Week 10 Waiver Wire: Top Pickups and Drops

It's getting late in the fantasy football season, which means scouring the waiver wire isn't so much about stashing players or uncovering hidden gems, but rather looking for players who will make a more immediate impact.

Injuries, bye weeks and late-season swoons will lead just about every fantasy football owner back to the waiver wire, often in the search of finding a player worthy of going right into the starting lineup.

With fantasy playoffs starting in just a few weeks for those in larger leagues, time is of the essence.

A few heretofore unheralded players made their cases for roster inclusion in Week 9 (or even earlier), while others are being unceremoniously dropped from thousands of fantasy teams.

Here's a look at the top pickups and drops entering Week 10 in ESPN and Yahoo Sports leagues. In the pickups category, only those players owned in less than 50 percent of leagues will be included. 

Top Yahoo Pickups
Top ESPN Pickups
Player	% Owned	No. of Monday Adds
J.J. Nelson, WR, Arizona Cardinals	15	20,077
Dion Lewis, RB, New England Patriots	39	15,315
Rob Kelley, RB, Washington Redskins	29	14,978
Kapri Bibbs, RB, Denver Broncos	6	12,597
Rishard Matthews, WR, Tennessee Titans	30	7,375
C.J. Prosise, RB, Seattle Seahawks	18	6,843
Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears	8	6,009
Chris Ivory, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars	33	5,820
C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Houston Texans	11	4,263
Peyton Barber, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	18	4,017
James Starks, RB, Green Bay Packers	18	3,922
Robert Woods, WR, Buffalo Bills	11	3,872
Player	% Owned	% Change Last 7 Days
Tim Hightower, RB, New Orleans Saints	39.8	+37.9
DuJuan Harris, RB, San Francisco 49ers	31.3	+31.3
Lance Kendricks, TE, Los Angeles Rams	19.1	+17.1
C.J. Prosise, RB, Seattle Seahawks	22.8	+14.8
Colin Kaepernick, QB, San Francisco 49ers	22.1	+14.1
Austin Hooper, TE, Atlanta Falcons	12.9	+12.4

Top Yahoo Drops
Top ESPN Drops
Player	% Owned	No. of Monday Drops
Charcandrick West, RB, Kansas City Chiefs	80	10,540
Derrick Henry, RB, Tennessee Titans	61	8,241
Dennis Pitta, TE, Baltimore Ravens	55	6,676
Jack Doyle, TE, Indianapolis Colts	57	6,267
Jerick McKinnon, RB, Minnesota Vikings	58	6,245
Mike Gillislee, RB, Buffalo Bills	39	6,002
Matt Asiata, RB, Minnesota Vikings	59	4,807
Quincy Enunwa, WR, New York Jets	54	4,755
Gary Barnidge, TE, Cleveland Browns	78	4,736
Player	% Owned	% Change Last 7 Days
Knile Davis, RB, Kansas City Chiefs	5.1	-30.2
Cameron Meredith, WR, Chicago Bears	23.2	-24.5
Hunter Henry, TE, San Diego Chargers	40.5	-21.6
Chris Thompson, RB, Washington Redskins	31.2	-18.6
Vernon Davis, TE, Washington Redskins	28.2	-17.8
Will Fuller, WR, Houston Texans	64.9	-17
Alex Smith, QB, Kansas City Chiefs	25.5	-16.8
Jacquizz Rodgers, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers	72.7	-16.1
James White, RB, New England Patriots	61.6	-15.3
Chris Ivory, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars	41.7	-14.6

J.J. Nelson, WR, Arizona Cardinals

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

With two touchdowns against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 30 to follow up an 84-yard effort against the difficult Seattle Seahawks secondary the week prior, J.J. Nelson has emerged as a top fantasy pickup heading into Week 10.

Nelson has taken advantage of injuries in the Cardinals' wide receiver corps, rising to the occasion as a starter and making defenses pay. Head coach Bruce Arians spoke highly of Nelson after the Panthers contest, suggesting he'll see more playing time in Week 10 against the San Francisco 49ers.

"J.J. didn't step in," Arians said, per AZCardinals.com's Kyle Odegard. "That's his job right now, and somebody is going to have to take it back from him."

Fantasy owners will certainly like how quickly Nelson has made an impact as compared to Michael Floyd, per NFL.com's Matt Franciscovich:

The 49ers have allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to wideouts this year, per Yahoo Sports. If Nelson is the one getting the majority of the snaps alongside undisputed No. 1 Larry Fitzgerald, there's plenty of reason for him to find fantasy success.

Owners have to be cautious, as the bye week has allowed Floyd and John Brown plenty of time to recover, and they could eat into Nelson's playing time.

Dion Lewis, RB, New England Patriots

Winslow Townson/Associated Press

Dion Lewis may not have a single carry to his name in 2016, but that isn't stopping fantasy owners from plucking him off the waiver wire in droves.

Lewis tore his ACL in November 2015 and has been on the PUP list this entire season. According to MassLive.com's Kevin Duffy, Lewis started practicing on Oct. 27 and has to be activated in either Week 10 or Week 11 if the New England Patriots want to use him at all this season.

Fantasy owners sitting pretty in their respective leagues might be the ones taking an early chance on Lewis, as it seems unlikely he will make an impact right away.

The Patriots have quality backs in LeGarrette Blount (609 rushing yards, nine touchdowns) and James White (4.1 yards per carry), so there's no need to mess with what's been a big part of a winning formula. 

The team could also hold off until Week 11 to activate Lewis, as rushing him back would do more harm than good. There's no need to toss him in against a tough Seahawks defense when the 49ers' relatively lackluster crew awaits on Nov. 20.

Also, as Duffy noted, the nature of Lewis' injury is particularly devastating for his style of play: 

"

Lewis will be more than 11 months removed from ACL surgery when he makes his debut. Normally, that is enough time for an NFL running back to return to his usual self. Adrian Peterson and Todd Gurley are recent examples. Lewis is not like Peterson or Gurley, though. Those players are fast, physical north-south runners. Lewis' entire game is predicated on explosive lateral movement. ACL injuries hinder this type of movement. Will Lewis return to his 2015 form? We'll know more in the coming weeks.

"

Simply put, Lewis is a roster move you make if you don't need to win right away in your fantasy football league. He could indeed have an impact down the line as he's a better receiving threat than Blount and a better runner than White, but for Week 10, he's most likely going to be a fantasy non-factor.

Rob Kelley, RB, Washington Redskins

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Rookie running back Rob Kelley had the best game of his young career in Week 8, carrying the ball 21 times for 87 yards and a touchdown in a 27-27 tie with the Cincinnati Bengals. He's put himself in position to earn plenty of snaps in Week 10 against the Minnesota Vikings, making him a popular choice for fantasy owners.

"Right now I think it's going through Robert Kelley as I stand up here right now," Washington head coach Jay Gruden said, per CSN Mid-Atlantic's JP Finlay.

This sounds lovely for those banking on Kelley, but his fantasy potential is limited.

The Redskins are coming off a bye, which has allowed time for the capable-yet-fumble-prone Matt Jones to recover from a knee injury that kept him out of the Bengals game. Gruden also told Finlay that Jones "will get his touches and earn his way back into the role that we think he should be in."

Considering Jones has been the clear starter when he's been healthy, it sounds like he's due for at least a handful of carries against the Vikings.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

There's also the matter of running back Chris Thompson, who is a moderate threat in the passing game (27 receptions, 211 yards) and ran the ball well against the Detroit Lions (12 carries, 73 yards) in Week 7. Though he didn't run well against the Bengals, he has earned his opportunities on passing downs.

Kelley has just one reception for one yard on the season, and he was a non-factor in the passing game for three of his four seasons at Tulane. So don't expect him to see much time, if any, on long third downs.

Finally, the Vikings may be on a three-game losing streak, but the defense is still one of the tougher units in the league. Only the Chicago Bears' Jordan Howard (26 carries, 153 yards, one touchdown) managed to really beat up the Vikings' run defense over the past three games.

Kelley will probably get 15-20 carries in Week 10, but he's going to be hard-pressed to come up with a big day for fantasy owners and is a high-risk play.