2026 Fantasy Football: Players You Can Drop in Week 10

Settling for mediocrity can kill your fantasy football team. As bye weeks continue and injuries pile up, you may want to hold onto the safer players. While it’s ok to have one or two of them, upside is what wins your fantasy league. All of these players are underperforming or not getting enough work to give your fantasy team the edge it deserves. Drop these players in Week 10 and find upside on the waiver wire.

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Week 10 Players You Can Drop

All players are rostered in over 50% of Fantrax leagues

Michael Penix Jr. – QB, Atlanta Falcons

Rostered in 67% of Fantrax leagues, Michael Penix Jr. is a clear drop. While the Falcons signal caller has not turned the ball over much, aside from a four-interception game against the Buccaneers two weeks ago, his upside is incredibly capped. Even in some of his more pass-heavy games, Penix has not thrown more than 34 times in a single game this year. He has also failed to throw for more than 256 yards in a game in 2026. Even when he threw for 200+ yards, three TDs, and no interceptions against the 49ers and Bears, Penix peaked with just 22.55 fantasy points.

The Falcons face the Chiefs, Vikings, Browns, and Buccaneers in the second half of the season. While there are some great matchups against the Lions, Saints, and Commanders, Penix is nothing more than a deep league streamer. You can drop him in most leagues in Week 10.

Keaton Mitchell – RB, Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers seem to hit new lows each week. This week, the winless streak continued as they fell 44-22 to the Texans. Getting beat and blown out every week is rarely a good thing for RBs. While Keaton Mitchell does get decent receiving volume each week, it is not enough to justify rostering him. Omarion Hampton is still getting the bulk of the rushing work, and Kimani Vidal is stealing work as well. This is a three-headed backfield that has rarely produced any fantasy value. An injury or two could open the way to more fantasy relevancy, but Mitchell is splitting work every single week. Move on from him and find an RB with a more established role or playing in a better offense.

Samaje Perine – RB, Cincinnati Bengals

Chase Brown’s fantasy value has been abysmal this season, but it’s not Samaje Perine’s fault. While Perine has had two double-digit carry games, they are not an indication of his true role on this offense. Against the Dolphins, Perine had half of his rushes come on the final three drives. Against the Falcons this week, seven of Perine’s 11 rushes came on the final two drives of the blowout victory. With the exception of a 14-carry game against the Dolphins, Perine has just 21 carries and nine targets in six other games.

Perine is averaging just 5.6 PPR points per game even if you include his outlier games. There is a larger path to fantasy football relevancy if Chase Brown goes down, but the run game as a whole has been underutilized. Joe Burrow is throwing the ball so often and so well in recent weeks that the Bengals have no reason to run more than a handful of times per game. That may change as the weather gets colder and we approach the playoffs, but there are likely better backups on the waiver wire. Cut Samaje Perine in Week 10.

Josh Downs – WR, Indianapolis Colts

No matter how good the matchup is, Josh Downs is just not producing fantasy points. Downs is averaging around six targets per game but just 39 yards per game. With only a single TD reception this year, that’s not a route to fantasy football success. Keenan Allen looks more like the WR1 for the Colts. With Daniel Jones throwing for under 200 yards and less than a TD per game, there is not a lot available to spread amongst the pass catchers. Downs is a low-ceiling FLEX play at best. There are better replacements with more upside in 10 and 12 team leagues. You can cut bait with Downs and find more explosive players in Week 10.

Quentin Johnston – WR, Los Angeles Chargers

Johnston had a good fantasy performance this week, but his peripherals were uninspiring. Johnston caught just one of four targets for 58 yards for a TD. That was the same target share as RB Keaton Mitchell and WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Eight separate Chargers drew at least two targets, with Tre Harris leading the team with seven. Even in pass-heavy situations, Johnston is not getting enough volume to offer consistency at WR. Johnston has failed to draw seven targets in a single game and often hovers around three or four. While Johnston does usually have a big play every game, it is not being complemented with volume or TD upside. Even when the Chargers are down, as they often are, there is no guarantee that Johnston gets involved. Try to sell him after a solid game, but don’t hold onto him any longer than that.

Dalton Schultz – TE, Houston Texans

Schultz has been on this list before, but he’s still being rostered in 65% of Fantrax leagues. Schultz is riding the high of his name value and a 26-point performance back in Week 2. With Nico Collins healthy and Tank Dell now back, fantasy points have been scarce for Schultz. Although Schultz is the top receiving TE on the team, he has yet to score a single TD and he doesn’t have another game with double-digit PPR points. Positive TD regression may come soon, but without high target or receiving yard numbers, Schultz is about as good as any boom-or-bust TE on the waiver wire. There hasn’t been a boom in a while either. Even when the Texans offense is rolling, Schultz is just not enough of a contributor to warrant rostering. You can drop him in Week 10.

Make sure to check out all of our Week 10 Fantasy Football Rankings and Analysis!