Did you keep Sammy Watkins on your bench in fear that he wouldn’t play? Or how about Cole Beasley? Is he still on your league’s waiver wire?
Those were some of the storylines in week 9 for fantasy football receivers, with Watkins going for 22.80 points and Beasley generating 23.20 points. But those didn’t reach Antonio Brown’s numbers. For some reason, Oakland didn’t cover him, resulting in 284 yards receiving and 26.80 points. Those points were without a touchdown.
Brown will take a step back in the next two weeks without starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but he still should be a must start in season-long fantasy football.
For other players who should get the nod in your lineup, here’s our week 10 start ’em, sit ’em guide for wide receivers.
Daily fantasy start of the week
Randall Cobb vs. Detroit Lions
We can’t imagine Aaron Rodgers will allow the Packers to loss three straight games. Because of that, we’re anticipating a monster day against the Lions, and Cobb should be heavily targeted.
Cobb was targeted 12 times last game against Carolina, and finished with four catches for 99 yards and a touchdown. It was his first touchdown since week 3 and we’re predicting even better results in the future. With a healthy Devante Adams in the lineup now, it should take a little heat off of Cobb.
Also, it helps that the Lions have a bad defense, giving up 14 touchdowns, compared to four interceptions. Detroit also allows 8.7 yards per completion, the highest average in the NFL.
The passing game will be opened up more and Cobb should be the biggest benefactor. Cobb may be a cheaper option in DFS, too, which makes this a no-brainer.
Start
Stefon Diggs vs. Oakland Raiders
Did you see what Brown did against the Raiders secondary last week? We’re riding that momentum into this week with Diggs, who has become the primary receiver for the Vikings.
Diggs may not get much support this week, but with the news that Teddy Bridgewater passed his first test in the concussion protocol, that should could give fantasy owners hope that Diggs will be even more productive.
But even without Bridgewater, we still like Diggs’ value. The Vikings will have to throw to somebody, and lately, Diggs has been the only receiver worth watching for Minnesota.
Diggs has three double-digit performances in his lats four games and the Raiders are the worst pass defense in the NFL. This is a tough matchup for Minnesota, but we’re buying Diggs to get his share of fantasy points.
DeSean Jackson vs. New Orleans Saints
We anticipated Jackson to make an immediate impact last week against New England. That didn’t happen, mostly because Washington was unable to do anything on offense.
This week, though, we’re buying the stock of Washington’s receivers. We already explained the lack of running back options, so somebody is going to have to score fantasy points for the Redskins against a bad New Orleans defense.
That’s where Jackson should come in, and against the Saints, he should have some opportunities to get into the endzone. The Saints have allowed the most passing touchdowns this season at 24, five more than any other NFL team.
Kirk Cousins is a sneaky start this week against the Saints and we like his receivers, too. But the best of the bunch is Jackson and he should bounce back from his injury in a big way.
Daily fantasy sit of the week
Alshon Jeffery vs. St. Louis Rams
Did we say we were a little down on the Bears this week? That continues with Jeffery’s value in DFS.
He’s been a beast during the past three games, going for 20, 17 and 15 points respectively. But this isn’t the week to take him in DFS.
The Rams are one of the best teams in the NFL against the pass, limiting the opposition to 219.8 points per game and the least amount of touchdowns at five. The pass rush is overwhleming and we believe the Bears will attempt to run the ball more, similar to what Minnesota did last week against the Rams.
It worked for the Vikings and we believe it will have more success for the Bears than passing.
Sit
John Brown vs. Seattle Seahawks
We’re still worried about Brown’s injury. The Cardinals are coming off a bye week, giving him more time to rest, but he played through the injury three weeks ago and then sat on the sidelines the next week.
And against Seattle, it’s not a good time to come back from injury.
The Seahawks are once again dominant against the pass, limiting opposing teams to the second-fewest passing yards per game at 186.4 and giving up only six passing touchdowns, once again the second-fewest in the NFL.
Brown has become an increasingly popular target among Cardinals wide receivers, but this game is in Seattle and will likely be a slog. We don’t anticipate much from either of these offenses, so we’re selling Brown’s stock this week.
Golden Tate vs. Green Bay Packers
It’s time to start taking a closer look at Tate.
He hasn’t gone for more than 80 yards receiving the entire year. In fact, he’s only gone over 60 twice. He only has one touchdown and he’s not generating the yards after catch that fantasy owners have been accustomed to in the past.
But since his ADP was worth a WR2 in the preseason, then it seems like we just have to start him. Well, no we don’t.
He’s gotten into double-digits only once this season in fantasy and he’s not a quality candidate to produce on a weekly basis. And we don’t like this matchup for the Lions.
The Packers should have laser-sharp focus for this game and while the defense does give up its share of yards, it also records plenty of turnovers. The Packers have allowed 10 touchdowns and recorded 10 interceptions. Quarterbacks also have a 79 QBR against Green Bay, which is fifth-lowest in the NFL.
Don’t blindly start Tate on your fantasy roster. If there’s a better option with a more favorable matchup, then go with the other option.
