RADIO
Danny Boily looks at fantasy football landmines, busts, and avoids for Week 10 of 2025. Given these fantasy situations, consider benching these players.
It is the inflection point of the 2025 season. The trade deadline drama is behind us, the bye weeks are thinning out, but the championship window is still wide open. If you’re reading this, you’re not messing around. You understand that maximizing your team's weekly output means ruthlessly exploiting matchups and, more importantly, avoiding the absolute duds.
This article is your weekly intel briefing, shining a spotlight on those brand-name players—the ones ranked just high enough to tempt you—who are facing a perfect storm of disastrous circumstances. Forget the sentimental value; we’re focused on the data, the advanced metrics, and the defensive schematics that point to a colossal disappointment. In a week with the Chiefs and Cowboys on a break, volume is king, but hostile environments can quickly turn expected volume into empty stats.
The goal isn't just to identify five players to bench; it's to force a deeper dive into your alternatives. If you have the luxury of a better option, use it. Your playoff destiny depends on making the clinical, not the comfortable, decision. Let's get into the Week 10 Landmines.
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Jordan Love, QB, vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Jordan Love is clinging to his QB11 ranking (20.32 fantasy points per game), a figure propped up by high-efficiency passing metrics like his 8.3 yards per attempt and stellar 70.8% completion percentage. He has undeniably shown flashes of being the franchise quarterback, but the Packers' offense as a unit is profoundly inconsistent, ranking a middling 16th in the NFL in converting drives into touchdowns.
This week, Love runs head-on into a Philadelphia Eagles defense that, while not suffocating in terms of overall points allowed (23.1 PPG, 19th in the NFL), is absolutely elite in a metric that matters most to quarterbacks: limiting touchdowns. The Eagles have surrendered a mere eight passing touchdowns all season, ranking second in the NFL, and are fully healthy heading into this matchup.
The loss of primary tight end Tucker Kraft—Love's favorite target, who was recently lost for the season—is a massive blow, stripping a high-leverage red-zone option from the playbook. Coupled with Love's abysmal Week 9 performance (0 TDs, 1 INT, 13 total team points), the outlook is grim. While the Eagles' 16.85 fantasy points allowed to QBs rank 18th, that number is artificially inflated by quarterbacks achieving volume in negative game scripts.
Expect the Eagles' secondary to smother the Packers' receiving corps, force a run-heavy (and likely ineffective) game plan, and cap Love's ceiling well below his QB1 floor. This is a game where his efficiency stats go out the window.
Rachaad White, RB, vs. New England Patriots
Rachaad White is the definition of a fantasy football conundrum: he has the near-bell-cow snap share as the bell cow running back, but his efficiency is atrocious. His 3.7 yards per carry this season is an anchor, and in his four most recent starts without Bucky Irving, he's only rushed for a meager 144 total yards. He is the overall RB29, barely clinging to relevance with his pass-catching utility (21 receptions for 255 yards).
Unfortunately, that pass-catching floor will be tested by the New England Patriots, whose defense is a brick wall against the run. They rank fourth in fantasy points allowed to running backs and lead the league in run defense, surrendering a microscopic 75.4 rushing yards per game this season.
The Patriots have been even stingier in the red zone, allowing just three rushing touchdowns on the season—second-best in the NFL. White’s low-efficiency, high-volume profile runs headlong into a defense that eliminates volume altogether. If he doesn't find the end zone, his rushing yardage alone will be insufficient, and betting on a receiving score against a disciplined Patriots secondary is a low-percentage play.
Alec Pierce, WR, vs. Atlanta Falcons
Indianapolis Colts wideout Alec Pierce is a big-play threat, evidenced by his 501 receiving yards on just 24 catches, averaging a healthy 14.4% target share this year. The Colts are winning games, and quarterback Daniel Jones is having a great season. However, Pierce is firmly entrenched as, at best, the third option in the passing game behind tight end Tyler Warren and star receiver Michael Pittman Jr.
His volume is already precarious (5.9 targets per game), and he has yet to find the end zone this season despite two end-zone targets. Now he faces an Atlanta Falcons defense that has been a nightmare for opposing pass-catchers.
The Falcons rank first in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, conceding a stifling 158.1 yards on average. Their overall defense ranks fourth, allowing only 282.5 yards per game. While they have given up 13 passing touchdowns, they have been exceptionally strong against the wide receiver position, ranking seventh in fewest fantasy points allowed.
Pierce’s downfield targets—the key to his production—will be constantly contested by a disciplined, deep secondary. This is a game where volume-hogs like Pittman might see a slight dip, but the low-volume, big-play threat like Pierce will be all but erased. Expect a yardage floor that simply won’t cut it for a weekly WR start.
Jordan Mason, FLEX, vs. Baltimore Ravens
Jordan Mason has been a serviceable, if unexciting, RB28 this season, leveraging a solid 4.3 yards per carry and a 58.1% snap share. However, his receiving work is non-existent (11 receptions for 38 yards), and the crucial piece of the puzzle is the health of Aaron Jones Sr., who just returned from IR and had a big Week 9.
If Jones Sr. is active, Mason’s floor collapses entirely, as his value is almost entirely predicated on a large rushing workload. Even if Jones is out, Mason hasn't been the explosive, consistent runner the Vikings hoped for, with his rushing work being feast-or-famine.
The Baltimore Ravens defense, which started slowly, has completely locked down opponents over the past three games, allowing only 39 total points. While their run defense numbers for the season (123.6 rushing yards per game, 21st in the NFL) look exploitable, the fantasy points allowed to running backs tell a different story. They rank 29th in fantasy points allowed to RBs, a metric heavily skewed by a few early-season blow-up games. More recently, they've been suffocating, and Mason’s non-existent receiving floor, combined with the likelihood of Jones Sr. vulturing high-value touches, makes him a definite sit. The game script is likely to be challenging for the Vikings, too, leading to fewer rushing attempts overall.
Final Thoughts
The road to a fantasy championship is paved with smart decisions, and Week 10 is a prime example of why we play the matchups and not the names. Love, White, Pierce and Mason are all players you’ve likely spent decent draft capital on, but this week, the context is all wrong. Don’t get locked into the perceived value of a player when the advanced metrics, defensive prowess, and internal usage trends clearly point to a down week.
A crucial tidbit to remember, especially with the trade deadline passed: keep a close eye on the Target Rate per Route Run (TR/RR) metric for your wide receivers and tight ends. For a player like Alec Pierce, even if his target share is acceptable, a low TR/RR is a red flag, suggesting he's not a primary read. When facing a shutdown secondary like Atlanta's, the ball goes to the most reliable, highest-TR/RR players. Use this metric to confirm your suspicions on low-floor/high-risk players moving forward.
Trust your gut, but confirm it with the numbers. If you have a viable alternative for any of these five players, exercise caution and sit them down. Your path to Week 11 starts with avoiding a Week 10 landmine.
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