Daily fantasy (DFS) brings a breath of fresh air to the industry, with an emphasis on the excitement of drafting a new team every week. We all know that the late summer drafts and the thrill of analyzing the weekly matchups are the best part of playing fantasy football. The daily game merges those two together to form the newest wave rocking the fantasy world.
Here in the weekly daily fantasy roundup column, we'll break down everything you need to know to pick the best plays on the Week 10 slate. If any of the terminology goes over your head. Please refer to the "what you need to know" preview of the roundup.
Top quarterback plays
Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers - The veteran passer just keeps on plugging away. He's coming off a game where he completed 72.7 percent of his passes and eclipsed the 100 passer rating mark for the first time since a four-score eruption vs. Oakland. He's unlikely to be a heavily played option this week, but makes sense at home against a weak Dolphins secondary.
Marcus Mariota, QB, Tennessee Titans - The second-year signal-caller has multiple passing touchdowns in each of his last five games, and has two rushing touchdowns in that span. The Packers have a ton of players injured in their secondary, and provide a good matchup. This game could be sneaky high-scoring, as the Titans allow a league-high in passing yards (1,301) and touchdowns (10) over the last four weeks. If Green Bay is racking up the points, it'll force Mariota and the Titans to give chase.
Top running back plays
Melvin Gordon, RB, San Diego Chargers - In the midst of a stellar turnaround, Gordon handled an average of 30.3 touches in his last three games, and his yards per carry has gone up every single week. That sort of opportunity is worth chasing. The Dolphins allow 4.5 yards per carry over the last four weeks and the Chargers should be relative favorites at home this week, offering a positive game script for Gordon.
Devonta Freeman, RB, Atlanta Falcons - In the two games without Tevin Coleman, Devonta Freeman ranks third in the NFL in red-zone touches among running backs, trailing only Melvin Gordon and Tim Hightower. He's a strong bet for a score when he owns the backfield to himself. The Eagles aren't exactly a full-on green light defense to run on, but they do allow 4.35 yards per carry on the year. Either way, the volume is what matters most here.
Chris Ivory, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars - In Nathaniel Hackett's first game as offensive coordinator Chris Ivory saw an immediate boost to his fantasy stock, handling a season-high 18 carries and popping off 107 yards. Ivory still trailed T.J. Yeldon in snaps played, but looked like a big part of the offense last week. The Jaguars play at home this week, and the J.J. Watt-less Texans can run be on. Houston checks in as the 28th ranked run defense in Football Outsiders' DVOA on the season and allowed 4.9 yards per carry over the last month. He's a screaming value, at the moment.
Top wide receiver plays
Antonio Brown, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers- The value of Antonio Brown is rather depressed right now, as he's usually the clear-cut top ranked receiver. He could easily bust back with a big game now that Ben Roethlisberger is healthy and the Steelers are at home. Dallas will be without resurgent cornerback Morris Claiborne in this game.
Alshon Jeffery, WR, Chicago Bears - Over their last two games, both at home, Tampa Bay allowed 857 passing yards. That's almost a full 200 yards more than the Panthers, who allowed the second-most yardage in the same span. In the last four weeks of the season the Bucs allowed a nine-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. Over the last two seasons, Jeffery averages 9.6 targets per game with Jay Cutler under center, compared to just 8.4 without him. Jeffery has been just fine in every game with Cutler this year (105 yards, 96 yards, 63 yards-TD). He should be by far the most popular play on the board this week.
Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots - If you attack Seattle, it has to be through the middle of the field. That was a trend from last season and it is starting to show up again this year. The Seahawks just allowed a career day to Robert Woods, who collected 81 percent of his yardage from the slot:
Edelman has accumulated 64 percent of his yards and seen 63 percent of his targets when lined up in the slot. His usage has been ugly this season, as just a primary short dump option with little upside, but this is a good week where his floor should be even higher than normal.
Top tight end plays
Jordan Reed, TE, Washington Redskins - If you're chasing a non-Gronkowski high-end tight end, it should be Jordan Reed. If you're going after the Vikings defense, it's best to target the middle of the field. Minnesota allowed 180 yards to Zach Miller and Eric Ebron the last two weeks, and their defense just isn't the same fearful unit it was in the first five weeks of the season. Reed's 9.8 targets per game leads the tight end position this year.
Delanie Walker, TE, Tennessee Titans - If the Titans and Packers game does turn into a shootout, as hypothesized in the Mariota section, Walker is in good position to approach his ceiling. Walker has target totals of eight, five and nine the last three weeks and amassed 201 yards and a pair of scores in that span.
Lance Kendricks, TE, Los Angeles Rams - Going with this play after a 12-target, 90-yard day may feel like chasing points, but there is reason to go back to the well. Kendricks' playing time is at a pristine level, as he's played 86 percent of the team snaps their last three games. He has target totals of eight, nine and 12 in that span. The Jets are weak in the secondary and give up the sixth-most (8.7) targets per game to tight ends on the year.
Top defense plays
Arizona Cardinals DEF - The 49ers dreadful offense traveling to Arizona with the Cardinals coming off the bye has the makings of turnover-filled shellacking. Last time Kaepernick went to Arizona he chucked four passes to their defense, was sacked twice and totaled just 67 yards passing.
Washington Redskins DEF - Sam Bradford has been sacked 13 times in his last three games, and can't get much time to throw unless he delivers the ball in less than 2.3 seconds. Washington ranks 13th in Next Gen Stats' pressure metric (shortest distance to the quarterback at point of sack/throw), and they could force Bradford into a few turnovers here.
Stack(s) of the week
Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots - As Evan Silva pointed out, New England had a clear game plan when attacking the Seahawks in their two meetings over the last five seasons. Brady totaled 50 and 58 pass attempts while their running backs had carry totals of 18 and 26. Look for Brady to exploit the holes in Seattle's middle of the field coverage with Edelman, but especially with Gronkowski. The Seahawks only allow 4.9 targets per game to tight ends, the second-lowest mark in the NFL, but Gronk is a different beast. The Patriots All-Pro amassed 64 percent of his yardage when lined up out wide or in the slot heading into the bye week. Since this stack is of such high value, it's unlikely to be a wildly popular one.
Cam Newton/Kelvin Benjamin, Carolina Panthers - As detailed in the Next Gen Stats matchups column the Chiefs have a major weakness at the right corner position, and Kelvin Benjamin takes 51 percent of his snaps at left wide receiver. Benjamin has just one game this season where he failed to record 70 yards and/or a touchdown. As for Newton, he's had a slower season but that blowup game is on its way. This week feels like the right spot for it. He's at home against a Chiefs defense that is solid, but plays a fair amount of man coverage that he could exploit on the ground with scrambles and designed runs. Given that neither Newton or Benjamin have been among their position's highest scorers of late, this should come as a value and low-owned stack. Expect Benjamin and Newton to push the top-10 and top-five of their respective positions' scoring this week.
Best contrarian play
DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans - It doesn't seem like Murray would be a contrarian play, but with most people going all the way up to David Johnson and others chasing the hot streaks of Melvin Gordon and Jay Ajayi, it certainly feels like Murray will go overlooked. The Packers also, on paper, look like a tough matchup. Yet, teams with strong running backs and pristine offensive lines, like Atlanta and Dallas, have gotten over on the Packers front. Murray has 20-touch upside every week and was removed from the injury report on Friday.
Best obvious play
David Johnson, RB, Arizona Cardinals - Listen, it's David Johnson going against the 49ers. How does he not obliterate a defense that has allowed two running backs to go off in multiple games and 722 rushing yards in their last four contests? It makes complete sense to construct lineups around the idea of making sure ot fit Johnson in.
Near 100 percent exposure player
Darren Sproles, RB, Philadelphia Eagles - The Falcons leads the NFL in receiving yards allowed to running backs and Darren Sproles was finally named, or more accurately just audibly recognized as, the starter for the Eagles by coach Doug Pederson. Sproles has already played 70 percent of the snaps to just 20 percent for Ryan Mathews the last three games. The Eagles are at home, and Sproles is game-script immune.
Cheat code of the week
Albert Wilson, WR, Kansas City Chiefs - Only Mike Evans and Robert Woods had a higher share of their team's intended air yards last week than Albert Wilson last week. That was with a different quarterback, but he will once again need to take on a big role with Jeremy Maclin out.
He was used all over the field in Week 9, but has settled into a comfortable home this year. Albert Wilson has transitioned to playing slot receiver, which is a more favorable spot for him, and he's taken 73 percent of his snaps inside. Through the first eight weeks Carolina allowed the third-highest touchdown rate (9.1), the second-highest catch rate (74 percent) and 88.6 yards per game to slot receivers on just 77 targets (23rd).
Matt Harmon is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter _@MattHarmonBYB_ or like on Facebook.
