Throughout the NFL regular season, we'll meet here on Thursdays to break down the film from a fantasy football perspective. I'm looking for trends and tendencies on both side of the ball to give fantasy managers a jump when they set their weekly lineups. Schemes matter. So does offensive deployment in weekly matchups. And remember, the game tape always tells us a story.
This week, I'm focused on a couple of receivers, one who will have opportunities to stretch the field in his matchup, and another who can use his dynamic skill set to work multiple levels of the field. There's also a running back climbing the ranks after a strong Week 9 game, plus we'll look at three players to question and three more to monitor this weekend.
All references to fantasy scoring are for PPR leagues unless otherwise noted.
Players to upgrade in Week 10
Chris Olave, WR, New Orleans Saints
The volume is still up for Olave, as he has seen at least eight targets in each of his past four games, with an average of 10.5 per game during that stretch. However, he has recorded only one explosive-play reception (20 yards or more) in his past six games. I think that changes this week versus a Vikings defense that leads the league with a blitz rate of 51.4%. More opportunities here for Derek Carr to throw one-on-ones, which opens the door for Olave to stretch the field on the perimeter or to work away from coverage on in-breakers and crossers. That's why I have Olave as a fringe WR1 this week.