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

Week 10 of the NFL season begins what should be considered fantasy football's equivalent to boxing's championship rounds. Over the next several weeks, any owner vying for a position in the playoffs must make a strong push for a shot at the big dance and a league title.

Unfortunately, that won't be very easy this week due to an immense amount of teams on a bye, plaguing fantasy rosters with inactive star players. If your usual studs are named Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, Tom Brady, Antonio Gates or Philip Rivers, you're certainly looking at using your reserves—or even some waiver-wire additions.

So, here's the big question: Which of these replacement players are worthy of a start in Week 10? After all, one wrong move could make or break a fantasy season this deep in the year. Below are a handful of players worthy of a start this week, followed by others who should be best left on the bench.

As always, good luck.

Start 'Em

Pos.	Player	Team	Opponent
QB	Matt Ryan	Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
RB	Jeremy Hill	Cincinnati Bengals	Cleveland Browns
RB	Ronnie Hillman	Denver Broncos	Oakland Raiders
WR	Mike Evans	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Atlanta Falcons
WR	Martavis Bryant	Pittsburgh Steelers	New York Jets

If Matt Ryan is gracing your roster this week, he's a great choice to slide into your starting lineup. After a couple of huge games early in the season, the Atlanta Falcons signal-caller's numbers have dropped off significantly, posting 15 or fewer points in each of his last four contests.

One big reason for the drop in production was injuries suffered along the offensive line. Despite having great weapons at his disposal in Julio Jones and Roddy White, the quarterback wasn't given enough time to throw, and his fantasy numbers suffered as a result.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

Expect that to change this week, as Ryan faces off against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that ranks 27th against quarterbacks and dead last against wide receivers in the fantasy realm. The Buccaneers are allowing an average of 18.6 fantasy points per game to opposing signal-callers, and with talent around him, Ryan is very likely to at least match that number.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill is poised to get his fantasy owners off to a great start on Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns. Hill lit up the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9 with Giovani Bernard inactive due to injury. He rushed 24 times for 154 yards and two scores, racking up 27 fantasy points.

Coley Harvey of ESPN relayed the strong probability of Hill getting a similar number of carries once again in Week 10 with Bernard likely out:

Hill is coming off a great performance, and he's likely to repeat in Week 10 against a Browns defense that is giving up an average of 18.4 fantasy points per game. Start this rookie with confidence.

Ronnie Hillman is another running back fantasy owners should quickly plug into their starting lineups. He's coming off a poor showing against the New England Patriots; however, he's likely to get back on track this week against an Oakland Raiders defense allowing an average of 22.1 fantasy points to running backs each week.

Before Denver's Week 9 loss, Hillman carried at least 14 times in his previous four games, accumulating no less than 64 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Expect him to get back to those numbers against a shaky Oakland defense in Week 10.

Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans really broke out against the Browns in Week 9. Quarterback Mike Glennon hooked up with the rookie seven times, accumulating 124 yards and two scores. The duo appear to have generated a nice amount of chemistry, and that will serve them well against the Falcons on Sunday.

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Atlanta is giving up an average of 23.3 fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, and due to the Buccaneers' lackluster secondary, these teams should be expected to engage in a shootout. This makes Evans a great commodity for fantasy owners this week.

Martavis Bryant wasn't a name on any fantasy owner's radar a few weeks ago, but based on recent performances, that's changed significantly. Bryant has become a trusted option for the red-hot Ben Roethlisberger lately, and that's resulted in five receiving touchdowns over the past three games.

Nathan Jahnke of Pro Football Focus tweeted the wide receiver's increased snap count in Week 9:

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to face a New York Jets team that's allowing an average of 21.7 fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season. Considering the way Roethlisberger has been playing lately, expect the Steelers wideouts to better that number on Sunday.

Sit 'Em

Pos.	Player	Team	Opponent
QB	Eli Manning	New York Giants	Seattle Seahawks
RB	Lamar Miller	Miami Dolphins	Detroit Lions
RB	Ben Tate	Cleveland Browns	Cincinnati Bengals
WR	Golden Tate	Detroit Lions	Miami Dolphins
WR	Doug Baldwin	Seattle Seahawks	New York Giants

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning could have a rough go on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. Not only does he have to deal with a loud, hostile environment and a depleted wide receiver corps, but he's going up against a team that has only allowed an average of 14.6 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Manning has put up solid numbers over his last two contests, scoring 22 and 21 fantasy points, respectively. However, many of those points were due to the emergence of rookie wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus tweeted why the rookie may not fare so well in Week 10:

If Beckham is blanketed by Richard Sherman, Manning's fantasy value dips significantly due to the inconsistency of Rueben Randle this season. There are better options at quarterback out there this week.

Miami Dolphins running back Lamar Miller has been a surprisingly good fantasy option this year. Unfortunately, that won't be the case on Sunday against a stingy Detroit Lions defense that's only allowing an average of 13.9 fantasy points to opposing running backs per game.

Detroit has only allowed touchdowns to opposing ball-carriers four times this season, and Miller may not be able to make it five due to a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. SI Wire tweeted the running back was expected to play against the Lions on Sunday:

"

Report: Dolphins RB Lamar Miller has a good chance of playing Sunday vs. the Lions http://t.co/dCzm9HdYKE pic.twitter.com/QTibE7avav

— SI Wire (@SI_Wire) November 4, 2014"

Although, his value is slightly limited, as he probably won't be 100 percent against a very good defense.

It may seem strange to call for owners to sit Browns running back Ben Tate against a Bengals defense that's allowing an average of 19.8 fantasy points to opposing ball-carriers, but that's exactly the case for Week 10.

Tate has fallen out of favor in Cleveland, as Terrance West has begun to carry the bulk of the workload. In Week 9 against the Buccaneers, Tate only carried 10 times and gained just three yards. Expect West to continue to be this team's workhorse and don't get caught with Tate in your starting lineup on Thursday.

Golden Tate has been absolute money for fantasy owners this season. Over his last five games, he eclipsed the century mark four times and scored three touchdowns. However, that was due to a heavy amount of targets in the absence of Calvin Johnson. Well, that will change this week with Johnson back in the fold, via SportsCenter:

Not only will Tate's targets go down this week, but he's facing a Dolphins secondary that's been fantastic against the pass recently. Miami is only allowing an average of 16.6 fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers and gave up just 10 to wideouts on a potent San Diego Chargers offense just one week ago.

Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin has been hampered by a groin injury of late, and that translated to a lackluster showing in Week 9 against the Oakland Raiders. The injury appears to still be bothersome, as John Boyle of the Everett Herald tweeted the uncertainty of the receiver's status:

If Baldwin does go, he won't have as easy of a matchup against a Giants secondary as most would think. New York has been good against opposing wide receivers this season, allowing an average of 20.1 fantasy points per game. Seattle's offense hasn't really been firing on all cylinders lately, making Baldwin an even riskier play.

All fantasy numbers courtesy of ESPN.com and current as of November 5.