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Hayden's fantasy football risers, breakouts, waiver wire sleepers for Week 10 of 2025. Are these unexpected booms legit for Joe Flacco, Colston Loveland, Kyle Monangai, others?
After Week 8 gave audiences just a single game decided by one score, Week 9 provided a flurry of fantastic finishes. None were more thrilling than what fans witnessed in Cincinnati. The Bengals erased a 41-27 deficit in the final two minutes only to have their hearts broken by a 58-yard Colston Loveland touchdown with 17 seconds remaining.
A lot of great fantasy performances came out of that game. Bengals receiver Tee Higgins finished Sunday as the week's WR2 with 29.6 half-PPR points, and Chicago's Caleb Williams paced the day's quarterbacks with 37.7 fantasy points. Elsewhere, Christian McCaffrey, Drake London, and Brock Bowers thrived; all three scored more than 30 half-PPR points.
Not everyone who excelled on Sunday was a star player, however. Multiple guys who can be found on fantasy football waiver wires nonetheless put up top-tier production. Will they be able to reach similar heights in the future, though? Let's take a look at five of this week's unexpected booms to assess their values in fantasy football moving forward.
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Joe Flacco, QB, Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback Joe Flacco struggled with the Cleveland Browns to open the season, tossing two touchdowns to six picks in four starts. Since being traded to Cincinnati ahead of Week 6, though, he has been more productive. In his first three starts with the team, Flacco averaged 261.3 passing yards and 2.3 passing touchdowns without any interceptions.
Still, Flacco's dominant outing on Sunday came as a shock. In a wild 47-42 shootout loss to Chicago, he completed 31 of his 47 pass attempts for an eye-popping 470 yards. Four of Flacco's completions went for touchdowns, with two of those scores going to Tee Higgins. Importantly, though, he did throw his first two picks as a Bengal in the narrow defeat.
Flacco's performance amounted to 32.7 fantasy points, making him the week's QB2 entering Monday. He has thrown multiple touchdowns in all four of his starts with Cincinnati thus far. The 40-year-old Flacco also now has a 400-yard passing game to his name, having maxed out at 389 yards through the first 198 regular-season starts of his career.
Most pass yards in a single game by any player 40+ years old:
🟠 470 - Joe Flacco
🟠 447 - Tom Brady
🟠 446 - Brett Favre pic.twitter.com/zvXYTNj8WY— NFL+ (@NFLPlus) November 2, 2025
The Bengals have a bye in Week 10, but Flacco is still worth acquiring in fantasy football if he remains on waivers. He has been a top-seven quarterback in three consecutive weeks now, and Cincinnati's star passer, Joe Burrow, will not return for at least another month. Flacco will have the week to rest his injured shoulder before heading to Pittsburgh in Week 11.
Colston Loveland, TE, Chicago Bears
On the other side of that high-scoring masterpiece between Chicago and Cincinnati was a rising star at tight end. Rookie Colston Loveland entered the bout having had a slow start to his career. The 10th-overall pick in this year's draft had yet to reach four catches or 40 yards in a game this season through six appearances.
Loveland silenced his doubters on Sunday with an elite showing. The former Michigan Wolverine set career highs across the board with seven targets, six catches, and 118 receiving yards. Loveland also scored two touchdowns, the second of which was absolutely crucial. In the final moments of the contest, Loveland caught a pass over the middle, bounced off two defenders, and ran for the game-winning score.
COLSTON LOVELAND ARE YOU KIDDING?
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/OMOzjsl6vC
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 2, 2025
The young tight end was a hero for both the Bears and his fantasy managers. Loveland scored 26.8 half-PPR points this week, making him Week 9's TE2 through Sunday Night Football. Notably, Loveland played 80 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps per PFF, marking the second straight week he has reached that threshold. However, teammate Cole Kmet did exit the game prematurely after entering the concussion protocol.
Loveland's breakout game will understandably make him a hot commodity on waiver wires this week. Cincinnati's defense is pitiful, so Chicago's offense won't produce this many fantasy points every week. Still, Loveland has shown enough to receive increased playing time even when the latter is healthy. Loveland will look to convert this momentum into another great game in Week 10 versus the Giants.
Kyle Monangai, RB, Chicago Bears
Pretty much every notable player in that Bears-Bengals matchup put up big numbers except for Rome Odunze. Chicago running back Kyle Monangai had a career game, rushing 26 times for 176 yards. That gave him a strong average of 6.8 yards per carry. Monangai also caught three of his five targets for 22 yards, bringing him to 198 total yards on the day.
Unleash Kyle Monangai 😤
CHIvsCIN on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/YLQ3cT70sT
— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025
Monangai scored 21.3 half-PPR points, making him Week 9's RB3 pending Monday Night Football. In both games where Monangai has carried the ball at least 10 times, he has exceeded six yards per carry. The seventh-round rookie out of Rutgers has shown a lot of promise this season when he has gotten opportunities.
Unfortunately, Monangai's opportunities have generally been limited this year. D'Andre Swift has been Chicago's top RB, but he was out with a groin injury on Sunday. That cleared the way for Monangai's dominant showing. According to PFF, Monangai played 74 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps on Sunday; he had not reached 50 percent at all this season before the game.
Monangai is among the top waiver targets this week, regardless of position. His successes this year make him a major candidate for an expanded workload in the back half of the season. Moreover, it is unclear how much more time Swift will spend sidelined. Monangai will be a valuable asset for fantasy managers moving forward, and he should be given a high priority when making waiver bids ahead of Week 10.
DeMario Douglas, WR, New England Patriots
DeMario Douglas had a respectable start to his career in New England after being drafted in the sixth round in 2023. Douglas had 49 receptions as a rookie and then caught 66 balls last season. However, he was quiet to begin this year. Through Week 8, Douglas was averaging 1.8 catches on 3.0 targets for just 20.3 yards per game.
The third-year wideout had his best game of the season on Sunday against Atlanta, though. Douglas saw six targets, of which he caught four. Those grabs went for 100 yards and a score, with the touchdown being a 17-yarder in the first quarter to open the scoring. Douglas also provided the Patriots with their biggest play on the day with a 58-yard catch-and-run in the second quarter.
Maye hits Douglas for a big gain of 58 yards
ATLvsNE on CBS/Paramount+https://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/3dFXIP9WBl
— NFL (@NFL) November 2, 2025
Douglas concluded the game with 18.0 half-PPR points, tying him for seventh-best among receivers this week through Sunday. He tied with Hunter Henry and TreVeyon Henderson for the team leads in receptions and targets, but he outgained both yardage-wise. Douglas also had just his second game with more than five targets this season; the first came in Week 1 when he mustered -2 receiving yards on seven looks.
Importantly, Douglas's strong performance came in a game where teammate Kayshon Boutte exited after only one target due to a hamstring injury. Boutte's availability will affect Douglas's outlook. Douglas is worth consideration on waivers this week, but his paltry previous production means expectations should be tempered even if Boutte remains out.
Tory Horton, WR, Seattle Seahawks
Fifth-round rookie Tory Horton began the season without getting much attention for fantasy football, at least in redraft circles. He quickly earned some, though, as he scored four touchdowns in his first five games as a pro. After two consecutive games being held without a catch, Horton would have returned to flying under the radar were it not for teammate Cooper Kupp's hamstring and heel issues.
With Kupp unavailable, Horton stepped up on Sunday Night Football against the Commanders. He caught all four of his targets for 48 yards, and he also scored two first-half touchdowns. Horton's contributions helped Seattle defeat Washington 38-14 behind an extremely efficient passing attack.
TORY HORTON AGAIN.
SEAvsWAS on NBC
Stream on @NFLPlus + Peacock pic.twitter.com/5hHRO65o7N— NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2025
Horton scored 18.8 half-PPR points for fantasy managers as Week 9's tentative WR6. He also just posted his highest snap share of the year at 73 percent, according to PFF. With the Seahawks having won handily, Horton was deprived of working within a favorable game script in this larger role. He now has four games with four targets on the season, but none with five or more.
Horton is a worthy candidate to add to your fantasy squad if you need receiver help. However, Kupp has a chance of returning in Week 10 against the Cardinals, and the Seahawks acquired Rashid Shaheed from New Orleans, which will limit his overall upside. Horton's snap share should return to its sub-50-percent baseline if that happens.
Monitor Kupp's health as you prepare your waiver claims for the upcoming slate of games.
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