Buy-low, sell-high candidates for Week 10 of fantasy football season

The Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, and Los Angeles Rams are all on byes in Week 10. That’s four teams with multiple fantasy stars each that will be unavailable this week. Clearly, fantasy owners will be scrambling to put together an entire starting lineup capable of winning this pivotal matchup just five weeks removed from the fantasy football playoffs.

Now is when the best fantasy managers strike. Now is when championships are won. Now is when people will panic, and that makes it the best opportunity to make a trade that will set you up for the future.

Here are five players to target in trades and five more to sell high after big performances.

Buy low on these fantasy football players in Week 10:

Arizona Cardinals WR Marquise Brown

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If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. Marquise Brown is a league-winner waiting in the wings. Kyler Murray is likely to return in Week 10 alongside running back James Conner (more on him in a little bit). With his return, Marquise Brown’s production shouldn’t just rise, it should shoot up into WR1 territory.

First and foremost, Murray is returning from an ACL injury, implying that Murray should be near his pre-injury form as a passer, but he could take a hit as a runner. That means more passing volume for Brown and more carries for James Conner, win-win. But while we always knew Conner would be the workhorse back and would likely return to form once he was taken off IR, Brown has not had the same fortune.

Lest I remind you that Brown averaged 17 fantasy points per game with Murray and no Hopkins last season. Lest I remind you that Brown currently ranks 84th in the NFL in target quality rating (3.84) and 85th in catchable target rate (62.3 percent). Both of those numbers should improve drastically when Murray returns this weekend. While Brown may not light up the stat sheet this week, assuming the Cardinals play it safe with Murray in his return, this could be your last chance to secure Hollywood before he takes off into the stratosphere. Don’t delay.

Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore

Tyson Bagent has been a surprisingly decent quarterback for the Chicago Bears in Justin Fields’ absence. He may be just 1-3, but he put up good fights against the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings, ultimately falling by one possession in both games though. That said, he’s not good for fantasy WRs.

Fields and star wide receiver DJ Moore were just starting to get into a groove when Fields went down. Prior to Fields’ injury, Moore had reached the endzone in three straight games and was coming off a 49 point performance against the Washington Commanders. All that momentum was stopped in its tracks the next week though with Bagent under center.

Unfortunately for Moore owners, the Bears play on ‘Thursday Night Football,’ giving Fields less time to get healthy and return. If Fields does return, all the memories of Moore’s remarkable start to the season will come flooding back, and by then it will be too late. Buy Moore, regardless of Fields’ status.

Baltimore Ravens WR Zay Flowers

One target, eleven receiving yards. Rookie receiver Zay Flowers was atrocious in Week 9 from a fantasy standpoint. True, but a lot of that can be pinned on game script. Sure, other players like Mark Andrews and OBJ got their fill, but the Ravens were up by two scores at halftime and were up by 27 at the end of the third.

Prior to Week 9, Flowers had six or more targets in four straight games. He has proven himself Lamar’s favorite target and luckily, Lamar avoided any serious injury in their win. Flowers is not someone you want as your WR1, but he’s a very suitable FLEX option. In one score games this year, Flowers is averaging 8.2 targets, 5.6 receptions, 48.4 receiving yards, and 0.2 touchdowns. He’s averaging 12.42 fantasy points in those games. Nearly a point and a half more than his season average. The Ravens play the Jaguars, Dolphins, and 49ers during the fantasy playoffs. Those are all sure to be close games.

Dallas Cowboys RB Tony Pollard

Drafted as a late-first round/early-second round player, Tony Pollard has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2023 fantasy season, failing to reach even 10 points in four of his last five games. At the same time though, Pollard has also scored eight or more points in all but one game this year. That’s consistency, which has been seemingly impossible to come by this year.

Volume is king in fantasy football, and Pollard still gets good volume on a potent Dallas offense. The hope is that something kicks Pollard back into gear and Week 10 could provide just the spark he needs when the Cowboys face the New York Giants, the same team they dominated to the tune of a 40-0 victory in Week 1. Pollard had two touchdowns in that game. Those are still his only touchdowns of the season.

Pollard owners are hoping the positive game script will mean lots of work for Pollard and several goal line opportunities, and it’s hard to argue against that outlook. Expect Pollard to receive near 20 carries in this game as the Cowboys get out to a massive early lead. While there will be concerns for Pollard moving forward past Week 10, the hope is that one big game can spiral into several down the final stretch. That’s definitely a possibility.

Philadelphia Eagles WR DeVonta Smith

Despite a tremendously close game against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 9, Smith received only three targets from quarterback Jalen Hurts. His fantasy day was salvaged thanks to a touchdown. Without that score, Smith would’ve put up only eight fantasy points, which would’ve been his fourth time scoring less than ten points in his last five games. Smith owners have to be disenfranchised with the former Heisman winner, and now is the perfect time to buy him.

Eagles’ tight end Dallas Goedert suffered a broken forearm during Sunday’s win over Dallas. He’s going to be out for the foreseeable future, likely 4-6 weeks. Last season, in five games where Goedert was hurt, Smith averaged five receptions, 84 yards, and 0.4 touchdowns, equivalent to 15.8 fantasy points per game. History is repeating itself and Smith could be a huge addition for anyone on the playoff bubble.

Sell high on these fantasy football players in Week 10:

Houston Texans WR Nico Collins

32 targets through the first four games; 21 targets in the next: Collins saved his fantasy day in Week 9 with a touchdown. But what Week 9 showed us is that when push came to shove and quarterback CJ Stroud needed to be his best, he didn’t look to Collins. He looked to Tank Dell and Dalton Schultz.

Collins is fading fast, and trading him now after a double-digit fantasy performance and a touchdown may be your last chance to sell him while the memories of his stellar first four weeks are still in people’s minds.

Baltimore Ravens RB Gus Edwards

Contrary to speculation, Edwards did not suffer an injury during the Ravens’ Week 9 win over Seattle. There is a chance that the game script and success of rookie Keaton Mitchell meant the Ravens just didn’t see the need to throw Edwards onto the field outside of goal-to-goal situations. But there’s also an equal chance that, despite Edwards’ remarkable touchdown streak, the Ravens are a committee backfield and Edwards is just a touchdown-dependent player.

After Mitchell’s remarkable 138-yard performance in Week 9, he’s going to see more snaps. While Edwards has been remarkably efficient, he’s still been outsnapped by Hill in four of the eight games they’ve played together. Throw Mitchell into the mix and now everything is just one huge question mark that I want no part of.

While the first instinct may be to hold on to Edwards through Week 10 to get a better idea of what the backfield looks like, the Ravens will play the Browns this week, arguably the best run defense in the NFL. Edwards will more than likely not have a good day, meaning his price will drop. Couple that with his lack of usage in the passing game, and now is the time to sell, at the height of his touchdown streak.

New England Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson

Don’t let his season-high 22 points fool you. Stevenson has been a horribly inefficient running back in 2023. Week 9 was his first game all season averaging over five yards a carry and just his second averaging over four. Most of his success on the ground came on one singular carry that went for 64 yards and a score. He would’ve once again averaged less than three yards a carry without that run. His first run of 40-plus yards all season. Actually, that was also his first run of 20-plus yards all season.

Make no mistake. Stevenson has not proven capable of repeating his remarkable 2022 season. Stevenson’s only saving grace is that he plays the Broncos and Bills during the fantasy playoffs, who’ve been atrocious against opposing running backs in PPR formats. Still, if you can flip Stevenson and a FLEX-worthy WR for a high-end WR2 like Chris Olave, take that deal in a heartbeat.

Chicago Bears RB D’Onta Foreman

Volume is king, right? So why on Earth would you want to trade someone that just had 20 carries? Well, there’s a few reasons. The biggest reason is the return of Khalil Herbert from IR. Herbert was the team’s lead back before injury and despite Foreman’s impressive efficiency in his absence, Herbert is younger, more explosive, and will likely take most of those carries back for himself.

Sure, Foreman has earned himself a role in this offense, but that’s less an endorsement for Foreman and more an indictment of anyone in that Chicago Bears’ backfield. With the return of Roschon Johnson as well, Foreman will get barely any looks in the passing game and has become a touchdown-dependent player who will be lucky to see 10 carries any given week. Sell him now before people wise up.

Buffalo Bills TE Dalton Kincaid

This one is going to ruffle some feathers. So, let me start by saying that prior to the season, I was the biggest Kincaid advocate of them all. I stuck with him through his abysmal start to the season and am reaping the benefits now. My league chat is inundated with ‘I told you so’ messages regarding the former Utah Ute. That said, if you can trade Kincaid and a borderline FLEX player for someone like Mark Andrews, now would be the time to do so.

Kincaid is coming off three straight weeks with 15 or more PPR fantasy points, but that streak is likely due in large part to the injury to Dawson Knox. When Knox was healthy, Kincaid’s target share and snap count were both far lower than what they are now. While the first of Kincaid’s 15-point games came when Knox was still active, the injury that forced Knox to the IR had been nagging Knox since Week 5. He was not at 100 percent when Kincaid went off for eight receptions and 75 yards in Week 7.

That said, Knox is still out for at least the next two weeks and the official timetable for Knox’s return is still up in the air. With that in mind, there is still a case to hold on to Kincaid for a few more weeks. However, the Bills play the Broncos in Week 10, who held Travis Kelce to a mediocre day in Week 8 and limited Packers’ tight ends to just five catches and 32 yards in Week 7. Then, they play the Jets in Week 11, who have not allowed opposing tight ends to go for 50 or more receiving yards since Travis Kelce got them for 60 yards in Week 4. After that, Knox could return. The timeline isn’t great for Kincaid, and that’s why now might be the best time to trade for someone with a more secure future.