Fantasy Football: 6 Sleepers for Week 10

The word "sleeper" gets thrown around a lot in the world of fantasy football, to the point where an actual definition may vary from person to person. In general, sleepers are NFL players that may be flying relatively under the radar in a particular field. That could be an under-rostered player in season-long leagues, a player with an exciting matchup in a given week, or even a potential star just ahead of their true breakout.

In any case, we all need to find a sleeper from time to time. Whether you're a fantasy football hipster looking to roster an exciting new player before your league-mates hear about him, a daily fantasy manager looking for a lower-salary player to fill out a lineup loaded with studs, or even just a manager in a pinch due to byes or injuries, we have you covered. We'll be bringing you six fantasy sleepers each and every week throughout the season.

Fantasy Football Week 10 Sleepers

Taylor Heinicke, QB, Atlanta Falcons

FanDuel Salary: $7,000

We've only seen one-and-a-half games from Taylor Heinicke with the Atlanta Falcons, but it already feels safe to say the journeyman is an improvement over second-year quarterback Desmond Ridder. He's already averaging almost a full yard more per pass attempt than his teammate despite his sole start coming in a game without stud wideout Drake London, who missed the game with a groin injury. London is back at practice this week, which should help out Atlanta's passing game in Week 10.

Heinicke gets a pretty nice matchup for his second Falcons start, squaring off against the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals are allowing opposing passers to average 18.6 fantasy points per game (10th-most) and have the second-worst defense in the NFL, according to numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics. Reading between the lines, this implies that Arizona's defense could be giving up even more fantasy points to opposing passers but have been falling behind quickly enough that their opponents change over to the running game.

With the return of starting quarterback Kyler Murray, the Cardinals' offense might be able to keep pace with their opponents a little better. More competitive game scripts generally lead to more passing attempts, which the team hasn't been good at defending; they're allowing 6.6 net yards per attempt on the year, the fourth-highest rate.

Their bad defense raises Heinicke's floor, and Murray's return could potentially boost his ceiling.

Michael Wilson, WR, Arizona Cardinals

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

On the flip side of the same game, Arizona Cardinals rookie Michael Wilson has shown flashes of NFL talent at points in his debut campaign and could be a big winner if Murray hits the ground running.

The Cardinals' passing offense has been lacking in overall production to start the year, but Wilson has held his own compared to his teammates. While veteran wideout Marquise Brown leads the team in receiving with 42 catches for 440 yards and 4 scores, Wilson has almost kept pace with the former first-round pick, tallying 25 catches for 401 yards and 2 scores in one fewer game. Wilson's 1.65 yards per route run outshines Brown's 1.42, as well, so there could be a potential dynamic change on the way in the second half of the year.

The Cardinals' offense is a potential wild card as Murray takes the stage. We've seen what it looked like with Joshua Dobbs under center, but haven't seen Murray play outside the confines of Kliff Kingsbury's system in the NFL.

If this offense takes off with Murray at the helm, you'll wish you had picked up Wilson beforehand.

Khalil Shakir, WR, Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

Buffalo Bills sophomore wideout Khalil Shakir has stepped up over the past two games with Dawson Knox (wrist) on the injured reserve. The Bills, who made heavy use of two-tight-end sets when Knox was healthy, have now shifted to an 11-personnel (three wide receivers) base for the offense, opening up significant opportunities for Shakir.

Over the last two weeks Shakir has caught all 10 of his targets from Josh Allen, converting them into 149 yards. He's been keeping pace with the team's other impressive pass-catchers, like Stefon Diggs (15/156/1) and Dalton Kincaid (15/146/1), in those two games, as well. There could be better things in store for the promising young wideout; laying with one of the best passers in the league has its perks.

The Bills are slated to take on the Denver Broncos in Week 10, who have fielded one of the worst defenses in the entire league. The Bills' offense should be able to produce efficiently against this unit, meaning Shakir should get opportunities to put up fantasy points during the game. If the game gets out of hand and the Bills rest their top starters, Shakir could even clean up garbage-time targets as the Bills close things out.

Ezekiel Elliott, RB, New England Patriots

FanDuel Salary: $5,200

We're past the point of the season where there are still exciting running backs available on waiver wires in most leagues. If a player has shown any promise, or appears to have a strong backup position locked up, odds are those players are already on rosters. But, if you really need help at the position, you can still find some "dusty" vets in committee backfields on terrible teams, and New England Patriots back Ezekiel Elliott is probably the best of that bunch right now.

Elliott has been splitting work with teammate Rhamondre Stevenson for most of the year, which has damaged both players' previously-strong fantasy football production. This week, though, the Pats will take on the Indianapolis Colts, whose defense is allowing 23.2 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs (fifth-most in the NFL). Even the Carolina Panthers were able to post over 130 rushing yards against this Colts defense last week, meaning the Patriots should be able to establish the run a bit in Week 10.

Zeke gets carries, catches some passes, and gets some opportunities when the Patriots get to the goal line. If you're truly desperate for production at the position this week, you could do worse than hoping the former fourth-overall pick falls into the end zone amidst a soft matchup.

Tyjae Spears, RB, Tennessee Titans

FanDuel Salary: $4,900

Tyjae Spears is on the "sleeper" borderline entering Week 10, but it feels worth highlighting him for anyone playing in leagues where he's still available. The rookie back has had to play behind Derrick Henry on the Tennessee Titans all year, which has mostly stymied his own fantasy output. However, he has still been efficient on a per-touch basis and could hold one of the most fantasy-relevant backups jobs in the league if Henry misses any time.

It's also important to note that Spears has been getting slightly more passing game work since the Titans made the switch over to Will Levis at quarterback. It hasn't turned into much production yet, but we can't ignore running backs that catch passes as often as Spears, grabbing seven balls in the past two games.

The Titans' backfield has a brutal Week 10 matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whose defense has locked down their opponents' running games this season. That could skew the Titans' offense away from Derrick Henry carries and toward passes to Tyjae Spears out of the backfield.

Juwan Johnson, TE, New Orleans Saints

FanDuel Salary: $4,900

New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson is starting to look like himself again. The fourth-year pro turned in a breakout 2022 campaign, but a Week 3 hamstring injury derailed the first half of his 2023 season. He was beginning to seem like a potential one-year-wonder until last week. He caught 5 passes for 29 yards and a touchdown.

Johnson, who caught 7 touchdown passes a season ago, appears to be re-claiming his spot as the team's top "traditional" tight end since it feels incorrect to label Taysom Hill as a normal tight end. Johnson led the Saints' tight ends in offensive snaps while pushing teammate Foster Moreau back down the depth chart in Week 9, signaling that he could be emerging again as a potent weapon in the team's offense.

This week he'll get to take on the Minnesota Vikings, whose defense has allowed the ninth-most passing yards this season and just gave up a 100-yard game to Atlanta Falcons playmaker Jonnu Smith.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.