Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, we have fantasy playoffs to make. With Week 10 Monday Night Football still pending, we’ve got some guys you should maybe look at trading for and/or trading away. Will Levis (QB9), Trey Benson (RB21) and John Metchie (WR7) all had their best statistical games of the season, but is their stock fully up? We’d probably need to see a little more. Whose stock is rising and falling heading into Week 11.
STOCK UP
George Pickens, WR, Steelers
I was not a fan of the move to go from Justin Fields (4-2 as a starter this season) to Russell Wilson. However, the Steelers are 3-0 since going to Wilson and now Pickens is catching touchdowns (WR9 in that span). He’s scored in two of the three games in which Wilson has started at quarterback. It would have been all three had Pickens’ touchdown not been called back against the Giants in Week 8. In the three games, Pickens has receptions of 44, 43 and 34 yards which shows Wilson is a little more willing to let him make a play. Pickens has averaged 92 receiving yards per game since Week 7 and should be safely considered a fringe WR1 option the rest of the way.
Courtland Sutton, WR, Broncos
Sutton has become a bona fide, top-tier WR2 in fantasy and is a must-start every week. In four straight games (which he has been WR19), he has either scored a touchdown or gained 100 receiving yards. His latest effort saw him catch 6-of-9 targets for 70 yards and a touchdown against a Chiefs defense that came into Week 10 allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers. This season, he’s earned 26.1% of targets from Bo Nix and is his most trusted option by far. Because of the development and play of his rookie quarterback, Sutton should be considered matchup proof. If you drafted him, congrats.
Sam LaPorta, TE, Lions
He hasn’t been blowing us away statistically, but LaPorta has at least made himself a decently trustworthy start once again. He finished Week 10 as TE4 after going 3-66-1, again not mind blowing stats. Consider this though, in two of his last three games he’s gotten at least six targets and scored a touchdown in each of those games. You’ll have to live with the fact that (as always) there’s plenty of mouths to feed in the Lions’ offense. LaPorta hasn’t matched his spectacular rookie numbers, but you can roll with him (semi) confidently as you make your push to the fantasy playoffs.
Don’t miss episodes of Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry and Rotoworld Football Show all season long for the latest player news, waiver wire help, start/sit advice, and much more.
STOCK DOWN
Sam Darnold, QB, Vikings
Just a few weeks ago It was safe to assume that Darnold could be considered a weekly starter in fantasy. While he’s not just a throw-away after one bad game, he certainly is just a streaming option going forward as he’s cooled off. In a good matchup against the Jaguars on paper, Darnold failed to throw a touchdown and tossed three interceptions. This comes a week after he threw three touchdowns and two interceptions against the Colts in Week 9. It was a nice first month of the season for Darnold, but he’s now thrown eight interceptions over his last six games. He should go back to being a QB2 in one-quarterback fantasy leagues.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Ravens
Upon getting traded to the Ravens, no one expected Johnson to immediately have a 150-yard game. He had to get in with the team, adjust to them and their offense. That is all fine, but us understanding those facts doesn’t mean we get fantasy points for it. Johnson is in an interesting spot from a fantasy perspective. The Ravens did need more depth at receiver, but with Zay Flowers entrenched as the Ravens’ WR1 and Rashod Bateman playing well (6-54-1 in Week 10), there’s not a concrete spot for Johnson. While you’re not putting him on waivers, managers can’t start him until he can get more than one catch for six yards in a game.
Jordan Mason, RB, 49ers
I think this one goes without saying, but man it was a hell of a ride! While there may have been some thoughts that Mason could’ve split backfield work with Christian McCaffrey as they eased him back in, it was anything but that. CMC handled 19 touches and gained 107 yards from scrimmage in his return (RB10). Mason was only able to manage one carry for five yards, and had the same number of carries as Isaac Guerendo. What should you do with Mason now? Well, if you have CMC then you better keep him on your roster. If you don’t, you’re safe to drop him or to try and trade him to the person in your league who has CMC. All good things must come to an end.
