Fantasy football Week 10: Add and drop

Each week I’ll list the best widely available free agents for fantasy football — I define “widely available” as being owned in around half of all ESPN or Yahoo leagues — and some guys who are probably better off in the free-agent pool than collecting dust on your roster.

Follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter) @UTEddieBrown if you have questions throughout the week.

Here’s my NFL Week 10 waiver wire cheat sheet for all league sizes and formats, with players you need to add, drop and stream in your fantasy football league:

ADD

— TE Luke Musgrave, Packers (ESPN:

— WR Alec Pierce, Colts (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 27%): I pointed out last week Pierce eats against single-high coverage, something the Steelers played a lot of, and he indulged himself once again to the tune of 115 yards on six receptions. He has at least 67 receiving yards in five of his last six games, and guess what — the Falcons utilize single high the most in the NFL.

— QB Sam Darnold, Seahawks (ESPN: 42%; Yahoo: 51%): Darnold has 16 TD passes against only five interceptions and at least 295 passing yards in four of his last seven games. In his last four games, he’s finished as the weekly QB2, QB9, QB24 and QB5.

— RB Trey Benson, Cardinals (ESPN: 49%; Yahoo: 59%): Benson could return as early as this week, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he misses another week or two. His original timetable was 4-6 weeks. Arizona’s backfield has been a hodgepodge of Bam Knight, Michael Carter and Emari Demercado. Benson will likely get an extended run with the lion’s share of touches once he’s healthy.

— WR Parker Washington, Jaguars (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 18%): Travis Hunter suffered a leg injury in practice last week and was promptly put on injured reserve. Then Dyami Brown suffered a concussion, and Brian Thomas Jr. hurt his ankle against the Raiders. Washington produced 90 yards on eight receptions (nine targets) in the victory, and has at least nine targets in three of his last six games. Jacksonville traded a fourth- and sixth-round pick to the Raiders for Jakobi Meyers on Tuesday, but Washington has had a good rapport with Trevor Lawrence all season long. I don’t see that going away.

— WR Tre Tucker, Raiders (ESPN: 40%; Yahoo: 38%): Tucker now becomes Las Vegas’ WR1 with Meyers in Jacksonville. Through the first nine weeks of the season, he was already the overall WR23 in standard formats (WR29 in PPR).

— TE Colston Loveland, Bears (ESPN: 24%; Yahoo: 24%): Only Brock Bowers scored more fantasy points than Loveland in Week 9. He has premium matchups in two of his next three games — at the Vikings in Week 11 and at home against the Steelers in Week 12.

— WR Darius Slayton, Giants (ESPN: 15%; Yahoo: 35%): Slayton has had at least a 20% target share in each game since his return from injury, and he was two plays away from big days both weeks. His 68-yard TD reception against Quinyon Mitchell was reversed on a ticky-tack offensive pass interference call in Week 8, and he had another TD ripped from his hands on a well defended play by Ji’ayir Brown on Sunday. Slayton maintains WR2/WR3 upside with Jaxson Dart at QB and Malik Nabers done for the season.

— TE Harold Fannin Jr., Browns (ESPN: 51%; Yahoo: 43%): I’m mildly surprised Fannin is still available in this many leagues. Even if David Njoku stays put at the trade deadline, the talented rookie will still be a premium streaming option most weeks and maintain TE1 upside. The sky is the limit if Njoku gets dealt.

— WR Tez Johnson, Buccaneers (ESPN: 30%; Yahoo: 35%): Before Tampa Bay’s bye, Johnson was the overall WR17 in standard formats (WR25 in PPR) since Week 5 with at least five receptions or 59 receiving yards or a TD in four straight games. Mike Evans won’t be back until mid-December at the earliest, and Chris Godwin might be diminished even after he returns.

— TE A.J. Barner, Seahawks (ESPN: 12%; Yahoo: 11%): Barner is the overall TE10 across most fantasy formats since Week 4 with four TDs in the last five games. Seattle has used him as a tush-push ball carrier recently, which adds a little bit more value going forward.

— WR Christian Watson, Packers (ESPN: 26%; Yahoo: 28%): Green Bay’s wide receiver situation is about as convoluted as it gets, although losing Tucker Kraft and Matthew Golden being banged up could simplify things a bit. Watson has looked solid in two games since returning from last year’s ACL injury with 143 yards on six receptions (23.8 yards per reception).

— TE Isaiah Likely, Ravens (ESPN: 4%; Yahoo: 5%): Likely deserves streaming consideration in deeper leagues on a weekly basis with Lamar Jackson healthy. From Weeks 13 to 17, all five matchups are against teams in the bottom eight at preventing fantasy points to tight ends, including two games against the woeful Bengals.

— QB Marcus Mariota, Commanders (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 5%): Jayden Daniels suffered a gruesome injury to his non-throwing arm in a loss to the Seahawks on Sunday night. Mariota will be under center for the foreseeable future. The former Heisman winner finished as the weekly QB6, QB17 and QB19 in his previous three starts.

— WR DeMario Douglas, Patriots (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 4%): Kayshon Boutte is day-to-day with a hamstring injury, which means New England could push Stefon Diggs outside if Boutte misses any time, allowing Douglas to get more run out of the slot against the Buccaneers this week. Or talented rookie Kyle Williams (ESPN: 1%; Yahoo: 2%) could step in for Boutte as his direct backup.

— QB J.J. McCarthy, Vikings (ESPN: 25%; Yahoo: 29%): McCarthy hasn’t been as efficient or dynamic as Jaxson Dart, but in his first three starts this season, he does have two games with two TD passes and a rushing TD. He’s also throwing to Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, so there’s definitely upside to go along with the learning curve he faces.

— TE Theo Johnson, Giants (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 33%): Johnson is the overall TE8 in standard formats (TE9 in PPR) since Jaxson Dart took over at QB in Week 4. He has five TD receptions in six games with Dart under center.

— RB Devin Singletary, Giants (ESPN: 5%; Yahoo: 5%): I mentioned Singletary would also likely see an increase in usage as I advocated for Tyrone Tracy Jr. last week. His 10 touches against the 49ers were the most he’s had this season, and two more than Tracy received in a negative game script. I still believe Tracy has the higher upside, and will be the more valuable fantasy asset going forward, but you should’t ignore Singletary.

— TE Mason Taylor, Jets (ESPN: 15%; Yahoo: 20%): Before New York’s bye last week, Taylor had been the overall TE14 in standard formats (TE10 in PPR) since Week 4. He’s one of the Jets’ few weapons on offense.

— QB Joe Flacco, Bengals (ESPN: 33%; Yahoo: 52%): Flacco is the overall QB2 in four games since being traded to Cincinnati with 1,254 passing yards and 11 TDs against only two interceptions. He’s worth stashing through the bye week if you aren’t confident in your current QBs just in case he can continue to defy Father Time.

— WR Jayden Reed, Packers (ESPN: 41%; Yahoo: 34%): The window to stash Reed has opened with the dynamic playmaker possibly returning by the end of the month, and injuries piling up on the offensive side of the ball for Green Bay.

— WR Brandon Aiyuk, 49ers (ESPN: 31%; Yahoo: 40%): Aiyuk’s return isn’t imminent, but he should be back no later than Week 15 — San Francisco has its bye in Week 14 — just in time for the fantasy playoffs.

— RB Tank Bigsby, Eagles (ESPN: 26%; Yahoo: 27%): Bigsby is averaging 11.5 yards per carry with Philadelphia, and just contributed 104 yards on nine carries in the blowout of the Giants before Philly’s bye week. Saquon Barkley suffered a groin injury in that game, but should be fine this week. Bigsby is premium insurance if you roster Barkley, or an end-of-the-bench stash if you’re praying for Barkley’s downfall.

— RB Dylan Sampson, Browns (ESPN: 10%; Yahoo: 17%): Quinshon Judkins left Week 8’s loss to the Patriots with a shoulder injury and did not return. It sounds like Judkins sprained his AC joint, which means he’ll likely be fine after Cleveland’s bye this week. Stashing Sampson makes a lot of sense though, just in case the injury is more serious. Also, Jerome Ford (ESPN: 18%; Yahoo: 12%) would have flex appeal in deeper leagues if Judkins misses any time.

— RB Tyjae Spears, Titans (ESPN: 44%; Yahoo: 44%): Spears has double-digit touches in back-to-back games with at least 62 total yards, and would receive a big boost in value if Tony Pollard is traded.

— WR Devaughn Vele, Saints (ESPN:

— RB Isaiah Davis, Jets (ESPN: 9%; Yahoo: 14%): Davis would be New York’s obvious lead running back if Breece Hall were either injured or traded, and trade rumors have been swirling with Hall in the final year of his contract. Davis’ 109 yards on 12 touches, including five receptions, against the Bengals in Week 8 are indicative of what he can do with the role.

— D/ST Bills (ESPN: 37%; Yahoo: 43%): With no Titans to target this week, we’ll pick on the disintegrating Dolphins, who are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing defenses. Buffalo has produced four turnovers and 10 sacks in two games since its bye.

— D/ST Browns (ESPN: 30%; Yahoo: 33%): Cleveland was the third-highest scoring defense in fantasy the last four games before its bye last week, and face a Jets’ offense tied for seventh in allowing fantasy points to opposing defenses.

— D/ST Ravens (ESPN: 42%; Yahoo: 46%): Baltimore’s defense is getting healthier and faces J.J. McCarthy this week. McCarthy has taken 14 sacks and thrown four interceptions in his three NFL starts.

DROP

— TE Tucker Kraft, Packers: Kraft’s breakout season is over after an MRI confirmed he suffered a torn ACL against the Panthers on Sunday.

— QB Jayden Daniels, Commanders: Daniels suffered a dislocated left elbow late in a blowout loss to the Seahawks on Sunday night. Only stash him if you have an open IR slot.

— RB Chuba Hubbard, Panthers: Hubbard only had five carries for 17 yards and played 22.4% of the offensive snaps in a win over the Packers on Sunday. Rico Dowdle is clearly Carolina’s lead back now.

— WR Luke McCaffrey, Commanders: McCaffrey suffered a broke collarbone in a tough night in prime time for the Commanders.

— RB Joe Mixon, Texans: There’s no timetable for Mixon’s return, and I doubt he plays this season. He’s currently rostered in around 40% of fantasy leagues.