Week 10 is here, and the trade deadline is behind us! There was plenty of chaos over the past week with big trades and a few injuries, but how does that change the fantasy football landscape? With players on new teams, who will step up and who will be left behind?
Here are seven bold predictions for a huge slate of games in Week 10:
Kyren Williams and Blake Corum both score touchdowns
With Puka Nacua likely headed to IR, and Davante Adams already there, the Rams' offense will lean into their run game. It's a super favorable matchup against the lowly Cardinals, so this seems like a get-in, get-the-win, and just get-out healthy type of game for the Rams. Williams and Corum have both seen 10+ carries in three straight games, which should be the game plan against a Cardinals' run defense that allows
over 121 yards per game.
Keenan Allen makes an immediate impact with the 49ers
The 49ers desperately needed help at wide receiver, so they went out and got veteran Keenan Allen. Last week, San Francisco had Jordan Watkins and Demarcus Robinson as its two most-targeted receivers, and that's not good enough. With good offensive play-calling from Kyle Shanahan, I'm confident he'll draw something up for Allen, who just faced this same Cowboys' defense last week when he was on the Colts. Allen will lead all 49ers' wide receivers in targets and yards this week.
Jonathan Taylor returns to form
The last two weeks have not been easy for Jonathan Taylor managers, as he's finished as RB39 and RB31. The trade speculation didn't help, but after the Colts decided to keep him and trade away their two starting wide receivers, who else is on the Colts' offense to move the ball? The matchup is elite against the Dolphins, who sit at 29th in the league over the last four weeks with defensive Rush EPA at 0.013. Taylor goes for 20 touches and 100+ yards.
Tetairoa McMillan takes the top off the Saints' defense
The Panthers desperately need to get their offense back on track, and the ball needs to go to Tet McMillan. Over the last four weeks, the Saints' defense is 27th (6.8%) in the NFL in explosive pass play rate allowed. This bodes well for McMillan, who comes in with a 25.3% target share, 10.9 air yards per target and long receptions of 20+ yards in five games this season. McMillan has been held under 60 yards in three straight games, but this is the week he breaks out and goes for 80+.
Kenneth Walker adds another 100+ yard game
Despite the fact that the Chiefs added wide receiver Josh Downs, the run game will still take center stage against the Atlanta Falcons this week. Since Week 6, the Falcons' defense is at -0.045 Rush EPA, which is 21st in the NFL. Over that same time, the Chiefs' offense sits at 0.042 Rush EPA, which is good for the 3rd best in the NFL. Add in the fact that Patrick Mahomes had a slight elbow injury last week, the Chiefs will keep things simple and get Kenneth Walker III the ball 20+ times en route to a win.
The Jacksonville Jaguars drop 40+ points
The Tennessee Titans made a few trades leading up to the deadline on the defensive side of the ball. Trading away their most talented players was the right call, but when the defense was already at 0.061 EPA/play (25th) in the NFL, they're going to be even worse moving forward. The Jags' offense is elite right now, posting 28.6 points per game, but they'll blow past that this week, with Trevor Lawrence and company dismantling the down-and-out Titans' defense.
Fernando Mendoza has a rough first start
I fully believe Mendoza will be a good NFL quarterback when it's all said and done, but this is a tough first start at home against the vaunted Seattle Seahawks' defense. Over the last four weeks, the Seahawks rank 2nd (3.2%) and 1st (0.8%) in defensive explosive play rate allowed. Over the same period, the Raiders' offense ranks 31st (4.8%) and 9th (6.1%) in explosive play rate, putting Mendoza in a tough spot. The offense has not been consistent, and asking Mendoza to jump-start the offense against this defense is a bit much.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 7 key fantasy football predictions for Week 10
