If you’re looking for a runaway candidate for the 2016 fantasy MVP, and perhaps even the NFL’s MVP, look no further than Ezekiel Elliott.
Not only was Elliott a stud in Week 10, but he’s likely going to win plenty of people their respective fantasy leagues. In a first round where players such as Adrian Peterson, DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham Jr., Lamar Miller (guilty) and some other underwhelming players might have been taken, Elliott bucked the rookie running back trend and has paid off on the first-round investment many people made in him.
So, you know Elliott is our top stud of the week. Here are the rest of the studs and some duds from Week 10.
Points listed are from standard scoring leagues.
Import your team for free to get waiver wire advice
Studs
Ezekiel Elliott (RB – DAL) – 38 points
Wow. Zeke is a beast. He racked up 209 total yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winning score with nine seconds left in a triumphant victory.
Ben Roethlisberger (QB – PIT) – 28 points
Big Ben returned to form in a losing effort. He threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns while Elliott ran all over Pittsburgh’s defense.
Ryan Mathews (RB – SD) – 27 points
Everyone bashes Mathews on a yearly basis, but kudos to anyone who stuck with him this season. He paid off Sunday, putting up a season-high 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Marcus Mariota (QB – TEN) – 27 points
Mariota has quietly turned into a fantasy stud and might be a weekly starter in all formats at this point. He threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns. This game proved that Mariota doesn’t need his legs to be a valuable fantasy commodity.
Aaron Rodgers (QB – GB) – 26 points
Rodgers had to throw 51 times, but that wasn’t a problem for fantasy owners. Rodgers threw for 371 yards and two touchdowns. His day would’ve been a bit better had he not thrown two costly interceptions.
DeMarco Murray (RB – DAL) – 25 points
Murray might be Elliott’s primary challenger for fantasy MVP, given where he was drafted on average this year. He put up 123 yards and a touchdown against the Packers.
Russell Wilson (QB – SEA) – 25 points
Uh oh. Wilson might be officially back. He’s healthy and slung the rock all over the Patriots.
He threw for 348 yards and three touchdowns and only had six rushing yards in a road upset over the Patriots. If you held onto Wilson through the struggles, now might be the time to buy back in.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (D/ST – TB) – 25 points
The Bucs lit up Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears. Former Bear Chris Conte got some sweet revenge with a pick-six, Cutler turned the ball over four times and the Bucs even got a safety.
LeGarrette Blount (RB – NE) – 24 points
Blount rushed for only 69 yards on 21 carries, but his three touchdowns made him a bonafide stud. Blount probably should’ve had a fourth touchdown when the Pats couldn’t break the plane on the final drive of Sunday night’s defeat.
Duds
Matt Ryan (QB – ATL) – 12 points
Another candidate for fantasy MVP, Ryan put up his worst output of the season. Ryan threw for only 267 yards, one touchdown and one interception in a loss to the Eagles.
Tom Brady (QB – NE) – 10 points
Brady as a bust?! Gasp! But, it’s true. Brady didn’t throw a touchdown pass despite tossing 316 yards and had an interception. It just goes to show that Seattle can make even the best quarterbacks irrelevant for a game.
Jay Ajayi (RB – MIA) – 7 points
The breakout tailback snapped his four-game double-digit points streak. He rushed for a respectable 79 yards against the Chargers, but couldn’t crack the end zone and had a touchdown vultured by Damien Williams.
Mark Ingram (RB – NO) – 6 points
The rocky roller coaster ride continues for Ingram owners. After putting up 28 points last week, Ingram carried the ball only 11 times for 50 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards in a loss to the Broncos.
Emmanuel Sanders (WR – DAL) – 5 points
Sanders caught only five passes for 54 yards against a porous New Orleans Saints secondary. That’s just flat-out sad for anybody who expected a big game out of Sanders.
Terrelle Pryor (WR – CLE) – 4 points
Pryor might be a weekly star with a competent quarterback. Unfortunately, his value is often dictated by Cody Kessler. He caught only five passes for 48 yards against the Ravens.
Alshon Jeffery (WR – CHI) – 4 points
Jeffery’s sluggish season continues. He caught only four passes for 47 yards against the Buccaneers.
DeAndre Hopkins (WR – HOU) – 4 points
I swear I’m not trying to pick on Hopkins. But he’s been a dud for three straight weeks. Blame Brock Osweiler, people.
Jordan Reed (TE – WAS) – 4 points
The Vikings did a great job of limiting Reed to only two catches for 41 yards. Reed hasn’t backed up the hype this season and only has two games with double-digit outputs.
Greg Olsen (TE – CAR) – 3 points
Olsen has been slumping lately and was limited to only five catches for 39 yards against the surging Chiefs.
Randall Cobb (WR – GB) – 3 points
Cobb has been an incredibly curious case this season. While his teammates seem to get in on the fun, Cobb is essentially useless. He caught only three passes for 39 yards during the shootout in Nashville.
Brandon Marshall (WR – NYJ) – 1 point
If you watched the entire Jets-Rams game (and if you did I’m sorry), you might have forgotten Marshall existed. Between Bryce Petty’s ineptitude, Chan Gailey’s stupidity and Marshall’s general disinterest, the star wideout caught only four passes for 15 yards.
Carlos Hyde (RB – SF) – 1 point
Hyde had 13 carries for 14 yards against the Cardinals. Talk about a lousy stat line.
Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | SoundCloud | Google Play | TuneIn | RSS
Matt is a correspondent with FantasyPros. For more from Matt, follow him @RealMattBarbato.