Week 10 Waiver Claims

Quarterback #1: Tua

It’s time. Tua is completing 65% of his passes (including 71% this past week) & he hasn’t thrown an interception yet on 52 attempts. He’s already good as a passer. But the difference between good fantasy QB’s & great fantasy QB’s is the great ones run. With Tua rushing for 35 yards this past week, he’s showing that he’s got all the makings of a great one.

Quarterback #2: Teddy Bridgewater

Teddy B is averaging more PPG than Jared Goff & Matthew Stafford, yet he’s rostered in a lower percentage of leagues than both of them – despite the fact he’s the only one of the trio to show some semblance of rushing upside. Can someone explain that to me like I’m 5?

Quarterback #3: Drew Lock

Drew Lock had a Jameis-like performance this past week, where the tears of sadness he caused us to shed through the first 3 quarters of the game were somehow magically transformed into tears of joy by the end of garbage-time… I mean, hey, at the end of the day, points are points, and Lock is in great position to score more of them this week against a Raiders defense that has allowed the 6^th most fantasy PPG to QB’s & has allowed 11 combined passing TD’s over their last 3 games…

Running Back #1: Kalen Ballage

This could be a career-ender for me, except this isn’t my career & I do it for fun… Good thing, because idk if I’d be able to muster the courage to prioritize Kalen Ballage in my column otherwise… Yet somehow, here we are, and I’m willing to make the bold move, Cotton, and see how it pays off. At 6’1/228 & equipped with 4.46 speed, Ballage is nothing short of a freak – his physical tools have never been the problem. He looked good (great) running the ball this past week & the advanced rushing numbers back that up – he gained 43 of his 69 rushing yards after contact, 2.87 per-attempt, per PFF. That’s significant when you consider Ballage only topped that YAC/attempt figure in one single game with the Dolphins his entire time there – and that one game was skewed by a 75-yard TD. He sure looked to be running with more conviction this past week & the numbers suggest he’s a changed man too. Not to mention, he’s in a much better system. The Chargers are top-12 (12th, but top-12 sounds better) in RB fantasy points scored this year (a figure that could be even higher with better RB play) & the offense continues to cook with Justin Herbert under center – they’ve scored 26+ points in each of their last 5 games, including 30+ in 3 of those 5. Joshua Kelley has done absolutely nothing to earn touches (3.2 YPC/1.5 after-contact) & the team doesn’t really owe (the currently injured) Justin Jackson a whole lot either. That means Ballage has the opportunity to assert himself as the change-of-pace (& goal-line) back in a very high-scoring offense. With Austin Ekeler currently without a timeline to return from injury, Ballage may be featured in the short term & it’s quite possible he stakes his claim for the change of pace role upon Ekeler’s return. If he burns me, so be it, but there’s so much upside with a physically-gifted freak RB in a potent offense that I really really want it on my squads.

Running Back #2: Gus Edwards

At what point do the Ravens just come out and announce Gus Edwards as the starting RB moving forward? They’ve given him more carries (29) than JK Dobbins since Ingram went down & he got a whopping 5 (!!) touches inside the 5-yard line this past week against the Colts. He’s scored a TD in 3 straight weeks & it’s very likely he’ll continue to be the TD-maker down the stretch in matchups against DAL, CLE, JAX, & NYG – even if Ingram is active.

Running Back #3: Tony Pollard

The fantasy playoffs are right around the corner & that means it’s getting to that time of year where you need to start clearing out the dead weight on your bench and stuffing it with high-upside options instead, especially if your record has you essentially already locked into a playoff spot. Garrett Gilbert showed enough against the Steelers this past week to give us hope that this offense will be able to stay afloat. If Zeke is shut down for even a single game due to his strained hammy (which he played through against PIT), Pollard has got more than enough juice that he should still be considered a top-12 play if he gets a spot-start.

Wide Receiver #1: Jalen Reagor

Could it be a mistake to prioritize Jalen Reagor > Curtis Samuel? Maybe. Do I drink the rookie KoolAid a little bit too much sometimes? Definitely… But I’m prioritizing Reagor > Samuel anyways because it just feels like his team needs him to touch the ball a hell of a lot more than Samuel’s team needs him to. Travis Fulgham is good, but is he better than Robby Anderson? And whatever other Eagles’ WR you want to compare to DJ Moore is, well, not comparable. When push comes to shove, I’d rather a WR who is similarly talented & has to compete with Travis Fulgham & a not-fully-healthy Dallas Goedert for targets than someone competing with Robby A & DJM (& CMC whenever he returns, again).

Wide Receiver #2: Curtis Samuel

I don’t hate Samuel & it’s unfortunate that I’m not a good enough writer to find a proper way to boost Jalen Reagor up without tearing Curtis Samuel down… but this is the best Jorge could find for a waiver-wire writer so you’re stuck with me now… but ultimately, it’s a very close call for me, because Samuel has been much more productive lately than anything Reagor has yet to show. In .5PPR, Samuel’s (barely) behind DJ Moore in total points, but he’s also played one less game, so he’s actually averaging more PPG than Moore (11.3 to 11.1). It doesn’t hurt that Samuel has at least one rushing attempt in every game (2.75 per-game) to help manufacture touches.

Wide Receiver #3: Mecole Hardman

Mecole overtook Demarcus Robinson in snaps for all of one week… only to fall behind him in the pecking order again (50 snaps to 42) this past week. At least he still went out & caught 3/48. If Hardman can continue stabilizing his floor, he’s just a few snaps away from scratching at the ceiling. Stash him away & hope for the best.

Tight End #1: Dalton Schultz

Did you know that Dalton Schultz played more snaps (69) than Amari Cooper (59), Michael Gallup (68), & CeeDee Lamb (38) this past week? He’s actually been surprisingly consistent the past few weeks (4/35, 2/22, 6/53, 4/48) & seems to be the player least affected by the QB changes.

Tight End #2: Irv Smith Jr.

It’s not great news that Irv Smith only caught 2 balls for 10 yards, but hey, both were touchdowns, so it’s not all bad! I really don’t have much more for ya to build up your hopes for Smith other than to wish the best for you & hope that Smith somehow finds a way to score a decent amount of fantasy points again next week (a microcosm of the brutal world of streaming TE’s).

Tight End #3: Mo Alie-Cox/Trey Burton