Week 10 marks the beginning of the end for many fantasy football teams. Playoff hopes will officially be extinguished for many. Some teams will be looking for that bye to get them one game closer to the fabled championship. Fringe teams are looking for that final move that will get their squad where it needs to be to compete with the best. A good watch list is one way to get there. This week, wide receivers Parris Campbell and Hunter Renfrow make the list, along with tight end Mike Gesicki.
Parris Campbell, Hunter Renfrow Highlight Week 10 Fantasy Football Watch List
Parris Campbell
The Indianapolis Colts are banged up right now. Quarterback Jacoby Brissett hurt his knee early in week 9’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Veteran wide receiver T.Y. Hilton missed the game with a calf injury and is expected to be sidelined for at least three more weeks. While the Brissett injury leaves question marks to the entire Colts passing game, Hilton’s absence gives the second-round rookie Parris Campbell a chance to establish himself in the offense.
Campbell was drafted in the second round of the 2019 draft. It’s already been established how the Colts were desperate for a number two wide receiver behind Hilton. Zach Pascal was starting to establish himself in the role. However, with Hilton out for a while, he now assumes the number one receiver duties, leaving a void yet again.
This is Hilton’s eighth season, and he has been banged up all year. He is averaging the least receiving yards per game since his rookie season. Campbell is raw but young. And head coach Frank Reich is making an effort to get him involved in the game by also giving him rushing attempts. He had his best game as a pro this week, catching five passes for 53 yards.
With burnable secondaries in store, like Miami and Houston, Campbell’s usage should be monitored, along with Hilton’s health. He could be a decent bye week fill-in at the very least.
Hunter Renfrow
Another rookie wide receiver to keep an eye on is Oakland Raiders slot man Hunter Renfrow. At 5’10” and 185 pounds, the rookie isn’t your prototypical NFL player. But head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock saw something in the Clemson product, taking him in the fifth round of last year’s draft.
Renfrow impressed the staff early, earning him significant playing time since the beginning of the season. Renfrow hasn’t seen less than three targets in one game this season, but he has struggled to make much of them until recently. In the first seven games, he was held under 30 yards in all but one. But, in the last two, he’s combined for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
At this point, Renfrow isn’t anything more than a dart throw weekly, and his last two games are probably his ceiling. Still, he is developing trust with quarterback Derek Carr and is a perfect fit in Gruden’s dink-and-dunk, ball-control offense. With the Silver and Black offense clicking, Renfrow might have some appeal in PPR leagues if he keeps his targets up.
Mike Gesicki
The Miami Dolphins got their first win week 9. Second-year tight end Mike Gesicki was a big part of that win. He had his best day as a pro, catching six passes for 95 yards. After scoring a total of 26 points their first four games, making no Dolphins viable in fantasy, the Miami offense has at least woken up a little bit. They have now scored at least 14 points in each of their last four games.
Gesicki’s role could grow moving forward too with wide receiver Preston Williams getting carted off late in the game with a knee injury. Williams had been the top target for the Dolphins all year, seeing 51 targets through their first eight games. If he is out for any significant amount of time, Gesicki could be in line for a good amount of those looks.
Redux: Derek Carr
Last week’s watch list highlighted Raiders signal-caller Derek Carr. After up-and-down performances to start the season, Carr has looked right at home in Gruden’s offense since the team’s bye. With a win over the Detroit Lions last week, Carr now has three straight games with at least 285 yards and two touchdowns. He has also only thrown one interception during that span.
Oakland fields a top offense in the league. But, one thing that will keep Carr’s stats up is their defense, which is terrible. The only time they have held a team under 20 points was Week 1 against the Denver Broncos. Overall, the team is at .500 and doing better than expected.
There are plenty of winnable matchups coming up, including games against the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals. But with their defense unable to stop anyone, don’t expect any games where Carr gets to sit back and run out the clock. Overall, a Week 10 Thursday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers is the perfect opportunity to see if Carr might be worth adding in fantasy.
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