Fantasy Football Week 10: Waiver wire pickups

If your fantasy roster needs a little mid-season enhancing, we’re here to help. Each week, we highlight the top potential waiver pickups available in at least 50% of Yahoo fantasy football leagues. Add as needed, and please use them responsibly.

Quarterbacks

Russell Wilson, Pittsburgh Steelers (17% rostered)

Wilson is coming off back-to-back wins in which he’s passed for 542 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions while his team has totaled 63 points. Whatever expectations you may have had for Russ, he’s almost certainly exceeded them. He’s consistently hitting receivers on time and with extraordinary touch. George Pickens was already delivering an impressive season with Justin Fields at the controls, but it’s clear his weekly ceiling is higher with Wilson. A solid argument can be made for Pickens as a buy-high.

Pittsburgh exits their bye with a series of neutral-to-friendly matchups ahead, beginning this week at Washington. The version of Wilson we’ve seen in Week 7-8 can be a solid rest-of-season answer for fantasy managers at quarterback. At 35, Wilson no longer offers significant rushing upside, but it’s clear he can still cook as a passer.

Recommended FAB offer (assuming $100 budget): $7

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers (44%)

Herbert’s widespread availability is understandable, because he only rarely threw the ball in the season’s first month. He entered his team’s Week 5 bye without having reached 180 passing yards in any game.

Volume definitely hasn’t been an issue in recent weeks, however, and the Chargers’ receiving room is getting healthy. Herbert is coming off consecutive multi-TD games and he’s averaged 303 yards over his last three. He won’t actually face an intimidating matchup until we get deep into December, so keep him in your streaming plans in the weeks ahead. He still has dates upcoming with Cincinnati, Baltimore and Tampa Bay, three of the league’s more user-friendly pass defenses.

FAB: $7

Drake Maye, New England Patriots (11%)

It was a bumpy ride for Maye in Sunday’s loss, as he tossed two picks (including the game-ender), lost a fumble and got himself sacked four times. He also continued to finish too many runs with violence. However, even in a mistake-filled day, the rookie found a way to put up numbers. Maye rushed eight times for 95 yards and he passed for 206, forcing the game into overtime with an utterly ridiculous play:

It might not be a quarterbacking clinic at all times with Maye, but he produces multiple wow moments each week. New England’s schedule offers a few friendly spots in the season’s second-half, so we are gonna rank Maye as a playable fantasy option more often than not. You won’t find many QBs with his dual-threat profile hanging out there on the wire.

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FAB: $6

Additional QB options:

• Aaron Rodgers has been a joyless mope for pretty much the entire season, so we understand if you don’t want those vibes on your roster. But he’s also the guy who gets to throw to Garrett Wilson and Davante Adams, so the fantasy experience has been consistent if not spectacular. He has 10 TD passes over his last five games and hasn’t dipped below 200 yards in his last seven.

• Trevor Lawrence’s roster percentage has slipped below the 50% level, forcing us to give him at least a bulleted mention. He’s coming off a mostly ugly passing performance at Philadelphia, but he did enough on the ground to reach 20-plus fantasy points. Lawrence is headed into a pair of matchups (Min, at Det) in which pass volume should be guaranteed, though not always productive.

Running backs

Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers (43%)

Warren entered the regular season dealing with a hamstring injury, then he picked up a knee issue in September, so we’ve rarely seen him operating at full capacity this year. The Steelers ramped up his workload ahead of their bye, however, feeding him double-digit touches in Weeks 7 and 8. He responded with 118 scrimmage yards, catching four passes and averaging 4.3 YPC. Warren has also forced six missed tackles on 21 carries during that two-game stretch according to PFF, breaking off three runs of 10 or more yards.

He’s had a week to rest his various ailments, so we can assume we’re getting something close to a healthy Warren heading into the season’s second-half. We can expect him to play 40-50% of the offensive snaps for the Steelers moving forward, handling 10-12 touches per week. If that sort of workload will play in your league when it belongs to an explosive runner on a quality team, then go get him.

FAB: $12

Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills (21%)

Ever since Davis delivered that 152-yard primetime breakout performance against the Jets, Buffalo has fully committed to keeping him involved. The rookie delivered in a big way against Miami on Sunday, converting six touches into 90 total yards and a game-changing, tackle-breaking score:

Davis is simply too talented to leave un-rostered. He’s clearly something more than a pure backup. The Bills have cleared 30 points in each of their last three games (all wins), so this is an offense in which we should look to invest.

FAB: $11

Various other RB adds:

• Isaac Guerendo needs to be stashed in deeper leagues, just in case we are once again being lied to about the readiness of Christian McCaffrey. Guerendo delivered 102 scrimmage yards against Dallas ahead of his team’s bye, stepping up in a meaningful way after Jordan Mason aggravated his shoulder issue.

• Tyler Allgeier remains one of the most important backup RBs in our game, an excellent player with a steady every-week role. He made another house call on Sunday, his second in four weeks. Allgeier and the Falcons are hitting the road this week to face spiraling New Orleans.

• Trey Benson handled nine touches in his team’s shockingly easy win over Chicago, gaining 55 total yards and scoring his first regular season touchdown. He’s no great threat to James Conner, but he’s clearly a valuable understudy.

Wide receivers and tight ends

Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers (15%)

Johnston returned from injury with a huge afternoon at Cleveland, reaching triple-digit yardage and hauling in yet another busted-coverage touchdown:

It should go without saying that Johnston will remain a boom-or-bust fantasy option, reliant on big plays. But he’s also tied to an exceptional quarterback with a howitzer arm, so it’s not as if he’s made his last trip to the end-zone. In a deeper league — let’s say 12 or more teams, multiple flex spots — there’s nothing wrong with parking a high-variance receiver like Johnston in your lineup.

FAB: $11

Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers (30%)

Pearsall was excellent in the Dallas win ahead of San Francisco’s Week 9 bye, delivering 77 scrimmage yards on five touches, catching all four of his targets and playing 40 snaps. The rookie is looking like another dangerous chess piece in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, as if it needed another.

With Brandon Aiyuk (knee) done for the year and Deebo Samuel ambiguously banged up at all times, it’s clear Pearsall will have a meaningful rest-of-season role. He’s too talented to simply leave on the wire. The Niners have a pair of appealing matchups ahead (at TB, Sea) and an inviting schedule in Weeks 15-17, when fantasy managers need every possible edge (LAR, at Mia, Det).

FAB: $9

DeMarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams (12%)

Congrats to everyone who chased after Robinson’s two touchdowns from Week 8, because he delivered another pair of scores on Sunday at Seattle. The second TD was absolutely stellar, a fantastic play-call executed flawlessly:

Robinson drew nine targets against the Seahawks, catching six for 94 yards. It’s unlikely he would have seen that sort of volume if Puka Nacua hadn’t been ejected, but let’s give him credit for taking advantage of his opportunities. We should also note that Robinson has been on the field for at least 85% of the offensive snaps in every game this season, so playing time isn’t a concern.

FAB: $7

Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints (35%)

Hill isn’t a tight end in the traditional sense, but he somehow conned his way into eligibility at the position in fantasy, so here we are. He’s a key weapon in the rushing game for the Saints, which of course led to a productive afternoon on Sunday at Carolina. Hill rushed for 19 yards and one score on five carries, adding four receptions for another 41 yards. He’s a decent bet to deliver that exact stat-line in any given week.

FAB: $7

Additional WRs and TEs to consider:

• Apparently, Mike Gesicki is going to thrive in any game in which Tee Higgins can’t play. He finished with five catches for 100 yards and two scores in Sunday’s demolition of the Raiders. The week before, he caught seven balls for 73 yards against Philly. The Bengals have a quick turnaround this week as they head to Baltimore on Thursday night. Assuming Higgins remains sidelined, Gesicki is clearly worth a flier.

• Jauan Jennings should be clear to return from his hip injury in Week 10 following the Niners bye, and we shouldn’t need to remind you that he is a circle-of-trust player for his head coach. Jennings also has an 11-175-3 performance on his 2024 game log, which isn’t often available via waivers.

• There’s no need to proactively attach yourself to Carolina’s offense, so let’s not get wild with the Xavier Legette adds. But the rookie has been stunningly consistent, reaching the end-zone four times in his last six games. He’s headed into a Week 10 matchup with the Giants (a game that has been exported to Germany, as you’d expect).

• After a pair of quiet games, the targets returned for DeMario Douglas. He snagged seven passes for a modest 35 yards on nine chances at Tennessee. If you play in a full-PPR format, that stat-line is like poetry to you.

• Ray-Ray McCloud made a house call on Sunday against Dallas and would likely see an uptick in targets if Drake London (hip) is sidelined at New Orleans in the matchup ahead.

• Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has made house calls in four straight games and has clearly taken on a larger role following the trade of DeAndre Hopkins. The scoring streak probably ends this week against the Chargers, an outrageously stingy defense, but he has a layup line of matchups after visiting LA.

• JuJu Smith-Schuster will presumably return from his hamstring injury at some point in the near future, further complicating the Chiefs receiving mix.

Defense

New York Giants (6%)

Dexter Lawrence and friends currently lead the NFL in sacks (35), and they’re headed into a neutral site matchup with Bryce Young — a highly sackable QB. No need to make a long-term commitment to the Giants, but they can certainly help us in Week 10.

FAB: $1

Atlanta Falcons (9%)

Atlanta’s defense has not been exceptional in any obvious way, but they are traveling this week to behold the smoldering ruins of the 2024 New Orleans Saints, a team that’s dropped seven straight. Let’s force Derek Carr to put the ball in the air 35 or more times and see what happens.

FAB: $1