Keys to a fantasy football vic...

Pickup-and-play of the week: Jaylen Warren vs. WAS

Warren has looked good since returning from a knee injury in Week 6. Over his past two games, he’s played 45% of the Steelers snaps and earned 13 opportunities per game. Warren has quietly taken the passing-down work away from Najee Harris. Warren has run 14% more routes than Najee Harris in the past two games and he’s handled 100% of the two-minute offense snaps.

Now Warren exits the bye week, which gave his knee some extra rest. He’ll take on the Commanders in Week 10 — a great spot, as Washington is allowing the second-most rushing yards per play according to NFL Pro. The Steelers are also road underdogs in this game, which could lead to more passing-down snaps for Warren. You can pick up and play him in Week 10.

Bounce-back of the week: Tyrone Tracy Jr. vs. CAR

Tracy was able to clear concussion protocol and suit up for Week 9. He started the game strong with 50 yards in the first quarter alone. It was a great matchup against a poor Commanders' run defense. But despite the hot start, Tracy couldn’t sustain this production throughout the game. He ended with 69 scoreless yards on 17 touches.

But the good news is his role remained strong. Tracy earned 69% of the team’s snaps and 17 touches compared to just seven touches for Singletary. Expect Tracy to bounce back this week against the Panthers, who allow the most rushing yards per game. Carolina just gave up 215 total yards last week to Alvin Kamara. Start Tracy with confidence in Week 10.

Best spot of the week: Chuba Hubbard vs. NYG

Hubbard is coming off a nice bounce-back game. He posted over 20 fantasy points on 17 touches against the Saints. Hubbard was able to find the end zone twice and once again took advantage of a strong matchup. He now has four top-12 finishes on the season and he’s averaging an impressive 18.1 opportunities per game.

This week he’ll face the Giants, who allow the most rushing yards per play according to NFL Pro. Rookie Jonathon Brooks won't make his debut in Week 10, so start Hubbard against this poor Giants run defense.

Must-start QB: Brock Purdy vs. TB

Purdy returns from his bye week and gets an ideal matchup. He’ll take on the Bucs who allow the third-most passing yards per game. Tampa now has to face Purdy and the 49ers who average the fourth-most passing yards per game. The Bucs allowed 291 yards and three passing touchdowns to Patrick Mahomes last week. This was Mahomes' best fantasy day of the season and the first time he’s thrown for three touchdowns since Week 7 of 2023. It’s a great spot for Purdy as his offense is finally getting healthy.

The 49ers return from a much-needed bye week and are expected to get Christian McCaffrey and Jauan Jennings back from injuries. This offense already ranks fifth in EPA per play this season according to NFL Pro and it should only improve with McCaffrey and Jennings back.

Also, pay attention to rookie WR Ricky Pearsall’s role coming out of the bye week. He posted 77 yards on five touches back in Week 8 before the bye, and there’s a chance the 49ers expand his role now that he’s healthy. San Francisco’s offense is trending in the right direction, and that helps Purdy. He’s a must-start QB this week.

Must-start WR: Brian Thomas Jr. vs. MIN

Thomas Jr. is coming off a poor performance in Week 9, where he produced just two catches for 22 yards on four targets. But this needs more context because Thomas entered this game at less than 100% health. There was a decent chance earlier on in the week that Thomas could’ve missed this game. But he was able to grit it out and play.

This context is important because it explains an unusually bad day for Thomas. This was only the second time this season Thomas failed to reach 10 fantasy points. The Jaguars' first-round rookie currently has three top-10 finishes on the year and he ranks top 10 in both yards per route run and yards after the catch according to Player Profiler. He’s been incredibly efficient and productive when healthy this season.

In Week 10, he has a sneaky good matchup against the Vikings. Believe it or not, Minnesota allows the fifth most passing yards per game this season. Even with Mac Jones likely starting in place of an injured Trevor Lawrence and Thomas expected to play through a chest injury, the rookie should bounce back in a big way this week; make sure he’s in your lineup.

Buy low of the week: Packers RB Josh Jacobs

Jacobs enters his bye week, and it’s the perfect time to send a trade for him. In general, targeting players on their bye week is a good strategy. Typically, you can get these players at a discount since they won’t be useful for their fantasy manager that week. Try to do this with Jacobs, who was on his way to a career day in Week 9 before everything went wrong for Green Bay.

Jacobs produced 102 total yards midway through the second quarter on Sunday. He was dominating the Lions on the ground but then Jordan Love threw a pick-six. This put Green Bay behind by two scores and they were never able to recover. The Packers turned heavily to the passing game the rest of the way and Jacobs produced just six total yards in the final 2.5 quarters of play.

Despite the poor second-half showing in Week 9, Jacobs was still able to top 90 yards for the fifth straight game. He’s also scored 12+ fantasy points in all but one game this season. Jacobs has been reliable and remains the workhorse back in one of the better offenses in the league. Buy low on Jacobs if you can. Trade someone like DeVonta Smith or Marvin Harrison Jr. for him.

Trending down: Broncos RB Javonte Williams

Williams is coming off his second straight disappointing week for fantasy managers. In Week 9, Williams totaled 84 scoreless yards on 14 touches. He averaged six yards per touch, which is great, but nearly 50% of these yards came on one long catch and run. Outside of that broken play, it was a poor day for Williams both in production and usage.

Williams quietly played just 54% of the Broncos' snaps in Week 9. This was his lowest snap total since Week 3. He also saw below 50% of the backfield carries for the first time since Week 3 and for just the third time this season. Williams’ snaps have now decreased in four straight games and the Broncos have stated they plan to get rookie Audric Estimé more involved. This week, Williams faces a Chiefs defense that allows the second-fewest yards per play this season. Williams is trending down and is a sit this week.