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

Week 10 will get underway on Thursday night with an NFC East showdown between the New York Giants and Washington Commanders. While neither team in the week's opener made moves at the trade deadline, we saw moves early in the week that will impact the fantasy football landscape.

Kirk Cousins, for example, is the Minnesota Vikings' new starting quarterback. Keenan Allen is now a San Francisco 49ers receiver, while Josh Downs will catch passes for the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Jacksonville Jaguars beefed up their defense by adding Jordan Davis, Jessie Bates III, and Davon Godchaux.

Injuries will also be a factor this week, and the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Philadelphia Eagles, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be on bye. With all of this in mind, let's examine some starts, sits, and top plays for point-per-reception (PPR) play in Week 10.

Quarterback

AP Photo/Ella Hall

Tyler Shough

Top Plays

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
2. Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
3. Drake Maye, New England Patriots
4. Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
5. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Start: Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints

Tyler Shough and the rest of the New Orleans Saints offense struggled to get much of anything going early in Week 9. Then, they exploded, as Shough began making plays with both his arm and his legs.

The result for Shough was 19.7 fantasy points and a third straight game with at least 14 points. Shough should have another solid outing against a Carolina Panthers defense that has looked better since the firing of coordinator Ejiro Evero but not necessarily good.

Other Week 10 starts:

Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

Sit: Michael Penix Jr., Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Penix Jr. looked like a promising fantasy quarterback early in the season, after he returned from injury and made his 2026 debut. However, he's struggled recently and looked a lot more like the inconsistent quarterback he was in 2025.

Penix had a respectable 14.5 fantasy points in Week 9 but just 2.1 points the previous week. He's likely looking at a down week against a Chiefs defense that has surrendered the fourth-fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs.

Other Week 10 sits:

Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders

Cam Ward, Tennessee Titans

Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

Running Back

AP Photo/Kevin Ng

Jadarian Price

Top Plays

1. Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions
2. Kenneth Walker III, Kansas City Chiefs
3. James Cook, Buffalo Bills
4. Bijan Robinson, Atlanta Falcons
5. Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco 49ers

Start: Jadarian Price, Seattle Seahawks

Jadarian Price hasn't exactly wowed as a runner since coming off IR, but he's proven to be a reliable receiving option for the Seattle Seahawks. He logged four catches and 11.8 fantasy points in Week 9 and should see a prominent role this week as Drew Lock battles an oblique injury.

Expect the Seahawks to lean on the run and the short-passing game against the Las Vegas Raiders, who have surrendered the third-most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season.

Other Week 10 starts:

Ollie Gordon II, Miami Dolphins

Breece Hall, New York Jets

Rico Dowdle, Pittsburgh Steelers

Sit: Ashton Jeanty, Las Vegas Raiders

Rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza is set to get his first start against a stiff Seattle defense. Expect Seattle to box in the run and force Mendoza to win through the air, which is problematic for Jeanty.

Jeanty has struggled to make the most of running lanes this season and has seen rookie Mike Washington steal a good chunk of the rushing work. He has some PPR upside but is likely to underwhelm. He had five catches in Week 9 and still finished with just seven fantasy points.

Other Week 10 sits:

Tony Pollard, Tennessee Titans

Omarion Hampton, Los Angeles Chargers

Rachaad White, Washington Commanders

Wide Receiver

AP Photo/David Dermer

K.C. Concepcion

Top Plays

1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks
2. CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
3. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions
4. Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints
5. Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

Start: K.C. Concepcion, Cleveland Browns

Denzel Boston has garnered much of the fantasy spotlight for the Cleveland Browns this season, but fellow rookie receiver K.C. Concepcion is starting to shine. He had a 64-yard touchdown pass in Week 9 and finished with 18.8 fantasy points.

The Houston Texans' pass rush will be a problem for Cleveland. The Browns will likely look to counter by using Concepcion's after-the-catch ability on frequent short passes and receiver screens. He should have a high PPR floor against a defense that has surrendered the second-most fantasy points to opposing receivers.

Other Week 10 starts:

Jalen Coker, Carolina Panthers

Jakobi Meyers, Jacksonville Jaguars

Jordyn Tyson, New Orleans Saints

Sit: Caleb Douglas, Miami Dolphins

Rookie Miami Dolphins receiver Caleb Douglas has been a solid flex option, yielding at least eight fantasy points in each of his last three games. He also has a reasonable matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, who have surrendered an average of 24.4 fantasy points to opposing receiver groups.

The problem is that Miami has placed quarterback Malik Willis on injured reserve. With Kyle McCord now behind center for the Dolphins, it's impossible to trust Douglas in a fair but not great matchup.

Other Week 10 sits:

Tre Tucker, Las Vegas Raiders

Josh Downs, Kansas City Chiefs

Ashton Dulin, Indianapolis Colts

Tight End

AP Photo/David Dermer

Tyler Warren

Top Plays

1. Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders
2. George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
3. Isaiah Likely, New York Giants
4. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
5. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs

Start: Tyler Warren, Indianapolis Colts

The Dolphins defense has been fairly solid against the pass this season, and the Indianapolis Colts are likely to lean on Jonathan Taylor and the ground game this week. That doesn't bode well for quarterback Daniel Jones. However, Tyler Warren still looks like a strong play in Week 10.

With Allen and Downs both out in Indy, Warren should see a massive chunk of the target share. Miami, meanwhile, has surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends.

Other Week 10 starts:

Hunter Henry, New England Patriots

Pat Freiermuth, Pittsburgh Steelers

Kyle Pitts, Atlanta Falcons

Sit: Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens

We're likely to see quarterback Jacoby Brissett make his Baltimore Ravens debut on Monday night against the struggling Los Angeles Chargers. He should boost Baltimore's passing attack, but that doesn't mean that managers can trust Mark Andrews.

Andrews has fallen off in a big way this season and hasn't reached double-digit fantasy points since Week 4. The Chargers, meanwhile, have surrendered the third-fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends.

Other Week 10 sits:

Harold Fannin Jr., Cleveland Browns

Gunnar Helm, Tennessee Titans

Mason Taylor, New York Jets

*Fantasy scoring information from FantasyPros.