Fantasy Football Week 10: Takeaways from Sunday's Action

We’re here to discuss the most meaningful performances and fantasy football trends that emerged from Week 10 in the NFL.

It was a revealing week for the Dallas Cowboys' elite tandem of offensive rookies, as both Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott delivered big numbers in a dramatic comeback win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon. 

We detail Dallas' rare duo as well as a number of other meaningful moments from Week 10 in this appraisal of the fantasy football marketplace. As always, please feel free to add your thoughts and questions in the comments below.  

Allen Robinson Ascending in New Offensive Attack

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Investors in Allen Robinson have been disappointed for much of the season. The Jacksonville Jaguars' star wideout has struggled in working with an inefficient Blake Bortles over the first two months of the campaign, but with new offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett in place over the past two weeks, we've finally seen an uptick in production from the Penn State product.

Robinson averaged eight receptions and 91.5 yards and a touchdown over the past two games. Through Week 8, Robinson averaged just 4.6 receptions, 52.3 yards and .43 touchdowns per game.

With more success on vertical targets and increased efficiency in the red zone, Robinson is regaining lost luster and could be a fine buy-low asset given his more successful role in Hackett's scheme.

Ezekiel Elliott Leads Explosive Offensive Outing for Dallas

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The Dallas Cowboys' duo of elite offensive rookies is rewriting the record books. Dak Prescott is delivering one of the most productive and efficient rookie signal-caller seasons in league history, while tailback Ezekiel Elliott is chasing Eric Dickerson's record 1983 season with vigor.

Elliott delivered the highest fantasy score of the entire Week 10 slate on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, tallying 209 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in a defining performance. The Ohio State product's 176 fantasy points in ESPN standard leagues through nine games is the fourth-most by any running back through as many games, according to ESPN's Tristan Cockcroft.

Prescott produced 319 yards and two scores in another clean and concise effort from the pocket. The team announced on Sunday night Tony Romo will return next week as the backup to Prescott, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

It's entirely encouraging for Dez Bryant's investors to see Prescott find Dez Bryant downfield with accuracy on Sunday. Bryant finished the day with 17 fantasy points, in ESPN standard leagues, matching his season high and reestablishing the valuable rapport with Prescott we witnessed in Week 8 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

With meetings against soft defenses such as the Tampa Bay Bucs and Detroit Lions deep into the fantasy playoffs, this dynamic Dallas duo of professional freshmen could lead many teams to imaginary glory this winter.

Marcus Mariota Is Officially a QB1 in Fantasy Football

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With yet another awesome scoring performance from the Tennessee Titans' Marcus Mariota, he now has multiple touchdowns in six straight games and the most fantasy points in ESPN leagues since the start of Week 5.

Mariota's third career game with four touchdowns means he's now third in franchise history—dating back to the Houston Oilers era—which ranks third behind Warren Moon's five and George Blanda's 11 such performances, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

ESPN Stats & Info also shares that this is the first time in franchise history the team has scored at least 35 points in three straight games.

The depleted Indianapolis Colts are up next for Mariota and elite tailback DeMarco Murray, signaling must-start status in all season-long leagues and building block interest in daily fantasy competition.

Stefon Diggs Is a Reception Hog in Minnesota's New Scheme

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The Minnesota Vikings are struggling on the ground, so the team is using the short passing game to move the ball.

A key beneficiary of this approach has been second-year star receiver Stefon Diggs, as he's enjoyed at least 10 targets in three straight games under new offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur.

In fact, Diggs is the highest-scoring receiver in fantasy points to not have a touchdown in Week 10—thanks to producing 164 yards on 13 receptions in a loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon.

As Mark Craig of the Star Tribune reported earlier this past week, quarterback Sam Bradford is capably utilizing Diggs as a possession valve to move the chains:

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“I’ve said it from the beginning that I’m very comfortable with Stefon,” Bradford said. “He’s one of the guys I felt like we hit it off in terms of chemistry. I think last game he just did a great job of kind of finding some of the soft spots in the zone underneath, which is why we utilized him so much in the quick-game stuff.”

"

As a rising commodity in points-per-reception formats, Diggs' new high-volume reception role is proving valuable.

Doug Martin Finds the End Zone in Return to Action

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While it took a late-game touchdown to salvage his fantasy value in Week 10, it's encouraging to note the Tampa Bay Bucs' Doug Martin played on 31 snaps and netted a team-high 17 touches in the blowout win over the Chicago Bears, per Pro Football Focus. 

Despite earning just 2.06 yards per carry, it's most impressive that Martin was able to endure so many touches in his return from a lengthy absence due to a significant hamstring injury.

As for Martin's resurgent fantasy value, consider his inviting playoff schedule—the Bucs face the San Diego Chargers in Week 13 followed by two meetings with the New Orleans Saints in Week 14 and 16, respectively.

Given his apparent ability to handle a full workload and the aforementioned soft playoff schedule, we advise pursuing Martin as your league's trade deadline approaches.

Kenny Britt on Pace for Career Season

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Based on their well-earned reputation as one of the league's most languid offenses, managers naturally avoid the Los Angeles Rams' roster for fantasy purposes.

Todd Gurley has been an abject disappointment this season, but we do find one worthy weekly option to consider, as veteran wideout Kenny Britt is enjoying a mid-career breakout.

Britt is 11th in the NFL in receiving yards, ahead of the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Jordy Nelson and Alshon Jeffery to name a few. The big-play maven is also on pace for 76 catches and 1,232 yards on the season, well ahead of his career high of 775 yards set in his second season back in 2010.

We didn't expect Britt to deliver such a standout season, but as managers, we must react to the reality of the market and allocate more trust in him in both season-long and daily fantasy.

Ryan Mathews Resurrects Fantasy Stock in Strong Showing

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The Philadelphia Eagles' Ryan Mathews played on just 16 combined snaps for 11 total touches over Week 8 and 9 this season, per Pro Football Focus, but finally broke out with 26 snaps and 21 touches on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Mathews rumbled his way to a season-high 139 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns in the key win for the Eagles in a battle of the birds in South Philly.

The performance earned Mathews 27 fantasy points, ranked second at the position in ESPN leagues for the week. It's difficult to trust Mathews' uptick in usage as enduring given how variant the touches have proven for the Philly backfield this season.

While the team faces a tough stretch of run defenses to finish the season, marketing Mathews as a sell-high or as a complementary asset in a two-for-one deal could prove prudent after this big game.

Tampa's Cameron Brate Merits Attention as a TE1

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The main fantasy narrative from the Tampa Bay Bucs' convincing win over the Chicago Bears likely centers around the return of feature back Doug Martin, but we should also note tight end Cameron Brate's emergence as a viable starting tight end.

Brate delivered a career-high 84 yards in Week 10 and ranks second at the position in fantasy points in ESPN leagues through the Sunday night game.

The Harvard product has now scored in three straight games. Brate leads the team in red-zone targets over the past three games and is second on the team only to Mike Evans in targets over the past month.

At a shallow and fickle fantasy position such as tight end, Brate merits increased attention going forward, as he's available in over 60 percent of ESPN leagues as of Sunday night.

James Starks Dominates Snaps for the Packers' Backfield

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It was unclear heading into Sunday if James Starks would even be active for the Green Bay Packers' tilt against the Tennessee Titans, so it's heartening to learn he played 55 of the team's 78 snaps, good for 70.5 percent of the team's offensive plays, per Pro Football Focus

Ty Montgomery, meanwhile, played just 22 snaps for a 22.8 percent share, his lowest exposure rate since Week 5, again per PFF.

With a touchdown via the pass in the red zone and a leading share of carries and targets from the backfield in Week 10, Starks is now a savvy waiver acquisition as the team's top tailback going forward.

Washington's Rob Kelley Shines in Starting Role

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Washington Redskins coach Jay Gruden spent the past week telling reporters Rob Kelley had vaulted ahead of Matt Jones on the tailback totem pole and would see the majority of touches from the backfield in Week 10.

While coachspeak is often tough to trust, Gruden indeed allocated the vast majority of touches and snaps to Kelley in the team's win over the Minnesota Vikings. The undrafted rookie played on 66.7 percent of the Redskins' offensive snaps, the highest rate of his young career, per Pro Football Focus.

With 44 touches over the past two games and the Green Bay Packers' reeling defense up next, adding Kelley—available in over half of ESPN leagues as of Sunday night—is a savvy move as we head towards the fantasy playoffs.

Antonio Gates Is a Fantasy Fixture Once Again

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The San Diego Chargers' Antonio Gates leads all tight ends with 47 targets since the start of Week 5. This total is 17th overall in the NFL over this span and has supported TE1 production from the proven veteran.

Gates has scored a touchdown in three straight games and is now just three scores shy of the all-time record among tight ends, per Pro Football Reference. It's time to trust Gates as a weekly fantasy fixture again.

We must also mention wideout Tyrell Williams, as he's averaging 15.25 fantasy points since Week 5 in the four games outside of facing the Denver Broncos' stingy secondary. With the Chargers prone to engaging in shootouts given their depleted pass defense, we can expect both Gates and Williams to sustain substantial fantasy value going forward.

Green Bay's Soft Defense Creates Fantasy Upside on Offense

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ESPN Stats & Info, by way of Elias, reports the Green Bay Packers have allowed at least 30 points four times in a five-game stretch for the first time since 1953. The Tennessee Titans dominated the Packers' porous pass defense on Sunday afternoon, setting in motion another pass-happy day for Green Bay's offense.

One key lesson is that we can now target Green Bay with vigor as a soft target for our fantasy assets. We've also learned this soft defense has inspired the pass-heaviest stretch of Aaron Rodgers' career.

Rodgers has averaged 45.8 attempts over the past six games after averaging just 31.3 over the first three weeks. The Detroit Lions' Matthew Stafford set the NFL record for pass attempts in a season in 2012 with 727.

If we extrapolate Rodgers' rate over the past six weeks over a full season, he'd end up with 733 attempts. Therefore we're not just witnessing an uptick in passing volume for the Packers, but an historic pace. Rodgers' career high in attempts over a season is 572, set last season.

This correlation between soft secondary and increased passing volume for the Packers means we can target shares of their receivers in points-per-reception markets and on DraftKings' reception-friendly scoring model going forward.

Seattle's Surging Offense Offers Value

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The Seattle Seahawks' offense has struggled for much of the season, as the contenders averaged just 18.7 points per game through Week 8, ranked 29th in this efficiency metric over this span.

Over the past two weeks, however, Seattle has scored 31 points in each game with Russell Wilson producing 646 total yards and six touchdowns in the process.

This revival has helped Doug Baldwin regain lost luster, as he's produced 31 fantasy points—which seems to be the magic number for Seattle lately—over the past two games. This includes a league-leading three touchdowns in Week 10 for Baldwin, vaulting him to the top of ESPN's fantasy leaderboard among wideouts for the slate.

We also saw a transition in the backfield, as the coaching staff's promises of getting rookie C.J. Prosise more work finally materialized in Week 10. The Notre Dame product tallied 153 yards from scrimmage against the New England Patriots and led the team in receiving for the second time in three weeks.

Thomas Rawls is set to return soon, but Prosise could have already earned a meaningful role as the key receiving back on the team.

We've seen Seattle's offense struggle to the start the season several times over the past few years only to turn on a switch and produce special numbers for sustained stretches. This could be the start of one of those infamously productive streaks.

Data such as targets, fantasy points per game and red zone usage sourced from an ESPN database.