Week 9 was rough for fantasy owners with six teams on bye. Unfortunately, Week 10 isn’t any better. Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England, San Diego, Washington and Houston all have byes.
Fantasy football start/sit advice, Week 10
Six NFL teams are on bye again in Week 10. Let’s look at who you should be starting and sitting in the wake of so many absences for your fantasy lineup.
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The good news is this is the last week we’ll have six teams on bye. Hopefully you can survive one matchup without Gronk or Andrew Luck.
Last week’s start/sit advice featured starting Marshawn Lynch, DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce and sitting Jonas Gray, the Rams running backs and Heath Miller. Some of the misses included starting Russell Wilson and sitting Ben Roethlisberger. Seriously, who throws back-to-back six-touchdown games?
Let’s look at the matchups you want to exploit and the ones you need to avoid in Week 10.
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Start
QB Matt Ryan at Buccaneers: While Ryan has been shaky at times this year due to multiple offensive line injuries, dropped passes and some erratic throws, his matchup is too good to pass up in Week 10. Ryan takes on a Buccaneers defense that has allowed 18 passing touchdowns and gives up over 293 yards per game. The last time these two teams faced off, Ryan completed 21-of-24 passes for 286 yards and three touchdowns. If Ryan can't deliver against Tampa, I'm not sure who you can start him against.
QB Mark Sanchez vs. Panthers: Does it seem crazy to think about actually starting Sanchez? Nick Foles has attempted the sixth-most passes in 2014. The Eagles might rely on LeSean McCoy with Sanchez in, but Chip Kelly still wants to pass the ball. Sanchez threw two touchdowns and 202 yards after coming in for Foles last week. The Panthers have allowed five of the last six quarterbacks they've faced to score 25-plus points. With so many players on bye, I think it's worth giving Sanchez a shot.
RB Bobby Rainey vs. Falcons: Which team gives up the most points to opposing running backs? You're right, it's Atlanta. Rainey didn't quite produce the way we expected him to against the Falcons back in Week 3. Now he gets a second shot. If you remember Week 3, the Bucs were forced to bail on Josh McCown after trailing by a wide margin early on. They abandoned the run game, but Rainey still managed to catch seven passes for 64 yards. The Falcons have given up 12 touchdowns to running backs. Rainey gets the early down work with Charles Sims likely backing him up. Start him.
RB Justin Forsett vs. Titans: Tennessee's opponents have run over 70 plays in five of the past six games, according to Rich Hribar of XN Sports. There should be a good amount of opportunities for Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro to produce for fantasy owners. Fortunately, Forsett is leading the backfield in touches, and the Ravens are finally using him more in the passing game. Averaging 5.4 yards per carry, Forsett should take advantage against the 28th ranked run defense in the league.
WR Roddy White at Buccaneers: Like Ryan, White hasn't been a model of consistency, but he's taking on the team that gives up 30 fantasy points per game (standard scoring) to wide receivers. The Bucs have given up 13 touchdowns to wide receivers. White and Julio Jones should eat in Week 10.
WR Justin Hunter at Ravens: Hunter saw a season-high 10 targets in Week 8 and managed four receptions and a touchdown. A breakout is coming at some point, and it could happen against a Ravens secondary that allows the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Jimmy Smith is out, making matters even worse for Baltimore. Hunter can burn you, but he's seeing enough targets to give him a decent floor. He's also just $5,400 on DraftKings.
TE Greg Olsen at Eagles: This is more of a gut feeling than playing the numbers. Olsen's targets have dropped off over the past two weeks. The Panthers scored 19 points in those two games. They need to get Olsen more involved. While he's facing an Eagles defense that ranks at the top of the league against tight ends, Philadelphia just lost DeMeco Ryans for the season. His absence could be a boost for Olsen's value. I'm sticking him in Week 10.
Sit
QB Eli Manning at Seahawks: Seattle gave up four passing touchdowns over its last three games. Manning was able to put together a decent fantasy day in Week 9, but the majority of his points came from playing against prevent defense in garbage time against the Colts. Manning threw five interceptions against the Seahawks at home last season. Now he heads to Seattle for what we can assume will be another game you'll want to avoid.
QB Ryan Tannehill at Lions: Opposing quarterbacks have thrown nine touchdowns and nine interceptions against Detroit. Tannehill's play is improving and his rushing yards are providing a points boost, but he's about to go up against the toughest defense against quarterbacks. Only one quarterback has finished with more than 20 fantasy points facing Detroit.
RB Bishop Sankey at Ravens: Baltimore's secondary might be weak, but the Ravens rank No. 4 in fewest fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs. Even with Shonn Greene out of the picture, Sankey hasn't been able to take advantage of the starting gig. He's averaging 4.0 yards per carry and hasn't scored a touchdown in four games. Better days are likely ahead, but don't bank on a Sankey breakout in this matchup.
RB Tre Mason at Cardinals: The Rams seem comfortable giving Mason the majority of the carries out of the backfield, but his 19 touches in Week 9 amounted to just 65 yards. Now he faces the toughest matchup for running backs. The Cardinals allow just 16.5 fantasy points per game to the position. Darren McFadden is the only running back to score on Arizona in the past four games.
WR Rueben Randle at Seahawks: After a rocky start on defense, the Seahawks have locked down opposing wide receivers since Week 5 against Washington. They haven’t allowed a wide receiver to score since that game. The Seahawks now rank No. 2 against the position, allowing under 28 points per game to wide receivers. Randle also hasn’t score since Week 5. His numbers are consistently mediocre.
WR Mike Wallace at Lions: Wallace caught five passes for 109 yards in his last two games combined. The Lions give up the fewest fantasy points to opposing wideouts. Only three wide receivers have scored on Detroit, and just one of those three was a No. 1 option (Eric Decker in Week 4). I'm waiting for another week to see Wallace break out of his funk.
TE Vernon Davis at Saints: Davis hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 1. He hasn't caught more than three passes since Week 1. His only double-digit fantasy game came in ... you guessed it, Week 1. The Saints rank No. 2 in fewest fantasy points allowed to tight ends. Just keep avoiding Davis like you've been doing.
