Fantasy Football Week 10: Deep Sleepers Who Can Help Win Your Matchup

We’re digging so deep for sleepers this week that not one but two Washington Redskins made the list. 

Seriously.

After reading that, you either think I’m crazy or you’re paying closer attention to see how I justify reaching into one of the weakest fantasy offenses for a pair of options to consider inserting into your lineups.

As is often the case when looking for one-week sleepers, the key is finding the best matchups. Talent won’t be the primary focus on when it comes to these players. Let’s face it: If a player has noticeable talent, he probably won’t be considered a deep sleeper.

For the most part, the players in this week’s column have some of the best matchups, like Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins taking on the New Orleans Saints. The other factor to consider is game flow, which can often hurt a volume running back on a bad team but boost the value of a hurry-up back on said bad team, such as Detroit Lions running back Theo Riddick against the Green Bay Packers.

These are far from guarantees to come through, and because of that, most of these players may still be available on your league’s waiver wire. Basically, if you’re looking for a late-week addition to your lineup with a chance at some upside, you’ve come to the right place.

Kamar Aiken

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Unlike the rest of the players you’ll be reading about, Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Kamar Aiken isn’t widely available in most leagues, and that’s for a good, or should I say a bad, reason. Two weeks ago the Ravens lost star wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. to a torn Achilles before going on their Week 9 bye.

While some grabbed Aiken heading into a week where he was unavailable to use for fantasy lineups, many couldn’t justify using a roster spot on a fringe fantasy option, as evidenced by his surprisingly low ownership numbers, as I detailed earlier this week.

Because of Smith’s injury, Aiken has value for the rest of the season, as he’s clearly the top option in the receiving corps for quarterback Joe Flacco. The good part is you’ll be able to insert him into your lineup immediately with fairly high expectations since he’ll be at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Over the last four weeks, the Jaguars have allowed the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers thanks to 49 receptions for 612 yards and six touchdowns. One of the two teams doing a worse job against wide receivers? That would be the Ravens. If Baltimore can’t stop a pretty good Jaguars’ passing attack, then Aiken should be busy out of necessity, which means this could turn into a potentially high-scoring game.

The drop-off in talent from Smith to Aiken is quite large, but he gets a boost because the Ravens are short on reliable receivers. Wide receiver Chris Givens has six receptions for 106 yards since joining the team in Week 5. Tight end Crockett Gillmore has just 20 receptions for 242 yards and three touchdowns on the season.

The door is open for Aiken to be a solid fantasy contributor for the rest of the season, and it should start in a big way with a great matchup against the Jaguars on Sunday.

Kyle Rudolph

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Unfortunately for Minnesota Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph, it’s been another disappointing season despite the fact that injuries haven’t been too much of a bother. We’ve seen enough action to know Rudolph hasn’t been reliable for fantasy, and that means he could be on your waiver wire right now. When you’re not among the top 20 fantasy tight ends, why would someone roster you?

A Week 10 matchup against the Oakland Raiders should put Rudolph back on the fantasy radar, at least for this week. Over the last four weeks, the Raiders have given up the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends, and for the season they’ve allowed the most fantasy points to tight ends.

Other than their Week 5 game against the Denver Broncos, the Raiders have allowed a tight end to score at least one touchdown in every game this season. Even with some slight improvement in recent weeks, I still consider them one of the best matchups for any tight end, and in addition to the matchup, Rudolph has other reasons to be involved.

The Raiders are eighth in passing yards per game and 10th in total points. The Vikings might have a solid defense, but it doesn’t mean they’ll do enough to slow down the Raiders, which means Minnesota needs to get more out of the offense, specifically the passing game. The Vikings need to have someone besides wide receiver Stefon Diggs step up, and based on the matchup, Rudolph is the primary candidate.

Kirk Cousins

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I’ve never endorsed Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins before, and there’s a very good chance I’ll never endorse him again, but that’s OK. All we’re looking for is just one good fantasy performance when it’s actually expected, and then he can go back to being a marginal starting quarterback.

Cousins is the perfect example of valuing matchup over talent. For the season, he’s 23rd in fantasy points at the QB position. He has just two games of at least 300 yards and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in four games. However, his two games with 300-plus yards came in winnable matchups against the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That’s why I have faith he can produce against the New Orleans Saints. 

If you’re looking for the perfect matchup for a fantasy quarterback, the Saints are at the top of the list. Over the last four weeks, no team has allowed more fantasy points to quarterbacks, and the same can be said for the entire season, so this is more than just a trend.

In the last three games, the Saints have given up 13 passing touchdowns. In the last five weeks, they’ve allowed at least 295 passing yards. Opposing quarterbacks have thrown for at least 300 yards six times and have passed for at least three touchdowns four times, including the last three weeks. Last week, the Saints gave up 371 yards and four touchdowns to Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota.

Not only will Cousins take to the air because of the matchup but also because the Redskins don’t run it much—and when they do, it hasn’t been successful. They're 24th in rushing attempts, 29th in rushing yards and tied for 28th in rushing yards per attempt. Their poor defense doesn’t allow them to run much, and when they do run, it’s not productive.

Basically, you have a quarterback on a team that can’t run the ball facing the best possible matchup to throw against in the entire league. If wide receiver DeSean Jackson can put last week’s poor showing behind him and tight end Jordan Reed can continue his strong play, everything is shaping up nicely for Cousins to come through. Then, you can discard him and look elsewhere for a QB in Week 11.

Theo Riddick

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The Detroit Lions have driven us nuts this year with how they’ve treated their backfield, so looking for consistency might seem like a fool’s errand. It is, but if there’s one constant, it’s running back Theo Riddick’s role as the primary pass-catcher.

Riddick is third among all running backs with 53 targets, according to FantasyPros.com. Ameer Abdullah has 23 targets, and Joique Bell has eight. As a team with one victory, the Lions have obviously been playing from behind quite often, and when that happens, Riddick racks up the targets as the most active back in the passing game.

He should be in line for another busy afternoon, as the Lions come off their bye week to face Green Bay. The Packers have lost their last two games but are still tied for the division lead at 6-2 and are clearly a superior team to the Lions. Even though Green Bay’s offense has struggled, the Packers should get back on track against a poor Detroit defense.

The Lions have given up the fourth-most points and the seventh-most yards. Because the Packers should play with the lead, I’d expect Riddick to have an active role as the primary receiving back. He’s averaged 6.6 targets per game this season and shouldn’t have a problem eclipsing that number in Week 10. That makes him a nice reach in points-per-reception formats.

Joe Flacco

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Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has had a lot of success during his career, but that hasn’t translated to much in terms of his fantasy value. This season has been the worst for the Ravens under Flacco, but he’s been a decent fantasy option as a high-end backup, likely because the team has trailed so much.

Flacco gets the boost from high-end fantasy backup to legitimate starting option in Week 10 with a potential high-scoring game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The key to his value this week is that both the Jaguars and Ravens have bad defenses, specifically against the pass. If both defenses struggle to stop the opposing passing attacks, then it becomes a battle of who scores last.

Over the last four weeks, the Jaguars have allowed the 10th-most fantasy points to QBs. In those three games, opposing quarterbacks have put up 863 yards and seven touchdowns. The Jaguars are more of an average defense against the run, so it makes sense for Flacco to take to the air often, based on the matchup alone.

The Ravens are coming off their bye, but in their three previous games, quarterbacks have put up 916 yards and seven touchdowns, which is why Baltimore is yielding the fourth-most fantasy points in the last month. The team will definitely be tested by quarterback Blake Bortles and wide receiver Allen Robinson, so Flacco should be busy if the Ravens want to stay in it.

Flacco has four games with at least 319 yards this season, including two since Week 6. He’s attempted at least 32 passes in every game and 40 passes in four games. Based on the expected game flow, 40 attempts should be realistic for Flacco, so the volume and the beatable matchup make him an attractive fantasy option in Week 10.

Chris Thompson

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Our last deep sleeper of the week brings us back to the Washington Redskins. Running back Chris Thompson has been as fantasy-relevant as any running back in Washington because the team isn’t very good and he’s the primary contributor in the passing game.

Coming into this week, Thompson’s 37 pass targets put him in a tie for ninth-most at the position, according to FantasyPros.com. Along with Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte, Thompson is tied for 11th among running backs with 25 receptions. Thompson’s teammates, Matt Jones and Alfred Morris, have combined for 15 receptions on 19 targets.

Thompson is the highest-scoring Redskins running back in PPR formats on the season and will have a chance to widen that lead against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. For as bad as their pass defense is against quarterbacks, they also struggle against running backs. Over the last four weeks, the Saints have given up the most receptions (30) and receiving yards (263) to running backs.

Chances should be there for Thompson once again since Washington will likely be playing from behind. The Saints are averaging the most yards per game and are fourth in total points. We’ve already explored Cousins as a deep sleeper because of volume and the matchup, and Thompson should benefit as well.

Fantasy stats courtesy of NFL.com unless otherwise noted.