Fantasy football projections, Week 10: Chiefs-Panthers featuring Spencer Ware, Cam Newton, Greg Olsen, more

The Week 10 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Carolina Panthers features two teams that pride themselves on defense. We’ve got the fantasy projections courtesy of numberFire.

Spencer Ware has exited the NFL’s concussion protocol. That’s good news for his fantasy owners and probably good news for the Chiefs. Charcandrick West managed just 39 yards on 13 carries in Week 9. With Jamaal Charles done for the season once again, the starting job belongs to Ware. The Carolina Panthers rank seventh in the NFL at defending fantasy running backs, so Ware will be in tough in Week 10. The thing is the Chiefs have run a conservative offense ever since quarterback Alex Smith was installed as the team’s starter. What that means is Ware will continue to get 20-plus carries per game. At that level of action he should be a good bet to produce the rest of the season. That being said he’ll be lucky to top his projections in Carolina.

Perhaps Travis Kelce will function as a better option than Kansas City’s offense from a fantasy perspective. He was ejected from last week’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars for picking up two personal fouls. The fact he still managed five catches for 58 yards had to put a smile on the faces of owners given the circumstances. He’s been targeted a total of 17 times over the last two games. That trend should continue against a Panthers defense that ranks near the bottom of the league in terms of defending the tight end position.

After being held out of the end zone in three straight games, tight end Greg Olsen managed to score against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9. He finished the game with five catches for 52 yards. He has at least seven targets in seven out of eight games so far this season. It’ll be tough for Olsen to get to that number against Kansas City as the Chiefs ranked third in the NFL at defending tight ends. He’s a reliable veteran Pro Bowler, but it’s going to be difficult for Olsen to get open against a pretty good secondary unit that knows how to clog up the middle of the field. Surpassing his projections in Week 10 would be a welcome bonus for Olsen owners.

The same could be said for quarterback Cam Newton. He likely won’t get sacked as much as he did in Week 9, given the Rams dropped him five times. At the same time the Chiefs rank first in the NFL in interceptions. The fact Newton hasn’t thrown a pick in back-to-back games for the first time this season means that he could be due to throw a couple against the Chiefs. He’s also been held to 225 passing yards or fewer in three of the last four games which is simply not good enough in terms of fantasy production. Owners are hoping Newton can beat the odds on Sunday. That’s what he is going to have to do in order to beat his projections.