Hungry for More: The Fantasy Footballers’ Predictions for Week 10
When it comes to winning games down the stretch of the fantasy football regular season, finding that one player who takes their game to the next level this late in the season can be the difference in making the playoffs or sitting in the Toilet Bowl while the adults finish the season. Yet again the Ballers are here to bring us a player they’re looking to take that next step forward in their fantasy production in Hungry for More presented by Uber Eats!
Each week the Ballers will pick a player who super-sized their game in the past week and decide if they’ll continue to eat at the big guy’s table or go back to the kid’s table. Of course, I’ll give you an extra side dish or two to go along with Andy, Mike, and Jason’s main course! Let me know if you think we’re cooking up a high-end meal or if it’s more like gas station sushi!
TE – Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears
| Week 9 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 6 | 55 | 2 |
With Andy out of action this week, the cardboard bear extraordinaire, Jay Grizz couldn’t help but highlight a fellow Bear who’s been lighting up fantasy scoreboards recently with Cole Kmet. Since Week 4, Kmet has finished inside the top-nine TEs four different weeks averaging 12 fantasy points per game. What’s driven Kmet’s TE9 and TE2 finishes over the last two weeks has been a 27% and 31% target share in those games. With Justin Fields likely out again in Week 10, it’s likely that Tyson Bagent will be the QB to continue looking Kmet’s way.
It may be tough for Kmet to continue his fine dining on defenses against the Panthers on Thursday night. Carolina’s defense is a great matchup for opposing RBs, but they’ve allowed a combined 3.9 fantasy points to opposing fantasy TEs in their last three games. The Panthers have only allowed two TDs to opposing TEs on the season, which might be the best way for Kmet to continue being a tasty treat in fantasy lineups this week.
WR – Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers
| Week 9 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 7 | 90 | 1 |
Even though the Steelers’ offense has been like drinking old milk over recent weeks, the one bright spot has been Diontae Johnson, which has Jason needing another trip to the Diontae buffet. Since his return from a stint on IR, Johnson has finished inside the top-24 WR each week. Johnson’s involvement has been elite since his Week 7 return, seeing 26%, 35%, and 31% of the targets in the Steelers’ offense. To top it off, last week Johnson got into the end zone for the first time since Week 17 of the 2021 season.
The Big Shimmy sees Johnson as a WR2 for the rest of the season in fantasy lineups and thinks he may be a bit undervalued so he could make a strong trade target. If Johnson can maintain his hot return, he’ll be on a 17-game pace for over 1,400 yards and six TDs, which is a great asset to have to finish your fantasy season.
RB – Alexander Mattison, Minnesota Vikings
| Week 9 | ||
| Carries | Rushing Yards | TDs |
| 16 | 44 | 0 |
It may seem like a trip back to the same menu from weeks past, but The Fantasy Hitman is wanting more from Alexander Mattison in the Vikings’ offense. With Cam Akers on IR due to an Achilles injury, Mattison should once again take the lead role in the Minnesota backfield, but it’s a much different offense than what fantasy managers signed up for when they took him during draft season. What fantasy managers should be interested in is the 18 opportunities Mattison saw last week, which Mike argues should keep him in the RB2 zone based on volume alone.
The hope is that stability may be headed to the Minnesota offense with Joshua Dobbs taking over at QB and Justin Jefferson’s return on the horizon. Even though the matchup for Week 10 isn’t ideal against a strong Saints defense, Mattison’s involvement in an offense that has shown the ability to continue to score points and is squarely in the race for an NFC wild card spot makes continuing to find a way to keep him in fantasy lineups something we should be seeing going forward.
WR – Hunter Renfrow, Las Vegas Raiders
| Week 9 | ||
| Receptions | Receiving Yards | TDs |
| 2 | 32 | 0 |
This isn’t the tastiest treat that could be served up for fantasy managers, but Hunter Renfrow should be on your radar. After clearly being in the doghouse with Josh McDaniels, Renfrow has made several comments about feeling like he’s getting a second chance with the Raiders. It’s easy to forget, but Renfrow finished as the WR11 in 2021. Granted there was no Davante Adams or Jakobi Meyers on the team then, but Renfrow has proven that he can be a strong fantasy asset when given the opportunity.
The first game post-Josh McDaniels resulted in the most yardage that Renfrow has finished a game with this season after playing just 22% of snaps. While 32 yards isn’t anything to get overly excited about, I’d expect to see Renfrow with more opportunities in a Raiders offense that looked much more competent in Week 9 and will need to provide as many safety nets for rookie QB Aidan O’Connell down the stretch of the season for Las Vegas.