Week 10 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em: Fantasy Football Stars to Play and Bench

We're officially starting the stretch run of the 2022 fantasy football regular season.

Only five more weeks remain until most leagues start their playoffs, and with trade deadlines looming, it's more important than ever to make the right call in your starting lineup.

Here's a look some names to start—and to sit—as Week 10 approaches.

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Quarterback

Start: Russell Wilson (at Tennessee Titans)

If Russell Wilson is going to turn around his 2022 season, this is the week it starts. The Broncos are coming off a bye, having ample time to retool their moribund offense, and are facing off against a shaky Tennessee secondary.

Only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons are surrendering more passing yards per game than the Titans, who have given up 15 touchdown passes in eight games.

Denver added a solid pass-catching option out of the backfield in Chase Edmonds at the deadline and have gotten stellar work from rookie tight end Greg Dulcich since he made his debut last month.

It's now or never for Russ.

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Sit: Geno Smith (at Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

This season's most surprising breakout fantasy star has quietly been mediocre of late. Smith has fallen outside the top 12 in quarterbacks in three of the last four weeks, and he's set to face off against a Buccaneers secondary that's fifth in passing yards allowed per game.

Opposing quarterbacks are averaging only 6.3 yards per attempt and have been sacked 29 times by Tampa. This is an excellent defense that has propped up a terrible Bucs offense all season.

Consensus rankings have Smith ranked as QB7, but it'd be shocking if he finished as player worth starting in 12-team leagues.

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Running Back

Start: Najee Harris (vs. New Orleans Saints)

We're going to use the same post-bye logic as we did with Wilson. Harris has been dealing with a foot injury all season, and it's clearly hampered his explosiveness despite him putting on a brave public face.

The second-year back has been arguably the worst high-usage player in football this season, averaging 3.3 yards per carry and performing like a low-end flex play after being taken in the first round of fantasy drafts.

With a week off to finally rest his foot and a matchup against a Saints defense that's given up 120.9 rushing yards per game, it's past time for Harris to step up and flash his first-round talent.

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Sit: D'Andre Swift (at Chicago Bears)

Swift played 10 snaps last week. He's impossible to trust from a health standpoint, and the Lions seem satisfied with giving Jamaal Williams the bulk of the workload—and more importantly the overwhelming lion's share of the goal-line work.

Swift is an if-you're-desperate flex play this week, because there is still a chance he winds up playing and going bananas against a Bears defense that's been friendly to fantasy running backs all season.

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Wide Receiver

Start: DJ Moore (vs. Atlanta Falcons)

Moore managers are just going to have to be comfortable living in a high-variance world. Despite what's been by all accounts a wildly disappointing season, Moore has five double-digit outings and was a top-10 option in Weeks 7 and 8.

PJ Walker put together one of the worst performances you'll ever see from a quarterback in last week's loss to the Bengals, and he'll get the start Thursday night against Atlanta. It's possible we see another complete dud from Walker, with Moore's performance suffering as a result.

That said, Moore put up a season-high 152 yards when these teams met two weeks ago. He's a bonafide top-20 option this week.

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Sit: Michael Pittman Jr. (at Las Vegas Raiders)

Until Sam Ehlinger shows any capability to pass like an NFL quarterback, Pittman is a flex play at best. This is a franchise with a third-stringer starting under center and a coach who has zero experience running the show this week.

Dump every ounce of Colts stock (if you had any) before it's too late.