Evan Tarracciano | Mon, Nov 10th 2025, 12:11pm EST

Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 10 (2025)

The main slate from Week 10 delivered for fantasy football managers royally, with six teams (and counting) scoring more than 30 points, upsets galore and (dare I say it?) an overseas game that was exciting for a change.

Season-long players were thrilled with the results of the weekend since scoring was prevalent, while survivor pool players were left grasping at straws, with a multitude of upsets occurring. New Orleans, Houston, Miami and the New York Jets pulled off improbable victories on the heels of unlikely heroes like Davis Mills and Tyler Shough.

Fantasy Football Studs & Duds: Week 10

Thankfully, the “studs” section this week features top-tier talent that players were counting on to come through, with a handful of waiver wire pickups that managed to outperform expectations. The “duds” portion did not have too many landmines that cost managers their week single-handedly, but instead was rife with players who fell short due to game-script reasons, rather than their own shortcomings or failures.

Here are a few of the more notable performances from Week 10 around the league.

Quarterback

Stud: Matthew Stafford (QB – LAR)

Wideout Puka Nacua accurately coined Matthew Stafford’s current run of excellent play a heater, with the veteran throwing 13 touchdown passes and zero interceptions over his last three starts. The current QB2 on the season, Stafford achieved a career milestone on Sunday, throwing the 400th touchdown of his outstanding career, a 22-yard strike to Nacua.

Stafford has propelled Los Angeles to a 7-2 record, and next Sunday’s clash against Seattle may ultimately decide who finishes atop the NFC West. The Rams’ +98 point differential is third-best in the league (only trailing Indianapolis and Seattle), and is due primarily to Stafford’s brilliance. With Los Angeles continuing to operate as a “pass-first, ask questions later” team, we don’t envision this streak cooling down anytime soon.

Stud: Jared Goff (QB – DET)

It is a little ironic that this week’s column features both Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff as studs, given how their history is tied to each other so closely. Goff was superb on Sunday on the road against Washington, passing for 320 yards and three touchdowns on 25 completions.

Although this was only the second time this season that Goff has eclipsed the 300-yard mark, Goff boasts a sparkling 20:3 touchdown-to-interception ratio, and his efficiency has been truly elite. More notable was the decision by head coach Dan Campbell to take over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator John Morton.

Once Campbell became involved, wideout Jameson Williams became a true difference-maker downfield, catching six passes on seven targets for 119 yards and a score. Should this trend of looking for larger plays continue, Goff could be in for a huge end to his 2025 season, his 10th in the league. Goff is the current QB10 on the year, and he has several layup matchups on the horizon to push him further up boards.

Dud: Bo Nix (QB – DEN)

Thursday’s 10-7 slogfest victory by Denver over Las Vegas was difficult to watch, with Bo Nix completing just 16-of-28 attempts for 150 yards and a touchdown, while throwing two interceptions. Post-game comments summed things up nicely, with all of the analysts failing to point out any positives within Denver’s lackluster offensive performance.

This continues a disturbing trend of the Broncos sputtering out of the gate in games, then becoming overly reliant upon Nix to play “hero ball” to bring them back, while their elite defense holds back the floodgates. In addition to struggling as a passer, Nix failed to make an impact with his legs either, rushing for -2 yards on five carries.

The Broncos square off in a key divisional showdown against arch-rival Kansas City in Week 11, with the Chiefs’ secondary allowing fewer than 190 passing yards per game. Nix will have an uphill battle to find momentum.

Dud: J.J. McCarthy (QB – MIN)

All week long, we heard tales of J.J. McCarthy bringing out his alter ego, “9,” to play on Sundays — an anger-ridden side of him that manages to amp up for Sundays. Perhaps he was referring to his point total instead? McCarthy was entirely out of sorts against Baltimore, completing just 20 passes (on 42 attempts) for 248 yards and a touchdown, throwing two interceptions in the process.

This continues a disturbing trend for McCarthy, as it was his third consecutive start failing to eclipse a 56% completion rate, while committing several egregious turnovers. Players with this little experience under their belts are prone to up-and-down performances, but we’ve seen McCarthy continue to have issues making accurate passes downfield. With upcoming matchups against Chicago, Green Bay and Seattle, it’s unlikely to envision this getting better anytime soon.

Running Back

Stud: Jonathan Taylor (RB – IND)

Jonathan Taylor has officially reached new levels of “shut up and take my money so I can watch him play.” Fueled by Week 9’s down performance against Pittsburgh, Taylor made it personal against Atlanta in Berlin, rushing for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including an epic 83-yard run with six minutes left in the contest to keep Indianapolis within reach.

This marks the fourth time this season that Taylor has rushed for three touchdowns in a game, and it is fair to state that if he continues this level of success, he will finish with one of the greatest fantasy seasons of all time at the position. The front-runner for this season’s MVP, Taylor has been the cornerstone of the Colts’ turnaround this season. He will enjoy a bye to rest up in Week 11, before retaking the field against Kansas City in Week 12.

Stud: De’Von Achane (RB – MIA)

Fantasy managers had a firm understanding of De’Von Achane’s appeal heading into draft season, knowing that his touchdown upside would be capped by limitations under center, but his elite receiving skills would buoy his weekly totals in PPR formats. With just two rushing scores since Week 4 heading into the contest against Buffalo, my expectations were tempered that Achane would find paydirt multiple times, especially with how the Bills looked last weekend against Kansas City.

Clearly, I was mistaken. Miami leaned heavily on Achane in Week 10 and allowed him to be the focal point of the offense, providing him 28 touches, which he turned into 225 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. Achane has at least five receptions in each of the last three games, and he continues to be a lethal threat as a checkdown option for Tua Tagovailoa. Miami squares off against Washington in Week 11, and the Commanders’ defense appears ready to pack it in for the season.

Dud: Bijan Robinson (RB – ATL)

Drafted as the top selection (along with Ja’Marr Chase) in leagues this year, Bijan Robinson has failed to live up to the lofty expectations that fantasy managers had levied on him earlier. This isn’t to suggest that he has been terrible — he remains the RB5 on the season — but his recent stretch of play has been underwhelming, at best.

Robinson has scored just one rushing touchdown since Atlanta’s Week 5 bye, and has two all season. Ceding work lately in the red zone to backup Tyler Allgeier has capped Robinson’s upside, and more concerning, the Falcons appear fine with the shift. Atlanta has several favorable matchups on paper upcoming, against defenses that rank in the bottom half of the league in rushing yards allowed per contest. There is hope Robinson will inherit a larger workload moving forward and eclipse the 100-yard mark for the first time since Week 6.

Dud: James Cook (RB – BUF)

James Cook entered the week with one of the highest point projections at the position, squaring off against a Miami front that was averaging over 140 yards per game on the ground. Rather than capitalizing on the opportunity, Cook struggled, and a negative game script sapped away any hope of a rebound in the second half.

Down multiple scores thanks to several egregious turnovers by quarterback Josh Allen, Cook became a limited-usage checkdown outlet, as Buffalo couldn’t afford to provide him with rushing opportunities in catch-up mode. Following successive outstanding performances, this dud hit especially hard. Cook (along with everyone else on Buffalo) will look to right the ship against Tampa Bay in Week 11, in a game with playoff seeding implications.

Wide Receiver

Stud: Jameson Williams (WR – DET)

Drake London finished as the WR1 on the week for the third time in the last four weeks, so I’m going to spread the love around a little and pivot to Jameson Williams instead. Coming off a strong third season in the league in 2024, where he set career-highs across the board (58/1,001/7), expectations were high that Williams would match (if not exceed) those totals in 2025.

Unfortunately, Williams had been an afterthought in Detroit’s offense for most of the season, with just one game over 100 receiving yards, and only three games with more than two receptions. Thankfully, Dan Campbell said enough was enough. Taking over the play-calling duties for the Lions early on, Campbell made it a point to get Williams involved, resulting in his best game of the season — six receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown.

One of the top deep threats in the league, Williams feasts when Detroit is successful in building off play-action. We would look for this recipe to continue, with Williams operating as the home-run hitter when Detroit is looking for a spark.

Stud: Emeka Egbuka (WR – TB)

I tweeted out early on Sunday that “it appears that [Emeka] Egbuka was finally back to full strength,” after a hamstring injury clearly limited him in Weeks 6-8, before Tampa Bay had its bye. With Mike Evans (collarbone) and Chris Godwin (fibula) out for the foreseeable future, Egbuka continues to operate as Tampa Bay’s top receiving threat, and his chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield is evident.

Used both in the slot and out wide, Egbuka drew 13 targets from Mayfield, catching six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. His efficiency remains low due to Mayfield’s scattershot tendencies, but the high volume can compensate for any shortcomings. Tampa Bay holds a slim lead in the NFC South with a 6-3 record and is facing two difficult contests against Buffalo and the Los Angeles Rams. Expect Egbuka to be peppered with looks yet again.

Dud: Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN)

The good news for Justin Jefferson managers? He continues to operate as the 1A threat in Minnesota’s offense, and drew double-digit targets for the fifth time in the last six games. The bad news? J.J. McCarthy’s accuracy issues downfield and the presence of Jordan Addison opposite him, combined with constant double-teams from defenders, have primarily held Jefferson’s totals in check the last four weeks straight.

From a pure talent perspective, Jefferson remains one of the best wideouts in the NFL, but he is becoming increasingly difficult to trust as a locked-in WR1 on fantasy rosters. Divisional matchups against Chicago and Green Bay over the next two weeks will decide the fate of Minnesota for this season. If the team can secure victories, they have a shot at taking the NFC North crown.

Dud: Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – IND)

Michael Pittman was due for a slow game after three stellar outings, but this crash back to Earth was particularly severe. One would have expected that Pittman would find success when Indianapolis scored 31 points, went to overtime and compiled 519 total yards on offense. Apparently not.

Pittman drew just two targets all afternoon (out of Daniel Jones‘ 26 attempts), catching both passes for 19 yards. With Atlanta unable to stop Jonathan Taylor on the ground, the Colts instead collectively ran the ball 41 times for 323 rushing yards on the afternoon, using the passing attack as a fallback option when necessary.

This game isn’t an indictment of Pittman’s talent or our new expectations of how unbalanced this offense will be moving forward. It was more of a one-off occurrence in an overseas matchup. Pittman will continue to be a mid-range WR1 option moving forward, and is averaging over 15 PPR points per game.

Tight End

Stud: Juwan Johnson (TE – NO)

Yes, Trey McBride and George Kittle finished with more points than Juwan Johnson on the afternoon, but we expect huge games from both every week. I’ve apparently been sleeping on how good Johnson has been this season, as he currently clocks in as the TE6 on the year. Shame on me.

Johnson’s totals aren’t particularly gaudy (43 receptions for 491 yards and three touchdowns over 10 games) and are more an indication of how top-heavy the position has been this season. Still, he has outscored Sam LaPorta, Zach Ertz and Dalton Kincaid, and will leapfrog Tucker Kraft in short order.

Even with modest target volume, Johnson will return to being a mid-range TE1 once New Orleans returns from its bye in Week 11. Look for him to keep the train going against Atlanta and Miami upon his return.

Dud: Brock Bowers (TE – LV)

I’m willing to give credit to Denver’s defense, knowing that they had a clear game script to take Brock Bowers out of action as much as possible during Thursday Night Football. Still. Three targets? Seriously?

Coming off a monster performance against Jacksonville (12/127/3), Bowers was a total afterthought in this loss, as he had half the looks of Tyler Lockett and tied with Tre Tucker. Call me baffled at this usage.

Now sitting at 2-7 and in the basement of the hyper-competitive AFC West, the Raiders have no prayer of making the playoffs in 2025. To give the fans hope for the remainder of the season, Las Vegas would do well to unleash Bowers moving forward, especially since the Raiders have scored the second-fewest points on offense this year (just 139 total).

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