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

Week 10 started with an odd outlook for fantasy football owners.

The Baltimore Ravens' 28-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football didn't come as a surprise. What did was that Baltimore's Joe Flacco finished as the only player above 20 points, while a guy named Seth DeValve led the Browns in scoring at eight points. 

The good news? Any owner gunning for a fantasy title wasn't exactly targeting Ravens-Browns for critical matchups. Let's take a look at the most important matchups of the week alongside positional rankings. 

Week 10 Schedule

Sunday, November 13	Time (ET)
Monday, November 14
Houston at Jacksonville	1 p.m.
Kansas City at Carolina	1 p.m.
L.A. Rams at N.Y. Jets	1 p.m.
Atlanta at Philadelphia	1 p.m.
Green Bay at Tennessee	1 p.m.
Minnesota at Washington	1 p.m.
Chicago at Tampa Bay	1 p.m.
Denver at New Orleans	1 p.m.
Miami at San Diego	4:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Arizona	4:25 p.m
Dallas at Pittsburgh	4:25 p.m
Seattle at New England	8:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at N.Y. Giants	8:30 p.m.

Quarterbacks

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Aaron Rodgers	24
2	Tom Brady	23
3	Jameis Winston	22
4	Carson Wentz	19
5	Cam Newton	18
6	Ben Roethlisberger	18
7	Dak Prescott	17
8	Philip Rivers	17
9	Alex Smith	16
10	Drew Brees	14
11	Marcus Mariota	14
12	Matt Ryan	12
13	Russell Wilson	12
14	Carson Palmer	12
15	Andy Dalton	12

It's time to trust the young quarterbacks.

Guys such as Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will have huge days in Week 10, but so too will the next generation, including Jameis Winston and Carson Wentz.

Winston leads his Tampa Bay Buccaneers against the Chicago Bears while boasting 20 or more points in two of his last three outings, the exception an 18-point showing.

Those Bears? While getting healthier, the unit has still allowed 20 or more points three times. More importantly, the Bears don't have anyone who can line up with Mike Evans, making for an easy day at the office for Winston.

Wentz hasn't been as encouraging over the past few weeks, struggling alongside the rest of his Philadelphia Eagles during three NFC East encounters and a showdown with the Minnesota Vikings over his last four outings.

It's time for a change.

Wentz gets the Atlanta Falcons in Week 10; their defense is allowing the most points to quarterbacks on average. Atlanta has allowed eight touchdowns to quarterbacks over its past two outings alone, as well as six occurrences of 24 or more points.

Call it a ceiling for Wentz, who can certainly post big numbers in a shootout.

Running Backs

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	David Johnson	24
2	Melvin Gordon	22
3	Ezekiel Elliott	18
4	Jay Ajayi	16
5	DeMarco Murray	14
6	Le'Veon Bell	14
7	Devonta Freeman	13
8	Devontae Booker	13
9	Spencer Ware	13
10	LeGarrette Blount	12
11	Matt Forte	12
12	Doug Martin	12
13	Lamar Miller	12
14	Jordan Howard	11
15	Jonathan Stewart	11
16	Todd Gurley	11
17	Darren Sproles	10
18	Carlos Hyde	10
19	Ty Montgomery	10
20	Jeremy Hill	10
21	Rashad Jennings	9
22	Giovani Bernard	9
23	Tim Hightower	8
24	Mark Ingram	8
25	Christine Michael	8
26	Robert Kelley	7
27	James White	7
28	Paul Perkins	7
29	Chris Ivory	6
30	Charcandrick West	6

Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson is going to absolutely feast on the miserable San Francisco 49ers in Week 10.

But let's look at two other options besides the surefire pick. One is Dallas Cowboys rookie Ezekiel Elliott. Some might wince at the idea of a first-year player encountering the Pittsburgh Steelers defense.

Don't—past reputation doesn't matter here. The Steelers allow the fourth-most points to running backs on average this year. The unit hasn't just been bad; "miserable" is a better word, considering it has allowed three backfields to drum up 33 or more points.

Elliott, on the other hand, has 20 or more in three of his last five outings and can wear down the unit before cashing in late.

It's a similar story for Miami Dolphins running back Jay Ajayi, who has exploded onto the scene in the past few weeks with 204, 214 and 111 rushing yards and four total touchdowns in that span.

The fantasy translation: totals of 32, 27 and 18 points.

Now Ajayi faces the San Diego Chargers, a defense ranked two spots below the Steelers against backs and which surrendered four rushing scores over the past three weeks. His floor continues to look higher than most.

Wide Receivers

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Mike Evans	18
2	Odell Beckham Jr.	18
3	Larry Fitzgerald	16
4	Alshon Jeffery	15
5	Antonio Brown	15
6	Julio Jones	15
7	Jordy Nelson	14
8	Dez Bryant	14
9	A.J. Green	13
10	Jarvis Landry	13
11	Brandon Marshall*	12
12	Demaryius Thomas	11
13	Emmanuel Sanders	11
14	Julian Edelman	11
15	Kelvin Benjamin	10
16	DeAndre Hopkins	10
17	Randall Cobb	10
18	Stefon Diggs	10
19	Jordan Matthews	10
20	Ty Montgomery	10
21	Tyrell Williams	9
22	John Brown	9
23	Kenny Britt	8
24	Allen Robinson	8
25	Brandin Cooks	8
26	Doug Baldwin	8
27	Eli Rogers	8
28	Dontrelle Inman	8
29	Willie Snead	7
30	Michael Thomas	7
31	Tavon Austin	7
32	Cole Beasley	7
33	Quincy Enunwa	6
34	Rishard Matthews	6
35	Davante Adams	6

Let's take a similar approach at wide receiver. As hinted, Evans will demolish the Bears.

Elsewhere, owners can bank on a big day from Arizona veteran Larry Fitzgerald. While he's been quiet with single-digit outings since a 20-point outburst in Week 5, Fitzgerald might match that output in Week 10.

Thank the 49ers. San Francisco allows the fifth-most points to wideouts this year, as seven opposing sets in a row have hit on 21 or more points. This includes three allowances of at least 30 points. 

Fitzgerald won't get all of that on his own, of course, but facing a unit that has allowed three receiving touchdowns to wideouts over its past two outings hints at major upside.

Though the Bears have been the subject of exploitation so far, keep in mind wideout Alshon Jeffery. 

Jeffery scored his first touchdown of the year in Week 8 thanks to the return of quarterback Jay Cutler. Owners who have owned Jeffery in the past know what he can do, so it's great to hear that the Buccaneers allow the second-most points to receivers on average.

Going against a defense that has allowed six sets of opposing wideouts to score at least 28 points is incredible news. Keep in mind that this includes highs of 37 and 45 points. Expect Jeffery to score at least his second touchdown of the year.

Tight Ends

Rank	Player	Projected Points
1	Rob Gronkowski	15
2	Antonio Gates	14
3	Travis Kelce	13
4	Jordan Reed	12
5	Tyler Eifert	11
6	Greg Olsen	8
7	Jimmy Graham	8
8	Delanie Walker	8
9	Zach Miller	7
10	Kyle Rudolph	7
11	Zach Ertz	6
12	Jason Witten	6

The same approach applies to tight ends every week, as there's no sense in chatting about who Rob Gronkowski will post good numbers against.

Instead, focus on a guy like Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. He comes in as the sixth-highest scorer at his position this year going into a game against the Carolina Panthers.

Carolina is similar to Pittsburgh above—past defensive reputation doesn't matter. The Panthers allow the third-most points to tight ends on average, with a whopping five opposing sets hitting on 14 or more points.

While Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed has a more difficult matchup than Kelce, he's still one to monitor.

Reed ranks right behind Kelce in scoring despite missing games with an injury. His explosiveness helps, considering he returned in Week 8 and posted 15 points on nine catches for 99 yards and a score.

Now, a healthy Reed gets to go against the Vikings. It sounds scary, especially because the Vikings haven't allowed a touchdown to the position yet. But Reed is by far the best tight end the defense has encountered, so it seems a given that Reed will go for a big day against a unit that has crept close to disaster by allowing three occurrences of eight or more points.

Defense/Special Teams

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Cardinals	12
2	Rams	10
3	Jets	9
4	Chargers	9
5	Packers	8
6	Jaguars	7
7	Texans	7
8	Patriots	6
9	Vikings	6
10	Buccaneers	6

Another week, another pick against the New York Jets.

The Jets just can't seem to help themselves. Still ranked first in points allowed to opposing defenses, the Jets allowed 13 in Week 9 thanks to three sacks, two interceptions and a touchdown. 

Now the Los Angeles Rams get to tee off on the matchup. The Rams defense has only hit double digits twice this year and picked off four passes—but going against an offense that produced six interceptions in a single game is a good way to get back on track.

From the looks of it, the Rams will be the sixth opposing defense to score in double digits against the Jets.

Kickers

Rank	Unit	Projected Points
1	Stephen Gostkowski	12
2	Nick Novak	10
3	Matt Bryant	9
4	Caleb Sturgis	9
5	Josh Lambo	8
6	Dan Bailey	7
7	Chandler Catanzaro	7
8	Wil Lutz	6
9	Robbie Gould	6
10	Graham Gano	6

It's time for the Nick Novak show at kicker.

The big leg for the Houston Texans has quietly scored 11 or more points four times this year in quality matchups, making him a must-know commodity against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Unlike some of the above, this is as good as it sounds. The Jaguars allow the most points on average to opposing kickers, incredibly allowing six in a row to hit on 10 or more points.

Novak will merely be the seventh as his Texans cruise.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN.com standard leagues, as are points-against info and ownership stats.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.