Which wide receivers are going to make a big second-half contribution after being quiet in the first half? It's a trend we see every year, where either injuries derail players early on or young players -- rookies especially -- need some time to get acclimated to the NFL before they are ready to make an impact. Either way, catching a WR just before they take off is a good way to put yourself in position for a playoff run.
I think the rookies are a good place to look. Guys like DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle have been good, but they haven't been great yet. However, both showed flashes of that in Week 9, so this could be a good opportunity to buy before the breakout happens. Elijah Moore, Rashod Bateman, and Brandon Aiyuk have all shown promising signs over the past few weeks as well, and I'm betting all three will see bigger roles moving forward.
And one veteran I'm willing to bet on? Julio Jones, who played 75% of the snaps in Week 9 and hopefully is getting past the hamstring injuries that have derailed his first year in Tennessee. His per-target numbers are still very good, so if Jones can stay healthy, I'm anticipating a big second half.
Those guys aren't all ranked in Week 10 as if the breakout will happen. But the whole point is to try to snag them before they actually hit.
Here are my top 48 wide receivers for Week 10. To see the rankings from Jamey Eisenberg, Dave Richard and Heath Cummings, make sure you head here. We'll be updating this throughout the week with new notes and rankings as we get news and the rankings get tweaked, so make sure you bookmark the page.
Week 10 WR Rankings
- Cooper Kupp @SF
- Davante Adams vs. SEA -- Adams struggled with Jordan Love at QB in Week 9, and only has more than 90 yards once in his past five games. However, he still leads the NFL in target share and remains arguably the best WR in Fantasy, especially with Rodgers expected back this week.
- Tyreek Hill @LV -- The Chiefs overall offensive struggles have impacted Hill less than most of his teammates, though it's been weird to see him turn into a super-charged version of Jarvis Landry with opposing defenses taking away the long ball. He hasn't topped 10 yards per catch in a game since Week 4, but is still averaging 17 Fantasy points per game.
- Terry McLaurin vs. TB -- Teams generally abandon the run early against the Buccaneers, on account of Tampa's elite rush defense and their own elite offense forcing teams to try to play catch up. That should lead to a huge opportunity for McLaurin, who has already seen a jump to an elite 28% target share this season.
- Stefon Diggs @NYJ -- The Bills have been limited a bit by some of the same defensive adjustments that have hurt the Chiefs offense, but not to the point where you consider sitting him.
- Justin Jefferson @LAC
- Keenan Allen vs. MIN -- For the first month of the season, Allen and Mike Williams were treated like 1a and 1b options in the passing game, but Allen has clearly established himself as the top option in the passing game again.
- D.K. Metcalf @GB -- Russell Wilson is back, so Metcalf is back to the elite tier.
- A.J. Brown vs. NO -- Marshon Lattimore can be a tough matchup for No. 1 wide receivers, so my expectations are a little lower for Brown than they typically are. However, it's worth noting Brown has eight or more targets in all but two games this season -- the game he left with an injury and the first game back from that injury.
- Marquise Brown @MIA
- Mike Evans @WAS
- Deebo Samuel vs. LAR -- Even with George Kittle back and Brandon Aiyuk playing a larger role, Samuel had nine targets at an average depth of target of 9.0 yards. So far, at least, Samuel still looks to have a very valuable role.
- CeeDee Lamb vs. ATL
- Tyler Lockett @GB -- Russell Wilson is back, so Tyler Lockett is back to fringe-WR1 consideration.
- Michael Pittman vs. JAX
- Chris Godwin @WAS -- With Antonio Brown still out, Godwin remains a must-start option, assuming he is healthy enough to play himself -- Godwin missed practice Wednesday and Thursday with a foot injury. He's averaging 26.6 points per game in the three games Brown has missed so far this season. I think he's a sell-high candidate, but as long as Brown is inactive and you've got Godwin active, he's a must-start, and it sounds like Godwin will be active as of Sunday morning.
- Diontae Johnson vs. DET -- Johnson only getting six targets on Monday night was disappointing because volume is kind of all he has going for him. I don't mean to say that he's a bad player, but the way the Steelers use him, he kind of needs to be in the double-digit range in targets to be a high-end Fantasy option. Considering he has 10 or more in five of seven games, I'm not too worried about that yet.
- Amari Cooper vs. ATL
- D.J. Moore @ARI -- I view Moore as a buy-low candidate, mostly because the Panthers QB situation almost can't get worse than it has been the past five games. If Moore just gets regular-old bad QB play rather than world-historical level bad QB play, he'll be a fringe No. 1 WR with his 31% target share. I don't expect Cam Newton to play this week, but I do expect him to be that QB upgrade.
- Jaylen Waddle vs. BAL
- Adam Thielen @LAC
- Mike Williams vs. MIN -- Williams has just five targets or fewer in four of his past five games, as he has reverted back to being used primarily as a downfield threat. That's bad news for this Fantasy value, obviously, but I can't quite bury him yet -- he has value in that downfield role, and there's always a chance they get him more involved if teams start to shift defensive attention away from him.
- Jerry Jeudy vs. PHI -- Projecting a bit here, but it feels like Jeudy is going to break out soon. It's been interesting to see Tim Patrick be the team's best wide receiver since Jeudy's return, but I still trust both him and Courtland Sutton to be viable starting options ahead of Patrick.
- Odell Beckham @SF -- Beckham is going to make his Rams debut Sunday and should have a bigger role than I initially anticipated when he signed last week, because Robert Woods' season is over following a torn ACL. He has top-15 upside in this offense if he hits the ground running.
- DeAndre Hopkins vs. CAR -- If Hopkins plays, he's still a risky start for Fantasy given his limited role the last time we saw him. Plan on not having him for Sunday.
- Courtland Sutton vs. PHI
- Emmanuel Sanders @NYJ -- Sanders' role as the primary downfield threat for the Bills means he's going to have some inconsistent performances, especially if opposing defenses continue to focus on taking away the deep stuff. But I'm not sure the Jets are the team I'm worried about shutting the Bills offense down.
- Cole Beasley @NYJ -- Beasley effectively operates as an extension of the running game for the Bills, and with Zack Moss dealing with a concussion, don't be surprised if we see him extend his streak of games with nine-plus targets to four.
- Hunter Renfrow vs. KC -- There's no arguing against the volume Renfrow is getting, but I just can't push him into the WR2 range yet. He has more than 58 yards in just two games this season, including none of the past five. He's a decent high-floor option, but his upside is pretty limited unless he scored a touchdown.
- Jarvis Landry @NE -- Three catches for 11 yards is not exactly the kind of performance we wanted to see from Landry in the first game without Odell Beckham, but he still had a 24% target share, so I still think he's going to be a viable starting Fantasy option, especially with the Browns running back room extremely thin due to COVID protocols right now.
- Jakobi Meyers vs. CLE -- The stretch of the rankings from Beasley to Meyers is the Spider-Man pointing at himself meme five times over.
- Brandon Aiyuk vs. LAR -- The Chiefs still have one of the worst defenses in the league and Aiyuk has played 90% of the team's snaps over the past two weeks, so he's firmly back in the starting conversation. I kind of want to rank him even higher, and I may talk myself into it as the week goes on. Stay tuned.
- DeVonta Smith @DEN -- Consistency hasn't been a defining feature of Smith's rookie season, and with the Eagles renewed focus on running the ball, the pass volume hasn't been there the last few weeks. He's a fine starter, but I'm not quite at the point where I can trust him.
- Marvin Jones @IND
- A.J. Green vs. CAR
- Christian Kirk vs. CAR
- Laviska Shenault @IND
- Rashod Bateman @MIA
- Jamison Crowder vs. BUF
- Tim Patrick vs. PHI
- Van Jefferson @SF
- Corey Davis vs. BUF
- Zach Pascal vs. JAX
- Russell Gage @DAL
- Mecole Hardman @LV
- Rondale Moore vs. CAR
- Marquez Callaway @TEN
- Michael Gallup vs. ATL
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