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Consensus Rankings Analysis - Week 10

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Quarterback

The Saints have played very well against fantasy quarterbacks to date, allowing just eight touchdowns versus nine interceptions. However, five of their games have come against Josh Freeman, Carson Palmer, Ryan Tannehill, Thaddeus Lewis and Geno Smith. Those names don't exactly strike fear into people's hearts. While he is on the road, Tony Romo has proven he's a QB1 option, scoring the 3rd most fantasy points at the position this year. Matt Ryan and Jay Cutler had pretty big games against the Saints, while Tom Brady had reasonable success and led the Patriots to 30 points. While he may not be a top six option at the position, you still need to start him in my opinion.

If he does start, Josh McCown has proven he can handle Marc Trestman's system and understands who to get the ball to. He hasn't turned the ball over in his two starts (both on the road), has a QB rating of 100.2, and actually has a higher PFF rating than Jay Cutler on the year. The Lions are about average in terms of fantasy points given up to quarterbacks, but their last three games have seen them give up eight total touchdowns to Brandon Weeden, Andy Dalton and Tony Romo. McCown certainly has the chance for a game like last week's if Jay Cutler sits out another week, and I think he makes a solid bye week filler. The only reason he's ranked so low with our staffers is because of the Cutler uncertainty, but that's what Sunday mornings are for.

Here's the beautiful thing about Terrelle Pryor. From a real life perspective, his performance over the last three weeks has been nothing short of dismal. From a fantasy perspective, he's still averaged nearly 16 points per game. That's his floor, thanks to his running game. The Giants have allowed decent yardage on the ground to several quarterbacks, and have allowed multiple touchdowns to everyone who wasn't Minnesota Josh Freeman or gimpy Mike Vick. With his floor, Pryor is still a high-end QB2 with some upside. I'm fine with the No. 16 ranking as long as you know there's room for improvement.

 

Wide Receiver

Now that Justin Blackmon has gone full dunce on us, Cecil Shorts is a legit WR2 the rest of the way as long as Chad Henne is under center. We know he's going to be a volume/garbage time monster. Shorts actually leads the NFL in targets per snap, so he's an even bigger value in PPR leagues. Find a way to get him in your lineup, as No. 20 consensus shows our staffers also think he's a WR2.

All of a sudden, Emmanuel Sanders has been a target hog. Such is life when Big Ben is forced to get into shootouts and hucking passes all over the place, but his past two weeks, Sanders has lines of 6/98 and 7/88/1. The Bills secondary has allowed 20 touchdowns this season, and there's no reason to think Ben can't force several targets Sanders's way. At consensus No. 30, Sanders is a WR3 with PPR upside.

Ranked No. 45 with our staff, nothing stands out about Kris Durham at first glance. He's had some decent lines – 4/54, 5/41, 8/83, 3/30/1 in recent weeks, but these are desperation plug-in type lines. So why do I bring him up? Because Charles Tillman and company have played Calvin Johnson than almost any team in the NFL, and if that remains true, Durham is a likely beneficiary of targets. While he's only caught 55% of his passes this season, if he does approach 10 targets, he's definitely a WR3 plug n play. Consider him if you're thin at WR this week.

You saw last week what T.Y. Hilton can do with a full complement of snaps, right? Just a line of 7/121/3, and likely won his owners their week. With Reggie Wayne out, Hilton should be considered a near WR1 for the rest of the season, rewarding owners who held patient with him while Pep Hamilton played weird games with his offense. Hilton lines up all over the place, and the Rams secondary doesn't have the speed to keep up with him. At No. 13 on the week, I'm considering him a WR1, and you should too.

I think the Saints/Cowboys game should be a shootout, and as a result, Terrance Williams should hopefully bounce back from his last game. Rob Ryan is familiar with the Cowboys offense, but Williams is the unknown that Ryan never saw during his time in Dallas. Thus, it may make sense that Ryan tries to take away Dez Bryant and bump Jason Witten, leaving Williams in plenty of 1 on 1 situations. Ranked No. 25 on the week with our staffers, I won't fault you for counting Williams as a high-end WR3, and possibly even better this week.

 

Running Back

The Packers are set to ride Eddie Lacy this week, and it's not unreasonable to think he may hit 30 touches against the mediocre Eagles run defense. Though the Eagles will be acutely aware of this, Seneca Wallace will also have more time this week to prepare, and while he won't win the Packers any games, he shouldn't be the cause of a loss, as he's been an effective game manager throughout his career for the most part. Treat Lacy as an RB1.

With the Dolphins finally using him properly, Lamar Miller has seen 20-plus touches the last couple weeks and has finally found solid yardage in both games. The Bucs run defense is entirely beatable, as they've dropped off their early season pace for stout run defense. I'd consider Miller a middling RB2 with some upside, especially if he can convert a goal line carry.

On the other side, though he's not the talent Doug Martin is, Mike James can clearly run effectively for the Bucs. The Phins have given up the second most fantasy points to running backs, and there's no reason to think James can't get the volume he did last week as long as the game remains competitive. If you haven't been watching the Bucs, their games are actually very competitive, with breakdowns coming within the final minutes of over half of them. If he can hit 30 touches again, James is easily an RB2, as we have him ranked.

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