C.J. Stroud searches for respect in the QB1 rankings, Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy welcome one of the season’s highest game totals, and Kirk Cousins moves back into his old digs in Minnesota.

Other positions: Running Back | Receiver | Tight End/Kickers/Defense

Week 10 Quarterbacks

QB Notes: Drake Maye hears you. He … ok, he doesn’t necessarily see you. If he did, he wouldn’t have just thrown that pick. Alas, playing like a young Josh Allen, Maye is creating havoc. We like it in fantasy even if they don’t love it in New England. Both should certainly expect it in Germany vs. the defense-less Lions in a game where the total has breezed by 50. … Brock Purdy has continued to make do with one of the league’s most injured, random receiver corps. The addition of Keenan Allen doesn’t make things any less injury prone or arbitrary, but it does provide much needed veteran depth. With another WR3 in his arsenal, Purdy is as safe as ever in the upper echelon of the weekly QB ranks. …All the way up to QB6 status by average points, C.J. Stroud is getting harder to ignore in the QB1 ranks. That’s especially true following his QB1 overall finish in Week 9. The Browns are not a plus Week 10 matchup, but the Texans’ suddenly overflowing receiver corps coupled with a nonexistent rushing attack has locked in high-end passing volume for a QB finding the end zone with regularity.

Trevor Lawrence keeps running into the same problem: Are the Jaguars too good? A golden Week 9 setup produced a QB17 finish in a game where the Jags had to do very little to dispatch a Ravens team starting its No. 3 quarterback. Now the same issue has arisen for Week 10 with the Jags being two-score road favorites vs. the lowly Titans. There are a few key differences this time around. Unlike the Ravens, the Titans are coming off bye at their highest moment rather than their lowest. The game total is also closer to 50 than last week’s anemic 39.5. Those two facts to combine to make Lawrence a safer QB1 than he was this time last week. … Is Jayden Daniels ok? There suddenly seems to be a “going through the motions” quality to his game. Motions must definitely be gone through as the Commandos run out the clock on the Dan Quinn “era,” but we would hope for better Daniels stretch-run play. Permitting the third fewest weekly passing yards and second fewest yards per attempt, the Giants are not an appealing Week 10 matchup.

Jordan Love’s unstoppable force is set to host Minnesota’s immovable object. This is a defense that just held Josh Allen to a QB15 overall finish. It’s about as bad as matchups get. Then again, the same has been true for Love and opposing defenses this season. Ergo, we will “split the difference” and keep Love on the QB1/2 borderline. He’s a “use at your own risk” option for Week 10, but what a fun risk indeed. … Kirk Cousins isn’t quite prodigal and Minnesota isn’t quite home, but it’s all close enough. The Vikings needed a savior, any savior, and Cousins will do when the alternative is the remains of Carson Wentz. Cousins’ returns were predictably beginning to diminish in Vegas, but he isn’t going to have to do it all on his own in Minnesota thanks to Brian Flores’ show-stopping defense. That, coupled with a decidedly above-average skill corps will have Cousins in the streamer mix more often than not, very much including this Sunday against the shootout-prone Packers.

Tyler Shough’s play has continued to slip, but his supporting cast has been majorly reinforced by the return of Jordyn Tyson. Still with no running game to speak of, the Saints will keep having Shough drop back. That has typically been profitable in fantasy leagues against Week 10 opponent Carolina. … Bryce Young finally got back on the QB1 ledger in Week 9, albeit in less than convincing fashion. You still have to remain convinced by his receiver duo and Week 10 smash spot in a Saints D surrendering the fifth most passing yards in football. … Tanned, rested and ready for a matchup with the shootout-prone Bengals coming out of the Steelers’ bye week, Aaron Rodgers is a good bet to keep producing in the QB16-18 range he has found himself in for most of the year. … By definition, it’s not a good situation when Jacoby Brissett is the savior. Expectations must remain modest for what he is capable of accomplishing for the Ravens. But for fantasy football? I know a quarterback who can get the ball to Zay Flowers when I see him. Expect Brissett to target Flowers 10-12 times per game, indeed saving Flowers and creating low-end streamer potential of his own.

It’s been feeling a little more Minnesota with each passing week for J.J. McCarthy, with the massive caveat that the bottom has yet to fall out. “Nine” is not making game-losing mistakes. The Commanders’ horrendous defense, meanwhile, should offer no shortage of big-play opportunities on the short week. … Are we still starting Matthew Stafford without Puka Nacua? Not really. He nevertheless hovers around the top 20 because of his veteran status, excellent coaching, and skills in the red zone. The floor will never fall all the way out. There’s just no longer any semblance of ceiling. … Cam Ward had by far the best start of his career when last we left him. He now comes off bye to one of his toughest matchups of the season. He will at least have had two weeks to game plan, and will hopefully be getting fellow first-rounder Carnell Tate (shoulder) back in the lineup. The good news ends there for Week 10, but hopefully it resumes in Week 11 vs. the Cowboys’ sorry “defense.” … The 4-5 Raiders have ended the charade. No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza is finally taking over as starter. It comes at an inopportune time — vs. the Seahawks’ elite defense — in an inopportune setup, though Kirk Cousins was posting big numbers in the same situation. Mendoza at least has Brock Bowers and play-caller Klint Kubiak. The streamer time is not Week 10, but it should soon be “now.”

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