Fantasy football had a weird feeling in Week 9, as plenty of your matchups likely had low scoring outputs. To try and combat those low totals, our Week 10 waiver wire pickups can help find some much-needed scoring for your roster.
There have been quite a few breakout players this year that have come out of nowhere, and just in the past few weeks, there have been even more. Being flexible as the season progresses is what can turn a good fantasy football team into a great one, so always combing through your waiver wire is key.
As always, the following list includes players that are rostered on fewer than 50 percent of all ESPN rosters, making the chances you can pick them up pretty high. You can never have too much talent on your fantasy football roster, which makes your Week 7 waiver wire pickups that more important.
10. Noah Brown, Houston Texans – WR
0.9% Rostered
While Tank Dell is the likely choice to see here when it comes to Houston receivers, Dell’s rostership is quite high, disqualifying him from this list. Instead, we have Noah Brown, the third receiver for the Texans thrust into a larger role with the injury to Robert Woods.
As the Texans were locked into a shootout with the Buccaneers, Brown ripped off a 75-yard score in the third quarter, a big reason why he went for 153 yards and a score. One of three pass-catchers for the Texans to go over the century mark, Brown should have fantasy relevancy for the entirety that Woods misses time.
9. Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers – WR
33.8% Rostered
An expanded role is on the horizon for Quentin Johnston, as the TCU rookie now is Justin Herbert’s WR2 after a plethora of injuries. With Mike Williams out for the year and Joshua Palmer now on injured reserve, Johnston is the next man up.
After a slow start to the year, Johnston had his first ‘breakout’ game of the year, hauling in five passes for 50 yards against the Bears in Week 8. Another heavy snap-count game against the Jets in Week 9 helps give Johnston a solid, but volume-based floor, moving forward.
8. Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals – QB
35.6% Rostered
All systems are a go for Kyler Murray, as reports have stated that Week 10 is when he will return to the field as Arizona’s starter. After trading away Joshua Dobbs at the deadline (more on him later), the Cardinals turned to rookie Clayton Tune, who had a disastrous showing against Cleveland last week.
For Murray, it has been a long journey back from his torn ACL, so it will be interesting to see how limited he is running the ball, a core part of his game. With Arizona hosting the Falcons next week, Murray should be one of your top QB targets in your waiver wire pickups this week.
7. Demario Douglas, New England Patriots – WR
21.9% Rostered
There really is nothing interesting in the New England Patriots offense, especially after the season-ending ACL tear suffered by Kendrick Bourne, but rookie receiver Demario Douglas offers up some interesting WR depth.
Plugged in as the WR1 for Mac Jones against Washington, ‘Pop’ hauled in five receptions for 55 yards. Outside of a TD, this is likely the ceiling for Douglas on a regular basis, so it’s not like Douglas should be a plug-and-play top option – but he certainly is a solid receiver to look into.
6. Joshua Dobbs, Minnesota Vikings – QB
16.3% Rostered
Week 9 was not slated for Joshua Dobbs’ first start with the Minnesota Vikings, as rookie Jaren Hall was starting. But after an early injury knocked Hall out of the game, Dobbs was forced into early action.
There have been plenty of absolutely awesome stories about what Dobbs had to do to essentially learn the playbook on the fly during the game, and his gun-slinger mentality will bode well for Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson, and for when Justin Jefferson returns.
5. Zach Charbonnet, Seattle Seahawks – RB
30.4% Rostered
For our discussion on the best fantasy football breakout and sleeper candidates, listen below:
While game script played a big part in this, it has been interesting to see that rookie running back Zach Charbonnet has out-snapped Kenneth Walker III across the past two weeks. While Walker saw 24 snaps both in Week 8 and 9, Charbonnet surpassed those totals with 34 in Week 8 and 27 this past week.
Head coach Pete Carroll has been gushing over Charbonnet recently, and while his stats this year haven’t really shown an uptick in usage, you always chase volume in fantasy football, making Charbonnet a sneaky addition for your waiver wire pickups this week.
4. Luke Musgrave, Green Bay Packers – TE
17.2% Rostered
While Luke Musgrave has fought through some injuries in his rookie campaign, he has started to come alive in the Green Bay offense. His Week 9 showing against the Rams marked his fifth game of three-plus catches, and the former Oregon State Beaver found the end zone for his first professional score.
While things are far from pretty on offense for the Packers, Musgrave has been one of the lone bright spots. If you need depth at tight end, Musgrave is a solid player to target in your waiver wire pickups.
3. Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals – TE
43.6% Rostered
Sunday wasn’t a great showing for anyone on the Cardinals, and that goes for Trey McBride too. But the path that McBride has been on in his last four games shows that his role in the offense is here to stay.
After Zach Ertz went on the injured reserve, McBride has seen five-plus targets in the past four games. A 14-target anomaly in Week 8 stands out the most, but McBride has a strong floor, something that Kyler Murray’s return should help with.
2. Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints – TE
39.7% Rostered
Congratulations are in order for Taysom Hill, who only became the fifth player in NFL history to have at least 10 passing, rushing, and receiving TDs in his career after hauling in a short score in Week 9.
Hill has been a beast this season, throwing for a score, running for three, and catching another. If the Saints continue to utilize him as a Swiss Army Knife, then his fantasy value will continue to be at the point where he can be started on a weekly basis.
1. Keaton Mitchell, Baltimore Ravens – RB
1.0% Rostered
It was tough to pick the top option in this week’s waiver wire pickups, but after the performance that rookie running back Keaton Mitchell had for the Baltimore Ravens, it was hard not to choose him.
While Gus Edwards and Justice Hill both saw the field, it was Mitchell who was the most explosive back, taking nine carries for 138 rushing yards and a long touchdown. Expecting Mitchell to take over the lead-back role alongside Lamar Jackson is not the right outlook to have, but expect Mitchell to take on more work after his strong performance against the Seahawks.
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