Fantasy football 2024: One QB, RB, WR and TE primed for huge Week 10 performances

Week 10 is here and it kicks off on Thursday night when the Bengals take on the Ravens in a game that the Bengals need to win to get back to .500 on the year.

As for Baltimore, Thursday's game offers the Ravens a chance to really stamp their place as one of the league's top teams. Sure, the beginning of the year was a bit shaky, but a 7-3 Ravens team would be one of the top two contenders in the AFC, behind only the Chiefs.

And despite the head-to-head win for KC, you could argue that injuries have weakened the undefeated Chiefs to the point where they wouldn't want to go up against Baltimore again.

Anyway, enough rambling about a game that isn't even mentioned in this week's article. Let's take a look at one player at each skill position who is set to have a strong 2024 Week 10 performance for fantasy football.

Quarterback: Sam Darnold - Minnesota Vikings

This is the second week in a row I've written about Sam Darnold as he takes on an AFC South defense.

Last week against the Colts, Darnold was on fire, throwing three touchdown passes in the win over the Colts. He finished as the QB9, his fourth top-10 finish of the season. (Of course, we can't ignore that Darnold turned the ball over three times in the game, but doesn't that make his finish more impressive?)

This week, Darnold faces the Jaguars, who allow the second-most fantasy points per game to the quarterback position. The team has allowed 200 or more net passing yards in all but one game this season.

Darnold's only finished outside the top 20 in fantasy once all season, so fantasy managers should fire him up with confidence as a QB1 play ahead of this strong matchup.

Running back: Tyrone Tracy Jr. - New York Giants

When this season began, Devin Singletary was the starting running back in New York, but his ineffectiveness mixed with a one-game absence due to injury has opened the door for Tyrone Tracy Jr. to take over that role.

And Tracy doesn't look like he'll give it back any time soon.

The Purdue product has double-digit carries in four of the last five games. In those four games, he's gone over 100 yards twice and has a pair of touchdown runes.

His best game was two weeks ago against the Steelers. In that one, Tracy had 20 carries for 145 yards and a touchdown, finshing as the overall RB4 for the week.

This week, he gets a juicy matchup with the Panthers. No defense in the NFL has allowed more fantasy points to the running back position than the Panthers. The team gave up 197 rushing yards to the Saints last week and has only held one team under 100 yards on the ground. And that team was the Raiders, so it barely counts.

Wide receiver: Tank Dell - Houston Texans

Tank Dell doesn't look as explosive in his second NFL season as he did in his first one, but he is coming off his best game of the year, catching six of his nine targets for 126 yards and finally showcasing some of the big-play ability that made him such a threat in 2023.

Right now, we don't know if the Texans will have Nico Collins back for this matchup or not, but I'm not sure I really care much one way or the other.

That's because the Lions, despite being one of the NFL's top teams, have had some issues with the pass defense at times, allowing the third-most fantasy points per game to opposing wideouts.

So, scenario 1: Collins is out and Dell serves as Houston's top receiver. Considering how the receiving corps in Houston falls off fast after Dell, he gets peppered with targets against a defense that has some issues in its secondary.

Scenario 2: Collins plays and draws a lot of defensive pressure his way. That opens up more one-on-one shots for Dell, who can take advantage and make a couple of big plays throughout the game.

Either way, I'm expecting a strong showing from Dell in this one. I know C.J. Stroud has been off a bit lately, but Dell still had a strong game last week despite Stroud completing just 11 passes. He had 126 of the 191 yards that Stroud threw for.

Tight end: Jonnu Smith - Miami Dolphins

Maybe one day I'll stop betting on Jonnu Smith, but I've been doing it since his Tennessee days and I'm probably going to keep doing it until two years after he retires. I'm not sure what it is, but I just always think Smith is on the verge of a breakout. I guess it's worth remembering that bias before you read the rest of this section.

Smith has been getting solid target numbers lately, with six or more targets in four consecutive games. With Tua Tagovailoa back, Smith has averaged 6.0 targets and 4.5 receptions per game.

This week, he faces the Los Angeles Rams, who have allowed 40 catches for 474 yards and four touchdowns to tight ends this season. Overall, the Rams give up the sixth-most fantasy points per game to the position.

So yeah, I'm riding with Jonnu Smith this week as a TE2 with TE1 upside. His recent usage and this matchup make him appealing at a position where, quite frankly, you've been in trouble if you didn't either draft an elite guy or luck into grabbing Cade Otton off the waiver wire.