When it comes to fantasy football, injuries can be detrimental to the season-long success of your fantasy squad and can leave you scrambling for plug-in starters, especially after another action-packed, injury-riddled week of football. Keep in mind that there are four teams on bye this week (KC, MIA, LAR, PHI), which is why you will need to work the fantasy football waiver wire to grab high-upside players to help fill these empty roster spots and reduce that Sunday morning pre-kickoff panic.
If you’re looking to do just that, here are the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups for Week 10 that could help push your fantasy team in the right direction.
All players must be owned in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues to be included in the best fantasy football waiver wire pickups weekly column. All ownerships for waiver wire players will be provided and will reflect that of Tuesday morning.
QB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Baker Mayfield Fantasy Ownership (45.3%)
Baker Mayfield has exceeded expectations thus far, sitting as the QB16 in fantasy football through nine weeks. He’s eclipsed 16.0 fantasy points in six of eight games this season and it feels like he’s finally on the same page with his pass-catchers. Plus, he’s taking care of the football.
His ceiling is pretty much what you see every week as he offers little rushing value but he’s shown that he can be consistent enough to put up around 16.5 fantasy points per game. He’s already had his bye week and with the amount of QB injuries around the league, Mayfield will be a quality streaming option moving forward, as well.
Joshua Dobbs Fantasy Ownership (16.3%)
The legend of Joshua Dobbs continues. It wasn’t pretty, as he had two turnovers and took a sack in the endzone, but Dobbs did enough to will the Vikings to victory. With Jaren Hall in concussion protocol, Dobbs will draw the start and will hopefully be able to put together a clean showing with his new offensive weapons. Despite fumbling twice, he still put up 24.92 fantasy points and threw two touchdowns while rushing for one.
Dobbs has legitimate rushing upside and if he can clean up the turnovers and fully earn the starting job, Minnesota is a good situation for his success and our fantasy success. He should obviously benefit more with a full week of practice under his belt and has all the opportunity in the world to put up some points against opponents like the Broncos and Bears, making him an obvious option for fantasy football waiver wire pickups in Week 10.
RB Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Zach Charbonnet Fantasy Ownership (30.4%)
While the fantasy production hasn’t necessarily been there yet, Zach Charbonnet has cemented himself in the backfield and has out-snapped Kenneth Walker III in back-to-back weeks now. The rookie will be difficult to trust until he starts garnering more carries than Walker, but he was obviously preferred in a negative game script featuring a ton of passing downs.
Walker has already dealt with an injury over the last two weeks but was a full participant in last week’s practice. Even though the running back splits are near 50/50, Charbonnet is running more routes than him, too (18 to 14 in Week 9). He’ll only be viewed as an RB3 until he can fully usurp the starting role but his role is increasing right in front of us and he’s only rostered in 30 percent of leagues.
Keaton Mitchell Fantasy Ownership (1.0%)
Get ready for that one percent ownership to rise a whole lot as fantasy football waiver wire pickups process for Week 10 because Keaton Mitchell put up 20.4 fantasy points on nine carries for 138 yards and a touchdown this past week. What’s even more impressive is that he played 14 snaps. All of this came during garbage time so what we do make of it? Well, he did receive nine carries compared to Gus Edwards’ five and Justice Hill’s 13 and showcased his big-play ability with 40-yard and 60-yard runs.
He’ll be splitting carries with Edwards and Hill for the foreseeable future but if he can continue to be that productive on such limited snaps, he’ll rise up to RB1 about as fast as he can run (4.37 40-yard dash at 2023 Combine).
WR Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Demario Douglas Fantasy Ownership (21.9%)
Demario Douglas has found himself in a prominent role over the last three weeks and has provided viable fantasy numbers for a player who is owned in just 21 percent of leagues. He’s garnered 20 targets across the last three games and will likely continue to serve as the WR1/WR2 alongside JuJu Smith-Schuster moving forward, especially if DeVante Parker is unable to clear concussion protocol for this week.
Douglas has yet to find the endzone this season and plays for a rather poor offense, so his ceiling is limited for that alone. Nonetheless, he’s shown his big-play ability and the Patriots are known to draft these shifty slot guys in the later rounds that end up becoming staples of their offense. Even if he’s limited by the Patriots not scoring touchdowns, he’s used in the rushing game and offers solid PPR upside.
Khalil Shakir Fantasy Ownership (3.7%)
Despite logging over 50% snaps and hauling in at least four receptions in three straight weeks, Khalil Shakir remains 3.7 percent rostered in fantasy leagues. Once Dawson Knox went on IR with a wrist injury in Week 6, it forced the Bills to go back to 11-personnel and shift rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid into a traditional tight end role, which opened up a lot for Shakir in the slot and short-passing game. He’s caught all ten of his targets for 149 yards and has averaged at least 14.3 yards per reception across the last two games.
Once Knox is back in the mix, Shakir will certainly take a hit and go back to his normal 25-40% snap count share. Kincaid has been ballin’ as of late, however, so it’s unclear how Buffalo will handle the 11-personnel versus 12-personnel situation.
TE Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Pickups
Taysom Hill Fantasy Ownership (39.7%)
It’s remarkable that Taysom Hill is still viable in the year 2023, but he’s been far too consistent over the last few weeks to ignore and only be rostered in 39.7% of leagues. Since Week 6, he hasn’t scored fewer than 12 fantasy points. Since Week 7, he has three rushing touchdowns, one passing touchdown and one receiving touchdown. We all know how Hill rolls –– he’s a jack-of-all-trades.
With the Saints’ offense looking semi-good the past few weeks and Derek Carr taking care of the ball, they’ve gotten to the red zone regularly –– prime Hill territory. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this up but he’s producing points and needs to be rostered on most fantasy teams moving forward.
Cade Otton Fantasy Ownership (7.8%)
Let’s not look too far into Cade Otton’s 23.0 fantasy explosion in Week 9, but it’s hard not to, right? He’s playing virtually every snap for Tampa Bay at this point and has garnered 21 targets across the last three games. Since Mayfield has taken care of the ball lately, the Bucs offense has found success and Otton has been a huge part of that.
