Account
Waiver Wire Week 10: Nick Mullens, Adam Humphries Highlight Pickups to Know
November 5, 2018
It isn't too often the fantasy football waiver wire produces several new starters over various positions in November.
Yet so goes the fantasy landscape heading into Week 10 with names like Nick Mullens, Adam Humphries and Maurice Harris making the rounds.
Overall, it wasn't a strange week, either, with names like Michael Thomas and Kareem Hunt near the top of the scoring list. But these small openings for new additions mean contenders can beef up depth and owners on the outside trying to make a final push can give themselves a better chance.
These are the top pickups to know before the sprint to the wire gets underway.
Week 10 Waiver-Wire Targets
Nick Mullens, QB, SF (3 percent owned)
Baker Mayfield, QB, CLE (38 percent owned)
Duke Johnson, RB, CLE (46 percent owned)
Mike Davis, RB, SEA (18 percent owned)
Ito Smith, RB, ATL (43 percent owned)
Adam Humphries, WR, TB (1 percent owned)
Maurice Harris, WR, WAS (0 percent owned)
Curtis Samuel, WR, CAR (1 percent owned)
Nick Vannett, TE, SEA (2 percent owned)
Chris Herndon, TE, NYJ (12 percent owned)
Nick Mullens, QB, SF (3 percent owned)
It was a big joke until it wasn't.
The San Francisco 49ers seemed dead in the water by needing to turn to a third-string quarterback. Instead, Mullens lifted the team to a win over the Oakland Raiders, throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns, good for 22.18 points.
Now it sounds like the 49ers will have a hard time going away from Mullens:
Owners in a tough spot should benefit, too, as Mullens next gets to take on a hapless New York Giants team allowing the 12th-fewest points to quarterbacks on average this season, but has let up 18.38 or more in three of its last four.
In theory, Mullens should only develop better timing with his first-team weapons as the season progresses. He's yet another solid streaming option at a position owners can't afford to get wrong.
Duke Johnson, RB, CLE (46 percent owned)
Finally.
Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson finally seems like the fantasy producer most figured he could be thanks to the promotion of running backs coach Freddie Kitchens to offensive coordinator.
The result? Johnson led the team in targets, catches and yards while scoring twice, catching all nine of his passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns, slotting him at a season-best 25.1 points.
The reactions were about as expected:
That was only Johnson's third trip to double digits all year, but circumstances have dramatically changed and perhaps created a new must-start player regardless of matchup for the rest of the season.
Let the sprint to the wire in more than half of leagues begin.
Adam Humphries, WR, TB (1 percent owned)
It isn't often a so-called fourth option on an offense is a must-add player, yet here we are with Humphries.
With teams focused on Mike Evans, DeSean Jackson and Chris Godwin, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense had no qualms about funneling the ball to Humphries, and the result was him inhaling all eight looks for 82 yards and two touchdowns, slotting him at a season-high 24.9 points.
That some of these big plays were yards-after-catch efforts makes Humphries all the more attractive from a fantasy perspective:
Quietly, Humphries now has eight or more targets in three consecutive games. Those haven't all been huge point totals because he scores, but the fact the usage is largely consistent for three weeks and running even despite a change under center is a good sign.
While wideout is usually as volatile as it gets, Humphries settling into some semblance of a pattern is a good thing for owners searching for depth help or bye relief.
Maurice Harris, WR, WAS (0 percent owned)
There exists a pocket of Washington Redskins fans who clamor for more chances for wideout Maurice Harris.
Harris usually puts on a show during the preseason but falls behind on the depth chart for varying reasons. In Week 9, he broke on to the field while the Redskins were playing from behind, catching 10 of his 12 targets for 124 yards and 17.4 points.
While it was Harris' first trip to double digits all season, he started the year off injured and the coaching staff had the idea it should be Josh Doctson-Paul Richardson-Jamison Crowder all the way. An injury to the latter and a miserable passing attack gifted Harris a chance to contribute.
The groundswell of support has now gone public:
Harris ended up leading the team in targets, catches and yards, a clear sign he needs to be on the field more for an offense that otherwise relies on 33-year-old Adrian Peterson.
Granted, owners can't predict when coaches will do silly things for seemingly no reason, but Harris certainly looks like a guy who can steal a huge chunk of the work while reviving a passing game.
All scoring info, points-against info and ownership stats courtesy of Yahoo standard leagues.