NFL Week 10 action was extremely entertaining as a pure fan of the game, but fantasy footballers had to make do with three of the best offenses in the game being on their bye weeks, which helped depress some of the overall numbers, including utilization data.
Injuries — and the return from them — this time of the year tend to be the most likely way to catapult a player into relevance for gaming, and this week was no different. We also get an update from some split backfields that have been in flux and developing target shares.
7
TE Tanner Hudson, Cincinnati Bengals
Hudson’s seven targets tied for the fifth most of Week 10 at his position, and he now has 12 looks in the past two games. TE Irv Smith has done next to nothing since joining the franchise, and there’s an opening here for Hudson to be lineup-relevant in fantasy. He’s not quite there yet with Sunday’s 6-33-0 line as the best day of his career, but as long as the Bengals are without wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring), it’s not outlandish to think Hudson could be worth a sniff in deeper leagues or DFS play for desperate owners.
6
TE Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals
This is one of those “let’s reexamine the situation” situations … Kyler Murray‘s return to action is the impetus for talking McBride for the however many-th time in the last month-plus we’ve included McBride in this series. In their first game together in 2023, the duo connected for eight receptions and 131 yards on nine targets, marking his second 21-plus-pointer in the last pair of contests. Being on the rise, locked in as the TE1, he’s likely no worse than the No. 2 target any given week, and we should expect it to continue the rest of the way given this uninspiring receiving corps.
5
Detroit Lions running backs
All eyes were on the touch split in David Montgomery‘s first game back from injury after Jahmyr Gibbs went bonkers in his absence. The rookie took a backseat to Montgomery in Week 4 after the latter missed the Lions’ third game of the year, but Gibbs hadn’t established himself at that point. In the second opportunity to see how the coaching staff would divvy the touches, Gibbs clearly led the way with 19 utilizations to the veteran’s 12 rushing attempts (no targets). Each was quite productive, and this run-minded coaching staff makes both RBs independently useful just about any week.
4
Houston Texans running backs
Has Devin Singletary done enough to overtake Dameon Pierce after the second-year back returns from injury? It’s tough to firmly answer with much confidence, especially since we’ve seen very different results from the former Buffalo Bill in the past two contests. Tampa locked him down in Week 9, but Singletary rushed a whopping 30 times for 150 yards and a score against Cincinnati, accounting for 23.1 points. The pair both have disappointed in 2023, and any signs of life, such as Singletary’s Week 10 outburst, has to tilt the scales a little.
3
WR Brandin Cooks, Dallas Cowboys
Cooks has flashed several times in the last month or so but via finding the end zone on low-target outings. In Week 10’s blowout of the New York Giants, the journeyman receiver was thrown to 10 times, landing all but one and producing 173 yards with a score to boot. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has been an absolute machine the last three games, and his level of play requires intense defensive attention, freeing Cooks to do his thing. Dallas’ offense is finding its stride in the first year under Mike McCarthy’s system, and upcoming meetings with several cake pass defenses lends to the belief Cooks’ increased role isn’t a total fluke. The Cowboys battle Carolina, Washington, Seattle, Philadelphia and Buffalo in the next five weeks — all but Carolina presents a statistically positive matchup.
2
WR Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
Watson is a prime example of how looks don’t always translate to points. On the year, he has averaged 5.5 targets per game, which is the second most on the team, and he’s currently third on the Packers in fantasy results among receivers. The alarming statistic is Watson has hauled in just 42.4% of his looks, which is dead last of the Green Bay wideouts who have caught a pass. The last 17 targets sent his way have resulted in six catches. Six. That’s 35.3%. Yikes. Some of this is Jordan Love‘s fault. Some of it is Watson’s role as a natural deep threat, but he’s 20 percentage points below last year’s conversion rate. Until something dramatically changes with the nonexistent chemistry between he and Love, Watson is entirely unplayable, and it’s understandable if he’s released in shallow formats.
1
WR Noah Brown, Houston Texans
Injuries have played a role in Brown’s rapid ascension over the last two games, and it hasn’t hurt that rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is playing out of this universe. Over the past four games, Brown has at least five targets in each game and 24 total passes sent his way, highlighted by 13 receptions over the most recent 14 looks. In 2022, as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, Brown’s potential was on display, so his most recent success isn’t totally out of left field. He posted double-digit PPR returns in seven of the eight games last year in which he was targeted at least five times. Robert Woods can be written off, and Nico Collins is dealing with a calf injury. In the short term, Brown should remain productive with matchups against Arizona, Jacksonville and Denver in the next three outings.
