Fantasy Football Week 10: One Matchup to Target at Each Position

Nov 12th 2022Sosa Kremenjas

Week 10 of the Fantasy Football season is around the corner and it's time to dive into five matchups to target in this slate. Each position presents one player in fantasy leagues to consider starting or streaming if available for the week.

All stats and data are sourced from PFF and Sports Info Solutions. Rostered percentages are sourced from Yahoo Fantasy leagues.

Quarterback:

Cleveland Browns QB Jacoby Brissett - 13% rostered

Brissett is a widely available and yet still perfectly good streamable option at the quarterback position. The veteran signal-caller ranks 19th in scoring at the position thus far this season and has an interesting matchup against the Miami Dolphins in Week 10. On the surface, the Dolphins may not seem like an incredibly easy matchup, particularly now with the addition of another great defender in Bradley Chubb.

But, the Dolphins have proven to be very susceptible to passing attacks. So far this season, they've allowed the sixth-most passing yards, eighth-most passing touchdowns, and the most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. In addition, they've surrendered the ninth-most yards per coverage snap and fourth-worst expected points added (EPA) per play this season.

Clearly, this defense hasn't played all that well on the backend. The reason Brissett comes to the forefront as a strong option is that despite being a "run-first" team, he's still topped 15 fantasy points four times this season. Brissett doesn't really offer top-five potential at the position this week, but he should be in a good spot to at least land in QB1 territory and could finish inside the top 10 if all goes well.

Running Back:

Detroit Lions RB Jamaal Williams - 91% rostered

Williams is pretty much a must-start player at this point, though the return of D'Andre Swift may scare some fantasy players into overthinking this situation moving forward. Sure, Swift could eat into some of Williams' workload and would certainly inherit the majority of the passing game work for the team, but, Williams is still the preferred option near the goal line and still appears to be the lead dog in the running back race.

In fact, just one running back has more than Williams' 19 rushing attempts inside the opposing 10-yard line this season. The matchup against the Bears also happens to be a tasty one. They've allowed the third-most rushing yards, most rushing touchdowns, ninth-highest yards per attempt, and rank 16th in yards after contact per attempt allowed.

Williams is able to secure double-digit points in most weeks in full-point PPR formats. When he scores, he has top-10 upside at the position. This week may be tempered a little bit with Swift seemingly inching toward full health, though Williams should have at least a few opportunities to find the end zone.

Wide Receiver:

Los Angeles Chargers WR Josh Palmer - 77% rostered

Keenan Allen has been ruled out of this contest, and so too has Mike Williams. Even though the matchup against the San Francisco 49ers doesn't appear to be the best on paper, Palmer is worthy of strong consideration for a WR3/FLEX start in Week 10. Without both guys last week, Palmer was able to act as the team's defacto No. 1 wide receiver:

Snap share: 91.3%

Route participation: 97.8%

Target share: 20.9%

The usage alone should push Palmer into start-worthy territory, but the matchup isn't actually as bad as it appears, either. He's projected to be covered by Jimmie Ward for 15 snaps, and Ward has surrendered the fourth-most fantasy points per route (0.44) this season. Palmer will also get some of Deommodore Lenoir, who has allowed a subpar 0.34 fantasy points per route, too.

Tight End:

Jacksonville Jaguars TE Evan Engram - 51% rostered

This play feels like it has real boom-or-bust potential. Engram is entering this week with a slight back ailment he suffered in Week 9 but appears ready to go for a full workload. There is a juicy matchup waiting on the other side, too, with Kansas City Chiefs LB Willie Gay Jr. allowing the most fantasy points per route to opposing tight ends among all qualifying defenders this season.

Engram, on the other hand, has not been very consistent this season. He's had fewer than five targets in four of nine games. Even with that being the case, the matchup is too good to pass on. As a whole, the Chiefs' defense has allowed the 13th-most receiving yards and seventh-most touchdowns to opposing tight ends. There is a clear path for Engram to produce a TE1 finish this week.

Defense/Special Teams:

Denver Broncos - 56% rostered

There are juicier matchups out there this week, but the Broncos' defense and special teams are a perfect mix of a strong-performing unit going against a potentially subpar opponent. Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill is listed as questionable going into this game, though he doesn't appear likely to play this week. This may seem hard to believe, but backup quarterback Malik Willis has consecutive games totaling 55 and 80 passing yards.

Of course, it won't be easy stopping Derrick Henry, but the Broncos' run defense is as well-equipped as can be to accomplish that task. They're also in a position to force Willis into some rookie mistakes, too. This is a matchup worth streaming, even with some injury issues at EDGE for Denver.