Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 10 (2023)

Welcome to Fantasy In Frames’ Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 10 (2023)!

In the dark passageways of Week 10 fantasy football, we find ourselves grappling not only with the vexing conundrums of player selections and lineup configurations but also with the profound introspection of our very existence. As we deliberate on the ethereal choices for our starting lineup and our Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for week 10 (2023), we are compelled to confront the existential specter of an impending world war and the fragile nature of our being in the vast, seemingly desolate expanse of the universe. Within this cosmic tapestry, I extend my assistance to illuminate the shadows of one facet of our ponderous week 10 existence. Read on to discover which existential quandary I endeavor to alleviate for you. Here are my Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 10 (2023)!

Start

1. Will Levis (@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

• First of all, this isn’t the same old Titans offense, they are pushing the ball vertically, and while I am a Will Levis skeptic, he has one thing in spades, and it is arm strength. Ryan Tannehill before going down to injury led the NFL in Intended Air Yards per attempt (According to Pro Football Reference) at 9.3.  Will Levis hasn’t yet qualified for the overall rankings due to snap attempt minimums but over his last two games starting he is averaging a whopping 10.7 Intended Air Yards per attempt.
• The Tampa Bay defense hasn’t been the suffocating unit we remember from their runs at Super Bowls.  In fact, they are the 28th graded defense according to PFF, they rank thirty-first in most pass yards allowed per game to opponents (279.4), and rank 27th is most pass TDs allowed per game to opponents (1.6).

2. Taylor Heinicke (@ Arizona Cardinals)

•  Heinicke has always been capable of a big game here and there, and moving into his third week starting should settle in a bit more.  The Cardinals have been poor in, well, everything. They are the 31st-graded defense according to PFF, and I would venture to say that the only reason they haven’t allowed more TDs (25th) or pass yards per game (17th) to opponents is they haven’t been necessary for them to win.
• Heinicke went from 21 to 38 attempts in the last two weeks, and with a theoretically vastly improved Arizona offense with Kyler Murray back under center, points being scored should be a necessity. Now, I cannot guarantee who these targets will go to, but we should see more production from the Atlanta passing attack with a solid veteran guiding them in his third start. 

Sit

1. CJ Stroud (@ Cincinnati Bengals)

• Please don’t come for me with this one. I love CJ Stroud as much as the next guy, but before his historic game last week, he was QB17 in points per game. He is still a rookie, playing on the road, against one of the best teams in the league right now. The Bengals have won four in a row, and in their last 3, they have allowed a total of forty-eight points.  These teams they allowed forty-eight points to are no joke either, rankings 9th, 4th, and 2nd respectively in PFF offensive grade.  These teams are Seattle, San Francisco, and Buffalo!

2. Kyler Murray (vs Atlanta Falcons)

• This is a wait-and-see game. If you have been holding Kyler on your IR all year, you should have other options at the QB position.  I would opt for that option this week.
•  Kyler is a decided upgrade over Clayton Tune and even Josh Dobbs but his strength in fantasy has always been his rushing floor.  The first game back off of a torn ACL is not promising for that rushing floor. He increases the ceiling of the offense and the pass catchers in it, but we need to see his rushing ability displayed before we can trust him.

Start

1. James Cook (vs Denver Broncos)

• The Bills have lost two of their last three games and need to get back on track.  Playing the worst defense ( Broncos rank 32nd in PFF overall defensive grade and Rush Defense grade) in the NFL should be an excellent get-right game for them.  
• Cook has only two games this season with less than 12 carries, and the Bills have lost both of them, they need to get him and his 4.7 yards per carry average involved in the offense and into the end zone this week.

2. Jaylen Warren (vs Green Bay Packers)

• There are no two ways around this, the eye test and every single stat you can find says Jaylen Warren is the better running back in Pittsburgh. 
• Warren is a more explosive player and makes a lousy offense decidedly better when he is in the game. He has nearly half of Najee Harris’ carries (100 to 56), and they have the same amount of runs of 10 or more yards (9). 
• Warren won’t be a week winner for you, but like a good jockey in horse racing, he isn’t going to lose you the race. These are his overall finishes since week 2: 21, 32, 23, 24, 22, 39, 15.  He is a set-it-and-forget-it flex one or running back two.

Sit

1. Javonte Willams (at Buffalo Bills)

• Don’t let week eight fool you, Javonte has only visited the end zone once this year, and that was week 8. He has been unreliable at best on a poorly performing offense.  Could he and this offense be figuring it out around the midseason point? Maybe. Am I going to depend on that being the case when deciding between Javonte and other top twenty-four backs? No, I am not.

2. Najee Harris (vs Green Bay Packers)

• I was rather tempted to just copy and paste what I wrote for Jaylen Warren down here, but what I will do is give you the stat that jumped out at me the most when comparing these two.
• That stat is Yards before contact per attempt, after all, these two have the same offensive line blocking for them.  Najee is averaging 1.8 yards, which means it takes 1.8 yards beyond the line of scrimmage before the defense gets to him, Jaylen Warren is averaging 2.8.  An entire yard of discrepancy there! Najee is a plodding running back at best at this point but has been a solid carry eater for this offense in order to maximize Jaylen Warren’s explosiveness.

Start

1. Marquise Brown (vs Atlanta Falcons)

• For the love of god get this man downfield!! Marquise Brown has been suffering through his lowest ADOT season in his career at 10.9 with this limited Cardinals offense.  The plan should be to let him get downfield and let Kyler chuck it to him. This will allow Trey McBride and Michael Wilson to work the short and intermediate parts of the field.
• Hollywood is on pace for 145 targets, 79 receptions, 831 yards, and 8 touchdowns, with a putrid 54.5% catch rate. If we take this current target rate and assume his catch rate and yards per reception return to his career averages of 60.7% and 11.5 yards per reception that has him finishing the second half of the season with 41 receptions for 475 yards and 4 touchdowns, or 11.5 half PPR points per game, which would put him in backend WR1 territory.

2. Demario Douglas (vs Indianapolis Colts)

• I know this offense isn’t much to write home about, but Demario Douglas is the wide receiver 1 in this talent-deficient offense and is one of their only options at the receiver position with any kind of juice.
• Douglas has led all Patriots in targets since losing Kendrick Bourne for the season and has put up efficiency numbers much better than most rookie receivers averaging 11.5 yards per reception and a 64.9% catch rate.  Bourne can be counted on for 6+ targets a game and to put up mid wide receiver three numbers.

3. Jakobi Meyers (vs New York Jets)

• Jakobi Meyers has been one of the lone bright spots for the Raiders this season, and with all of the Jets’ defense considerable focus on Davante Adams this should present an opportunity for Jaokbi Meyers to make some plays this week.

Sit

1. Chris Olave (at Minnesota Vikings)

• Olave hasn’t cleared 100 yards receiving since week three and only has two touchdowns on the season. This Saints offense is either playing boring conservative football or spreading the ball around, and Olave’s fantasy output is seeing the effects of it
• Olave is on pace for 161 targets right now, which are elite target numbers, but if he can’t get his yards per reception back to his rookie season levels of 14.5 from his current 11.3, I fear we will continue to see performances not worthy of the WR9 ranking he currently has.

2. Davante Adams (vs New York Jets)

• Davante is seeing blanket coverage from defenses, and that shouldn’t change with the Jets, even if Sauce Gardner follows him around.
• Without a viable quarterback to get him the ball downfield, Davante has been effectively nerfed, and the Jets’ 91.5 coverage grade, according to PFF, is tops in the league.  It could be a long week for the Raiders wide receiver 1.

Start

1. David Njoku (at Baltimore Ravens)

• Njoku had three rough weeks to start the season, and we, the experts at Fantasy Pros have allowed that to influence our overall ranking of him.  He currently sits at TE13 on the week. He is currently WR10 over the last three weeks of heavy involvement that he has seen in the offense.
• Njoku has seen 23 targets in the past three weeks and reached the end zone twice.  With no Nick Chubb, the Browns have figured out they need to rely on their big bodies in the red zone, and Njoku is the biggest body they have. That is noticeable as Njoku leads the Browns in targets inside the 10-yard line.

2. Cade Otton (vs Tennessee Titans)

• Seriously? Cade Otton? Yes, seriously.  Last week wasn’t an aberration. He received nine targets last week and scored twice, however, the two weeks prior to that Otton received a total of twelve targets.  Otton is a permanent fixture of this offense, and we need to get used to it.

Sit

1. Kyle Pitts (at Arizona Cardinals)

• It can be hard to sit a guy like Kyle Pitts, but all of the Arthur Smith hates Kyle Pitts stats have been beaten to death.  The reason they have been beaten to death is because they are true. Arthur Smith is drawing up plays for Jonnu Smith instead of Kyle Pitts.
• Pitts is still steadily receiving five targets a week so he isn’t unstartable, but I would opt for a guy like David Njoku, whose coach is prioritizing his targets over Pitts he seems to be a complimentary piece in this Atlanta offense.
• Also, Arthur Smith hates you, me, and winning football games.

2. Trey McBride (vs Atlanta Falcons)

• It can be challenging to find tight ends ranked inside the top twelve to sit, but unfortunately, this is Trey McBride’s week to be that guy.
• With this being Kyler’s first game back, the Cardinals will likely prioritize the run, with James Conner likely coming off of IR, and prioritize Marquise Brown in the passing game, as he is their top target.

Start

1. Cincinnati Bengals (vs Houston Texans)

• I know, it’s CJ Stroud. However, rookie quarterbacks simply have not performed well historically on the road, especially against teams as good as the Bengals.
• I will refer back to my statement in the sit CJ Stroud portion of this article with the Bengals essentially shutting down three top 10 offenses in a row with Seattle, San Francisco, and Buffalo all falling to this Bengals’ defense

2. Indianapolis Colts (@ New England Patriots)

• Solid analysis here, but the Patriots’ offense is really bad. The Colts’ defense showed out last week en route to a 27 to 13 drubbing of the Carolina Panthers led by Kenny Moore and his not one, but two pick-sixes.

Sit

1. Las Vegas Raisers (vs New York Jets)

• Zack Wilson and the Jets’ offense has been pretty putrid lately. However, they still haven’t been bad enough to rank and start the Raiders’ defense in the top 12 this week.  
• Maxx Crosby is excellent, unfortunately, one player does not, a defense make. I trust Breece Hall to have a big game against this Raiders defense and Garret Wilson to continue to perform and put up solid receiving numbers.

2. Cleveland Browns (at Baltimore Ravens)

• The Browns have been absolutely excellent on defense, there is no avoiding that. However, as good as the Browns have been on defense the Ravens have been just as good on the offensive side of the ball.  I cannot recommend starting any defense, no matter how good against this Ravens offense.

That is all we’ve got for Fantasy Football Starts & Sits for Week 10 (2023). Thanks for stopping by and join us next week for another edition of Fantasy Football Starts & Sits.