5 biggest Week 10 fantasy football sleepers: Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Ray Davis and more

Week 10 is here. It got going on Thursday night with another instant classic between the Ravens and Bengals. As I posted during the game over on Bluesky (which is all the rage now based on how many new follows I've gotten in the last few days), the NFL should just do away with the scheduling format they use and give us at least four Ravens/Bengals games per year.

I bring that game up because while I wouldn't have included any players from it in this article if I wrote the article earlier, it highlights how sometimes taking a shot on a low-rostered player can pay off. Tanner Hudson caught a touchdown. Tylan Wallace caught a touchdown.

But it also highlights why you gotta be cautious with sleepers too. There were people who would have called Keaton Mitchell a sleeper in his first game back from injury, but instead he played just two offensive snaps and seven special teams snaps. Ooops.

Alright, on to the Week 10 sleepers.

To count as a sleeper, quarterbacks and tight ends need to be ranked outside the top 15 at their position on FantasyPros’ weekly rankings, while running backs are ranked outside the top 20 and wide receivers are ranked outside the top 25.

Russell Wilson - QB - Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 10 - ranking: QB21

One of the biggest turnarounds this year has been the Commanders defense. The team allow 183.3 passing yards per game; last season, it gave up 262.2 per contest.

So, this matchup for Pittsburgh against the Commanders in Week 10 is certainly not an easy one for Russell Wilson. Let's get that out of the way.

But Wilson finished as the QB3 in Week 7 against the Jets, who allow even fewer passing yards per game than the Commanders. And while he disappointed a bit last week by throwing just one touchdown, he had 278 passing yards against the Giants.

That gives Wilson 250-plus yards in both starts this season. Extrapolated over the full season, that number would rank second per game behind Geno Smith. Of course, the sample size is small with Wilson.

Still, he's throwing the ball well and has avoided turnovers. He's also added a rushing score already this season. He should be viewed as more than a low-end QB2.

Ray Davis - RB - Buffalo Bills

Week 10 ranking: RB36

I had to put Ray Davis into a lineup yesterday morning and my initial thought was "meh, this is okay."

Davis played just 14% of snaps last week against Miami, but he caught two passes for 70 yards and a score and had four carries for 20 yards.

In three of the last four games, Davis has produced double-digit fantasy points, but he's only played more than a quarter of the team's snaps in one of those contests.

Heading into this week's game against Indianapolis, Davis feels like a mystery. He's got explosive potential, but I'd like to see the usage go up before I'm too confident with him.

Still, playing against a Colts defense that allows the second-most rushing yards per game feels like a good week to bet on Davis. Against a better defense, the fact that the team is still playing Ty Johnson too many snaps would scare me off, but Davis can have a big game even if he only winds up with eight-ish touches.

Ricky Pearsall - WR - San Francisco 49ers

Week 10 ranking: WR41

This has a chance to be a huge week for the 49ers offense against a porous Buccaneers defense.

Ricky Pearsall has a shot to play a big part of that...if Jauan Jennings is out again with the hip injury that kept him sidelined in Week 7 and Week 8.

In that scenario, Pearsall will serve as the No. 2 receiver again. He hasn't necessarily been stellar in his first two shots at that role, but a meeting with a Tampa team that allows the third-most passing yards per game and eighth-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers is a good time for Pearsall to make a big statement.

There's also the potential return for Christian McCaffrey. On one hand, that might spell issues for Pearsall because there's only so many opportunities to go around, but on the other hand I think it increases the upside of the opportunities he does get. The defense having to account for McCaffrey should open things up for the team's receivers.

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine - WR - Tennessee Titans

Week 10 ranking: WR50

Since trading away DeAndre Hopkins, Tennessee Titans wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine has stepped up big time for his team.

NWI comes into this week with a touchdown in four consecutive games. Last week, he was targeted six times, catching five for 50 yards and a score.

Before the bye week, Westbrook-Ikhine had zero targets in four games and never played over 26% of snaps. Since the bye, he has at least two targets in each contest.

And since the Hopkins move, Westbrook-Ikhine has played 92% and 97% of snaps for Tennessee. He's quickly taken up the mantle as the team's No. 2 receiver behind Calvin Ridley.

This week, he faces the Chargers. It isn't the world's easiest matchup as the team allows the 11th-fewest passing yards per game, but NWI is still being undervalued right now as the WR50 in the rankings.

Theo Johnson - TE - New York Giants

Week 10 ranking: TE24

This week, the New York Giants take on the Carolina Panthers. Carolina has allowed more fantasy points to the tight end position than any other team in the league has this season, giving up 15.0 half PPR points per contest to the position.

Meanwhile, Theo Johnson is currently in the midst of an uptick in volume. Last week against Washington, he saw a season-high six targets, catching three of those passes for 51 yards and a touchdown. He now has 10 targets over the past two games.

Since Week 5, Johnson has largely played well, minus a weird Week 7 showing where he played 90% of New York's snaps but wasn't targeted a single time against the Eagles. Trust this recent run of increased playing time and usage, but keep in mind that there's no guarantees when you're streaming a tight end.