Best Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 10

The byes this week hit the QBs hard especially with Patrick Mahomes, Jalen Hurts, and Tua Tagovailoa all off. If you didn’t draft or roster a backup QB, this could lead you to prioritize the QB section of the waiver wire, where there are some viable options.

If you have any questions about prioritizing a certain player over another, don’t be afraid to hit me up on Twitter (X), at @SMcCormick_FF.

So, let’s take a look at some of the waiver wire options for Week 10:

(Note: We are looking at players in 60% or less in Yahoo and ESPN. Roster percentages are reflected in parentheses as of Monday 11/06)

Quarterbacks

Joshua Dobbs (17% Yahoo, 17% ESPN) Minnesota Vikings

Joshua Dobbs came in after four days with the team and put up a QB5 performance this week (MNF pending). Even before this week, Dobbs has had three top-10 QB finishes. This week, much like earlier in the year, he was aided by his rushing production. He had 66 yards rushing and a touchdown this week against the Falcons. He is going to have a tough matchup in week 10 against the Saints but then he gets two plus matchups against the Broncos and the Bears. He has a nice set of offensive weapons currently and that is only going to get better when Justin Jefferson comes off the IR.

Baker Mayfield (48% Yahoo, 44% ESPN) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

With the QBs on byes this week and some of the injuries at the position, this should be the last week you see Baker Mayfield as an option in this article. Mayfield now has three straight top-10 QB finishes and if you need a long-term option at the position, he would be my preferred choice given his offensive weapons and likelihood of trailing in many games. With eight touchdowns in his last five games, Mayfield offers you a safe floor at the QB position if you need to start him.

Taylor Heinicke (11% Yahoo, 4% ESPN) Atlanta Falcons

Taylor Heinicke finished just outside the top-12 of QBs this week (QB13) heading into MNF with 268 yards passing and one touchdown against the Vikings. He does have the potential to give you two to three points each game with his rushing ability as well. I’m not sure Heinicke has long-term potential this season, but he can be a bye-week fill-in facing a Cardinals team that is in the bottom-12 of fantasy points allowed to QBs and gives up 225 passing yards per game.

Kyler Murray (36% ESPN) Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray only meets our threshold in ESPN leagues, so if you are in one of those leagues, and need a QB, this is probably your last chance to grab Murray. I would expect him to be named the starter this week facing the Falcons at home. Murray has finished fifth among QBs in fantasy points per game each of the last three seasons. While his rushing totals may be limited coming off this injury, he should still have enough value with throwing in this offense and trailing in games, to put up some good fantasy games. Normally I would be leery of a first game back for a QB after a long absence but we just saw this Falcons defense allow two passing touchdowns to a guy who had just got to his team four days prior.

Will Levis (45% Yahoo, 39% ESPN) Tennessee Titans

Even in a down game against the Steelers, Will Levis still threw for over 260 yards after finishing as the QB6 the week prior. I don’t see the team turning back to Ryan Tannehill for the rest of the year, which makes Levis a must-roster QB in SuperFlex and 2QB leagues.

Running Backs

Keaton Mitchell (4% Yahoo, 1% ESPN) Baltimore Ravens

Let’s just take Jim Nantz’s word who said Sunday “Gonna be a fantasy waiver wire sensation this week, trust me.” Mitchell was mentioned here multiple times in the past as a waiver wire stash due to his skill set that none of the other Raven’s running backs have. He put that explosiveness on display against the Seahawks with nine carries for 138 yards, including explosive runs of 60 and 40 yards. Yes, this game was a blowout, but I think it’s going to be hard for the coaching staff to not get Mitchell more work after this game. I would think it comes more at the expense of Justice Hill and not Gus Edwards, who’s been over four yards a carry in three straight games with six touchdowns. 

Zach Charbonnet (45% Yahoo, 30% ESPN) Seattle Seahawks

A couple of things are happening in the Seahawks backfield. One, we are starting to see Charbonnet’s snaps increase and second, we are seeing Kenneth Walker’s rush opportunities decrease. In the last two weeks, the rookie led Walker in snaps and Walker’s rush opportunities have gone down from about 80% to about 65%. He also ran more routes than Walker this week against Baltimore. He could have flex value if he can get to 10 rushes a game, but he also has RB1 potential if anything happens to Walker.

D’Onta Foreman (57% Yahoo, 47% ESPN) Chicago Bears

D’Onta Foreman saw a small dip in his ownership percentage last week to put him back under our threshold. I thought we would see a more even split with Roschon Johnson, but instead, Foreman saw 20 carries while Johnson got just two carries and one target in the passing game. Khalil Herbert is eligible to return from IR this week, but that isn’t a guarantee, and even if he does, I expect Foreman to remain atop the depth chart while Herbert is eased back into action.

Devin Singletary (50% Yahoo, 48% ESPN) Houston Texans

Devin Singletary was given the start against the Buccaneers after Dameon Pierce was ruled out with an ankle injury. It was a tough matchup for Singletary against a defense that gives up the eighth-fewest rushing yards per game. While the yardage was not great, he did get 15 touches in the game. If he stays around 15-18 touches while Pierce is out, he will at least be a flex play in lineups.

Stashes

Ty Chandler

Kenneth Gainwell

Tyjae Spears

Elijah Mitchell

Cam Akers tore his Achilles, which means Ty Chandler is the next man up behind Alexander Mattison. Chandler looked good in the preseason and should get similar touches that Akers was getting. Kenneth Gainwell now has two touchdowns in his last three games as well as six catches in his last two. D’Andre Swift hasn’t played a full season in his last three years. Gainwell would have starter value if something happened to Swift. The Tyjae Spears ownership has dipped to 41% and 33%, which is too low. His situation got better with the switch to Will Levis, not worse. He would be an immediate plug-and-play RB if Derrick Henry were to go down. Elijah Mitchell is the only RB to receive a snap and touch behind McCaffrey in the last two games. He is a top-five handcuff RB in the league.

Wide Receivers

Tank Dell (48% Yahoo, 56% ESPN) Houston Texans

I was very surprised to see the ownership of Tank Dell at these numbers. It is about to take a huge leap coming off a 6-114-2 game. Dell got 11 targets this week and should continue to be a favorite target of C.J. Stroud going forward. I love some of his upcoming games against teams like Arizona, Jacksonville, Denver, and Tennessee. Dell would be my top add of the week regardless of position.

Jayden Reed (20% Yahoo, 17% ESPN) Green Bay Packers

Stop me if you have heard this, but Christian Watson got injured in another game and it’s not 100% sure if he will miss this week or be ready to play. Two weeks ago, Jayden Reed led the team in yardage and he was getting five to eight targets earlier in the season when Watson was out. The next two weeks, he faces two bottom-five defenses in fantasy points allowed to WRs this year.

Demario Douglas (35% Yahoo, 21% ESPN) New England Patriots

This is more of a “break glass in case of emergency” guy to have on your roster. It’s hard to get excited about anyone on the New England offense. But Demario Douglas has now had six or more targets in his last three games and been over 50 yards receiving in two of them. He also led the team in snaps and routes against the Commanders. He also had a 20+ yard catch overturned in that game. His next three games are terrific for a WR, facing the Colts, Giants, and Chargers.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba (58% Yahoo, 56% ESPN) Seattle Seahawks

I think we are getting closer each week to the Jaxon Smith-Njigba breakout. This week he caught six of seven targets for 63 yards, which was much better than what his fellow WRs did against the Ravens. He now has been over 60 yards with two TDs in two out of his last three games. In his last four games, he is getting almost 10 yards per target, which is double what he got in his first four games. Tyler Lockett isn’t looking like himself and DK Metcalf has been battling various injury ailments off and on throughout the year. I would look to add the talented rookie sooner rather than later.

Quentin Johnston (32% Yahoo, 31% ESPN) Los Angeles Chargers

In his last game, Quentin Johnston got a season-high 70% of the snaps and a season-high in targets, receptions, and yards. And now Joshua Palmer has been placed on the IR by the team. He might not have a great game against the Jets secondary Monday night, but I would still add him with matchups against the Lions and Packers the next two weeks. With defenses keying on Keenan Allen, Justin Herbert is going to have to lean on the talented first-round draft pick at some point over the next four weeks.

Don’t Waste your FAAB or Waiver Priority On:

Noah Brown

Kyle Philips

Josh Reynolds

Tight Ends

Taysom Hill (39% ESPN) New Orleans Saints

In the last three games, Taysom Hill has had three rushing, one receiving, and one passing touchdown, while adding 18, 63, and 52 yards rushing. The Saints love to insert Hill into the red zone packages near the goal line and you could see him continue to get rushing opportunities going forward. Hill is now a weekly start for me in the TE position.

Jonnu Smith (28% Yahoo, 26% ESPN) Atlanta Falcons

With Drake London out, it was Jonnu Smith who was the biggest benefactor of his absence. Against the Vikings, Smith caught five balls for 100 yards and a touchdown. Smith has now had double-digit PPR points in four out of his last six games. In this year’s TE fantasy landscape, that alone makes him worth a pickup.

Cade Otton (5% Yahoo, 7% ESPN) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 

Otton has gotten 21 targets over the last three weeks, running over 90% of the team’s routes in that span as well. He is coming off a 6-70-2 game to finish as the TE3 heading into MNF. Otton could be a bye-week option this week for Travis Kelce and Dallas Goedert managers.

Defense

Seattle Seahawks 

The Seahawks get the Commanders at home this week. They will get to tee off on Sam Howell, who has been sacked 44 times through nine games and has thrown an INT in four out of his last five games.