Boom or Bench: Week 10 start/sit fantasy tips

Boom or Bench provides insight and analysis to help you handle your difficult fantasy football starting lineup decisions every week.

QB: Giants' Jaxson Dart at Bears

The Bears have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks this season, and Dart has been a strong fantasy quarterback since taking over as New York's starter. The rookie has a pair of QB3 finishes, a QB7 result, and QB11, QB13, and QB16 outings.

Only the Cowboys have given up more passing touchdowns this year, so I expect Dart to connect on a couple of them. The Bears have surrendered a decent amount of rushing production to the position, too, so the signal-caller should record another few points on the ground.

Projection: 239 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 38 rushing yards, rushing TD

Other QBs primed to boom:

• Lions' Jared Goff at Commanders

• Bears' Caleb Williams vs Giants

RB: Bears' Kyle Monangai vs. Giants

Monangai should see plenty of touches after his breakout game last week. The Giants, meanwhile, have the third-worst defense in limiting running backs from scoring fantasy points, and they've given up eight touchdowns to the position. New York ranks 31st in rushing yards (1,089) and 23rd in receiving yards (304) allowed to backs.

The 5-foot-8, 207-pounder saw 26 carries for 176 rushing yards against the Bengals, who are the only team that's allowed more yards on the ground to RBs than the Giants. Even if he doesn't see quite that same volume, which is more likely than not if D'Andre Swift returns, he's set up well for success.

Projection: 95 rushing yards, 21 receiving yards, 2 receptions, TD

RB: Broncos' J.K. Dobbins vs. Raiders

Fellow running back RJ Harvey has been explosive and efficient in recent weeks, but Dobbins is still dominating the Broncos' backfield when it comes to snap share percentage and opportunities. Dobbins, the RB16 in fantasy, has seen at least 14 carries in all but one game this season, and he's never dipped below a 44% snap share.

Despite that workload, the 26-year-old hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 5. That should change against the Raiders, who have given up nine rushing touchdowns to tailbacks in 2025, with only the Titans (12) and Bills (10) surrendering more. However, they've limited running backs to just 204 receiving yards with no receiving TDs, which is another factor in leaning Dobbins over Harvey.

Projection: 90 rushing yards, 13 receiving yards, 1 reception, TD

Other RBs primed to boom:

• Lions' David Montgomery at Commanders

• Steelers' Jaylen Warren at Chargers

WR: Bears' Rome Odunze vs. Giants

Caleb Williams is a quarterback primed to boom, which should benefit Odunze. I'm expecting Williams to look his way early and often after Odunze finished without a catch against the Bengals last week, and doing so against a soft Giants defense sets up the Washington product for a big game.

New York has allowed a ton of fantasy points to wide receivers this season. The team has surrendered the third-most receptions and fourth-most yards to the position and is tied for the 12th-most touchdowns given up. Odunze should be the primary receiving beneficiary of this matchup.

Projection: 118 receiving yards, 8 receptions, TD

WR: Vikings' Jordan Addison vs. Ravens

Addison has posted relatively pedestrian numbers each of the last two games, but a matchup with the Ravens is a great opportunity to rebound. Baltimore has given up 10 touchdowns to wide receivers, and it ranks in the bottom 10 in receptions, yards, and scores allowed to the position.

Addison hasn't seen a big dip in snap share despite the dip in production. That gives me confidence that he can bounce back here. The 23-year-old has played at least 75% of the offensive snaps in every game since returning from suspension, and he's gone over 90% three times.

Projection: 101 receiving yards, 6 receptions, TD

Other WRs primed to boom:

• Lions' Jameson Williams at Commanders

• Chargers' Quentin Johnston vs. Steelers

TE: Bills' Dalton Kincaid at Dolphins

Only the Bengals have surrendered more touchdowns to tight ends than the Dolphins, who are tied for the second-most scores conceded and have the third-most yards and receptions allowed. That should lead to plenty of chances for Kincaid.

The 26-year-old has recorded over 100 receiving yards in two of his last three outings, and he's been adept at scoring touchdowns all season. Kincaid has found the end zone in four of his seven games, including last week against a Chiefs defense that's one of the best at limiting tight ends.

Projection: 93 receiving yards, 6 receptions, TD

Other TEs primed to boom:

• Chargers' Oronde Gadsden II vs. Steelers

• Bears' Colston Loveland vs. Giants

QB: Colts' Daniel Jones vs. Falcons

Head coach Shane Steichen's offensive game plan is likely to be run heavy when the Colts and Falcons face off in Berlin. Atlanta has the league's best passing defense compared to the No. 23 run defense. In fact, the unit allows only 33.7 more passing yards per game (158.1) than it does rushing yards (124.4). That's good news for Jonathan Taylor and bad news for Jones.

Indianapolis played the Rams earlier this season, and L.A. has been narrowly better than the Falcons at limiting quarterback fantasy points. Jones had 262 passing yards, a touchdown, and a pair of picks in that game en route to a QB26 finish for the week. I'm expecting fewer yards and a similarly disappointing outing.

Projection: 207 passing yards, passing TD, 2 INTs, 15 rushing yards

Other QBs to bench:

• Jaguars' Trevor Lawrence at Texans

• Steelers' Aaron Rodgers at Chargers

RB: Jets' Breece Hall vs. Browns

The trade deadline has come and gone, and Breece Hall remains a New York Jet. That's bad news for his Week 10 prospects, as New York hosts a Browns defense that has been stellar against running backs. Cleveland has given up virtually nothing to tailbacks as receivers (30/144/0), and it's been excellent at limiting them on the ground (618 yards and three touchdowns).

It would take a Herculean effort from Hall to find enough room to work and generate a good fantasy score this week. He's averaged only 67 rushing yards in his two career games against the Browns, but even reaching that mark feels like a stretch.

Projection: 41 rushing yards, 28 receiving yards, 3 receptions

RB: Commanders' Jacory Croskey-Merritt vs. Lions

It might be time to bench "Bill" Croskey-Merritt for the foreseeable future. The rookie hasn't registered double-digit fantasy points or averaged more than 3.6 yards per carry since Week 5, and he hasn't cleared 40 rushing yards in any of the last three contests. He's also not a huge factor in the passing game (8/63/0). Plus, defenses can dedicate more resources to stopping the run after Jayden Daniels sustained a dislocated elbow.

Then there's the matter of Croskey-Merritt's Week 10 opponent. The Lions have a top-three defense at limiting fantasy points to running backs, and they rank 10th in rushing defense (94.5 yards per game). Croskey-Merritt is also unlikely to find much room in his limited opportunities as a receiver. Only six teams have allowed fewer receiving yards to running backs, and Detroit hasn't surrendered a receiving score to the position.

Projection: 40 rushing yards, 8 receiving yards, 1 reception

Other RBs to bench:

• Texans' Woody Marks/Nick Chubb vs. Jaguars

• Seahawks' Zach Charbonnet vs. Cardinals

WR: Saints' Chris Olave at Panthers

Olave has seen at least 10 targets in six games and hadn't dipped below six until last week, when he drew just four looks from new starting quarterback Tyler Shough. That was partially thanks to Shough only attempting 24 passes, but the signal-caller finished with 176 passing yards, a touchdown to tight end Juwan Johnson, and a pick.

Considering Shough's very low production floor and the Panthers' defense being the sixth best at limiting fantasy points to wideouts, this isn't a favorable spot for Olave. Plus, the Saints sent Rashid Shaheed to the Seahawks at the trade deadline. Brandin Cooks, who hasn't cleared 30 receiving yards in a game this season, is now the No. 2 receiver. Defenses can focus on Olave more than ever, starting with the Panthers.

Projection: 63 receiving yards, 5 receptions

WR: Bills' Khalil Shakir at Dolphins

The Dolphins have overall played poorly in most games, but they've done a good job of defending receivers, allowing the fewest yards (938) and the fourth-fewest receptions (84) to the position.

They've been much worse against running backs and tight ends. The Bills have stars at both positions in James Cook and Dalton Kincaid, the latter of which was identified as a Boom candidate earlier. Shakir and the other Bills wideouts will likely be limited to just a handful of targets each, and any of them would need a touchdown to be worth starting this week.

Projection: 41 receiving yards, 4 receptions

Other WRs to bench:

• Jaguars' Jakobi Meyers at Texans

• Colts' Alec Pierce vs. Falcons

TE: Commanders' Zach Ertz vs. Lions

Ertz has had an up-and-down season. Down is the more likely outcome this week. The Lions have only given up 38 receptions, 392 yards, and four touchdowns to tight ends. The reception and yardage marks are among the 12 best in the NFL, while the touchdown total is middle of the pack in a tie with many other teams.

The veteran tight end will be catching passes from Marcus Mariota instead of Jayden Daniels moving forward. Ertz posted 38, 21, and 16 receiving yards, respectively, in Mariota's three previous starts. He didn't score and never had more than four receptions in those games.

Projection: 35 receiving yards, 3 receptions

Other TE to bench:

• Vikings' T.J. Hockenson vs. Ravens

• Patriots' Hunter Henry at Buccaneers

Andrew Dixon is a contributing fantasy analyst for theScore.