Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 10: Making the Call on Fantasy Football Fringe Starters

It's Week 10 of the 2020 NFL season, so the stakes are skyrocketing in the fantasy football world.

Every matchup should feel like a must-win from here going forward. If they don't, well...better luck next season.

Whether you're angling for a first-round bye or simply battling for a postseason spot, you must ace the start-or-sit tests that comprise the trickiest part of roster management.

Coming here is a great way to start, as we run through our top recommendations for the upcoming slate.

Start: Jared Goff, QB, Los Angeles Rams (vs. Seattle Seahawks)

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Trusting Jared Goff is rarely a comfortable position for fantasy managers to take. He has as many games with 300-plus passing yards as outings with less than 225 (three each). He's only thrown three touchdown passes once and has three games with one score or less.

But you can't ignore the matchup here.

The Seattle Seahawks have been propping up fantasy passers all season. Saying they allow the most fantasy points to quarterbacks, per Yahoo Sports, undersells their generosity. They've surrendered 27.85 fantasy points per game to the position. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who rank as the third-most generous, have given up an average of only 23.41.

Seattle is dead last in passing yards allowed per game—by more than 50 (362.1, next are the Atlanta Falcons at 310.3). Goff is surrounded by talented pass-catchers the Seahawks corners can't cover. He's a set-it-and-forget-it kind of no-brainer start.

Sit: Ryan Tannehill, QB, Tennessee Titans (vs. Indianapolis Colts)

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As inviting as the Seahawks are for fantasy passers, the Indianapolis Colts are the exact opposite.

No team has allowed fewer fantasy points to the position. Only two have given up fewer than the Colts' 206.4 passing yards allowed per game. Just one has surrendered fewer touchdown passes (10), and none have more interceptions (11).

Last week, Ryan Tannehill drew a similarly challenging matchup in the Chicago Bears. He did well to find the end zone twice, but he still managed just 10 completions for a season-low 158 passing yards.

The 32-year-old hasn't been a top-12 fantasy quarterback since Week 6. Don't expect him to snap this drought against a great defense in a quick turnaround for a Thursday tilt.

Start: Chase Claypool, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (vs. Cincinnati Bengals)

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Godspeed to anyone who bailed on Chase Claypool after a quiet Week 7.

Pittsburgh's electric rookie returned to fantasy relevance with five receptions for 42 yards and a score in Week 8. That only set the table for an eye-opening outing in Week 9. While he didn't blow anyone away with 69 receiving yards and zero scores, he should've caught everyone's attention by getting a career-high 13 targets.

Fantasy managers might still know Claypool most for his Week 5 eruption against the Philadelphia Eagles. In that contest, he caught seven passes, rushed three times and delivered four touchdowns.

That game may dominate his season-long highlight reel, but it opened a five-week stretch in which the 22-year-old has seen nine-plus targets three different times.

Clearly, Ben Roethlisberger has trust in Claypool, which should help keep his involvement consistent despite competing for opportunities with JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson.