Bjorn Yang-Vaernet examines which players on the waiver wire are worth prioritizing for Week 10 and highlights others to stash preemptively.
One of the more satisfying events for me as a writer is when a player I write about in this article ends up performing well the next week — helping readers who use this article to make waiver wire decisions win their week. In Week 9, that player was Justin Fields, who put up a monster game of 47.2 fantasy points. Who are the players that are worth the pickup in Week 10? Find out below!
The waiver wire is one of the most important pieces of season-long draft leagues. It is the easiest way to acquire new players and every year there are gems to be found. The goal of this article will not only be to highlight which weekly breakout players to prioritize but find others to preemptively pick up before the breakout happens.
This article will be published once on Mondays with a quick run through my favorite pickups and again on Tuesdays with more charts and data points added in.
This article will only reference players that are less than 50% owned in ESPN leagues. The players are categorized by position group and within each group is the order of how I would prioritize them. In lieu of free agent acquisition budget percentages, which are highly dependent on the makeup of each league, I have highlighted which players I would prioritize on the week.
Quarterback
Justin Fields (Available in 53% of Leagues)
The cat is out of the bag after the wild performance by Justin Fields in Week 9. Fields threw for three TDs and ran for a regular-season record 178 yards and a TD on the ground. He produced a 42.7 fantasy point game, reminiscent of a peak Lamar Jackson week. Fields is being used more on designed runs, giving him a fairly safe floor each week. During the last four weeks, he’s averaged 14.7 fantasy points per game from rushing alone (three straight games with a rushing TD). I would note that one thing that helped with the record rushing day is that Miami plays a lot of man coverage, which is conducive for big scrambling plays where the defenders’ backs are turned to the QB.
Fields should be a priority pickup for managers who don’t currently have a dual-threat QB. I would classify those QBs as Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Kyler Murray, and possibly Joe Burrow. Every other manager should carefully consider whether Fields is better than the pocket passer currently in the starting lineup. Fields has an easy upcoming schedule during the next three games, ranking as the third-easiest QB schedule according to the strength of schedule streaming app.
Running Back
Jeff Wilson (Available in 55% of Leagues)
After Jeff Wilson was dealt to the Dolphins on Tuesday, it was uncertain how much he would play. However, with Mike McDaniel coming from the Kyle Shanahan coaching tree, the playbooks must have been very similar. Wilson stepped right in and led the backfield in snaps (50%) and opportunities (12). While Raheem Mostert remained involved and got a goal-line rush attempt (and converted), Wilson was more efficient with his touches and ended up scoring a red-zone receiving TD himself later in the game. I’d expect Wilson to lead the backfield going forward, likely getting 55% to 60% of the snaps and pushing Mostert to a change-of-pace role. Given how explosive the Maimi offense has looked, Wilson is a strong pickup as a bet on the team environment. However, it is unlikely he will ever be more than a 20-opportunity RB in this version of the offense that is so concentrated on getting the ball into the hands of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
