Fantasy Football Week 10 Rankings: Projections for Players with Matchups We Love

By now fantasy football owners should understand the importance of matchups going into Week 10 of the season.

If not, though, one only has to look at the Thursday Night Football showdown between the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills that started the week. There, the former's Eric Decker posted 14 points to lead all wideouts, not a shock at all considering the latter had entered with allowances of 21 or more points to the position six times.

The matchup game remains the most important, as one can see. Below, let's go ahead and break down player rankings where matchups and projections weigh the most important and zoom in on some of the top names.

Week 10 Schedule

Sunday, Nov. 15
Monday, Nov. 16	Time (ET)
Detroit at Green Bay	1:00 pm
Jacksonville at Baltimore	1:00 pm
Chicago at St. Louis	1:00 pm
Cleveland at Pittsburgh	1:00 pm
Carolina at Tennessee	1:00 pm
New Orleans at Washington	1:00 pm
Dallas at Tampa Bay	1:00 pm
Miami at Philadelphia	1:00 pm
Minnesota at Oakland	4:05 pm
Kansas City at Denver	4:25 pm
New England at N.Y. Giants	4:25 pm
Arizona at Seattle	8:30 pm
Houston at Cincinnati	8:30 pm

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Tom Brady	20
2	Aaron Rodgers	18
3	Andy Dalton	17
4	Eli Manning	14
5	Drew Brees	13
6	Blake Bortles	12
7	Cam Newton	10
8	Derek Carr	10
9	Carson Palmer	10
10	Peyton Manning	10
11	Kirk Cousins	9
12	Teddy Bridgewater*	8
13	Russell Wilson	8
14	Matthew Stafford	8
15	Joe Flacco	8

Here's a pairing folks never thought they would see—Aaron Rodgers and Blake Bortles.

Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers is always a great start, but he especially deserves some attention this week going against the hapless Detroit Lions. They have allowed the third-most points to quarterbacks on average and have let up two or more scores in five games.

Did anyone mention that Rodgers just posted 32 points on a good Carolina Panthers unit?

Just six spots further down the scoring list is Bortles, who has the Jacksonville Jaguars looking good. He's posted 15 or more points six times and next gets the Baltimore Ravens.

Those Ravens actually rank one spot worse than the Lions against the quarterback with five allowances of 22 or more points. That might just be a floor for the improving Bortles.

Running Backs 

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Todd Gurley	19
2	Adrian Peterson	17
3	DeAngelo Williams*	15
4	Doug Martin	14
5	Marshawn Lynch	13
6	Justin Forsett	12
7	DeMarco Murray	12
8	Darren McFadden	12
9	Mark Ingram	12
10	LeGarrette Blount	10
11	Jonathan Stewart	10
12	Eddie Lacy*	9
13	Giovani Bernard	9
14	Latavius Murray*	9
15	Jeremy Hill	8
16	Lamar Miller	8
17	Matt Jones	8
18	Jeremy Langford	8
19	T.J. Yeldon	7
20	James Starks	7
21	Antonio Andrews	7
22	C.J. Anderson	7
23	Chris Johnson	7
24	Charcandrick West	6
25	Duke Johnson Jr.	6
26	Ronnie Hillman	6
27	C.J. Spiller	6
28	Joique Bell	6
29	Charles Sims	6
30	David Johnson	6

Running back isn't the easiest position to predict on a week-to-week basis anymore.

Matchups, committee approaches and silly benching decisions play a big part in the erratic showings, the last point an honor going to Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Lovie Smith last week for benching Doug Martin following a fumble.

Owners shouldn't worry about Martin, though, although the nine points over his last two games looks rough. He had scored 16 or more in three games, including a 33-point outburst, before the questionable coaching move.

Expect nothing short of a return to form for Martin thanks to an encounter with the Dallas Cowboys, who allow the second-most points to running backs this year and just got done coughing up 35 points to Philadelphia Eagles backs—already the third time a backfield has posted more than 30 points against the unit.

Speaking of those Eagles, DeMarco Murray is a great play after his 21-point outburst. He's suiting up against the Miami Dolphins, the team slotted right behind the Cowboys against the position.

Those Dolphins? They just got done allowing 40 points to Buffalo's backfield in Week 9. Committee or not, Murray's in for a huge day.

Wide Receivers 

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Odell Beckham Jr.	16
2	Julian Edelman	15
3	Demaryius Thomas	14
4	A.J. Green	13
5	DeAndre Hopkins	13
6	Alshon Jeffery	12
7	Larry Fitzgerald	10
8	Randall Cobb	10
9	Emmanuel Sanders	10
10	Allen Robinson	10
11	Amari Cooper	10
12	Michael Crabtree	9
13	Calvin Johnson*	9
14	Mike Evans	9
15	Brandon LaFell	8
16	Jarvis Landry	8
17	Dez Bryant	8
18	Antonio Brown	8
19	Jeremy Maclin	8
20	Jordan Matthews	8
21	Allen Hurns*	8
22	Stefon Diggs	8
23	DeSean Jackson	8
24	Tavon Austin	8
25	Brandin Cooks	7
26	Davante Adams	7
27	Willie Snead	7
28	Kamar Aiken	7
29	Nate Washington	6
30	Pierre Garcon	6
31	Rishard Matthews	6
32	John Brown	6
33	Michael Floyd	6
34	Martavis Bryant	6
35	Marvin Jones	6

Allen Robinson might be the most surprising name ranked among the top 10 scorers at wideout this year, mostly because of his team.

But if Bortles is a great play, so is Robinson, who already has five double-digit outings to his name this year as the No. 1 wideout in Jacksonville. Two of those outings featured a pair of touchdowns.

Did anyone mention Robinson scored 12 last week against the Jets and a notable cornerback? NFL Fantasy Football hinted at the escapades:

Things get even easier for Robinson this week against the Ravens, the second-worst team against wideouts on average. In fact, Baltimore has coughed up two or more scores to the position in three consecutive games and five times total.

Keeping with the unexpected trend, Miami Dolphins wideout Jarvis Landry continues to have a great year. He's scored seven or more points in every game except one despite his team's miserable performance and has four double-digit outings for good measure, including a touchdown on special teams.

Landry squares off against the Eagles, who rank right behind the Ravens and gave up a trio of touchdowns to his position last week.

Tight Ends 

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski	13
2	Gary Barnidge	11
3	Greg Olsen	9
4	Jason Witten	8
5	Tyler Eifert	8
6	Jordan Reed	8
7	Jimmy Graham	7
8	Martellus Bennett	7
9	Delanie Walker	6
10	Richard Rodgers	6
11	Travis Kelce	5
12	Benjamin Watson	5

It's a tale of "go figure" and surprise at tight end this week. 

The former is Washington's Jordan Reed, one of the league's best when healthy. He's scored seven or more points five times this year despite an iffy situation and health.

Last week he caught a touchdown but posted seven points in an iffy matchup. This week he's clear of difficulty thanks to an encounter with the New Orleans Saints, the team letting up the second-most points to the position.

New Orleans just got done letting up 34 points to tight ends. Reed won't reach that on his own, but expect a hefty chunk.

The unexpected is Gary Barnidge of the Cleveland Browns, he of a breakout season at the age of 30. He's tallied six trips to double digits this year for stunning reliability at an iffy position. Next up is the Pittsburgh Steelers, the team surrendering the fifth-most points to the spot. 

Defense/Special Teams 

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Broncos	10
2	Rams	10
3	Panthers	9
4	Cardinals	9
5	Ravens	9
6	Vikings	8
7	Packers	7
8	Titans	7
9	Steelers	6
10	Bengals	6

It's feasting time for the Carolina Panthers. 

Star Lotulelei, Luke Kuechly and Co. have mustered eight or more points four times this season, a rather strong number for a defense that is only owned in 90 percent of leagues.

More than eight seems like a guarantee during a visit with the Tennessee Titans. Even after forcing the Saints defense to negative numbers last week, the Titans still surrender the most points on average to opposing defenses with four allowances of double digits. 

Kuechly and the elite unit should be able to force rookie Marcus Mariota into mistakes and shut down a borderline nonexistent running game, so expect a big day. 

Kickers 

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	8
2	Nick Novak	8
3	Justin Tucker	8
4	Blair Walsh	8
5	Jason Myers	8
6	Dustin Hopkins	8
7	Brandon McManus	7
8	Josh Brown	7
9	Steven Hauschka	6
10	Sebastian Janikowski	6

As far as matchups go, it's all about Vikings kicker Blair Walsh this week.

Walsh is a great play even without an enticing matchup. He's strung together three weeks with 12 or more points, stunning consistency for the position. Even better, he's posted seven or more points in seven games, yet only touts a 77 ownership percentage.

That's a lot of sevens.

In all seriousness, though, Walsh next gets the Oakland Raiders. It's hard to say whether it will be a shootout or a grisly defensive affair, but it doesn't really matter—the Raiders allow the second-most points to kickers on average with four double-digit showings. Walsh is in for another.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of November 13. Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Diego, San Francisco on bye.