Start 'Em, Sit 'Em For Week 10 Fantasy Football: Start David Montgomery and Bench Stefon Diggs

Last week was a mixed bag of results for our predictions. Kyle Monangai had a monster day thanks to D'Andre Swift’s absence and the Bengals terrible defense, plus their good offense forced the Bears to continue to try and score. Jalen Coker only caught one pass on one target, leaving the “Coke-Heads” feigning for more.

Some “sits” were flat-out disastrous. Dalton Kincaid had his best day in fantasy and the Panthers finally made the right choice and gave Rico Dowdle the majority of the work, so managers with Hubbard were left in the cold while Dowdle managers thrived. I guess we were right and wrong. Anyway, it is on to Week 10. This week, a lot is happening thanks to the trade deadline and actual moves that should impact some fantasy teams. Here is a look at what we're thinking from a Start 'Em, Sit 'Em angle for Week 10 ...

Start These Players In Week 10 Fantasy Football

David Montgomery, RB, DET

LAGHEZZA: Been a while since Detroit’s once vaunted two-headed backfield regularly projected both RBs in the top-12. Sure, Jahmyr Gibbs still lays claim to ‘must-start’, but it’s safe to say David Montgomery’s fallen off significantly in fantasy production. Since the Lions’ 38-point Week 3 eruption created that reminiscent pair of top-five RBs, Montgomery is fantasy’s RB37 and hardly startable. Until now.

Queue up Motor City’s second chair with confidence once more this week in the Nation’s Capital—Washington’s in free-fall mode on both sides of the football. While Frankie Luvu’s hip-drop suspension may have gotten overturned, the secondary is in complete disarray. Marshon Lattimore’s off to the I.R. (knee), one of three regular starters exiting Week 9’s tilt in Seattle (Trey Amos, Quan Martin).

Washington couldn’t afford to get any worse on defense either—only the Bengals’ laughable D ranks lower in yards/game (410.0), success rate (48.3%) and EPA/play (-0.20) this month. Doesn’t bode well against Detroit, who will likely close out the week as double-digit favorites right before mauling the tailspinning Commanders. All Lions’ RBs get fed Sunday.

Davis Mills, QB, HOU

LAGHEZZA: You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain. And recommending a Texans’ QB—owners of just a single top-10 fantasy finish for anyone keeping score, is a good way to get there.

C.J. Stroud left Sunday’s game concussed, forcing him to miss this weekend's divisional contest. Davis Mills stepped in admirably on a whim, giving HOU a real chance to win, though somewhat underwhelming on the spreadsheet (57% completion, -0.18 EPA/dropback, 68 passer rating). With that, we’re missing at least a little context if projecting those same numbers against Jacksonville—don’t count Houston’s offense as dead on arrival just yet.

For starters, Mills got air-dropped behind enemy lines against an extremely rough Broncos defense—a tall order for anyone. Then, it’s unfair to discount the fact that he’s logged zero reps at that point with the first-team, something about to change this time around. Was he John Elway? No. But did Mills manage just a couple of sacks and zero picks on 33 dropbacks versus a top-tier defense? Yes.

Jacksonville’s a massive pass funnel. Plus, their struggling secondary took even more brutal swats to the pelt, losing starters S Eric Murray (neck) and CB Jourdan Lewis (shoulder). After such a strong start, the pile of injuries caught up—the Jaguars surrendered the third-most passing yards (273.0) and second-most QB fantasy points per game (23.5) since Week 4. Not great.

I highly doubt JAX can cover this Texans’ WR group with Nico Collins back in the fold if they continue to fail in creating pressure. Start all your Texans. Davis Mills QB1 SZN.

Bold Starts For Week 10 Fantasy Football

Michael Wilson, WR, ARI

CLEMONS: The Cardinals did the right thing for their team and for fantasy managers everywhere—they have named Jacoby Brissett the starting quarterback this week, even though it seemed that Kyler Murray was healthy (has he since been placed on IR).

It is undeniable what Brissett has done since being inserted into the starting lineup. He has allowed Marvin Harrison Jr. to become the fantasy football Lazarus, and he’s elevated Trey McBride to another level. He has also allowed other receivers to rise to relevance. Michael Wilson is one of those players.

It has not been overwhelming, but it has been relevant. He has received four or more targets in the three games where Brissett has played. He has hauled in 10 of those 14 passes for 145 yards. He has receptions of 30 and 50 yards, so we know he has big-play ability. The Seahawks are middle of the pack in passing yards allowed, and we have seen Brissett dissect better defensive squads. While Harrison and McBride will garner all of the attention, Wilson will be able to operate in the margins. If you are looking for a flex play, Wilson could surprise this week.

Dylan Sampson, RB, CLE

CLEMONS: The Jets just sold off their two best pieces on a defense that was struggling to find consistency. We know their offense has struggled. What will their motivation be to perform? How in sync will their pass coverage be, especially against the backs out of the backfield? Last week, Dylan Sampson was targeted six times; he was able to haul in five of those passes. That’s five points in PPR formats. The first two weeks of the season, Sampson was a double-digit scorer in fantasy, then Quinshon Judkins showed up, and he disappeared.

With Judkins seemingly dealing with injuries that limit his effectiveness, this could be another opportunity for Sampson to return to a double-digit score, as he has the receiving prowess and the ability to run after the catch. Everything he adds as a rusher is gravy because it will be unexpected. This would be a savvy play in PPR formats because it isn't likely to look good at the moment, but if he has a good opportunity to cobble together a good day, especially if he can find the endzone.

Sit These Players In Week 10 Fantasy Football

Tre Tucker, WR, LV

CLEMONS: People believe that because Jakobi Meyers is no longer in Las Vegas, it means Tre Tucker to the moon. It may be that time, but unfortunately, it will not be this week.

The boogeyman is out, but the pass rush is still humming for the Broncos and the coverage that is still left is not bad. When you add that to the return of Brock Bowers and his immediate elevation to a top-two tight end, it does not leave a lot of room for Tucker to get off. He is not the only guy who is looking to expand his role with Meyers gone. Rookies Dont’e Thornton and Jack Bech are also looking for an expanded role with Vegas. Bech is averaging 10.4 yards per reception on his seven catches, and Thornton is averaging a massive 18.8 yards per reception. Those are averages that deserve more targets.

Brian Thomas Jr., WR, JAX

CLEMONS: This has nothing to do with the presence of Jakobi Meyers; it has everything to do with Brian Thomas, Trevor Lawrence, the Jaguars offense and most importantly, the Houston Texans.

The Texans have an elite pass rush, which will definitely make life harder for Lawrence in the pocket. They also boast two high-level coverage corners. There is a symmetry issue in this Jaguars passing offense. It has not been right all season. We have seen glimmers of hope for their connection, but nothing consistent. They have also shown that they are not afraid to get the ball to other receivers in the offense. Last week, Dyami Brown and Parker Washington both had more targets than Thomas; before the break, it was Travis Hunter and Washington with more targets than Thomas. This could be another week like those.

Breece Hall, RB, NYJ

LAGHEZZA: Without busting out a single analytic, there’s a case to fade the Jets on pure toxicity alone. Granted, most of us diehards remain cautiously optimistic with the recent trade returns, it’s safe to say 2025 ends for Gang Green like so many other seasons before it—riddled with embarrassment.

Breece Hall exploded for 28.7 fantasy points the last time we saw him, but fantasy’s about matchups, and c’mon, that was against the league-worst Bengals. Sunday brings the significantly less forgiving combination of Myles Garrett, Carson Schwesinger and Alex Wright, responsible for Cleveland’s top-three defensive run metrics this season: 3.6 yards/rush, -0.20 EPA/attempt, 68.6% success rate, 0.44 yards before contact/carry.

And of course, in pure New York Jets fashion, the front office won’t even commit to QB Justin Fields, who’s not only set to make $20M next season, but managed to lasso the franchise’s first win. The point is, it could be self-sabotage, incompetence or any combination in between. The Jets do not guarantee rational decision-making or anything resembling it.

(and yes, I managed to avoid mentioning the social media meltdown Hall caused with a now-deleted tweet of Anthony Anderson in a prison jumpsuit. Sigh.)

So we’ve got a tough matchup and a poorly run organization, which still omits the fact that Isaiah Davis has earned an increased share of NYJ’s backfield touch share each of the last three weeks, including high-value opportunities in pass-game work as well as down in the red zone.

Stefon Diggs, NE at TB

LAGHEZZA: Every week, there’s one sit call that absolutely strikes terror in me as I type it out. Fading the Patriots wouldn’t rate anywhere near the season’s most profitable ventures—though outside of Drake Maye’s god-tier run, it’s been generally hard to predict where NE’s fantasy production will come from. Small aside, we hate to hear it as fantasy gamers, but that’s usually a sign of a truly great quarterback—he’s like water.

Tampa Bay’s played particularly well on defense this month since getting healthy, hanging top-5 ranks in EPA/dropback (+0.26), opposing passer rating (72.5), sacks/game (5.0), and tackle success rate (57.1%). I’d feel more confident in Diggs faceplanting had Kayshon Boutte not gotten injured, though there’s a non-zero chance rookie Kyle Williams will soak up those X-routes instead.

Currently fantasy’s WR27, back-to-back TD games from Diggs may be disguising the type of lackluster underpinning stats over the last month we’d otherwise be looking to avoid: 55% snap share, 4.8 targets/game, 1.49 yards/route, 7.6 air yards/target, 2.9 yards after contact/catch. Tread carefully …

John's Parting Week 10 Start/Sit Thought

Our start/sit piece wouldn’t be complete without my favorite research tool, updated weekly throughout the season! Whenever I’m in a pinch, this image is my favorite picture without time for a thousand words.

Want to win weekly fantasy matchups? Attach yourself to the highest-scoring game totals (furthest upper-right corner). Please note I updated our chart to reflect the last six weeks, trying and stay more in line with the current state of things.