Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

We’re on to week 10 of the fantasy football season, and if you want to make the playoffs, you better be winning games! There’s only two weeks left of byes, this week we’re contending with Atlanta, Indianapolis, San Diego and San Francisco taking the week off. Make sure you also check out all of the injuries from week 9, and update yourself on people possibly returning for week 10.

Josh McCown should return to Cleveland’s lineup this week, and he can slight right into your lineup if you have someone on bye, or a big name that has been struggling. The Steelers gave up 301 yards and 4 passing TD’s to Derek Carr last week – McCown has the potential to put up at least 300 yds and 3 TD. Ryan Tannehill’s resurgence may be short lived, and after a bad game last week he now has to face Philadelphia. The Eagles have held all of their opponents except Kirk Cousins and Matt Cassel to under 19 fantasy points. We suggest starting McCown over Tannehill.

LeSean McCoy is reportedly just fine and will start on Thursday night against the Jets. Don’t let the difficult matchup or injury deter you – the Buffalo run game has been outstanding most of the year, and the Jets have had a hard time stopping anyone over the last three weeks. In Denver, you may be tempted to go ahead and start C.J. Anderson after seeing Ronnie Hillman’s 7 carry, 1 yard performance, but stay away! Starting a Denver RB this year gives you a 90% chance of a headache, and unless it’s a pork headache, you don’t want any of that.

James Jones needs to find his way into your lineup this week. His ecr is a lowly 33, but we’ve got him as your #19 WR this week. The Packers passing game seems to finally be back on track, and with a cupcake matchup this week against Detroit, I expect the aerial attack to continue to do well…the ground game is another matter. DeSean Jackson is back in the lineup in Washington, and he’s on the WR3 radar for some people, but we say sit him. He’s a deep threat receiver in an offense that only has short and medium passes, and his floor is just way too low to start him this late in the fantasy season.

Crockett Gillmore could be a decent fill in TE this week, as he was on bye last week and might still be available on your waiver wire. Gillmore could wind up being one of the top pass catchers over the rest of the season in Baltmore, after Steve Smith Sr. was put on IR.

Watch out for relative newcomers to regular fantasy production this week, like Ito Smith, Josh Adams, and  Marquez Valdes-Scantling.  We know from history that one or more of these new names will help to take a team in your league to the championship. Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck in Week 10 and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!

Week 10, already? Listen up, that only leaves us with 4 weeks to get your team into tip-top shape for the fantasy playoffs in most leagues. Pay special attention to the rankings and news this week as you may be picking up guys that will help you on the road to the championship trophy. Listen to or watch the Fantasy Finish Line podcast to stay on top of the latest news and analysis - we broadcast live on YouTube weekly on Wednesdays at 9pm CT.

Guys that jump out to me this week to overperform expectations: Drew Brees, David Johnson (if he can get cleared in time), D.J. Chark, Jonnu Smith, and Miami Dolphins DST.

Pay attention to these rankings throughout the season, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player analysis. Have any specific lineup questions? Feel free to tweet us @drinkfive with any of your questions or comments!