NFL Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickups: Young Pass Catchers Take the Stage
Several young receivers and a few emerging tight ends deserve your attention heading into Week 10. With just five more weeks until the fantasy playoffs begin across the vast majority of leagues, fantasy teams with winning records should also begin to stockpile one-injury-away running backs for the stretch run.
As always, you’ll find several top waiver options in this weekly feature — along with FAAB suggestions — followed by a selection of players to monitor in deeper formats. Generally, players listed here will be available in at least 50% of Sleeper leagues.
Top Waiver Wire Additions After Week 9
WR Xavier Legette, Carolina Panthers
The athletic rookie led the team with six targets in Week 9, catching four passes for 33 yards and a score. He’s now scored in three of his past four games, while also leading the team in targets in back-to-back weeks.
Diontae Johnson was traded to the Ravens last week, so Legette (48% rostered on Sleeper) should continue to have ample chances in the passing game each week. Legette is a highly-drafted receiver that’s the top option in this Panthers offense, and if Bryce Young can get anything going down the stretch, Legette has top-24 fantasy upside. He’s worth 20-30% of your FAAB if you’re looking for upside at the receiver position.
QB Drake Maye, New England Patriots
A multi-week headliner in this waiver wire article, Maye is still just 22% rostered on Sleeper. Returning from a Week 8 concussion, Maye racked up a career-high 95 rushing yards in Week 9 to go along with 206 passing yards against a sturdy Titans secondary. He’s a 15-20% FAAB guy if you need a QB with upside for the rest of the season.
TE Hunter Henry, New England Patriots
Henry has averaged nearly seven receptions and 64 yards over his past three games. While Demario Douglas has seen similar usage, Henry has the benefit of being a tight end. Put simply, a TE scoring 10-11 fantasy points per game is much more valuable than a WR performing similarly. Still just 38% rostered on Sleeper, Henry is worth a 15-20% FAAB bid for those seeking an every-week starter at the position.
WR Ricky Pearsall, San Francisco 49ers
Pearsall’s rostership dipped below 50% (down to 47%) with the Week 9 bye, but the rookie has a chance to take over the Brandon Aiyuk role in this offense. Christian McCaffrey should return, and Deebo Samuel and George Kittle are also ahead of Pearsall on the depth chart. However, Samuel and Kittle have long injury histories, and if either goes down, Pearsall would be an easy top-36 fantasy option. He’s worth 10-15% of your FAAB for 6-3 (or better) managers already looking ahead to the playoffs.
TE Mike Gesicki, Cincinnati Bengals
Gesicki has averaged six receptions, 87 yards and a touchdown (20.7 PPR fantasy points) the past two games without Tee Higgins in the lineup. The veteran tight end is just 20% rostered, and while Higgins may return in Week 10, Gesicki has likely done enough to remain a significant part of the team’s passing attack going forward.
At worst, Gesicki is a top-six fantasy option anytime Higgins misses time. If Gesicki can remain the clear No. 3 option in this Joe Burrow passing game, he will be an every-week starter at TE. Consider a 10-15% FAAB bid on Gesicki.
RB Ray Davis, Buffalo Bills
Davis continues to perform when called upon for this explosive Buffalo offense. While he only carried four times for 20 yards on the ground, the rookie caught both his targets for 70 yards and a score. Davis still needs a James Cook injury to be a strong fantasy start each week, but he’s flirting with flex territory now. Still just 25% rostered, consider a 7-12% FAAB bid on Davis.
WR Quentin Johnston, Los Angeles Chargers
After a disastrous rookie season, Johnston’s stock began to rise after averaging 44 yards and a touchdown through the first three games of 2024. Then, injuries and ineffectiveness struck. The second-year receiver made an emphatic return in Week 9, though, catching four passes for 118 yards and a score.
Johnston still needs to become a larger part of the Chargers game plan if he wants to become fantasy-relevant. He is averaging just 4.5 targets per game, the same amount as Cardinals receiver Michael Wilson for context. Nevertheless, Johnston is 27% rostered and worth a 5-10% FAAB bid.
WR Demario Douglas, New England Patriots
If we remove the London game where Douglas barely played (illness), he’s received a healthy nine targets in three of his past four games. That three-target game in the middle was against a stingy Jets secondary in a game where Maye left early (concussion).
He’s looking more and more like who Wan’Dale Robinson had been early in the fantasy season – a short-area, highly targeted receiver who has some PPR value. Douglas has averaged 14.5 PPR fantasy points in his past three full games with Maye, showcasing flashes of fantasy WR3 value. He’s 35% rostered on Sleeper and worth 5-10% of your FAAB.
TE Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints
Chris Olave suffered his second concussion in the past four weeks and is likely to miss extended time. Rashid Shaheed is already out for the season, too. This offense has little beyond Alvin Kamara, which opens the door for Hill to be a tight end cheat code thanks to his unique usage.
Hill caught four passes for 41 yards in Week 9 to go along with 19 rushing yards and a rushing score. He’s only rostered in 31% of Sleeper leagues, and he’s worth 5-15% of your FAAB budget if you’re lacking at the position.
Sneak Peek: Deeper and Potential Future Additions
WR Elijah Moore, Cleveland Browns
Moore has averaged nine targets per game over his past three games, though he’s probably the fourth option in this Browns passing game behind Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy and David Njoku.
QB Daniel Jones, New York Giants
Jones totaled three touchdowns against the Commanders in Week 9. If you need a QB for Week 10, Jones faces a Panthers defense that has surrendered a league-high 32.5 offensive points per game.
RB Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons
Allgeier appears in this section every week as a player who is an injury away from becoming a fantasy RB1 in a high-scoring Falcons offense.
RB Braelon Allen, New York Jets
Fantasy managers have dropped Allen in recent weeks, yet he should be rostered in most shallow leagues given his contingent fantasy RB1 upside if Breece Hall were to go down.
RB Blake Corum, Los Angeles Rams
Kyren Williams is averaging nearly 23 touches per game (most in the NFL), and the rookie Corum is strong injury insurance should the undersized Williams get hurt.
RB Jaylen Warren, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fantasy managers may have forgotten about Warren with his Week 9 bye, but he’d be a high-end fantasy RB1 if Najee Harris were to miss time.
RB Trey Benson, Arizona Cardinals
Benson would be in the Ray Davis tier of waiver pickups if he wasn’t frustratingly splitting reps with Emari Demercado behind James Conner. Still, the speedy rookie is an interesting stash in deeper leagues.
WR Demarcus Robinson, Los Angeles Rams
He’s scored four touchdowns over the past two weeks, but the majority of his yardage came once Puka Nacua was ejected. Let someone else in your league overspend on Robinson and chase those touchdowns.
WR Ray-Ray McCloud, Atlanta Falcons
If Drake London (hip) misses any time, McCloud would become a flex-viable option in the Falcons offense.
TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, Carolina Panthers
The rookie has at least four receptions and 49 yards in three of his past four games. Bryce Young caps this offense’s upside, but there’s not much stopping Sanders from being the team’s consistent No. 2 target.
WR Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans
Westbrook-Ikhine has scored in four straight games, but he’s averaging just 2.5 receptions and 27 yards per game during this span. With DeAndre Hopkins traded to the Chiefs, there’s a slight chance we see Westbrook-Ikhine continue to perform.
Line Up Your Targets
Make sure to act quickly to secure your waiver wire targets, with most leagues running waivers on Tuesday nights. For more in-depth stats and to view all the trending players in real time, check out the Sleeper app.
Working the waiver wire to your favor is a critical part of fantasy football success, and we’ll be with you every week to help you chase down those playoff berths and fantasy championships.
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