Fire & Ice: Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers For Week 10
Fantasy 101

Fire & Ice: Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers For Week 10

By Optimus Staff · November 14, 2026

And just like that, we’re in double digits. How quickly the young season has grown up. No longer the fresh-faced rosters we gazed upon with so much hope back in August and September, enamored with the possibilities. The fantasy football world was our oyster; there was light, and warmth, and joy.

But no longer. No, instead we’re grizzled by the passage of time and the trials of the fantasy season. We gaze upon our once impeccable depth, wondering if we should start Chimere Dike over our the WR we took in the 2nd round yet again. But in the darkness of the sun setting at 4:30 PM, a light beckons you….

That’s right, it’s the Week 10 Fire and Ice from Optimus Fantasy. We’re here to help you sort through all that slop and the wreckage to find the fantasy gems and avoid the pitfalls of another week of the season. We’ve got high hopes for young bucks, tempering expectations for veterans others expect to vault upwards, and are even looking at some dented cans with added respect and consideration. All to help you survive and keep your fantasy football season alive so you still have important decisions to make when people are taking holiday decorations down. Let’s get into it.

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Fire & Ice: Fantasy Football Risers & Fallers For Week 10

Lou Brunson (@brewpython27)

Fire Player: Jadarian Price, RB, Seattle Seahawks

Just to be very clear about Jadarian Price, I fully expect Seattle to maintain a gross RB split in terms of overall work. We know Zach Charbonnet is going to get the majority of the carries and goal-line work, even if George Holani is being relegated to irrelevance. So this isn't a matter of "Price will be a top 5 RB this week!" No, no, not that. 

So walk with me here. Price clearly has the most 'juice' of any Seattle RB. He simply has a gear that the others don't. And he gets a matchup against Las Vegas and a rookie QB this week. "But Lou, Price doesn't play defense!" 100% accurate. But we know Seattle's defense is what it is, and if ever there was a matchup where Seattle would look to establish dominance and just choke out the other team, this fits the bill. After all, this was the exact game script in Week 9 when Price racked up 78 yards on only 13 opportunities (carries + targets). 

So what I am saying is that there's a certain class of RB that Price belongs in front of for Week 10. We've got guys like Woody Marks and Quinshon Judkins that people are ranking as mid-range RB2s and ahead of Price this week, and that simply shouldn't be the case. Las Vegas and their schedule-adjusted 2nd most permissive defense to rushing yards is a perfect opportunity to start the rookie in Week 10.

Ice Player: Zay Flowers, WR, Baltimore Ravens

Hope is great, hope is fun, hope is good, but hope is not always warranted. And in Zay Flowers' case, I believe that hope is misguided at least for this week. 

To be very clear - Jacoby Brissett is an upgrade over Joe Fagnano; there's no question about that. The trouble is that there's more Tyler Huntley to Brissett's game than there is Lamar Jackson. Which makes sense, of course. So we shouldn't see the Flowers who averaged 1.5 targets/game over his last two games (Lamar/Huntley injury game + Fagnano game). After all, Flowers averaged over 9 targets/game with Huntley as the starter. That alone will make him startable.

Considering Brissett has been in town for all of 20 minutes, and Baltimore plays the Chargers this week, I need to pump the brakes on the optimism, though. On paper, it looks like the Chargers allow a lot of scoring to WRs. After all, they've given up the 5th most fantasy points to WRs. Most of that is on the back of Week 9, though. Prior to Week 9, the Chargers allowed the 17th most. Then C.J. Stroud and the juggernaut (yes, I'm surprised too) that is the Houston passing offense rolled through them, dropping them all the way down to 5th. Flowers is excellent, but Brissett is certainly no Stroud, nor are Baltimore's pass-catchers on the level of Houston's as a whole.

There's also a difference between startable and top 12, which is where consensus has him ranked this week. Flowers is definitely startable this week. But bump your expectations down a bit to below the George Pickens and D.J. Moore range. For this week, anyhow. Better days will come.

Jay Green (@jaygreeniii)

Fire Player: Jonathan Taylor, RB, Indianapolis Colts

Many Jonathan Taylor managers were optimistic about his future. With trade talks everywhere, it was reasonable to think Taylor could be moving into a better situation with a much better team. I mean, it would be hard for him to land on a team worse than the Colts, right?

Well, the trade deadline came and went, and Taylor is still an Indianapolis Colt. Sad, right? Well, I am here to argue that it is not, and the argument is very simple.

Look at where Taylor was before the trade rumors started two weeks ago on the same horrible team. His stat lines were those of an elite top-five RB, with only one game under 10 points and only two games under 19 points in PPR formats.

You can see that Taylor's usage plummeted over the last two weeks, in what clearly looks like an attempt to keep him healthy for a potential trade. Now that no trade is imminent, the Colts have no incentive to keep his usage rate low.

Shane Steichen is out here coaching for his job after his GM was just fired. They are heading into one of the most winnable games left on the schedule, with Miami already down its starting QB. After trading their best healthy WR, Josh Downs, to the Chiefs, the team is also lacking in weapons outside of Taylor and TE Tyler Warren.

I expect a heavy workload from the premier back and for him to pick up right where he left off before the trade rumors started.

Ice Player: Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings

To be honest, I hate myself for writing this on multiple levels.

First of all, how can you, as a neutral observer, not root for the Justin Jefferson-Kirk Cousins show to be fireworks? Jefferson is still one of the best WRs in the league and has been plagued with horrid QB play for the last couple of seasons, resulting in very mundane stat lines.

Secondly, in addition to the return of Kirk being so easy to root for, the duo made magic in their three healthy seasons together, resulting in WR6, WR4, and WR1 seasons for Jefferson.

On paper, this seems like an easy smash, and if I am a Jefferson manager, I couldn't be happier with the situation. With all of that said, I just have to put up a couple of yield signs on this Minnesota party.

Right now, Jefferson is being ranked between WR5 and WR10 this week, ahead of the likes of Christian Watson, Parker Washington, Matthew Golden, and others. That might seem reasonable until you see that Jefferson has only scored more than 10 points in a PPR league three times this season and has broken into the top 10 WRs only once, in Week 1.

Now, your response will be that Kirk is a huge QB upgrade, and while I agree, we are talking about a bar so low it might be in hell.

Kirk has been great this year while mostly throwing to RBs and TEs, with offensive play-calling savant of the year Klint Kubiak at the controls. I still don't want us to forget the last two years of middling-at-best play in Atlanta with great weapons to work with.

Finally, the last reason I really hate writing this is that the potential for egg on my face is sky-high. I do believe Justin will be better because of this, and I do believe many WR10-and-better weeks are incoming for him.

Even knowing Hockenson is out, I'm willing to bet against Jefferson this week. With it being Kirk's first week back in Minnesota and a road game in the cold of Green Bay, Jefferson will surely be the focus of that defense as the main threat for Minnesota. 

Nate Polvogt (@natepolvogt) 

Fire Player: Kaleb Johnson, RB, Green Bay Packers

Last week against New England, Packers RB Josh Jacobs broke a finger and left the game after four carries for five yards. Then, the unlikeliest of heroes stepped in, folks: Kaleb Johnson. Yes, the same Kaleb Johnson drafted by the Steelers, put in the doghouse, traded to Green Bay, and then, kind of forgotten about. Well, forget no more (at least for now).

Last week, in a big win over the Patriots, Johnson averaged 4.9 yards per carry, totaling 68 yards and scoring a TD on 14 carries. Jacobs' broken finger required surgery, and his return timeline is unclear, seemingly leaving Johnson as the RB1 in Green Bay. That's important this week, as Green Bay faces a tough Minnesota Vikings defense.

I'm under no illusion Johnson has an RB1 week in him this week - or any week moving forward, for that matter. However, despite the consensus community's insistence that he won't be better than a back-end RB3, I have Johnson as a viable start on the fence between the RB2 and 3 tiers heading into Week 10.

Ice Player: Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons

Earlier in the 2026 season, it looked like Falcons TE Kyle Pitts was actually going to thrive with QB Michael Penix. Weeks 5-7 saw Pitts dominate, posting 149 yards and four TDs on 15 catches. Since that streak, Pitts has five catches for 29 yards. That's a stark contrast.

The Bengals were allowing an average of 92 yards per game (opponent adjusted) to tight ends.

Kyle Pitts has 14 yards.

Dude. Come on.

— Aaron Schatz (@aaronschatz.com) November 8, 2026 at 11:58 AM

It's not like Pitts is dead, but he is this week. The Chiefs' defense has given up the 13th-fewest fantasy points per game (10) to the position over the last three weeks, and has been even better against QBs (11th-fewest points). 

On his own, Pitts is a very athletic and capable TE, and he can survive bad matchups. However, with a bad QB in an even worse statistical matchup, it's hard to bet on the polarizing bookend. And to be fair, I have him as a mid-range TE2 this week, which is still startable. However, if you're needing - or expecting - TE1 production from Pitts in Week 10, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.

For more advice, head over to our Discord channel and ask our analysts! For breaking news and injury updates, follow Optimus Fantasy News on Bluesky!

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