Week 10 - Puff, Puff, Pass

We’re back like Snack Packs kids! Yes, that’s right, after a week off the written (err, typed) word, Smokey is back with your Week 10 Puff, Puff, Pass article. If you have never seen me on the @jetsweepshow, you may not know I also do video content. However, starting this week, I will be dropping not only this written article, but a video version of Puff, Puff, Pass as well! This will be slightly more uncensored, but will contain all the informational goodness found in here. Follow @TNFF_Smokey on Twitter and be on the lookout for the video Puff, Puff, Pass for Week 10. And now, without further ado…

Quarterbacks

Jared Goff (L.A. Rams)

This year Goff has probably won you three weeks, lost you three weeks and been sub-par for another two weeks. That was pre-bye week Goff. Bye bye pre-bye Goff. Hello new Gofff! Yes, I threw an extra f on there so you wouldn’t get confused. With QBs like Patrick Mahomes, Matt Ryan and Sam Darnold (psych!) on bye this week, you might have to hit the waiver wire, and in single QB leagues, Goff might still be available. He’s going up against Seattle this week, well rested and ready to win an important divisional game against the Seahawks who give up the 2nd most fantasy points to QBs and the most to WRs (hint, fire up Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods as well). The Rams defense is a good match for Seattle’s offense, but Goff will likely be playing from behind, so expect volume.

Verdict - PUFF

Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints)

After starting the season with a couple fantasy clunkers, (since Week 3) Drew Brees hasn’t dipped below 20 fantasy points per game. The Saints face the 49ers this week, who are tied for 12th in the league in passing TDs allowed and Brees has been great in the red zone this year, currently top 5 in red zone attempts, top 6 in red zone completions and top 7 in red zone TDs. More impressive, he’s done all of this without having a receiver in the top 10. Brees made Brady and the Bucs look foolish last Sunday night and now he gets his ultimate weapon back in Michael Thomas. San Francisco is banged up on defense and Brees has a chance to put additional distance in the division standings over Tampa Bay, who is on Bye this week. That is irrelevant to fantasy football, but the points Brees is going to put up this game aren’t. Start Drew with confidence.

Verdict - PUFF

Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings)

Kirk and the Vikings face their stiffest competition this week since the beginning of the season when they travel to the Windy City to face the Bears. Chicago is allowing the fewest fantasy points to QBs this season, 15.1 per game on average and Kirk has been unreliable at best this year. Cousins has had a handful of great weeks, but has yet to follow any of them up with anything higher than a 16.9 point performance (for reference, he put up almost 27 fantasy points last week). I think Chicago is going to swallow the Vikings whole on Monday Night Football, fade Kirk this week.

Verdict - PASS

Running Backs

Salvon Ahmed (Miami Dolphins)

Did you know the Chargers are giving up the 15th most points to the RB position in the league? That’s who the Dolphins face this week and there’s a new face leading the backfield. Forget the Combine metrics and watch the tape on this kid, he has blazing speed and can snap off big plays. Kyle Shanahan is one of the most trusted coaches around when it comes to usage of undrafted free agent RBs and Ahmed was brought into the 49ers organization post-draft season before being cut in August and signed by Miami the same day. With Myles Gaskin out and Matt Breida questionable, the opportunity is there for Salvon to, ahem, run with it. I’m in a spot or two where I might have to start him because of injuries and I don’t even feel hesitant about it.

Verdict - PUFF

Antonio Gibson (Washington Football Team)

I am not quite ready to admit I was wrong on the RB15 of the season so far, Antonio Gibson, as he has had more than 13 rushing attempts once and over 50 rushing yards twice. The time he did both was against the Dallas Cowboys, who are allowing the 11th most fantasy points to RBs. Now he faces the team giving up the most to RBs, the Detroit Lions, one of three teams who have allowed over 1000 yards rushing this season. I could hedge my bets and go with the Washington backfield overall, as I believe J.D. McKissic is also a great play this week. However, that’s the cowards way out, so put my money on the more talented kid to pound that rock down Detroit’s throat.

Verdict - PUFF

Malcolm Brown (L.A. Rams)

While Seattle’s defense bleeds points to WRs like a Tarantino movie scene, they’re actually decent against the run. With Darrell Henderson presumed out this week, the Rams will be splitting between Brown and Cam Akers. Doesn’t matter to me either way, I don’t see the Rams holding a lead that would provide a favourable game script for Brown, nor do I see L.A. leaning on the run. Other than his two TD performance in Week 1, Brown has been rather disappointing for fantasy. He has seen double digit touches the last two weeks in a row and is still topping out at 57 yards each week. I’m out on the Ram’s run game this week.

Verdict - PASS

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Wide Receivers

Darnell Mooney (Chicago Bears)

It was only a matter of time before Chicago’s true WR2 made this list, especially with how much I’ve been talking him up. In my opinion, the only thing holding Mooney back from being relevant in everyone’s eyes are the quality of targets from the sub-par Bears QBs. Thankfully, their opponents, the Minnesota Vikings, are allowing almost 2.5 passing TDs per game on average. With Allen Robinson being limited in practice all week with a knee injury, I believe this week is Mooney’s golden opportunity to make his splash entrance into the fantasy mainstream conversation from the dark corners of sleeper territory.

Verdict – PUFF

Brandin Cooks (Houston Texans)

My favourite disrespected player to get at a discount this draft season has finally started to move past the concussion concerns in people’s minds and I love him as a play this week. In the last four weeks, Cooks is averaging an even 93 yards a game and 20.55 fantasy points per game. With a talented QB slinging the ball and facing a Browns defense who are surrendering the 5th most fantasy points to WRs so far this season. It’s crazy to think that Cooks is on a 16-game pace of 1165+ receiving yards, which would make the Texans the 4th team he has put a 1,000 yard season up with. Pretty impressive no matter how good the QBs he has had have been. Cooks is a smash play for me.

Verdict – PUFF

Marvin Jones (Detroit Lions)

You know the old saying about the definition of insanity? Well, I’m running this WR Pass back for the second week in a row. This week, MJJ faces the Washington Football Team, who are giving up the fewest points to opposing WRs this year, 14.2 per game on average. Not only that, but Kenny Golladay will be out, which means defenses will be focusing in on Marvin as the primary pass-catching option for Matthew Stafford. I have very little confidence in starting Jones this week, but maybe he proves me wrong again.

Verdict – PASS

Tight Ends

Dallas Goedert (Philadelphia Eagles) *Weekly Winner*

Well, Goedert came back last minute and played Week 9, which made my first TE Puff of last week (Richard Rodgers) rather irrelevant. C’est la vie though, I’m more happy that Goedert is back because the Eagles passing game has some massive opportunity right now and we know how Carson Wentz loves to look at Goedert in the red zone. Last week was the time to grab Dallas, as he is only available on 21% of Sleeper rosters right now and after this week I’m sure that will drop to zero. While the Giants are allowing the 10th fewest fantasy points per game to the TE position, they have not faced one of any consequence so far (George Kittle was not in the line-up Week 3 against the Giants). I don’t think it’s out of the question for Goedert to finish in the Top 3 TEs this week and he is my Weekly Winner pick.

Verdict - PUFF

Austin Hooper (Cleveland Browns)

Austin Hooper is back in the line-up after having his appendix removed, which should easily shave a couple tenths of a second off his 40-yard time. Cleveland is matched up against the Houston Texans this week, who are allowing the 13th most points on average to TEs. Houston is also allowing the 4th most points to QBs (low key love Baker Mayfield as a sneaky play this week), so I think Mayfield and Hooper will pick up where they left off before his surgery and Hooper will finish as a top 10 TE this week.

Verdict - PUFF

Tyler Higbee/Gerald Everett (L.A. Rams)

I feel like this game is taking up a lot of real estate in this article, but there’s a plethora of relevant fantasy options that include some land mines, like the Rams TEs. The Seahawks’ defense are allowing the 6th fewest fantasy points per game to TEs and neither Higbee (TE19) nor Everett (TE23) have been lighting the world on fire this season. Goff, Kupp and Woods are the L.A. plays this week, beware all others.

Verdict - PASS

Thank you for reading my "Puff, Puff, Pass" article for week 10. Do you agree or disagree with any of my starts and sits? Please leave a comment or let me know @TNFF_Smokey

Editor: Joe Simonetti (@joesimonetti77)

Graphic work: Dan Made Graphics (@DanMadeGraphics)