Week 10 MOP Rankings for Fantasy Football

Another wild week in the NFL has concluded. We saw an overseas overtime thriller, crazy comebacks, and two games finished with a final score of 44-22 within minutes of each other after no previous game in NFL history had finished with that outcome. We also saw two primetime games end with a 10-7 final score. OK, that part wasn’t wild. Still, there is plenty to recap, so below you will see my Week 10 MOP Rankings.

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For those unfamiliar with the process, I take every player’s highest-scoring fantasy play and remove it from their total fantasy points to create a MOP (Minus One Play) total. I do this because, as fantasy managers, we want to target volume rather than rely on unsustainable production. It is not an exact science. For example, Brock Bowers is this week’s lowest-rated tight end. He actually scored negative MOP points in Week 10 because he caught only one pass, and his only carry resulted in negative yards. But going through this process has helped us uncover undervalued players such as Chris Olave and Rico Dowdle. It has also helped identify players whom we should not consider as weekly fantasy starters. Looking at you, Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Let’s see who stands out this week.

Check out all of our Week 11 Rankings: Flex Rankings | QB Rankings | RB Rankings | WR Rankings | TE Rankings

Running Back Takeaways

There has been plenty of chatter regarding the Chicago Bears’ backfield in recent weeks. With D’Andre Swift sidelined in Week 9, Kyle Monangai went nuclear against the Cincinnati Bengals. While a touchdown salvaged Monangai’s fantasy day, his place among the Week 10 MOP rankings is less forgiving. Monangai finished the week as the overall RB29 in Half-PPR formats. However, if you remove that touchdown, he would have finished outside the top-40. Swift, meanwhile, goes from RB18 to RB12 when you incorporate MOP. I cannot say for sure that Swift is head and shoulders above Monangai as we advance. The rookie has undoubtedly earned a role. But rumors of Swift’s fantasy demise have been greatly exaggerated. He is still the preferred fantasy back if he is healthy.

A couple of weeks back, I mentioned that Buccaneers running back Sean Tucker was among those whose production felt unsustainable. That is still true because Tucker is essentially a touchdown-or-bust fantasy commodity. Having said that, he has led the team in rushing in back-to-back ballgames. Rachaad White has hardly been a dominant force in the absence of Bucky Irving. White has finished outside the top-20 in MOP points among running backs in three consecutive games. He has not had a 10-yard carry in that span. White is still the preferred running back for as long as Irving is sidelined, especially in PPR formats. But the gap between him and Tucker is smaller than the Week 11 consensus rankings would have you believe.

Wide Receiver Takeaways

Ironically, Chris Olave stands out as an outlier in the opposite direction based on last week’s numbers. Fantasy managers sure aren’t complaining after Olave’s overall WR6 finish. He still earned a massive 28.6 percent target share. Olave will likely hover close to that mark going forward after the team traded Rashid Shaheed. Other outliers from last week based on long touchdown catches include Jaylen Waddle and DeVonta Smith. As is the case with Olave, neither player’s Week 10 efforts were fluky. Waddle has now had at least 80 receiving yards in five of his last six games. Smith leads the Eagles in all receiving categories, and it is not particularly close. Dare I say we should start treating him as the team’s top fantasy wide receiver?

Some of the wide receivers whose stock should get a bump based on Week 10 MOP Rankings include Zay Flowers, Wan’Dale Robinson, and Khalil Shakir. This should not come as a surprise, given the criteria we are looking for. Flowers is about as rock-solid a fantasy WR2 as there is. He has at least 63 yards in seven of nine games this year, even with Lamar Jackson missing several games. Robinson has at least six grabs in four of his last five games and six of 10 overall this year. He should be a viable starter in PPR leagues, even with questions surrounding New York’s quarterback situation. Shakir is another MOP darling who should continue to be Josh Allen’s top target in one of the highest-scoring offenses in the NFL.

While the Indianapolis Colts are off this week, I want to say a brief word about Alec Pierce. Pierce is generally the type of player that MOP hates. He leads the NFL in yards per catch, but only averages 3.5 catches per game. However, Pierce has now finished as a top-24 MOP performer in three of his last four games. In that timeframe, the fourth-year wideout has earned 35 targets. That is a significant number, especially considering he only had 17 targets in his first four games. Michael Pittman Jr. is still my favorite Colts receiver from now on. He is another MOP favorite despite last week’s poor outing. However, Pierce has cemented himself as the team’s number-two wideout, ahead of Josh Downs. Downs is still viable in PPR formats, but is more touchdown-dependent than most possession receivers.

Tight End Takeaways

National Tight End happened a few weeks ago. But don’t tell that to Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan. Four different tight ends scored touchdowns in the Rams’ 42-26 victory in San Francisco. It should go without saying that we can ignore Luke Farrell’s TE12 Week 10 finish. Were it not for his touchdown catch, he would have finished as last week’s TE29. The Rams’ tight ends are tougher to analyze. They have been utilizing multiple tight ends as pass catchers more frequently of late. Here are their tight end receiving stats across their last three games (Targets-Receptions-Yards-Touchdowns)

Tyler Higbee: 13-9-65-1
Colby Parkinson: 10-9-88-1
Terrance Ferguson: 10-4-117-1
Davis Allen: 7-6-49-1

There is a whole lot of cannibalization going on here. Unfortunately, that means none of these players are trustworthy fantasy starters unless something changes.

Chicago rookie Colston Loveland took a small step back after his breakout performance the week prior. However, that was primarily due to some of the touchdowns scored by lesser-known tight ends, including players like Farrell and Allen mentioned above. Loveland still finished as a TE1 in 10 and 12-team leagues based on Week 10 MOP rankings. That should be an encouraging sign for fantasy managers. Loveland gets a solid matchup this week for tight ends when Chicago faces the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings have allowed six touchdowns to opposing tight ends this year. That is tied for sixth-most in the NFL. With Tyler Warren and Juwan Johnson off due to a bye, Loveland projects as a fringe TE1 this week.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 11 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!