We’re officially heading into Week 10 of the fantasy football season, and the playoffs are right around the corner. Being in the thick of it all, there are also some byes to worry about, with four teams taking a reset this week including the Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns. That means several top receivers (Jayden Reed, D.K. Metcalf) and flex options (Cedric Tillman, Jakobi Meyers and everyone’s new favorite breakout Jaxon Smith-Njigba) are off the table.
Whether you’re in need of a WR flex play in Week 10 or looking for some help as you set your lineups
Week 10 WR flex plays
Rostership percentages in Yahoo! Fantasy leagues are indicated in parentheses.
Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers (vs. TB, 50%)
Everyone’s favorite Week 3 breakout (11-175-3) has missed each of the 49ers’ last two games with a hip injury followed by a Week 9 bye. That means Week 10 will officially mark his game start since a season-ending knee injury to his teammate, Brandon Aiyuk, as Jennings is expected to make his return to the lineup.
Next up on the schedule, the 49ers will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are one of three teams to allow 10 receiving touchdowns to opposing wide receivers dating back to Week 4. That’s resulted in the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing wideouts. It’s a nice spot forJennings, currently hauling in 69.4% of targets and averaging an efficient 16.2 yards per reception, 0.6 fantasy points per route run (ninth among WRs) and 2.32 fantasy points per target (12th).
Keon Coleman, Buffalo Bills (at IND, 59%)
Don’t let Bills rookie Keon Coleman’s disappointing Week 9 stat line (1-21-0) fool you; the man has been playing some solid football this season. Through the first nine weeks, Coleman ranks top-five in the league averaging 19.0 yards per reception and 9.0 yards after the catch per reception and the second-highest passer rating when targeted among rookie WRs (117.5) only behind first-round pick Brian Thomas Jr.
The Colts are allowing the ninth-most receiving yards to opposing wide receivers this season, while ranking ninth in EPA per dropback (0.23) and the second-highest yards per attempt average (9.0) on such targets. Expect this to be a nice spot for the rookie to bounce back with upside, having earned a team-high 20% deep target rate from Josh Allen over the past four weeks. Keep an eye on his health status, as he’s currently being evaluated for a wrist injury suffered in Week 9 — but if he’s good to go, he’s a solid flex option.
Week 10 WR sleepers
Rostership percentages in Yahoo! Fantasy leagues are indicated in parentheses.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants (at CAR, 16%)
It’s amusing to consider Slayton as a viable flex play in any given week considering most want nothing to do with the New York Giants’ passing game … however, since the Giants are on the road this week, he gets an honorable mention here in the deep sleepers column. Apparently, that is the only place QB Daniel Jones can consistently gain ground in the passing game. Slayton leads the team with 324 routes run this season, averaging a team-high 14.7 yards per reception and having tied teammate Malik Nabers with 12 plays of 15+ receiving yards on the year. The Carolina Panthers are allowing the second-highest successful play percentage so far this season (39.0%), having faced a league-high 120 red-zone plays and the second-most goal-line plays. It’s an interesting spot for Slayton, who is the only other Giant with 10+ red zone targets and multiple end zone targets this season.
Sterling Shepard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (vs. SF, 7%)
This is a deep hit — not for the faint of heart. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter this week’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers as 5.5-point underdogs in a matchup tied for the second-highest point total of the week (50.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook). Without starting WRs Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin in the mix in Week 9, Shepard was the team’s leading wideout, ranked second on the team behind TE Cade Otton in targets (5) and receiving yards (48) while playing 60% of offensive snaps. While Otton is likely to remain the focal point of the passing game again this week, as Evans is set to miss another week, those in need of a potential volume play on a high-upside offense may look toward Shepard as a widely-available waiver wire option. Be warned, however, that 49ers have been an above-average average unit this season, allowing the eighth-lowest successful play rate (46.4%) on targets to opposing wide receivers this year, which means Shepard will will likely need to see a few more targets come his way in order to reach fantasy relevance.
Fantasy football: Week 10 WR rankings
Kate Magdziuk is an editor and contributor for Yahoo Fantasy and co-host of the Locked On Dynasty Football podcast. She is also the managing editor for Behind The Steel Curtain, SB Nation’s exclusive Pittsburgh Steelers blog. Her previous bylines include Pro Football Focus, NBC Sports Rotoworld and 4for4 Football, among others.
