Week 10 Daily Fantasy Football: Building the Optimal Lineup

Week 10 of the 2016 Daily Fantasy Football season arrives this weekend. The new week offers another chance to compete for huge cash prizes via GPP contests at DraftKings.

In week nine, Latavius Murray ended up being one of the top sleepers you could ill afford to miss out on if you wanted to win big. With a ridiculous three touchdowns against the Denver Broncos, Murray undoubtedly paid off and was a mere $4k at DraftKings.

Picking an option like Murray isn’t always going to be easy, but week 10 still offers plenty of value picks to consider at DraftKings.

Let’s see if we can mix the right sleepers and studs as we prepare our optimal lineup for week 10:

QB: Russell Wilson – Seahawks ($6.2k)

Value is key at quarterback, and that’s especially the case when it’s so obvious. With Wilson finally looking healthy and busting out in week 9, it feels like the flood gates could open in a huge week 10 tilt versus the Patriots.

New England’s defense isn’t bad, but they also rank just 21st against quarterbacks on the year. That’s not elite, and we’re just now seeing Wilson come to life after being hobbled for most of 2016.

I’m not enamored with the idea of stacking Seattle receivers with Wilson, but he provides dual threat upside and is coming off of a 26-point fantasy explosion. I can’t get off of him for such a huge game.

RB: Todd Gurley – Rams ($5.3k)

It’s official: Gurley is too cheap it bypass in daily fantasy football leagues.

Jeff Fisher wants Todd Gurley to get more carries https://t.co/aANZQE5Dfm

— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 8, 2016

It’s true that he hasn’t been elite this year, but he’s at least been steady with 10+ fantasy points in six straight games. Gurley has the price, talent and role to provide much more than that, too, which is why he’s going to be an awfully tough fade in week 10.

I’m not so sure I’d be too scared away by the vaunted Jets run defense, either, seeing as they’ve been sulking lately and rank just 26th against running backs over the last four weeks.

RB: David Johnson – Cardinals ($8.4k)

Do we have to pay up for David Johnson? No, but I don’t think we’ll want to miss out on this tasty matchup with a Niners run defense that ranks dead last at stopping running backs.

.@DavidJohnson31 is the first RB in team history to win NFC Offensive Player of the Month. #BeRedSeeRed pic.twitter.com/L6iBcSdxqf

— Arizona Cardinals (@AZCardinals) November 3, 2016

This is a matchup to die for and for a guy who already was punching out over 25 fantasy points per outing, Johnson’s NFL DFS upside is through the roof this week.

Besides, if that crazy price gets his ownership down in GPPs, all the better.

WR: Kenny Britt – Rams ($4.9k)

Role can be big in daily fantasy football, even for a wide receiver on the Rams. Like it or not, Britt is the top receiver to target in L.A. and he’s actually produced, with a solid six 10+ fantasy point outings on the year.

Britt can cave at anytime, but I doubt he does in week 10, when he faces a terrible Jets secondary that ranks 21st against wide receivers in 2016.

Britt isn’t a world beater, but he’s been very solid this season, is a good price and has a strong role against a bad pass defense. Worse risks could be taken for our optimal GPP lineup.

WR: John Brown – Cardinals ($4.9k)

You don’t need to necessarily go crazy with stacking Cardinals this week, but if you didn’t notice, a trend is developing.

The reality is that San Francisco is not good at all, and the Cardinals are at home for a huge must-win game against a rival. The writing is on the wall for a big home win for AZ and it’s likely they explode a bit in the process.

Larry Fitzgerald also happens to be a little banged up, so if he’s out or even limited, we’re going to want to take a look at other Arizona receivers. One of my favorites is always going to be the explosive Brown, who has notched 10+ fantasy points in four of his last five contests.

Brown gets a killer date with the Niners, who don’t just stink on the ground; they also rank just 28th against wide receivers this year.

WR: Rishard Matthews – Titans ($4.2k)

This feels like a good week to target value at wide receiver, and there aren’t many better cheap options than Matthews, who has churned out 10+ fantasy points in five of his last six contests.

Things look promising for Matthews this week, as he’ll be at home against a banged up Packers defense that ranks just 24th against the wide receiver position.

This is a must-win game for both sides, so we can probably expect a fairly competitive game. Considering Andre Johnson retired and Matthews has really come on as of late (24 fantasy points last week) he looks like a solid GPP try.

TE: Delanie Walker, TE, Titans

Walker isn’t quite elite, but he also doesn’t go full spare very often. His 12.8 fantasy points per game on the year shows us that, and this week he draws a very beatable Packers defense at home.

Green Bay isn’t bad when healthy, but they aren’t even close and are reeling after two straight defeats. The Packers also rank just 21st against tight ends on the year, too, so there is some decent ceiling for Walker to work with.

Regardless, a lot of the other top tight ends have dicey matchups or cost a lot. Walker is a good price, at home, has a decent matchup and has topped 10+ fantasy points in three straight weeks. Let’s hope week 10 makes it four.

FLEX: Le’Veon Bell – Steelers ($7.8k)

What’s better than using Le’Veon Bell at home? Perhaps using him at home when everyone else is off of him following a bad week 9 performance:

It isn’t very often when you see Le’Veon Bell with just 7 fantasy points.

— Michael Fabiano (@Michael_Fabiano) November 6, 2016

Bell is probably too good for people to completely fade, but he was not elite last week and in week 10 he faces a good Dallas defense that ranks #2 against running backs.

Naturally, it’s possible that due to the matchup, bad week 9 and expensive price tag, Bell will be low owned this week.

That’s precisely why I will be all over him in GPPs, as he actually absolutely destroys (25 fantasy points per game) at Heinz Field and this is set up to be a huge game for the Steelers.

I expect a better performance, even with the tough matchup.

DEF: Arizona Cardinals ($3.7k)

The Cards really boned us in week eight, when they collectively fell on their faces in Carolina. They still mustered three fantasy points in that “effort” though, and have poured in 5+ fantasy points in every other game on the year.

Not having Tyrann Mathieu certainly downgrades them a bit, but they’re at home against the 49ers. This feels like a pretty safe spot to fire them up and hope for a big performance.