Fantasy Football Week 10: Big Board and Advice for 'Monday Night Football'
To conclude Week 10 of the NFL and fantasy football season, we'll have a rematch between a couple of teams that are all too familiar playoff foes as the Houston Texans will be on the road to take on the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Texans have an opportunity to improve to 4-5 and match the record of the AFC South division-leading Indianapolis Colts with a win over the Bengals, but it will be a tall task. The Bengals are far and away leading the AFC North division at 8-0.
Both teams feature two immensely talented wide receivers—A.J. Green for the Bengals and DeAndre Hopkins for the Texans.
The Bengals have been played well on both sides of the balls, which has helped them get to their undefeated record.
I'm taking the Bengals by two scores—27-13.
Big Board
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Here's the Monday night big board:
| Rank | Name | Pos. | Team |
| 1 | DeAndre Hopkins | WR | Houston Texans |
| 2 | Andy Dalton | QB | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 3 | Tyler Eifert | TE | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 4 | Marvin Jones | WR | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 5 | Giovani Bernard | RB | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 6 | A.J. Green | WR | Cincinnati Bengals |
| 7 | Brian Hoyer | QB | Houston Texans |
| 8 | Alfred Blue | RB | Houston Texans |
| 9 | Nate Washington | WR | Houston Texans |
| 10 | Cecil Shorts | WR | Houston Texans |
Injury Report
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Houston Texans
- Nate Washington, WR, Probable
- Jadeveon Clowney, LB, Out
Once again, the former No. 1 draft pick Clowney will miss a game.
Cincinnati Bengals
- Vontaze Burfict, LB, Probable.
Injury reports courtesy of ESPN.com.
Quarterbacks
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Houston Texans: Brian Hoyer
Make fun all you want, but Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer has been a stable fantasy option this season.
After beginning the season as the starter, Hoyer took a back seat to former backup/current free-agent quarterback Ryan Mallett.
In the games Hoyer has played, he's averaged right around 263 passing yards a game, and he has 13 touchdowns to only three interceptions on the season—not too bad.
Also, if you look at the games he's played in (Weeks 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8), Hoyer is the QB5 in fantasy and ranks third among all quarterbacks in attempts of 20 or more yards.
While Hoyer has been great this season fantasy-wise, he'll take on an undefeated Bengals team that is seventh-best against opposing quarterbacks, surrendering just over one passing touchdown and tallying an interception per game.
Hoyer will have his work cut out for him.
Projections: 240 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Cincinnati Bengals: Andy Dalton
Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has silenced many of his critics this season.
Not only is his team undefeated, but he's averaging right around 280 passing yards per game. In addition to that, Dalton has three games of 300 or more passing yards and four games with three touchdowns.
On the season, Dalton is the QB5 and is a must-start.
That trend won't stop this week against the 10th-most generous unit in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks.
Projections: 250 passing yards, 2 TDs
Running Backs
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Houston Texans Starter: Alfred Blue
He's no Arian Foster, but fellow Texans running back Alfred Blue could prove himself to be a solid points-per-reception running back.
Totaling over 70 yards and playing over 50 percent of the team's snaps in Week 8, Blue caught five passes.
The Bengals are a unit that allow close to seven receptions per game to the position.
Blue is worth flex consideration this week in points-per-reception leagues.
Projections: 40 rushing yards; 4 receptions, 25 receiving yards
Cincinnati Bengals Starter: Jeremy Hill
2015 has not been anywhere near as kind to Bengals running back Jeremy Hill as 2014 was. Over the last three weeks, Hill has seen 16, 15, and 15 carries, respectively. However, he has yet to top his Week 1 rushing total of 63 yards.
Couple his lack of rushing yards with the fact that he's not much of a receiving threat, and Hill can go from a top running back on a weekly basis to a low-end one quickly.
Projections: 50 rushing yards; 1 reception, 8 receiving yards
Cincinnati Bengals: Giovani Bernard
Known as a great points-per-reception running back option, fellow Bengals running back Giovani Bernard has also contributed in the run game this season.
On the season, Bernard has five games in which he's had 10 or more carries and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry.
Ironically, his receiving numbers have been so-so. Bernard has topped 30 yards receiving just one time this season and has zero receiving touchdowns.
The Texans are rather generous against opposing running backs, ranking eighth in terms of generosity to the position.
Trust Bernard over Hill.
Projections: 40 rushing yards, 1 TD; 3 receptions, 20 receiving yards
Wide Receivers
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Houston Texans: DeAndre Hopkins
Texans wideout DeAndre Hopkins has received double-digit targets in every single game this season.
I mean, I could continue to ramble on about how amazing Hopkins is, but you already know.
Projections: 7 receptions, 110 receiving yards, 1 TD
Houston Texans: Nate Washington
Fellow Texans wide receiver Nate Washington has greatly benefited from the absence of another wide receiver, Cecil Shorts.
On the season, Washington has had two games in which he's seen 10 or more targets and has two games of 100 or more receiving yards.
Another interesting statistic to point out is in the games Washington has played, he's the WR23 in points-per-reception leagues, and that includes the Week 4 matchup in which he didn't receive a single target.
Projections: 5 receptions, 50 receiving yards
Houston Texans: Cecil Shorts
As mentioned above, Shorts has missed some time due to injury, but he will make his triumphant return Monday night.
Before the injury, Shorts was averaging close to eight targets per game while playing primarily out of the slot.
Shorts makes for an intriguing points-per-reception play this week.
Projections: 4 receptions, 40 receiving yards
Cincinnati Bengals: A.J. Green
Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green is a fantastic wide receiver and a ton of fun to watch.
However, Green has just two games this season in which he's seen double-digit targets. On the bright side, Green has gone over 100 yards in both of those games, and even went over 200 yards in one of them.
Green has four touchdowns on the season, with three of those coming in the games in which he was targeted 10 or more times.
It seems as though Green needs a high number of targets to be successful, but you cannot risk sitting him.
Projections: 7 receptions, 75 receiving yards
Cincinnati Bengals: Marvin Jones
Having some of the strangest yardage totals on a week-to-week basis, Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones has been quite the play this year at the position.
Averaging just over five targets per contest, Jones also has just one less receiving touchdown than Green.
Bold prediction: Jones scores a touchdown and matches Green's season total.
Projections: 5 receptions, 45 receiving yards, 1 TD
Tight Ends
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Houston Texans: C.J. Fiedorowicz
Texans tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz has 11 targets on the season.
Two words: Heck no.
Projections: 2 receptions, 10 receiving yards (if that)
Cincinnati Bengals: Tyler Eifert
Leading the league in receiving touchdowns with nine of them, teams cannot stop Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert—they can only hope to contain him.
He's a TE1 and needs to be started every week.
Projections: 6 receptions, 50 receiving yards, 1 TD
Defense/Special Teams
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Houston Texans Defense/Special Teams
The Houston Texans are the 23rd-best defense and special teams unit in fantasy land.
One can only assume that allowing the sixth-most rushing yards per game and letting opposing teams score nearly 26 points per game may have something to do with it.
Defensive end J.J. Watt is amazing, but he cannot do it all.
Projections: 27 points allowed, 3 sacks
Cincinnati Bengals Defense/Special Teams
The Bengals are just five spots better than the Texans in terms of fantasy points allowed. On the contrary, the Bengals are fifth in the league in sacks.
The Bengals should be able to lock down the Texans in this one.
Projections: 13 points allowed, 1 INT, 4 sacks, 1 FF
Best Sleeper Add
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Cecil Shorts, WR, Houston Texans (Owned in 4.9 percent of ESPN Leagues)
Oft-injured wide receiver Cecil Shorts will make his return from injury on Monday Night Football.
Before he was hurt, Shorts was averaging close to eight targets per game.
He comes in ranked 10th on the big board, but could be a sneaky points-per-reception play this week.
Start or Sit?
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Jeremy Hill, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Although his projections indicate that you should sit him, the fact of the matter is Bengals running back Jeremy Hill has a ton of talent.
The Houston Texans are not the best team against the run, and while Hill has had good opportunities in the past, this is yet another one. Hill could very well be the one to score the rushing touchdown projected for Giovani Bernard.
Verdict: Start
Marvin Jones, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones has some of the most sporadic yardage totals I've ever seen.
With that said, he averages a fair amount of targets per game. You also cannot ignore the touchdown he's projected to score.
Verdict: Start
All advanced stats courtesy of Pro Football Focus. Fantasy numbers courtesy of ESPN.com.
Follow me on Twitter @RichardJanvrin.
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