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Week 10 Fantasy Football Surprise Sensations

Week 10 fantasy football had plenty of players who put up impressive numbers despite low ownership rates, including a surprise starter at quarterback.
Week 10 Fantasy Football

Here’s the honest truth. You simply don’t know what to expect out of the NFL on a week-by-week basis. The most recent weekend of games saw the Kansas City Chiefs, New Orleans Saints, and Indianapolis Colts fall to the Tennessee Titans, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins respectively. Just like we all predicted, right? Week 10 fantasy football was no different. And we will get to the biggest surprise right off the bat. It involves a rather bizarre chain of events that led to a long-time NFL starting quarterback sitting out Sunday’s game.

Note: all ownership percentage numbers are based on data from Yahoo Sports leagues.

Week 10 Fantasy Football Surprise Sensations

Jeff Driskel

Most are well aware that the final weekly injury report for NFL teams comes out every Friday. For the Detroit Lions, they listed veteran signal-caller Matthew Stafford as questionable due to a back injury. But just a few hours after their clash with the Chicago Bears, they suddenly announced that he wouldn’t play. The development has reportedly prompted the NFL to launch an investigation into how it was handled. Through it all, Driskel was called into action.

A sixth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers in 2016, Driskel was cut by the team after the preseason. He later made his way to the Cincinnati Bengals and played his first competitive snap in 2018 when he made five starts in place of an injured Andy Dalton. This year, as a member of the Lions, he suddenly found himself thrust into the mix on Sunday. Though it must be said, the coaching staff probably informed him he’d be starting long before the public knew about Stafford’s status.

And even though the Lions fell to the Chicago Bears by a 20-13 scoreline, Driskel filled in admirably. He went 27/46 for 269 yards and threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Kenny Golladay. It led to him finishing with 18.06 fantasy points which were 12th-best among quarterbacks this week. That may not seem overly impressive. But only one percent of Yahoo fantasy owners had him on their roster. And his point total bested that of players such as Russell Wilson, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers. So, yeah, he deserves mention here.

Darius Slayton

This probably comes as the least surprising name among this week’s bunch. But Slayton’s ownership rate in Yahoo leagues of 10 percent means not many benefited from his big day. Slayton finished with 121 receiving yards off 10 receptions and caught two touchdown passes from fellow rookie Daniel Jones. That gave him a total of 34.10 PPR points, the second-highest total of the week behind Christian Kirk of the Arizona Cardinals.

Still, despite big days from both him and Jones, the Giants fell to their East Rutherford rival New York Jets. However, what should give fans of Big Blue hope is that they seem to have found a talent in Slayton who they took in the fifth round of the 2019 draft. Add in a phenomenal pass-catching back in Saquon Barkley and an underrated tight end in Evan Engram and you have a burgeoning group of skill position players. This is turning into a lost season for the Giants from a playoff standpoint but it could be useful in giving some young players valuable experience.

Brian Hill

Ask most NFL fans which result from Week 10 raised their eyebrows the most and they’ll probably go with the Falcons waltzing into New Orleans and spanking the Saints. It undoubtedly ruined the chances for many to win their survivor pool. And it goes down as just the fourth time since 2010 that a road underdog of 14 points or more won a game outright.

Atlanta’s defense ostensibly played the biggest role in the upset as it registered six sacks and 11 quarterback hits on Drew Brees. But they had their moments on the other side of the ball. It included a standout performance from Hill who caught his first career touchdown pass, one of two thrown by Matt Ryan on the day. And though his 13.10 non-PPR fantasy points come across as modest, they were 10th-best among running backs in Week 10. Yet just two percent of owners in Yahoo leagues had him on their team. He’s definitely worth considering as a waiver wire add with Devonta Freeman‘s status for next week’s game up in the air and the fact that the Carolina Panthers struggle defending the run.

Anthony Firkser

What is it with obscure, relatively unknown Titans tight ends scoring touchdowns. In 2017, a guy by the name of Phillip Supernaw who played collegiately at Ouachita Baptist found the end zone for the only score of his career (Supernaw sounds like something you say when someone asks you if you played him in fantasy that week). This time around, it was Firkser. Undrafted out of Harvard, Firkser did finish with 225 receiving yards and a touchdown grab as a rookie last season. And in Tennessee’s upset of the Chiefs on Sunday, he added another.

It was tempting to go with Jacob Hollister this week. After all, his 20.2 PPR points in the Seattle Seahawks thrilling overtime win over the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers were third-best among tight ends. However, his ownership rate received a bit of a bump after an impressive outing in Week 9. Firkser’s 12.6 PPR points were significantly lower but they were good enough for top-10 at the position this week. His ownership percentage in Yahoo leagues? Zero. The tight end position never disappoints with respect to fickleness in fantasy.

https://twitter.com/ThisKendell/status/1193605027602018306?s=20

Younghoe Koo

For this week’s kicker, we return to the Falcons and a player who’s had a rollercoaster year. Koo initially began 2019 with the Atlanta Legends of the short-lived AAF. He would later go on to compete with Cody Parkey for the Bears kicking job but didn’t win out. In October, the New England Patriots signed him to their practice squad after they put Stephen Gostkowski on injured reserve but later waived him. Then Atlanta came calling.

After parting ways with veteran kicker Matt Bryant who was converting just 64.9 percent of his field goals this season, the Falcons signed Koo on October 29. It served as a bit of homecoming as Koo played collegiately in the state at Georgia Southern. With the team on bye last week, Sunday’s contest with the Saints was his debut with the team. Talk about a trial by fire given the always raucous environment that is the Superdome. But Koo passed with flying colors. He was perfect on the day, converting four field goals and two extra points. It led to the second-best fantasy performance by a kicker in Week 10. But it didn’t benefit anyone in Yahoo leagues with his ownership rate at zero percent.

Oakland Raiders Defense

Heading into Week 10, the Raiders’ defense wasn’t inspiring a great deal of confidence with respect to fantasy. They hit the double-digit points mark just once and on two separate occasions, they actually registered a negative point total. And on Thursday Night Football, they welcomed a Los Angeles Chargers team with a bevy of offensive playmakers capable of putting points on the board. So it didn’t come as a surprise that just two percent of owners in Yahoo leagues had them on their roster.

In the end, though, they made Philip Rivers‘ life a living hell. Things began in earnest midway through the first quarter when Erik Harris picked him off and took it the other way for a touchdown to make it 10-0 Raiders. It was the first of two interceptions for Harris and the first of three Rivers would eventually throw. Not only that, but the Raiders also sacked Rivers five times. When all was said and done on this week’s slate of NFL action, only five teams scored more fantasy points than Oakland. Expect a feeding frenzy on the waiver wire too. The Raiders are hosting the 0-9 Bengals in Week 11.

Harris was the hero of the night for the Raiders’ defense. In that spirit, I leave you with a tweet that showcases his amazing story that should be an inspiration to us all.

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