NFL
HomeScoresDraftRumorsFantasyB/R 99: Top QBs of All Time
Featured Video
EPIC NFL Thanksgiving Slate 🙌
Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Predicting Fantasy Football's Hottest Waiver-Wire Names of NFL Week 10

Jim McCormickNov 12, 2015

The New England Patriots have the top offense in football and a sudden vacancy for a passing-down back. The team's top yardage tailback, Dion Lewis, was recently lost for the season, per ESPN.com, leaving an opening for either Brandon Bolden or James White to assume a potentially valuable role.

Our money is on White consuming a valuable share of passing duties for the Pats. From fantasy free agent to worthy waiver acquisition, we see new commodities emerge each week in the NFL. We're here to uncover more meaningful commodities that the market isn't really recognizing. The idea is to value speculation and use the bottom rungs of fantasy rosters with some fluidity as we seek enduring assets. 

Proactive management can save a fantasy season. It's best to be a week early on an intriguing prospect rather than sit on some low-ceiling veterans at the end of your imaginary bench.

Please join us as we delve into some interesting skill players who might be earning FAAB, or free-agent auction budget, cash or high waiver bids after Week 10. As always, please share any names and numbers in the comments section that interest you as under-the-radar assets heading into this weekend's NFL action.

The Detroit Lions' Joique Bell Could Finish Strong

1 of 5

The Detroit Lions have just 557 rushing yards this season, the fewest in the league by 146 yards. Parts of these rushing woes are due to injuries and underwhelming play from Joique Bell, a staple of our spell check and a formerly successful fantasy asset. 

Bell was 14th among fantasy backs last season in fantasy points per game in ESPN leagues and is now available in over 65 percent of ESPN leagues. The Pittsburgh Steelers' Le'Veon Bell, who is out for the season, is rostered in more leagues than Detroit's Bell.

We get that Bell has fewer than 20 fantasy points on the year and is playing for a suspect overall offense. What we also get is that the running back position is a wasteland in regard to mining for meaningful assets this late into the season. The picture above is evidence Bell can still break free, as he looked surprisingly spry and physical in London in Week 8, and he now enters the coming weeks as the likely lead for early-down duties in Detroit. 

A new offensive coordinator and scheme could benefit Bell, and at the least he'll cost you just a roster spot to find out. For those seeking other insurance policies in the backfield for this crucial coming stretch of the fantasy regular season, we can also look to the Miami Dolphins' Jay Ajayi, a must-own handcuff behind Lamar Miller and also an independent addition in deeper leagues if Miller were to ever get hurt. 

Eric Ebron Could Thrive in the Lions' New Offense

2 of 5

Eric Ebron of the Detroit Lions is 14th in fantasy points per game at tight end in ESPN leagues and on a team that often presents positive game-flow scenarios for its top targets. What we mean when we discuss game flow is the idea that the Lions' inept defense, which allows the most points per drive in the league (2.5), can inflate passing numbers, as the Lions regularly trail. 

The Green Bay Packers haven't lost to the Lions at home since 1991, with some telling information from ESPN Stats & Info on the lopsided division rivalry: "It’s been so long that in 1991, the Detroit Tigers and the Milwaukee Brewers were in the same division—playing in the American League East, Brett Favre was still a member of the [Atlanta] Falcons, Aaron Rodgers was eight years old and [Matthew] Stafford was three."

With the Packers poised as heavy favorites over the Lions in Lambeau, per Odds Shark, game flow could once again trend pass-heavy for Detroit, opening up a window of valuable exposure and attention for Ebron. The Packers rank 26th in defending opposing tight ends in regard to yardage allowance and have ceded 546 yards to the position this season, seventh-most in the NFL.

At a shallow and fickle tight end spot, Ebron is the rare emerging talent to consider past the streaming tier at the position. 

Dorial Green-Beckham Is a Rising Rookie to Consider

3 of 5

Raw rookie Dorial Green-Beckham led the the Tennessee Titans with 10 targets this past week and is finally earning the extra work we've heard about all season. Unlike former Tennessee Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt, new head man Mike Mularkey seems to actually follow through with his public declarations. 

The team has talked about getting its talented rookie more exposure and usage in recent weeks, and now we're finally seeing the on-field manifestation of the hype. Signal-caller Marcus Mariota already has a strong rapport with tight end Delanie Walker, but we've yet to see him build chemistry with an outside weapon as of yet, which offers "DGB" rare upside for the stretch run of the fantasy season. 

Still a risky and raw prospect to deploy as a starter in fantasy formats at this stage, Green-Beckham, a former 5-star superstar recruit, could become a difference-maker down the line if we continue to see a healthy target share from a talented quarterback head his way.

TOP NEWS

Colts Jaguars Football
Rams Seahawks Football
Mississippi Football

Panthers Rookie Devin Funchess Could Emerge in the Second Half

4 of 5

A tall and rangy downfield target, the Carolina Panthers' rookie wideout, Devin Funchess, is finally converting offseason fantasy hype into actual on-field production.

Despite hauling in just 42 percent of his targets on the season, it's worth noting Funchess is averaging 16.1 yards per reception and is seeing a healthy target share when he's on the field this season. The Panthers, despite being undefeated, desperately need some help in the passing game past Greg Olsen and an inconsistent Ted Ginn, offering Funchess the potential for increased usage and exposure down the stretch. 

While he might never replicate Kelvin Benjamin's brilliant debut season, Funchess can still offer some fantasy fun given a big-armed quarterback in Cam Newton and a realistic route to increased attention. It helps, by the way, that Funchess hauled in three of four targets in Week 9 for 71 yards and a score in a crucial conference victory over the Packers.

This type of production signals momentum, but the market is still asleep to his potential, as Funchess can be found for free in well over 90 percent of ESPN leagues.

Cheap Shares of the Raiders' Marcel Reece Could Prove Profitable

5 of 5

The quick and simple pitch here is the Oakland Raiders' Latavius Murray is proving questionable for duty this week with a concussion suffered in Week 9, per ESPN's Bill Williamson, opening up a short-term usage window for the team's fullback, Marcel Reece, to etch a one-week wonder role for Oakland. 

Reece has been a receiving maven before and has proven quite capable of heavy workloads in the past, suggesting that, while enduring value might escape his profile, those seeking a savvy spot start, especially in point-per-reception formats, would be wise to rent Reece for at least this coming Sunday. If nothing else, Murray's investors should seek out Reece as a sound insurance policy. 

EPIC NFL Thanksgiving Slate 🙌

TOP NEWS

Colts Jaguars Football
Rams Seahawks Football
Mississippi Football
Packers Bears Football

TRENDING ON B/R