Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings: Risers and Fallers

With 10 weeks almost in the books, we are now hitting the home stretch. For fantasy owners, decisions regarding waiver pickups, trades and lineup moves will be both meticulous and agonizing.

With the playoffs just around the corner, things are starting to become clearer. Week 10 had its fill of risers and fallers, and in the following slideshow, I will discuss the latest movers and shakers from the fantasy football landscape.

So, here then are Week 10’s five biggest risers and fallers.

Riser: Danario Alexander, San Diego Chargers

The Chargers have had a lot of trouble finding an adequate receiver opposite Malcom Floyd, as guys like Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal have failed to make an impression in the Chargers passing game.

Enter Alexander.

Alexander has proved to be a boon to a slumping Chargers offense, and he had his coming out party on Sunday, as he recorded five receptions for 134 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers. In his last two games, Alexander has eight receptions for 195 yards.

Alexander won’t have many outings like he did on Sunday, but he can be a valuable flex play and is a good pickup off the wire for added depth.

Riser: Cecil Shorts, Jacksonville Jaguars

The long and short(s) about Cecil is that he is legit.

Many people thought Shorts was a fluky play and that playing on a putrid offense would doom his value. However, Shorts is proving to be a valuable commodity in the Jaguars’ passing offense, as he has racked up 21 receptions for 356 yards and two touchdowns in his last four games.

Just look at Shorts’ targets (39 in his last four games) to realize how involved he is in the Jags offense.

If he is available in your league, Shorts is a must-add.

Riser: Chris Ivory, New Orleans Saints

While many may have shrugged their shoulders at the thought of adding Ivory after last Monday night’s contest (10 carries for 48 yards and a touchdown), Ivory is starting to impress the Saints coaches and posted even better numbers this past Sunday.

In the Saints’ win over the Falcons on Sunday, Ivory had seven carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Although the Saints fed the ball more to Mark Ingram (16 carries for 67 yards) in the absence of Darren Sproles, Ivory was the more impressive of the two.

Ivory has been useful in spurts before, and at this point, he is worth a flier.

Riser: Marcel Reece, Oakland Raiders

With the Raiders sans Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson, Marcel Reece took the lion’s share of carries for the Raiders against the Ravens on Sunday, leaving Taiwan Jones (who was thought to get some carries) in his wake.

Reece was solid on Sunday, as he rushed for 48 yards on 13 carries while also hauling in seven catches for 56 yards. Simply put, if you are in a PPR-league, Reece is a must-add—whether or not you’re a McFadden owner.

While McFadden is out—and maybe even when he returns—Reece will be an integral part of the Raiders offense going forward. Pick up Reece and start him with confidence.

Riser: Andre Brown, New York Giants

After opening strong early in the season while Ahmad Bradshaw was out, Brown then fizzled as he was phased out of the Giants game plan.

However, Brown may be back in the good graces of Tom Coughlin and the Giants, as Bradshaw had a setback on Sunday in regards to his foot problems. Plus, Bradshaw had two fumbles on Sunday. In his stead, Brown rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown on seven carries against the Bengals.

Brown has been used as a goal-line back prior to Bradshaw getting hurt, scoring in five of the six games he has played in prior to Sunday’s game.

After the Giants’ bye this week, Brown—if Bradshaw is healthy or not—should be more involved in the Giants’ plans going forward.

Faller: Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

Sooner or later, Vick was going to take a hit hard enough to take him out of a game, and it happened this Sunday against the Cowboys, as Vick had to leave the game with a concussion.

Vick has been playing behind a very suspect line, and he’ll have to pass a battery of tests before he can return to the field. That’s not Vick’s only problem, though. Vick's replacement, Nick Foles, did a solid job (6-9 for 70 yards and a touchdown) in his absence, and with Andy Reid’s job on the line, don’t be surprised if he commits to Foles long-term.

Vick is not someone you can trust in these next few, vital weeks.

Faller: Eli Manning, New York Giants

What’s wrong with Eli?

For a two-time Super Bowl MVP, Manning sure looks lost of late. Manning extended his streak of not throwing a touchdown pass to three games in the Giants' loss to the Bengals on Sunday. Even worse is the fact that his highest watermark for passing yards in the last three games is the 215 yards he passed for against the Bengals. Yech!

Eventually he will get it together, and the bye week is coming at an opportune time for Manning. This will give Manning time to fix things within his offense.

For now, you should treat Manning as a matchup-only play. That being said, Manning does have a favorable schedule ahead of him.

Faller: Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints

With the Saints getting added production from Mark Ingram and Chris Ivory of late, Thomas has taken a backseat in the Saints offense.

On Sunday, Thomas hardly registered in fantasy circles, as he was good for only 10 rushing yards on five carries with only one catch for six yards.

Thomas is nothing more than a desperation play these days and, in some cases, could be waiver-wire fodder.

Faller: Rashad Jennings, Jacksonville Jaguars

When Maurice Jones-Drew went down with a sprained foot, the feeling was that Jennings would be an admirable fill-in. However, plans often go awry, and Jennings has done nothing to impress.

In his last game on Thursday night against the Colts, Jennings rushed for only 26 measly yards on 11 carries.

Now that Jones-Drew is close to returning (at best, he’ll be listed as questionable for Week 11), Jennings usefulness is coming to an end.

Faller: Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants

Considering how well Andre Brown ran on Sunday combined with his lingering foot problems, Bradshaw finds himself trending in the wrong direction.

On Sunday, Bradshaw rushed for only 57 yards on 10 carries with two fumbles. Bradshaw has not topped 80 yards rushing in his last four games while being held out of the end zone in his last three contests.

With the emergence of Brown and Bradshaw’s injury problems, Bradshaw may be an advisable sit coming out of the bye week—even if he is cleared to play.

Follow me on Twitter @Stacdemon