The FedEx Air & Ground fantasy preview is back!
In case it slipped your mind, NFL football fans have the opportunity to vote on top performers at the running back and quarterback position following every regular week of action.
The candidates at quarterback last week were Jay Cutler, Jared Goff and Matthew Stafford. At running back, Adrian Peterson, Ezekiel Elliott and Alvin Kamara were all featured following big games. You can check out the Week 9 winners here and cast your vote every week.
Now, without further ado, let's dive into some players who could have huge games in Week 10, both through the air and on the ground.
Air Analysis:
Josh McCown at Buccaneers
For the fourth week in a row, Josh McCown is in a good spot to produce for fantasy owners. I included him in my streaming article earlier in the week because his ownership at that point was still below 15 percent in NFL.com leagues. In each of his last three games, the Jets veteran quarterback has posted 100-plus passer rating and a 6:1 TD:INT ratio during that span. He's also finished no worse than QB15 in fantasy in any of those three matchups. This week McCown faces a Buccaneers defense that ranks in the bottom quarter of the league in pretty much every relevant statistic that could allow for a big game for McCown. Tampa Bay is 30th in pass yards allowed per game (272.4) and ranks 25th in points per game allowed (24.8). McCown could legitimately finish as a top-five fantasy quarterback in what should be a shootout in Tampa Bay.
Matthew Stafford vs. Browns
Hot off a big game in which he carved up the Packers' secondary, Matthew Stafford is again in an awesome spot to produce at home versus Cleveland in Week 10. He's riding a streak of three 300-yard passing games and is averaging 365.3 pass yards per game during that span, the highest mark in the NFL since Week 6. It helps that Stafford's top targets are playing well. The quarterback has two touchdown passes and just one pick all season when targeting Golden Tate, and five touchdown passes and a single interception when targeting Marvin Jones. Stafford has only thrown four picks all season which is impressive considering he ranks second in the NFL in pass attempts with 303. Going up against a Browns secondary that's tied for the most touchdown passes allowed to quarterbacks (16) this season, Stafford is one of the best quarterback plays of Week 10.
Ground Analysis:
Jordan Howard vs Packers
There are a lot of reasons to like Jordan Howard's matchup against Green Bay this week. First, his high-volume workload, which is basically locked in at this point, provides him with a safe floor. Since Mitchell Trubisky took over under center for the Bears, Howard is averaging 25.8 touches per game compared to the 18.3 per game he was averaging in Weeks 1-4 with Mike Glennon starting. Howard also has collected at least 18 carries in every game since Week 3. Howard's volume has allowed him to average over 100 rushing yards per game in the Bears last four contests. That bodes well for his outlook in Week 10 against a Packers run defense that is allowing 118 rush yards per game to opponents, a bottom-10 mark in the league. When the Packers held the Lions to just 64 rush yards in Week 9, it was the first game in which a team hadn't posted at least 100 rush yards against them since Week 1. Green Bay has also allowed a rushing touchdown in five straight games, and Howard himself scored against them back in Week 4. He's primed for a huge game from a workload, yardage, and fantasy-point perspective.
Orleans Darkwa at 49ers
Earlier this week, my buddy James Koh wrote up Orleans Darkwa as one of the most underrated running backs in the NFL this season for his Koh Knows Next Gen Stats column. He was spot on, too so you should check out his breakdown. For Week 10 specifically, Darkwa has the most favorable matchup a running back can get against San Francisco. The 49ers have the absolute worst run defense in the NFL and allow 182.6 total yards to opposing running backs per game. They've also given up 10 total touchdowns to running backs this year, the highest mark in the league (tied with the Colts). Darkwa has done well given his situation, running behind one of the worst offensive lines in a New York offense that is one of the lowest scoring overall this season. Over the last four games, Darkwa owns a 55.1 percent share of the Giants rush attempts, is averaging 16 touches per game and has a 5.4 yards per carry average. If he can reach his average workload, there's no doubt Darkwa will put up big fantasy numbers in Week 10.
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