With Week 10 of the NFL and Fantasy Football season here in full force, fantasy managers are adjusting to an ever-changing landscape. We saw an interesting week in terms of Fantasy Football with new names emerging, depth charts changing, and a constant climb to the top of the fantasy rankings.
Week 9 saw major upsets in the NFC North as the Green Bay Packers fell to the Panthers and the Detroit Lions lost to the Vikings. The Buffalo Bills got revenge over the Kansas City Chiefs while the Indianapolis Colts surprisingly fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers. With Week 10 Thursday Night Football behind us and looking ahead towards Sunday's slate, managers will have tough decisions to make with their rosters moving forward.
Before getting into our “drop list” ahead of Week 6, we'll get obvious NFL injury news out of the way. Packers TE Tucker Kraft suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 9. Commanders' WR Luke McCaffrey is done for the season (collarbone) while his quarterback, Jayden Daniels, will be out and considered week-to-week in avoiding a drastic injury last week.
Week 10 Fantasy Football – Drop List
Steelers' QB Aaron Rodgers – Rostered in 34.1% of leagues
Steelers' Aaron Rodgers led his team to their biggest win of the season in beating the Indianapolis Colts 27-20 in Week 9. While the end result is all that matters for Rodgers, it was a lackluster showing for fantasy managers with just 12.12 points. The Steelers have effectively found a way to win with their defense that allows Rodgers to throw for one touchdown, a modest yardage total, and rely on the running game for the rest.
During this entire season, Rodgers has surpasses 20.0 in a fantasy game just twice (WK1, WK7). For the most part, he's averaging 16.2 fantasy points per game and ranks No. 18 among quarterbacks. With the bulk of the fantasy season coming up, it may be time to drop Rodgers from rosters in order to secure depth at the skill positions.
Dolphins' WR Malik Washington – Rostered in 15.9% of leagues
After the Miami Dolphins' strong showing against the Atlanta Falcons, many people bought back in on the offense given all their offensive weapons all over the field. WR Malik Washington cashed-in on Tua Tagovailoa's four-touchdown performance with his only touchdown of the season thus far. In Week 9, however, the Dolphins' offense feel back down to Earth with Washington catching a modest three passes for 48 yards.
With his Week 8 performance of 13.6 fantasy points, it was Washington's highest total of the season and the only occasion he surpassed 10.0 points. There's far better options like Colts' Alec Pierce or Packers' Romeo Doubs who have much more capable offenses behind them, so it may be time to drop Washington and look elsewhere for a spark.
Broncos' TE Evan Engram – Rostered in 50.2% of leagues
Speaking of depth at the skill positions, the Denver Broncos' offense has a ton of mouths to feed from a fantasy perspective, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Running back JK Dobbins already having a stellar year carrying the ball, WR Courtland Sutton returns as the No. 1 passing option, and both WR Troy Franklin and rookie RJ Harvey are emerging as capable playmakers in their own right.
This leaves Engram in a tough position as his ceiling will understandably be capped from week to week. Furthermore, he's posted a double-digit fantasy game just once these season, while also posting 0 catches on three targets in Week 9. Unless this offense begins flowing a different way and seriously getting Engram involved, he doesn't seem to be a viable starter at a position that's already scarce in fantasy.
Raiders' WR Tre Tucker – Rostered in 43.7% of leagues
With TE Brock Bowers returning for the Raiders and posting three touchdowns in Week 9, he immediately inserts himself as the best and most reliable target within this offense. While Tucker may have seen a bump in production with Bowers out, it was never enough to garner FLEX status with what his usage has been. Tucker has also had sub-10.0 fantasy weeks the last four games, so there aren't many inclinations that things will trend in the upward direction.
Still, the wide receiver position has been extremely volatile this season and Tucker could benefit towards the end of the season if the Raiders decide to shut down Bowers or rookie Ashton Jeanty. Until then, however, it doesn't seem as though Tre Tucker will be a viable fantasy starter.
