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Week 10 of the NFL is behind us and it's time to look ahead to next week's action. There were some surprising performances in the 10th week of the season, but were those surprising performances a sign of things to come for players?
Every week, I'll be looking at three to five NFL players whose numbers from the week before were better than expected. I'll be analyzing their games and making sense of what their showings mean in the larger scheme of things.
Below, you'll find an analysis of the biggest fantasy football surprises of Week 10. Are those surprising results a fact, i.e. a sign of good things to come, or a fiction, i.e. an anomalous result?
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Devin Singletary, Houston Texans
Last Week: RB2
The Texans run game has been a major disappointment all season, with second-year back Dameon Pierce struggling to really gain any traction. Pierce has been held under 40 yards in four of his seven games so far.
With Pierce sidelined by injury in the past two games, the Texans have found a little something on the ground with Devin Singletary. Well, kind of. In his first game as the starter, he had 13 carries for 26 yards, but this past week represented a big change for this running game.
The Bengals just had no answer for Singletary on Sunday, as he had 150 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries. He also caught one pass for 11 yards. It was really the first time this rushing attack looked formidable.
Now what? I can't imagine the Texans just go back to having Pierce lead this backfield, right? He's struggled so much and Singletary finally gave this run game some juice. That's not to say Singletary will have 30 carries again, but at worst, it seems like this would be an evenly split backfield now, with Singletary potentially ahead of Pierce if offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik rides the hot hand.
Verdict: Once Pierce is back, Singletary will be splitting carries, but I think he's earned the lead role and will be a low-end RB2 play.
Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys
Last Week: WR3
The Cowboys brought in Brandin Cooks this offseason to provide some additional help in this passing attack, but up until this week, he hadn't gone over 50 receiving yards in any game this year.
Cooks exploded against the Giants though, catching nine of his 10 targets for 173 yards and a touchdown. It was part of a huge day for the Cowboys' passing attack, as Dak Prescott threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns.
As far as yardage goes, I really think this game from Cooks was just a product of the Giants having no answer for this team. CeeDee Lamb had 11 catches for 151 yards of his own and Michael Gallup and Jake Ferguson both caught touchdown passes as well.
The one thing that I think is for real here with Cooks, though? The touchdowns. He's scored three in the past four games, with two of those coming down in the red zone. He's earning the trust of Prescott in high-value situations. I doubt we see a huge uptick in yardage and targets from Cooks going forward, but he still has a chance to get these end-zone looks.
Verdict: Based on how the season has gone, this is probably just a one-off performance, but Cooks does have three touchdowns in four games, so he's worth adding off the waiver wire.
Noah Brown, Houston Texans
Last Week: WR7
In Week 9, Texans wide receiver Noah Brown had one of the most surprising games of the year, catching six passes for 153 yards and a score. It came on a day where C.J. Stroud set the rookie record for passing yards in a game, so it was fairly easy to shrug it off as a fluke.
Then it happened again this week against the Bengals. Brown caught seven passes for 172 yards this week and was targeted eight times. The absence of Nico Collins contributed to this, but we still have to take notice when a player has back-to-back 100-yard receiving games.
Collins will be back soon, which theoretically means that Brown will drop down a spot in the pecking order, but with how good this offense has looked, I'm not really sure that matters too much. He'll still see plenty of playing time and is clearly ahead of Robert Woods in the pecking order.
Temper your expectations here, but Brown should have a solid future ahead of him as the season goes along.
Verdict: Brown's not going to do this 100-yard thing every week, but he's earned C.J. Stroud's trust and is a flex option in 12-team leagues
Jayden Reed, Green Bay Packers
Last Week: WR10
Christian Watson just isn't having a very good second year in the NFL. He's gone over 37 receiving yards just once all season. And from a yardage perspective, Romeo Doubs hasn't been great either, going over that mark twice. Doubs, at least, has scored six touchdowns. Watson has just one.
That's where rookie Jayden Reed comes in. Reed, the Packers leader in receiving yardage with 417 yards, has arguably been the team's best wideout this year, as he's added four touchdowns this season as well.
This week, he caught five passes for 84 yards and a score while playing 51% of the team's snaps. Reed has some room to move up in terms of playing time still, as he's gone over 70% in snap share just once all season.
Verdict: I don't know how reliable Reed is going to be, but he's definitely trending in the right direction.
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