue to key on Saquon Barkley in the backfield, knowing the rookie can’t beat them over the top. Or over the middle. Or on short routes.

At this point, nobody was relying on much fantasy production out of the Giants after last year’s surprising playoff appearance. However, this offense hit a new low with DeVito under center.