Week 10 Top Performers At Each Position: Jeremy Langford and Kirk Cousins

Yet again we saw some of the big names make some great performances this week. The only problem though is that one of them wasn't started by their owners as he wasn't supposed to play. I don't think we have had a situation quite like that in recent memory. A top 5 guy at his position doesn't get started by his owners because he isn't starting for his actual team, and then enters into the game and puts up the 2^nd best performance at his position for the week. You can't predict things like this to happen. Sometimes you just have to shrug your head and move on knowing there was no way you could have predicted it.

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 - Kirk Cousins 324 Passing Yards, 4 TD's, 28 Fantasy Points

I will give Kirk Cousins one thing, he knows how to take advantage of a juicy matchup. Back in week 7 Cousins put up a performance that was slightly better than the one he just put up on the Saints here in week 10.  I wouldn't trust him as my starting QB in anything shallower than 16 teams, or in 2 QB leagues. Next week won't be a good one for Cousins when he goes to Carolina, facing a great defense. If you have the luxury, you can actually get a little bit of value out of him if you pick and choose the matchups, but remember, that matchup has to be ideal for it to work for Cousins.

QB - Ben Roethlisberger 379 Passing Yards, 3 TD's and 1 INT, 1 Two Point Conversion, 27 Fantasy Points

How do you explain this? Just looking at the statline without context you would usually say that you could have expected something like this to happen against the Browns. Well Big Ben didn't even start this game, and was the emergency backup in case Landry Jones got hurt, and then Jones got hurt. This is a top performance that nobody was able to benefit from. Top 5 QB the rest of the way, as he should have enough time to heal any nagging injury over the bye week coming up here.

QB - Jay Cutler 258 Passing Yards, 3 TD's, 24 Rushing Yards, 24 Fantasy Points

I guess I was a week early on the Cutler love. Looking at his stats since week 4, he has been a consistent QB actually. He has scored at least 17 points in each of those 6 games, with this being his highest point total yet. The bad news is that the Bears face the tough Broncos defense next week. If you are desperate for a QB, you could do a lot worse than having Cutler as your starter. I would much rather own Cutler than Cousins the rest of the way, and it isn't even close. Next week might be a little shaky, but his schedule gets a lot easier afterwards.

RB - Jeremy Langford 20 Carries for 73 Yards and 1 TD, 7 Catches for 109 Yards and 1 TD, 29 Fantasy Points

Now we are onto another Bears player. Langford didn't qualify for this article last week as they played on Monday night. Because of that, I wasn't able to give my impressions of him in this article. I love the way this guy has been playing. His yards per carry isn't pretty, but the Bears will keep feeding him the ball as he is there only back. The aspect of his game that I love though is his contributions as a receiver out of the backfield. He had 70 receiving yards last week, and 109 this week. Again he will have a tough time next week against the Broncos, but as long as he is the starter, he is a top 10 option each week in not as tough of matchups. Forte is the biggest strain on his value, so always keep tabs on what Forte's status is during the week.

RB - Adrian Peterson 26 Carries for 203 Yards and 1 TD, 2 Catches for 13 Yards, 27 Fantasy Points

Peterson has been quietly good this year. Up to this point he had just been going about his business not putting up gaudy numbers in any one week. It was looking like another one of those weeks until Peterson broke off an 80 yard TD run, putting him over the 200 yards mark for the day. Top 3 back the rest of the way, up in that tier with Freeman and Gurley. Only tough games on his schedule are Seahawks and Cardinals, but Peterson has been playing so well I don't think even those teams can slow him down.

RB - Charcandrick West 24 Carries for 69 Yards and 1 TD, 3 Catches for 92 Yards and 1 TD, 27 Fantasy Points

Another week, and another great performance by Charcandrick West. This time he put up the great numbers against arguably the toughest defense in the NFL. As I have mentioned in past articles, I love how the Chiefs are using him as a receiver like they were doing with Charles. I think there is no doubt left in anyone's mind that West is legit at this point, so hopefully you were listening to me weeks ago when I said this guy would continue to put up good numbers. Schedule the rest of the way is looking good, and I would rank him in my top 10 for RB's for the rest of the season.

WR - Antonio Brown 14 Targets, 10 Receptions for 139 Yards and 2 TD's, 27 Fantasy Points

And we reach the man who benefited the most from Big Ben entering into the game. I don't have much to say on Brown at this point other than he will make a run at top receiver yet again this year with how he has played the last two weeks. That stretch in the middle made it harder on him, but he has the skills and opportunity to finish first.

WR - Michael Floyd 9 Targets, 7 Receptions for 113 Yards and 2 TD's, 23 Fantasy Points

I can't deny Floyd any longer. Maybe it was my crush on John Brown that was blurring my vision, but obviously Palmer loves to get Floyd involved in the offense. I am not as worried currently that he is solely dependent on getting TD's for his value. I mean scoring in 4 straight games doesn't hurt, but this has been a surprising resurgence to me. He has to put himself near top 20 consideration for me in any given week going forward, something I never thought I would be saying this year. John Brown has clearly taking the biggest hit because of Floyd, and Fitzgerald has been able to hold steady with his value.

WR - Brandin Cooks 8 Targets, 5 Receptions for 98 Yards and 2 TD's, 1 Rush for 11 Yards, 22 Fantasy Points

I hope you guys all bought low on Cooks weeks ago. Brees appears to have finally figured out that Cooks is the best receiver on his team, as he is getting him the ball in better spots now. Cooks has now scored 5 TD's in a span of 3 games, but hasn't surpassed 100 yards in any of those games. That worries me enough to not consider him in my top 10 going forward, but he is definitely in my top 15 each week going forward, except for that bye week next week.

TE - Zach Miller 5 Targets, 5 Receptions for 107 Yards and 2 TD's, 22 Fantasy Points

So Zach Miller is a thing now? I just can't buy what is happening here. Sure he has made some great catches, but Bennett is the TE who will be getting the work. Also there is this guy named Alshon Jeffery who will have better games then he did this week going forward. Don't pick him up hoping you found that starting TE. You will end up being disappointed when he only gets one more TD all year, and has more games of 2 points or less than 5 points or more.

TE - Rob Gronkowski 7 Targets, 5 Receptions for 113 Yards and 1 TD, 17 Fantasy Points

Hello Gronk good to see you again. Took a week off I see from making my list. Don't worry this spot is always reserved for you. Nobody else can bring what you bring week in and week out. Now with Edelman out and Dion Lewis, I expect to see you here every week going forward.

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

QB - Mark Sanchez 156 Passing Yards, 1 INT, 4 Fantasy Points

Sam Bradford left this game early with an injury, letting Mark Sanchez come in and take over. I know the numbers look bad, but he was thrust into the game without any warning this could happen. If you remember back to last year, Sanchez was actually a decent starting option down the stretch. In deeper leagues, or if you are desperate at the QB spot, keep an eye on whether Bradford will be playing next week, as Sanchez could be a nice fill-in for you in the short term. I expect Sanchez to perform much better than Bradford did from a fantasy perspective if he is indeed the starter next week.

RB - Alfred Morris 15 Carries for 92 Yards, 3 Catches for 14 Yards, 10 Fantasy Points

Only writing about Alfred Morris to let you know to not be fooled by this performance. He isn't back folks. This is a byproduct of a great matchup against a terrible defense. Everyone for the Redskins looked great in this outing. It doesn't mean anything. Matt Jones is the back you want to own, as Morris will revert back to his mediocre self for the rest of the season. In 10 team leagues he isn't even a guy who needs to be owned. There are higher upside guys out there you can have on your bench instead, and probably people who you would trust more starting in emergency situations.

WR - Danny Amendola 11 Targets, 10 Receptions for 79 Yards, 7 Fantasy Points

The Patriots are having some bad injury luck right now. Julian Edelman left Sunday's game early with a broken foot that he will have surgery on this Monday. The Patriots are hoping he can make a return late in the season, but I am not as optimistic. For a team that is making the playoffs and wants to have everyone ready for it, I bet Edelman gets held out until the playoffs. This means Amendola sees a huge boost to his value. He is an Edelman clone that clearly is capable of doing most of the things Edelman was doing. Amendola needs to be owned in all leagues, and should be started in all PPR leagues while Edelman is out. In Standard leagues it will probably depend more on who your other receivers are, but Amendola puts himself into at least top 25 consideration going forward in standard leagues.

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.