Week 10 Waiver Wire: Taylor Gabriel, Mychal Rivera Highlight Pickups to Know

Bye weeks may be winding down, but the need for fantasy owners to keep an eye on the waiver wire will continue. Due to injuries and other unexpected scenarios throughout the season, you never know when it will be necessary to rely on a bench player to produce pivotal fantasy points in any given week.

Let's hope you have plenty of upside residing in the reserves at that point.

Even if your bench is currently as barren as the Oakland Raiders' win column, there's still hope. New fantasy stars are emerging by the week, and pouncing on one of these players as the waiver period commences could solve all of your fantasy woes.

So, which players should you keep a keen eye on heading into Week 10 of the 2014 NFL season? Here's the list.

Taylor Gabriel, WR, Cleveland Browns (0.7 percent owned)

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Gabriel was instrumental in the Browns' victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 9. His explosiveness is beginning to catch the eye of quarterback Brian Hoyer, and the duo hooked up five times for 87 yards and a touchdown Sunday.

The wide receiver found himself wide open down the right sideline, and a scrambling Hoyer threw back across the field and allowed the rookie's speed to do the rest of the work. Gabriel took the reception 34 yards for the score. This is just one small example of what Gabriel has done over the past two weeks.

In Week 8, he caught only two passes, but one of those was a 48-yarder from Hoyer in the Browns' win over the Oakland Raiders. That showing appeared to pave the way for more targets for the receiver, as he saw six targets in Week 9, good enough for second on the team.

Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus tweeted his thoughts on Gabriel's growing rapport with Hoyer:

If Gabriel continues to see a similar number of targets in the coming weeks, he could have big performances against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans—two teams that have given up a number of big pass plays this season.

Even if you don't plan on starting Gabriel, after another big game or two, he could be a very nice sell-high candidate for owners making a push into their fantasy leagues' playoffs.

Mychal Rivera, TE, Oakland Raiders (2.0 percent owned)

Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images

Tight end may be the thinnest fantasy position, so it's always great news when another breakout candidate emerges. That may be the case for Rivera following his stunning performance in Week 9 against the Seattle Seahawks.

Rivera seems to have earned the trust of rookie quarterback Derek Carr. The tight end was targeted a team-high 11 times Sunday, accumulating eight receptions for 38 yards and two touchdowns. While he didn't rack up the yardage, those looks in the red zone are very appealing.

Clay broke down Rivera's production compared to the team's wide receivers:

It wasn't the first week Rivera had caught the eye of Carr. In Week 8 against the Browns, the tight end was targeted nine times, recording seven receptions for 83 yards. That makes a total of 20 targets in two games—a huge number for any tight end.

If Rivera continues to act as Carr's security blanket going forward, he'll have significant fantasy value throughout a remaining schedule that will require plenty of passing.

Jordan Matthews, WR, Philadelphia Eagles (10.9 percent owned)

Patric Schneider/Associated Press

Sure, it can be argued that Matthews hasn't done much of anything since his two-touchdown performance against the Washington Redskins in Week 3; however, he may have a different quarterback at the helm for the foreseeable future.

Quarterback Nick Foles suffered a broken clavicle Sunday and could miss significant time, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

Enter backup Mark Sanchez.

Soon after Sanchez entered Sunday's game in the second quarter against the Houston Texans, he found Matthews up the seam for an 11-yard touchdown strike. The receiver finished the game with three receptions for 40 yards and a score on four targets. That's a 10-point fantasy performance.

Sanchez should have a decent rapport with Matthews considering the time they've spent together with the second-team offense in practices. That could lead to more looks in the rookie's direction from the team's replacement signal-caller.

Matt Asiata, RB, Minnesota Vikings (26.8 percent owned)

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

He's back!

Asiata fell by the wayside due to the emergence of Jerick McKinnon and was expected to be relegated to change-of-pace duties in Week 9 against the Washington Redskins, but he came away with a far bigger role than what most fantasy owners expected.

Yes, the bruising Asiata is behind McKinnon in the pecking order; however, Sunday's game proved he's the team's goal-line back as well. The rookie ball-carrier notched three touchdowns against Washington, two from one yard out and one from seven yards out.

Here's a fun fact about Asiata's touchdown-scoring ways, via ESPN Stats & Info:

While he shouldn't be expected to duplicate this feat going forward, he may be worth a spot on the bench due to his high upside against weaker run defenses in touchdown-heavy leagues.

After all, the weather will start getting colder as the weeks go by, and the need for touchdown-scoring ball-carriers will be at a premium.

Chase Ford, TE, Minnesota Vikings (0.1 percent owned)

USA TODAY Sports

Ford has quietly emerged as the Vikings' No. 2 receiving option for rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. The second-year pro garnered plenty of attention from the team's signal-caller Sunday against the Redskins, earning seven targets and coming away with five receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.

That marked the second time in as many weeks the tight end had eclipsed the 60-yard receiving mark. One week prior, Ford caught all six of his targets for 61 yards against Tampa Bay.

Ford has now accumulated the second-most targets in two consecutive contests, and a red-zone look in Week 9 only adds to his fantasy appeal. After all, tight ends who become known as scoring machines are highly coveted (see: Allen, Dwayne).

According to Brian Murphy of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Kyle Rudolph is still expected to miss a couple of weeks:

Grab Ford off the waiver wire as a legitimate option until that happens.

Honorable Mentions

Player	Pos.	Team	Percent Owned
Ryan Tannehill	QB	MIA	40.5
Carson Palmer	QB	AZ	42.8
Terrance West	RB	CLE	30.9
Tre Mason	RB	STL	49.1
Jonas Gray	RB	NE	17.7
Allen Hurns	WR	JAX	10.9
Jarvis Landry	WR	MIA	7.9
Kenny Stills	WR	NO	6.4
Charles Clay	TE	MIA	20.2

All statistics and ownership percentages courtesy of ESPN and current as of November 2 at 9:30 p.m. ET.