It’s easy to let your DraftKings FLEX spot be left up to the amount of salary remaining after you fill out the rest of the squad. That’s the ‘flex-by-default’ strategy. The purpose of this Week Ten DraftKings DFS article is to help you avoid it. You can and should use the FLEX spot to strengthen and diversify your daily league lineups for Week 10 of the NFL season.

A couple of thoughts: 1) You don’t have to spend all the salary cap. A better player in a better situation may force you to leave a few hundred salary cap dollars on the table. Force yourself to roster the best lineup, even if it fails to use the whole cap. 2) As a scientist, I like to use players for which I can build a case based on multiple pieces of evidence. I look at things like opportunities, efficiency, opponent and game flow to start my research. I want as many players that are positive in all categories as I can fit. Having an idea of the players I want before I work with salaries helps me with #1 too.

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• 2025 fantasy football rankings
• Running back (RB) fantasy football rankings
• Wide receiver (WR) fantasy football rankings
• Tight end (TE) fantasy football rankings
• Quarterback (QB) fantasy football rankings
• FLEX fantasy football rankings
• Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
• Kicker (K) fantasy football rankings
• Dynasty fantasy football rankings

Week 10 DraftKings FLEX Options - Daily Fantasy Football Picks

Use this list as your flex cheat sheet; if a player is on here, there’s good reason to roster him in your last spot.

I assume that you have $6,500 or less to work with for this final spot on the roster. I also assume you’ll arrange accordingly so that the player with the latest game start is in the flex in case you should need to swap someone out.

Safe Options - Week 10 DraftKings Lineup Picks

Jordan Howard $6,000: In a week where running back is a bit of a barren wasteland outside of David Johnson and Ezekiel Elliott, I think Howard is flying under the radar a little bit. He looked amazing-and fully healthy against the Vikings last week, with 153 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and 49 receiving yards. Tampa Bay has allowed opposing rushers the seventh-most fantasy points.

Jordan Matthews $5,900: I love the Eagles this week against Atlanta, a team that scores and gets scored upon. Vegas likes this as the highest scoring game of the week, and I like it for Carson Wentz’ bounce-back celebration game. The prime beneficiary of Wentz’ success should be Matthews and Zach Ertz ($3,700). Matthews has caught 17 of 25 targets over the past two games, while Ertz is coming off a great game where he caught all eight of his targets for 97 yards. Both guys should be safe yet high upside plays this weekend.

Rishard Matthews $4200: The Tennessee-Green Bay game is getting more attention on the Packers side, but Matthews has quietly been a force in the Titans offense. The Pack has allowed the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, and Matthews boasts a 68.8% catch rate this season. He has five touchdowns in his last five games. It looks like he and Marcus Mariota have finally taken the WR1 designation Matthews started the season with seriously.

Upside Options - Week 10 DraftKings Lineup Picks

J.J. Nelson $4,200: Nelson is looking like the number two guy in Arizona, with Michael Floyd doing nothing, and John Brown mainly a deep threat who has seen significant targets just once this year. The Cardinals have the highest implied team total and it was Nelson who helped Carson Palmer to his best game of the season last week. Look for Palmer and Nelson to do everything possible in this fantastic fantasy matchup to replicate those results this Sunday.

Peyton Barber $3,900: If Doug Martin starts with a 100% healthy designation, then you can safely ignore Barber, but if Martin or the Bucs decide to take it cautiously, then Barber is the only man standing in the Bucs’ backfield. We’ve seen how much they rely on a strong running game to balance Mike Evans and the passing game, so Barber has the upside of 100 yards and a touchdown this week if the Bucs establish that balanced attack early on.

James White $4,500: We’ve seen a couple of versatile backs, including LeSean McCoy on Monday night, have success against the Seahawks. The Patriots are decent favorites in this high scoring game, and James’ involvement in the passing game gives him upside that I don’t see with LeGarrette Blount. It’s a risk, going low at running back this week, but if you hit big with the savings, then White’s average of 10.4 fantasy points per game shouldn’t kill you.

Note: IF Dion Lewis plays, I’d fade both of them.

Value Options - Week 10 DraftKings Lineup Picks

Lance Kendricks $3,000: With an average of about 10 targets per game over the last three, I’m happy to see Kendricks providing the kind of value I always thought he was capable of if the Rams possessed anything close to a functional offense. The total on this Rams-Jets game is low, but the Jets are a nice fantasy matchup for opposing tight ends, and I like Case Keenum to keep this connection alive. Kendricks projects as a fine as cash game option.

Albert Wilson $3,300: If Jeremy Maclin is out Sunday, most people will gravitate toward Tyreek Hill or maybe Chris Conley (who was limited Wednesday with a quad). Although, it was Wilson who led the team with eight targets last week. He’s not exciting and doesn’t have a ton of upside, but the matchup is a favorable one against Carolina (sixth-most fantasy points to WR), so I think he’s usable if you need to save big at FLEX or WR3.