Week 10 Waiver Wire: Examining Top Fantasy Football Targets

Another week of NFL play brings more injuries for big names and opportunities for lesser-known stars. As a smart fantasy football player, you need to be all over the waiver wire trying to add the next potential game-changer.

DeAngelo Williams was the top waiver add in most leagues heading into last week and ended up scoring 36 points in standard leagues. While there might not be as obvious an addition heading into Week 10, there are still a lot of players who can help you immediately and possibly down the line.

Here is a look at the top names to target who are available in more than 50 percent of leagues on ESPN.

Pos.	Player	Team	Percent Owned*
QB	Marcus Mariota	Tennessee Titans	37.5
QB	Jameis Winston	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	32.6
RB	James Starks	Green Bay Packers	40.2
RB	Karlos Williams	Buffalo Bills	41.3
RB	James White	New England Patriots	1.5
RB	Brandon Bolden	New England Patriots	0.2
WR	Kamar Aiken	Baltimore Ravens	28.6
WR	Rueben Randle	New York Giants	41.6
WR	Devin Funchess	Carolina Panthers	7.1
WR	Dorial Green-Bekcham	Tennessee Titans	9.0
TE	Richard Rodgers	Green Bay Packers	29.7
TE	Jacob Tamme	Atlanta Falcons	28.1

James Starks, RB, Green Bay Packers

It might officially be time to give up on Eddie Lacy as a fantasy performer in 2015. Not only has he failed to reach double-digit fantasy points since Week 1, but he ended up with negative points in a dreadful Week 9 effort.

Steve Reed of the Associated Press broke down the running back situation for the Green Bay Packers:

James Starks has been more efficient with the ball (4.3 yards per carry to Lacy's 3.7) and has the team's only three rushes of more than 20 yards this season. Starks has also been a bigger threat in the passing game.

In Week 9, it finally seemed like the Packers realized what fans have been seeing and gave Starks the reigns to the offense. For the second time in the last three games, the veteran out-snapped Lacy, this time by a whopping 56-19, according to Pro Football Focus.

Lacy might still come back to vulture some touchdowns, but it appears Starks is the running back you want to own in this backfield.

James White/Brandon Bolden, RB, New England Patriots

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

According to Jim McBride of the Boston Globe, running back Dion Lewis will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. This leaves an opportunity for someone to step up as the passing-down specialist in the New England Patriots' dynamic offense, a role worthy of fantasy consideration.

Both James White and Brandon Bolden are listed here because Bill Belichick hates your fantasy team. Even if one seems like he will be the better option, the other could easily take over the role. Give both at least the week to show what they can do in a game.

As far as which you should target, White appears to be the better bet. Although Bolden had a bigger role when Lewis got hurt in Week 9, he was only active thanks to his special teams work. When Lewis was injured in Week 7, it was White who got the majority of looks and 64 percent of snaps, while Bolden was a healthy scratch, as noted by Pro Football Focus.

ESPN's Mike Reiss noted that White currently sits above Bolden on the depth chart, while adding a free agent remains a possibility:

Once again, no one knows what is going on inside Belichick's head, but White appears to be the smarter choice off waivers.

Kamar Aiken, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Gail Burton/Associated Press

For those of you who didn't pick up Kamar Aiken last week while he was on a bye, now is the chance to grab the new No. 1 receiver for the Baltimore Ravens. With Steve Smith Sr. out for the season with a torn Achilles, the team is left without many options in the passing game.

Quarterback Joe Flacco discussed the work put in during the bye week to get acclimated with a number of new targets, via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com:

"

We came out here this week and worked on some new things, trying to get ourselves some completions and get guys open in simple ways that everybody can react to and play fast with. That’s the biggest thing. We’ve got a young group, I think they’re talented, and we’ve just got to get better and better.

"

Chris Givens could potentially play a role in the passing game, but Aiken is the best bet after ranking second on the team with 25 catches and 333 yards at the midway point of the year. The undrafted free agent totaled 77 receiving yards and a touchdown when Smith first injured his back earlier in the season and had 78 yards with the veteran inactive in the next game. In Week 8, Aiken caught all six of his targets for 62 yards.

Flacco has to throw the ball to someone, and Aiken is just good enough to be the top option in this offense.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Consistency hasn't always been great for Marcus Mariota, but when the rookie is good, he is very good. The quarterback threw four touchdown passes with no interceptions Sunday, marking the second time he has done that this season.

The first-round draft pick finally looks healthy and comfortable under center. Just as importantly, a coaching change might have helped put the player in a better position to succeed, as noted by ESPN's Field Yates:

An upcoming matchup against the Carolina Panthers could be tough for Mariota to replicate his recent success, but the schedule opens up after that with two games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and one against the Oakland Raiders. This could be a lot of points for those who stick with the quarterback.

Pos.	Player	Team	Percent Owned*
QB	Landry Jones	Pittsburgh Steelers	0.8
QB	Johnny Manziel	Cleveland Browns	6.1
RB	Shaun Draughn	San Francisco 49ers	3.4
RB	Taiwan Jones	Oakland Raiders	2.7
RB	Jay Ajayi	Miami Dolphins	1.8
RB	Orleans Darkwa	New York Giants	7.9
WR	Cole Beasley	Dallas Cowboys	3.0
WR	Bryan Walters	Jacksonville Jaguars	0.7
WR	Griff Whalen	Indianapolis Colts	0.8
WR	Quinton Patten	San Francisco 49ers	0.0
WR	Wes Welker	St. Louis Rams	0.1
TE	Clive Walford	Oakland Raiders	0.6
TE	Garrett Celek	San Francisco 49ers	0.9

Shaun Draughn took the bulk of the carries for the San Francisco 49ers with Carlos Hyde out, finishing with 58 rushing yards on 16 attempts. He will have some value as long as he's a starter, although his upside is certainly limited in a poor offense.

Johnny Manziel is certainly an intriguing option if he can hold on to the starting job for the Cleveland Browns. He didn't exactly light up the scoreboard in his Thursday night start against the Cincinnati Bengals but did show a lot of improvement, as noted by Brad Evans of Yahoo Sports:

With his ability to run the ball, the former first-round pick could be a valuable fantasy commodity, especially against weaker matchups.

At receiver, there are a lot of slot-type players coming off big weeks who can't necessarily be trusted to replicate these stats. You can add them and hope for the best, but there is a major risk until they prove otherwise.

Dorial Green-Beckham might qualify more of a long-term add, but the rookie might be a higher priority after finishing with five catches for 77 yards on a team-high 10 targets. Mariota is looking his way, and he now has an opportunity to shine with Kendall Wright injured, giving him all the opportunity to become a fantasy stud.

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