Week 10 is here. The season is now into the double-digits. Many fantasy teams have already established their depth through the waiver wires, but the true champs know that finding good players is a never-ending process. At this point in the year, there are fewer random breakout players as most teams have their offensive personnel pretty established. Still, there are always players slowly trending upwards during the season. Find out a few of them below.
Week 10 Fantasy Football Watch List Featuring Elijah McGuire
Elijah McGuire
Our featured watch list player this week is New York Jets running back Elijah McGuire. He just played in his first game this season last week after being activated off of injured reserve, and his return is perfect considering the Jets other running back, Bilal Powell was just put on injured reserve. Now he should slide right into Powell’s old role, and has the opportunity to gain more playing time from there.
Although Isaiah Crowell is the starter, Powell was getting almost an even share of touches, more due to his role as a pass catcher. While Crowell has had at least 11 rushes in all but one game this year, he also doesn’t have any games with more than two receptions. That is where Powell came in. Even though he didn’t get a ton of receptions every game, his rushing attempts and catches combined gave him at least 10 touches in every game except the one he was injured this season.
In McGuire’s first game back, he continued the trend of at least ten touches for the Jets backup running backs. McGuire took seven rushes for 30 yards and caught three passes for another 37 yards. While McGuire would have to score to put up any big numbers, if he can keep this as his floor, he could be a good option for a last minute, emergency option.
Watch his touches this week against the Buffalo Bills to see if his role grows.
Marcus Mariota
It has been a frustrating season for Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. The oft-injured quarterback suffered an elbow injury week one that caused nerve damage to his throwing arm. He only missed one full game but didn’t look right for most of the year, uncharacteristically throwing more interceptions than touchdowns until last week’s game. He started to show some promise of getting healthy in London against the Los Angeles Chargers before the bye week. Then, he came out with arguably his best game of the season last week against the Dallas Cowboys.
It didn’t look like that would be the case early in the game though. Mariota was strip-sacked on the first drive of the game and then botched a handoff to Dion Lewis for another fumble on the next possession. Mariota was money after that though, stepping up in the pocket and converting a ton of third downs to keep drives going all game. He finished with two touchdown throws and rushed for one more. If he can keep his turnovers down, his rushing prowess gives him a nice floor and nice ceiling.
Mariota also has some games against burnable teams. In the next four weeks, he goes against teams like the Indianapolis Colts and New York Jets. In the fantasy playoffs, he takes on the Washington Redskins and hapless New York Giants. Next week Mariota takes on the New England Patriots. This will be a good gauge to see if he has really turned the corner on his fantasy potential for this season.
Anthony Miller
Chicago Bears rookie wide receiver Anthony Miller was many fantasy analysts dark horse breakout candidate prior to the season. He was getting rave reviews from the coaching staff and outsiders during training camp. Miller has above average route running skills for a rookie and joined a team devoid of an established number one pick. He hasn’t quite broken out yet, but his outlook is trending upwards, making him an excellent watch list candidate.
Miller as seen at least five targets in four of the last five games he has played. He has struggled at times to come down with catches, and still hasn’t topped 50 yards in a game yet, but has shown steady improvement in his last three. His catches have gone from two to three, to five, and last week was just a yard shy of the 50 mark. Like Mariota, he has some juicy matchups coming up, and potential to put up points in almost any game this season.
Next week he goes against the Detroit Lions. Miller works mostly from the slot, so should avoid shut down corner Darius Slay. As quarterback Mitchell Trubisky tries to avoid him, he could see even more targets than usual. The week after against the Minnesota Vikings could be his toughest test, but then he sees the Lions again and closes out the rest of the season with potential shootout matches against teams like the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, and San Francisco 49ers.
This week will be telling on if Miller will have any fantasy value moving forward.
Redux: Mike Davis
Mike Davis returns to the watch list after his first appearance in week six. The story hasn’t changed much since then. The Seahawks run game has remained the focal point of the offense and Davis has remained very involved. Chris Carson has been the starter but continues to deal with injuries. He didn’t play in the second half of last week’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s looking like he could be a game-time decision this week.
At this point, Davis is worth adding and holding on to for the duration of the season. He already has shown what he can do with a full workload, racking up over 100 yards and two touchdowns in his only start this season. He had over 100 yards from scrimmage taking over for Carson last week. Even if he does get the start, he has a tough game against the Los Angeles Rams high flying offense. If the Seahawks get behind, they might have to abandon the run game, but Davis has shown he can still make an impact in the passing game.
For teams that have an extra roster spot, it is worth it to grab Davis and stash him even if he doesn’t get the start due to Carson’s injury history.
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