What Are the Comfort Levels for Fantasy Studs Heading into Week 10?

Heading into Week 10 of NFL fantasy football, there are some owners that are already feeling uncomfortable.

You know who I'm talking about. If you own Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans, you'll be without him this week. Evans has been suspended for one game, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green was also involved in a fight, but he will not be suspended, Schefter also reported.

As for Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott, well, you know—he's suspended and unsuspended every other day.

Let's look at seven players with varying levels of comfort.

Spoiler: Zeke is on here.

Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers

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Coming off the Week 9 bye, the Pittsburgh Steelers have a date with the Indianapolis Colts on their turf.

This is the same defense that allowed Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage to throw his first career touchdown pass.

Not good at all.

Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is in for a great day.

Also, their best secondary player, cornerback Vontae Davis, is essentially not with the team anymore. He didn't play in Week 9, and prior to the deadline, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the Colts were considering trading Davis. 

That sounds like a bad situation.

The stigma of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger being bad on the road isn't really warranted this season when you compare his home stats.

Sure, by all accounts Big Ben isn't that productive anymore for fantasy, but six of his 10 touchdowns have come on the road, and he has a better yards per attempt away from Pittsburgh, too.

Let's pile it on: The Colts rank 25th in DVOA against the pass and 15th in DVOA against No. 1 wide receivers.

AB is going to have a heck of a day.

Comfort Level: Who's going to cover him?

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys

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As mentioned in the introduction, all of this analysis/speculation could be undone should Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott face a suspension.

But who knows? That stuff changes on a day-to-day basis.

However, should he play, Zeke has a great matchup against the Atlanta Falcons.

The Falcons rank 29th in DVOA against the run and 22nd in DVOA against pass-catching running backs.

When Zeke plays, he gets plenty of touches and more than likely scores a touchdown.

This game could result in a shootout. The early over/under for this game is 50.5, according to OddsShark, but both defenses will have trouble stopping one another.

Should Zeke play, he'll have another great game, but of course, the possibility of a suspension makes owners wary and difficult to trade with.

Hold on to him unless you can package him with another player to trade up for someone like Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley or Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette.

Speaking of Fournette...

Comfort Level: 50/50. If he plays, great, if he gets suspended, well, he won't get many points.

Leonard Fournette, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars

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Speaking of Fournette...

The Jacksonville Jaguars running back has now not played in three weeks straight.

Fournette missed the Week 7 tilt against the Indianapolis Colts through injury, and he was surprisingly benched in Week 9 for violating team rules coming out of the bye week.

Assuming he keeps his nose clean and suits up, Fournette has a great matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Chargers are yet another terrible team against the run, ranking 26th in DVOA. They're also middle of the road against pass-catching backs, ranking 14th in DVOA.

The Jaguars ran well without Fournette in Week 9, but you better believe he will go back to being the team's bell cow if he returns, especially after three weeks' rest.

The Chargers will be on the road coming from the west coast for a 1 p.m. start, so that will impact them as well. 

Over 100 yards and a score should be coming for Fournette once again.

Comfort Level: He's coming off a solid three-week vacation.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, New England Patriots

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The New England Patriots, another team coming off a bye week, will take on the Denver Broncos in Denver.

It looks like the Broncos might throw Brock Osweiler out there once again at quarterback. That doesn't matter, but I wanted to give you a good laugh.

Let me make this crystal clear: This will be Gronk's best game of the year.

The Denver Broncos cannot stop tight ends. They gave up a touchdown to Philadelphia Eagles backup tight end Trey Burton for crying out loud.

The Broncos rank 25th in DVOA against tight ends and give up the second-most fantasy points to the position.

Gronk is going to smash.

Comfort Level: I didn't need to write much about it because it's so blatantly obvious. Enjoy his points.

Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

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For whatever reason, the Atlanta Falcons don't use wide receiver Julio Jones in the red zone much.

Well, that won't matter in Week 10.

Coming off a six-catch, 118-yard game in Week 9 against the Carolina Panthers, Jones will get a beatable Dallas Cowboys secondary.

Jones also should have had a 30-plus-yard touchdown last week, but incredibly he dropped it.

While the Cowboys have steadily improved against the pass, they still rank 19th in DVOA. It's a little under average, but still, no one on this team will cover Jones.

Jones will be the primary beneficiary of the high over/under here.

He has one touchdown on the year, but expect him to add another to that total in Week 10.

Comfort Level: If you need convincing to start Julio Jones, you're a lost cause.

Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints

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The New Orleans Saints are the next team to head into western New York to take on the Buffalo Bills.

In case you didn't know, the Bills are undefeated at home and have one of the best defenses in the league.

This poses a problem for Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas.

The Bills have allowed just seven touchdown passes all season and have 11 interceptions.

If Saints quarterback Drew Brees can't produce, Thomas might have trouble, too.

Brees is one of the elite quarterbacks in the league, and the team has one of the more potent offenses, but it ultimately boils down to what you trust more: a stout defense or potent offense?

If you're in a PPR league, Thomas could be fine based on volume alone, but it will be tough to find the end zone.

Start Thomas, but don't get your hopes up.

Comfort Level: Buffalo is on murderer's row.

Russell Wilson, QB, Seattle Seahawks

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Although he'll have a quick turnaround, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will be in for a fairly easy time on the road against the Arizona Cardinals.

Remember, the Cardinals defense allowed San Francisco 49ers quarterback C.J. Beathard to toss for nearly 300 yards and run for a touchdown.

That's likely the best game he'll have in his career.

Wilson will have a good day, and the Seahawks should win this game with ease against the Drew Stanton-led Cardinals.

Not to mention that the Cardinals rank 18th in DVOA against the pass and give up the joint-fifth-most fantasy points per game against quarterbacks.

Expect multiple touchdowns—and for fantasy purposes, some rushing!

Wilson is the QB1 heading into Week 10.

Comfort Level: Read the second paragraph again.

Statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference, Football Outsiders and NFL.com.