RADIO
Week 10 of the 2021 NFL season brought unexpected fantasy football surprises and busts. Mike Riggall analyzes overreactions to Rhamondre Stevenson, A.J. Dillon, Javonte Williams, and more.
The quarterback position was much more predictable in Week 10 than Week 9 as Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott and Josh Allen finished as the top-three at the position. Jalen Hurts bounced back after a few poor performances to finish as QB-6 and Mac Jones threw for three touchdowns against the Browns to finish as QB-5. On the downside of things, Tom Brady and Justin Herbert had disappointing performances finishing outside the top-12, while both Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson both scored less than 12 fantasy points in a defensive struggle. Tight end was fairly stable this week with Hunter Henry, Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews, George Kittle, Kyle Pitts and Tyler Higbee all finishing as TE1's, but T.J. Hockenson and Mike Gesicki, both of which are weekly TE1's, finished with zeroes.
Stefon Diggs was able to torch the stingy Jets pass defense for 162 yards and a score to finish as WR-1 while Deebo Samuel, CeeDee Lamb and Tyreek Hill each scored twice to round out the top-four at wide receiver. DeVonta Smith continued to ascend, finishing as WR-5, Justin Jefferson went for 143 yards (WR-6) and Keenan Allen took advantage of a great matchup against the Vikings to finish as WR-10.
Jonathan Taylor, Christian McCaffrey, Antonio Gibson, Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott all finished inside the top-eight this week, but they all took a backseat to A.J. Dillon (RB-1), Rhamondre Stevenson (RB-2) and Darrel Williams (RB-3). Dillon took over in a cold-weather game where Aaron Jones was hurt, Stevenson filled in for Damien Harris who is still in the concussion protocol and Darrel Williams continued to shine while filling in for Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Now, let's take a look at some of the outliers from Week 10 and evaluate whether they're worth a spot on your roster or in your starting lineup.
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Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts
Week 10 Stats: 22-of-34 passing, 180 yards
In Week 10 the Colts got out to an early lead against the Jaguars and appeared like they were about to hang 40 points on scoreboard. After their blistering start, the Colts offense appeared to stall and they nursed their big lead. The Colts defense also performed well and scored a touchdown which meant the offense didn't exactly need to keep their foot on the gas in the passing game.
Bottom Line: The Colts play the Bills in Week 11, who have given up the least fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season. This isn't a great matchup. However, the Bills should hang plenty of points on the Colts and Wentz should be throwing a lot in the contest. Wentz is not somebody I would want to lean on in Week 11, but he should be serviceable if you need him.
Matt Breida, Buffalo Bills
Week 10 Stats: 3 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD, 3 targets, 3 catches, 22 yards, 1 TD
Matt Breida scored two touchdowns off of six touches. Breida played eight snaps (13.6%) in Week 10 and that should be all you need to know. In Week 1 Breida played 10 snaps against the Steelers, in Week 2 he played two snaps and he did not play again until this week.
Bottom Line: Matt Breida is owned in 0% of Yahoo leagues and it should stay that way heading into Week 11. Let somebody else in your league chase those points because he simply doesn't have a consistent role in the Bills offense.
Jamal Agnew, Jacksonville Jaguars
Week 10 Stats: 3 carries, 79 yards, 1 TD, 5 targets, 0 catches
Jamal Agnew had a decent matchup heading into Week 10 and he came through, but it wasn't through the air. He got it done on the ground. Agnew failed to haul in any of his five targets this week but he had a 66-yard touchdown on one of his three carries.
Bottom Line: Trevor Lawrence likes throwing the ball to the middle of the field, and ever since D.J. Chark went down for the season, Agnew has been occupying the slot for the most part. The Jaguars will be playing from behind a majority of the time this year which makes Agnew a decent desperation option if the matchup is right. Agnew should remain on waiver wires in shallower leagues, but he's at least worth a roster spot in deeper leagues.
Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots
Week 10 Stats: 4 targets, 4 catches, 49 yards, 1 TD
Jakobi Meyers scored a touchdown for the first time in his NFL career, so he came through as WR-9 on the week. Meyers was targeted heavily early in the season but he's only been targeted four times each of his last two games, which is a little concerning.
Bottom Line: Meyers was getting a lot of volume in the passing game at the start of the season, but that's starting to tail off a bit as the Patriots have been leaning more on the running game and spreading the ball around in the passing game. You may want to consider shopping Meyers in trades while he's fresh off a big game.
Marcus Johnson, Tennessee Titans
Week 10 Stats: 6 targets, 5 catches, 100 yards
Marcus Johnson has some serious speed and he showed that off in Week 10 on this 50-yard catch against the Saints. Johnson has always possessed big-play ability and he flashed it when he played for the Colts, but he could never carve out a consistent role in that offense. In Week 9 Johnson played just three snaps (5.2%), but with Julio Jones out of the lineup in Week 10, he logged 38 (63.3%).
Bottom Line: As long as Julio Jones remains on the shelf, Marcus Johnson will have a legitimate role in the Titans offense. It's worth noting that A.J. Brown had a tough matchup against Marshon Lattimore this week, which means that Ryan Tannehill likely looked Johnson's way more than usual in the passing game. Marcus Johnson is a matchup-dependent flex option in deeper leagues moving forward, but you simply can't trust him in shallower leagues.
A.J. Dillon, Green Bay Packers
Week 10 Stats: 21 carries, 66 yards, 2 TD, 2 targets, 2 catches, 62 yards
Aaron Jones went down with a knee injury in the 3rd quarter and as a result A.J. Dillon took over the backfield and played a season-high 48.6% of the Packers offensive snaps (36).
Bottom Line: The bottom line here is pretty simple. A.J. Dillon will be an RB1 as long as Aaron Jones is inactive.
Rhamondre Stevenson, New England Patriots
Week 10 Stats: 20 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD, 5 targets, 4 catches, 14 yards
Rhamondre Stevenson had a tough matchup against a Browns defense that was giving up 3.5 yards-per-carry heading into Week 10 and what did he do? He went off for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Stevenson looked very good filling in for Damien Harris and played 55.2% of the Patriots offensive snaps which is about Harris' usual compliment.
Bottom Line: If you have Rhamondre Stevenson and you don't have Damien Harris you should try to shop him in a trade to the manager in your league that has Harris.
Javonte Williams, Denver Broncos
Week 10 Stats: 8 carries, 48 yards, 3 targets, 2 catches, 1 yard
Javonte Williams was on his way to having a decent day on the ground, but he had a touchdown called back due to a holding penalty. Williams didn't exactly light up the stat sheet this week, but he did play a season-high 56.9% of the snaps compared to Melvin Gordon who played a season-low 43.1%.
Bottom Line: Melvin Gordon came through because he scored, but Week 10 was the first time that Williams actually played more than Gordon. The breakout is coming. Trade for Williams now before he takes over the Broncos backfield.
Tyler Conklin, Minnesota Vikings
Week 10 Stats: 5 targets, 3 catches, 11 yards, 2 TD
The Chargers are fairly tough against wide receivers and actually give up a lot of production to tight ends. Tyler Conklin didn't gain much yardage this week, but luckily for him, he scored on two very short touchdowns so he came through for fantasy purposes.
Bottom Line: Tyler Conklin came through because the Chargers struggle to defend tight ends. He's no better than a backup tight end and shouldn't be used unless you're desperate.
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