Week 10 Fantasy Football Projections: Michael Vick and Players You Must Start

Week 10 in the NFL season starts the murmurs about playoff talk, which is doubly true for fantasy leagues.

Many leagues are just a month away from the postseason, so those in contention realize every victory is even more important.

The good news is the bye weeks are almost over, and if you have these next five players in your starting lineup, you'll be in good position to pull out a win this weekend.

Michael Vick

For managers who bought into the hype of analysts such as ESPN's Matthew Berry regarding Michael Vick (including yours truly), it's been a frustrating fantasy season.

Sure, he's been running, but he hasn't been nearly the same fantasy machine we saw last season and has been very hit or miss each Sunday.

14, 10, 19 and 3.That is his line of fantasy numbers in a standard Yahoo! league the past month of play.

Throw out the 19-point fantasy day against the Dallas Cowboys, and you have numbers equivalent to guys like Joe Flacco and Mark Sanchez.

That's not what owners drafted Vick to do. But luckily, this Sunday should make up for at least some of the mediocre play.

He'll be taking on the Arizona Cardinals in what Eagles fans and fantasy owners alike hope will be a repeat performance of the Dallas game.

Arizona has the 28th-ranked defense in the NFL, which should be primed for a long afternoon against the dual threat of Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy.

Tim Tebow

Say what you want about Tim Tebow's ability to play in the NFL—he has the potential to put up stats similar to Michael Vick every week from a fantasy perspective.

Despite his, at times, atrocious completion percentage and college-style play, he's had 14 or more points in three of his past four games.

Believe it or not, he also has six touchdowns to just one interception through the air this season.

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off their embarrassing home blowout loss to the Miami Dolphins, and if they couldn't stop Matt Moore, I can't see this 21st-ranked defense stopping Tebow.

DeMarco Murray

Thanks to DeMarco Murray, fantasy owners can finally feel somewhat safe starting a Dallas Cowboys running back on Sundays.

Murray has lit a spark in the Dallas offense since taking over for the injured Felix Jones three weeks ago, logging 466 yards in that span.

The Cowboys are still going to throw the ball plenty, but with Miles Austin injured again, Murray should find himself with plenty of touches against the Buffalo Bills this week.

The Bills have the 19th-ranked rushing defense and will be without Kyle Williams and Chris Kelsay for this game.

Look for Murray to continue his recent run of success.

Plaxico Burress

Speaking of success against the Bills, Plaxico Burress finished his day with a solid five receptions for 74 yards against their secondary last weekend and looks primed for another good day against the New England Patriots.

Plax finally has put together back-to-back solid fantasy days the past two weeks, with his three-touchdown performance against San Diego and his aforementioned stats against Buffalo last Sunday.

The New York Jets have had more success running the ball as of late, which has taken pressure off Mark Sanchez and allowed for Burress to get more involved in the passing game.

New England has been more than generous to wide receivers this season and own a suspect secondary at best.

Expect big things from Plax this weekend.

Brandon Lloyd

Just when all looked lost for Brandon Lloyd this fantasy season, Denver traded him to St. Louis and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels came to the rescue.

McDaniels loves this guy, and Sam Bradford should too, considering he's the only true weapon they have not lining up in the backfield on offense.

Though he has just one touchdown since coming to the Rams, he has seen an incredible amount of targets along with five or more receptions in each game with St. Louis.

He'll be lining up against Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden most of the day, but that wont stop McDaniels from calling his number early and often in this contest.