Week 10 Top Performers At Each Position

Can someone please verify that what Aaron Rodgers did on Sunday night actually happened?  Just when you thought what Ben Roethlisberger did by throwing six TD's in back to back weeks, Rodgers did his best to try to one up him.  Not only did Rodgers match Big Ben by throwing six TD's on Sunday night, but he did it all in one half.  Its performances like what Rodgers, and Big Ben did on Sunday night the past two weeks that make almost any deficit going into that game manageable.

After going over my thoughts on the top performers at each position, I will also select a few other players who either performed above expectations, or maybe have you questioning whether you should continue starting him or not.

The goal of this article is to highlight those top guys, and if you can expect some similar performances in the future from them or if it was a flash-in-the-pan, and also whether you should be worried about top picks in drafts that put up less than stellar performances.  So without rambling on longer in this intro, let's take a look at those who performed well in week 10.

QB - Aaron Rodgers 315 Passing Yards, 6 TD's, 36 Fantasy Points

Aaron Rodgers is one of the top 3 QB's for Fantasy Football, and that was solidified with his terrific performance on Sunday night.  Not much analysis to be done here other than marveling at the greatness that is Aaron Rodgers.  Sunday showed how there is room for more than just Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb as fantasy producers in this offense.  In an offense as potent as the Packers, Eddie Lacy can also be a great producer for you down the stretch.

QB - Peyton Manning 340 Passing Yards, 5 TD's and 2 INT's, 29 Fantasy Points

Manning has now pulled to within 5 points of Andrew Luck for the most fantasy points on the season.  I will take Manning winning it out in the end, but it will be a tight race between Luck and Manning to see who prevails in the end.

RB - Marshawn Lynch 21 Carries for 140 Yards and 4 TD's, 1 Catches for 23 Yards, 40 Fantasy Points

I mentioned last week in this article that Lynch had a very good chance of making it back on this list playing against the Giants.  Well I was proven right in that sense, but never did I imagine he would be able to post 40 fantasy points this week.  Lynch for me is a borderline top 5 back right now, and will vary based on the matchup he has in a certain week.  Next week he has a very tough matchup against the Chiefs who have allowed the third least amount of points to fantasy RB's through week 9.

RB - Justin Forsett 20 Carries for 112 Yards and 2 TD's, 23 Fantasy Points

Forsett has been a consistent producer so far this season, and has been the perfect guy to plug into your lineup.  You have had guaranteed points from him each week, but his outing on Sunday showed that if he is given the workload he can produce at the level the Ravens expect out of a lead back.  Top 10 RB the rest of the way, and will continue to rack up the yards with sprinkling in some TD's along the way to help boost his value.

RB - C.J. Anderson 13 Carries for 90 Yards and 0 TD's, 4 Catches for 73 Yards and 1 TD, 22 Fantasy Points

An injury early to Ronnie Hillman opened up the doors for C.J. Anderson to take on a little bit more work early in the game.  Hillman did come back into the game after injuring his foot, but the way Anderson was playing, the Broncos wanted to continue giving him more work.  What Denver did is how the "hot hand" approach is supposed to be played.  If you see one of your RB's playing well, you continue to work him in a series because pulling him out will disrupt the gameflow for him.  What this does is now muddy up the Running Back situation in Denver even more going forward.  I am not worried about Monte Ball taking any work when he gets back, but now I am worried that Anderson and Hillman will siphon value from each other.  It will be a lot like the Patriots a few years back where you didn't know which guy would get the bulk of work that week, making it hard to trust them as a starter.  My guess is that Hillman is still the "starter", but those quotation marks show how confident I feel about it.

WR - Jordy Nelson 6 Targets, 6 Receptions for 152 Yards and 2 TD's, 27 Fantasy Points

A product of Rodgers playing one of the best games of his career, and also how talented Nelson is.  This was his best performance of the season, but I still think that there is a good chance he posts one more game better before the season ends.  The better question will be who finishes with more points at the end of the year, Jordy Nelson or Demaryius Thomas?  Thomas currently holds a 2 point lead, but each guy has a terrific QB on their side, but if I had to choose one it would be Demaryius for his six straight 100 yard receiving games.

WR - Dez Bryant 8 Targets, 6 Receptions for 158 Yards and 2 TD's, 27 Fantasy Points

I'm sure that he is happy that Tony Romo was able to play this week.  The Cowboys have a bye week next week, so Romo will get some extra time to fully recover, and then the offense can continue to click like it did when he was running the offense.  Bryant is a borderline top 5 receiver the rest of the way, and is someone I expect to play at an elite level each and every week.

WR - Martavis Bryant 7 Targets, 4 Receptions for 143 Yards and 1 TD, 20 Fantasy Points

You've got to love garbage time as an owner.  Bryant was having a mediocre game, and then turns an average Sunday into an extraordinary one with an 80 yard TD catch in the last two minutes of the game.  It is clear that Roethlisberger wants to get him the ball as he has supreme athleticism and better than expected ball skills, but this can't continue, at least at this rate.  I would continue playing Bryant as your number 2 or FLEX guy, but remember that he can't score a TD every week, at least I think he can't.

TE - Jimmy Graham 13 Targets, 10 Receptions for 76 Yards and 2 TD's, 19 Fantasy Points

What was almost a 3 TD outing for him until he was called for offensive pass interference on the Hail Mary play at the end of the game, was still a terrific performance.  Not much analysis here since Graham is still the same guy you drafted back in August, which is a stud TE who gives you a distinct advantage every week.

TE - Julius Thomas 7 Targets, 6 Receptions for 63 Yards and 2 TD's, 18 Fantasy Points

As I said with Graham, not much to say here other than he is an elite talent playing for a terrific QB.  This 18 point performance now puts him within one point of Rob Gronkowski for the leading scorer at the TE position.  My money would be on Gronk winning the battle, as he is not as TD dependent as Thomas is to get up to the pace they are currently at.

Now a look at a couple of other performances that stood out to me from Sunday's games:

QB - Colin Kaepernick 210 Passing Yards, 1 TD, 4 Rushes for 24 Yards and 1 Fumble Lost, 12 Fantasy Points

This 49ers offense just isn't conducive for a great fantasy QB.  Until Jim Harbaugh lets Kaepernick loose, his value is Kaeped.  Okay bad pun, but you get my point.  Hopefully you have a backup QB that you can start each week to get you more points, or look at the waiver wire to see if some of the following guys are available like Mark Sanchez, Mike Vick, or the guy I really like Ryan Mallet.  Kaepernick should still be rostered on your team because he is a safe option while the three guys I listed are all risky plays week to week.

RB - Charles Sims 8 Carries for 23 Yards, 2 Catches for 17 Yards and 1 Fumble Lost, 1 Fantasy Points

An underwhelming start to the much anticipated start of his career.  I personally didn't expect him to get even this much work in his first week, but the fact that he did is encouraging.  Bobby Rainey is still the starter, but could easily lose the job to Sims who is a great pass catcher.  That is how Sims will have to make his case for an expanded role, the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and make plays.  Once he does this, it will be his starting spot to lose.  Sims should be owned in all leagues, but not started until he shows that he will get around 15-18 touches on a weekly basis.

WR - Odell Beckham Jr. 9 Targets, 7 Receptions for 108 Yards, 1 Carry for 11 Yards, 11 Fantasy Points

Because the Giants played on Monday Night last week, I didn't get a chance to right about Beckham.  After the draft I said that he was a talented player, but on a roster with two proven commodities ahead of him.  Well Cruz is out for the year with a terrible knee injury, and Rueben Randle has yet to improve as a Wide Receiver since last season.   That has given plenty of opportunities for Odell Beckham Jr. to come in and become Eli's most trusted target.  Even against the Seahawks in Seattle, Beckham continued to make great catches.  This is definitely going to continue, and he is a top 20 WR the rest of the way, and potentially higher if given a good matchup.

Want thoughts on a specific player?  Leave a comment on who it is, and I will respond with my thoughts on that guy's performance and where he stands going forward.