Ten Things We Learned in Week 10 (Fantasy Football)
Week 10 is now in the books, and we have a lot to go over. Scoring seemed back on track among fantasy rosters this week, so that was good to see. With only four weeks left, we are starting to get into crunch time when getting playoff spots in your fantasy leagues. Remember, never give up! Stay up to date with information here at thefantasyfootballers.com and, of course, with their podcast, and let’s clinch those playoff spots! Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way let’s go ahead and take a look at the top storylines from Week 10!
1. Cam Newton is Back!
The Carolina Panthers brought back their former MVP quarterback, Cam Newton, and he instantly made an impact on the team. Cam was brought in when the team was at the goal line and ran for a touchdown on his first snap back on the team. Cam was hyped and instantly started to let everyone know that he was back! He was brought in moments later for another goal-line opportunity and threw a touchdown pass, scoring his second touchdown in two attempts. P.J Walker was the starting quarterback; however, Cam will likely take that role sooner rather than later. Hopefully, Cam will be able to stay healthy and provide the spark that this Panthers’ offense needed.
2. Rhamondre Stevenson Dominates Opportunity
The Patriots’ offense was without Damien Harris in Week 10, and Rhamondre Stevenson took full advantage of his opportunity. Stevenson had 20 rushing attempts for 100 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught 4-of-5 passes for 14 yards. It’s not often that a running back dominates touches in the New England backfield. JJ Zachariason pointed out on Twitter (@LateRoundQB) that Stevenson saw 69% of the Patriots rushing attempts and had a 20% target share, which would only be the fourth time since 2011 that a running back under Bill Belichick has received that workload. The New England backfield is known to cause headaches, and now with the emergence of Stevenson, that will likely remain the case. Damien Harris will probably still be the lead back, but Stevenson has made a case to be involved even when Harris is healthy.
3. Stefon Diggs Finally Breaks Out
Week 10 finally brought us the Stefon Diggs breakout game that fantasy managers have been patiently waiting for to happen. Diggs caught 8-of-13 targets for 162 yards and a touchdown. While he hasn’t been bad for fantasy, Diggs had only been over 15 half-point PPR points one time before Week 10. Diggs saw a season-high 46.4% target share, which was expected to happen more often in 2021, but the emergence of Emmanuel Sanders has slightly taken away from Diggs’ target share ceiling.
4. The Lions Didn’t Lose, but Remain Winless
The Detroit Lions have had some tough breaks this season, and that didn’t change in Week 10. Their matchup with the Steelers was a brutal one to watch, with the weather being a factor for some sloppy play. The Lions and Steelers tied 16-16. There were so many mistakes on both sides of the ball, even in overtime, but neither team managed to capitalize on the mistakes to win the game. While this may be considered somewhat of a step in the right direction for the Lions, they still have not gotten that win yet in the Dan Campbell era. At a minimum, the Lions have now avoided becoming the first 0-17 team in NFL history.
5. Russell Wilson Returns, but Gets Shut Out
The Seahawks welcomed their superstar quarterback, Russell Wilson, back after dealing with a finger injury, but the return didn’t live up to the expectations. Instead of a Week 10 shootout starring Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers, the Seahawks were shut out for the first time in Wilson’s career (150 games). Wilson completed 20-of-40 passing attempts for 161 yards and threw two interceptions. It was a poor fantasy day for all of the Seahawks players in what was supposed to be a boost in quarterback play. Surely Russ and company will get things moving forward, but it was a brutal Week 10 for the team.
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6. Kansas City Offense Looks Back on Track
It’s no secret that Patrick Mahomes and the Chief’s offense have been struggling this year, at least compared to what we are used to seeing from them. Mahomes had season-highs in fantasy points, completions, and yards. He completed 35-of-50 passing attempts for 406 yards and five touchdowns. The Chiefs now sit atop the AFC West, as the rest of the division could not capitalize on the Chiefs’ early-season struggles. It was only a matter of time until Mahomes and the rest of the offense had a blowup game. You simply just cannot ever count this offense out.
7. Darren Waller is a Mid-Season Bust
This section will break my heart to write, as I touted Darren Waller as a massive value according to his ADP during fantasy drafts. We all know the power of what an elite tight end can do for your fantasy team, but unfortunately, Waller is hurting those who drafted him highly. Waller has yet to finish a week as a top-three tight end, although he came close in Week 1, finishing as the fourth-highest scorer that week. Those who drafted him were more than happy after his Week 1 performance after receiving 19 targets, but Waller has since only had more than seven targets in a game twice. Waller has scored less than 10 points in half-point PPR formats in 5-of-8 games. All that goes to say that Waller has been a bust when considering his draft capital in fantasy drafts, but there is hope that he can turn it around and get back to the elite tight end category.
8. Mission Impossible Completed: Jakobi Meyers Caught a Touchdown
I wrote about Jakobi Meyers not having a touchdown in his career in my Week 5 edition of this article. Luckily, the streak for Meyers has ended, and he has finally scored. According to ProFootballReference, Meyers is the first player in their database to have at least 150 or more targets in his first 38 games but fail to score a receiving touchdown. Meyers said that the team celebrating with him meant more to him than the actual touchdown, but surely this is a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. Here’s to so many more touchdowns for Jakobi Meyers now that it’s been proven it can be done!
9. Trevor Siemian Keeps Job as Saints Starting Quarterback
During the entire off-season, the debate for who would be the starting quarterback for the New Orleans Saints was between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill. Winston did win the job but ended up having a season-ending injury. Logic would tell you that Hill would then step in and become the quarterback; however, Trevor Siemian entered as the starting quarterback in Week 9 and started again in Week 10. He has seemingly played well enough to keep the job, for now. Siemian will likely only be a matchup-based streaming option going forward.
10. Opportunity Knocks for Odell Beckham Jr.
The Cleveland Browns and Odell Beckham Jr. experiment finally came to an end after years of trade rumors and speculation about a toxic situation between the two sides. The Browns released Beckham Jr., allowing him to sign with whoever he wanted to. The Rams ended up winning the Odell sweepstakes. The timing was somewhat crazy due to an injury that Robert Woods suffered that ended his season, just one day after the Rams signed Beckham Jr. The Woods’ injury means that Odell now has even more of an opportunity to make an impact. This article was written before the Rams’ Monday Night Football matchup with the 49ers, and it’s unclear if he will play much in that game. However, we will soon find out if Odell has anything left in the tank.