“Shore Thing Sleepers” isn’t your ordinary fantasy football Week 10 start/sit article. Instead, our analyst duo of Seth Woolcock and Nate Polvogt highlight lower-valued players that can provide starting-caliber production for a specific week. These are usually players near the end of your bench or even on the waiver wire/free agency. You can catch an additional sleeper pick live at the end of our weekly in-season Friday podcast episode.
Rostership percentages are based on ESPN Points Per Reception (PPR) redraft fantasy football leagues.
Week 10 Start/Sit Consideration: Shore Thing Sleepers
Chase Claypool (WR, Chicago Bears) | 72.5 Percent
It’s always risky playing a receiver early into a new tenure. However, it helps when the quarterback is one of the league’s hottest right now. Yes, Chase Claypool, in his second game as a Chicago Bear, has my attention.
In his debut last week against the Dolphins, Claypool saw six targets and one rushing attempt despite only running 16 routes and playing just 35 percent of snaps. The Bears also played Claypool predominately on the outside rather than in the slot where the Steelers had him most of this season. This opens up Claypool for higher-value targets.
No matter how you look at it (season-long, the last month or two weeks), the Lions are a top-six matchup for opposing WRs. From Allen Lazard last week to D.K. Metcalf in Week 5 and A.J. Brown in Week 1, Detroit has struggled to play against tall, athletic receivers. This plays into Claypool’s chances for a boom game. – Woolcock
Foster Moreau (TE, Las Vegas Raiders) | 7.1 Percent
Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr’s specialty is working the short-to-intermediate passing game. So far this season, 54.1 percent of his passing attempts have been less than 20 yards downfield. With both tight end Darren Waller and wide receiver Hunter Renfrow landing on Injured Reserve (IR) this week, tight end Foster Moreau will look to take over in their absence.
The Raiders have been without Waller since he injured his hamstring in Week 5. Moreau has done well in his absence, accumulating 19 targets over the last three weeks. Of those targets, 11 were in the short-to-intermediate range. With Renfrow, who had 25 targets in Carr’s favorite radius, now also out, Moreau is likely to pick up a good share of those opportunities.
This week the Raiders face off against a mess of an Indianapolis Colts team. While their defense has been adequate against the passing game, Las Vegas is a pass-first offense. They are running the ball on more than 40 percent of plays, which isn’t going to change this week. Moreau is a solid option with a reliable PPR TE2-tier floor in a barren fantasy landscape for tight ends. – Polvogt
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