Stars of Week 10

QB:      Aaron Rodgers, GB: 18-27, 315 yards, 6 TDs 

RB:      Marshawn Lynch, SEA: 21 carries, 140 yards, 4 TDs

WR:     Dez Bryant, DAL: 6 catches, 158 yards, 2 TDs

TE:      Jimmy Graham, NO: 10 catches, 76 yards, 2 TDs

We’ve got the elite of the elite this week in the honor roll, with Aaron Rodgers absolutely shredding the Bears and Marshawn Lynch having a beastly performance against the Giants (pun intended). Dez Bryant and Jimmy Graham also did quite well for their fantasy owners with 2 TD performances. Graham looks better and better every week as he leaves his shoulder injury behind. These guys need no further analysis, so let’s move on.

Week 10 Takeaways – A Closer Look 

Each week we’ll take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.

- Drew Stanton, QB - ARZ: 3-5, 85 yards, 1 TD, 0 INTs

Analysis:         Drew Stanton finds his way here not because of how he played this past Sunday against the Rams, but because he did play against the Rams, and because he will be filling in for Carson Palmer for the remainder of the season. No matter if you’re a Cardinals fan or not, it was disheartening to see Carson Palmer tear his ACL again. We do have to move forward however, which means for our purposes that we need to determine if Stanton can be a useful fantasy player. Luckily, we’ve had a glimpse of Stanton from earlier in the season, and what we saw was nothing too spectacular. The Cardinals’ skill players have progressed since earlier in the year (both in terms of skills and health), so we can expect a slight bump this time around. But, we’re looking at nothing more than a mid to lower end QB2 going forward. With bye weeks ending after this coming week 11, Stanton should only be started in desperate times.

- Ronnie Hillman, RB – DEN: 6 carries, 13 yards, 0 TDs

CJ Anderson, RB – DEN: 13 carries, 90 yards, 0 TDs

Juwan Thompson, RB – DEN: 4 carries, 8 yards, 0 TDs

Montee Ball, RB – DEN: DNP

Analysis:         We’re essentially taking a look at the current Broncos’ RB situation. In short, it’s a mess. Hillman suffered an injury against the Raiders, and there are conflicting rumors out there as to how long he will be out (the most likely verdict is two weeks). Adding to the confusion, coach John Fox has indicated that health will be the number one factor in terms of who gets the carries, along with whoever has the “hot” hand. Oh, that clears up everything! Speaking of health, Montee Ball will return soon, so that’s another guy in this mess. So lots of moving pieces here, and who will emerge from this group is anyone’s guess. What the signs point to though is a committee going forward. If you have to pick one RB from this group for this coming week, I’d go with CJ Anderson. But note that the situation is messy and subject to change on a dime. Best to take care of your RB needs elsewhere.

- Odell Beckham Jr., WR - NYG: 7 catches, 108 yards, 0 TDs              

Analysis: Very little has gone right for the New York Giants this season, but one glimmering ray of hope is the emergence of Odell Beckham Jr. Beckham has posted back to back strong games, and his talent jumps out at you as you watch him play. No other way to put it – Beckham is the Giants’ best WR with Cruz out, and he will continue to post great numbers for the remainder of the season. Beckham straddles the low end WR2 / high end WR3 line, with the arrow pointing up. He should be in lineups going forward in all but the most shallow of leagues.

- Cecil Shorts, WR – JAC: 5 catches, 119 yards, 0 TDs

Analysis: Cecil Shorts had a solid game against the Cowboys in London this past Sunday. Shorts has been inconsistent since his return from injury, with this being his first meaningful fantasy performance of the season. The big news pertaining to all Jaguars WRs though is the loss of leading WR Allen Robinson for the season. This means Shorts, Allen Hurns and the rest of the Jags’ WR crew get a slight bump. Shorts has the most value of the Jags’ WRs going forward, but he should be viewed no higher than a WR3/flex option at best.

Rapid Fire Pickups

Each week we’ll throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been referenced above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.

QB:                  Derek Carr, OAK

RB:                  Charles Sims, TB

RB:                  Theo Riddick, TB                  

WR:                 Allen Hurns, JAC

WR:                 Jarvis Landry, MIA

TE:                  Mychal Rivera, OAK

Week 11 Rankings

Quarterbacks

1. Aaron Rodgers

2. Peyton Manning

3. Andrew Luck

4. Tom Brady

5. Philip Rivers

6. Drew Brees

7. Ben Roethlisberger

8. Robert Griffin III

9. Matthew Stafford

10. Russell Wilson

11. Colin Kaepernick

12. Mark Sanchez

13. Matt Ryan

14. Jay Cutler

15. Cam Newton

16. Eli Manning

17. Josh McCown

18. Andy Dalton

19. Teddy Bridgewater

20. Ryan Tannehill

Running Backs

1. Matt Forte

2. Arian Foster

3. Marshawn Lynch

4. Le'Veon Bell

5. Jamaal Charles

6. Eddie Lacy

7. Mark Ingram

8. LeSean McCoy

9. Alfred Morris

10. Andre Ellington

11. Ahmad Bradshaw

12. Rashad Jennings

13. Frank Gore

14. Shane Vereen

15. Jeremy Hill

16. Jerick McKinnon

17. Terrance West

18. Lamar Miller

19. Joique Bell

20. Ryan Mathews

21. Steven Jackson

22. C.J. Anderson

23. Ben Tate

24. Tre Mason

25. Fred Jackson

26. Trent Richardson

27. Branden Oliver

28. Darren Sproles

29. Bishop Sankey

30. Montee Ball

31. Bobby Rainey

32. Carlos Hyde

33. Darren McFadden

34. Matt Asiata

35. Jonathan Stewart

Wide Receivers

1. Demaryius Thomas

2. Jordy Nelson

3. Calvin Johnson

4. Antonio Brown

5. Randall Cobb

6. Jeremy Maclin

7. A.J. Green

8. Emmanuel Sanders

9. Julio Jones

10. T.Y. Hilton

11. DeSean Jackson

12. Kelvin Benjamin

13. Brandon Marshall

14. Golden Tate

15. Mike Evans

16. Odell Beckham Jr.

17. Alshon Jeffery

18. Sammy Watkins

19. DeAndre Hopkins

20. Vincent Jackson

21. Julian Edelman

22. Mike Wallace

23. Roddy White

24. Keenan Allen

25. Andre Johnson

26. Brandin Cooks

27. Martavis Bryant

28. Mohamed Sanu

29. Pierre Garcon

30. Anquan Boldin

31. Jordan Matthews

32. Cordarelle Patterson

33. Michael Floyd

34. Rueben Randle

35. Kendall Wright

Tight Ends

1. Jimmy Graham

2. Rob Gronkowski

3. Julius Thomas

4. Antonio Gates

5. Dwayne Allen

6. Martellus Bennett

7. Greg Olsen

8. Travis Kelce

9. Jordan Reed

10. Larry Donnell

11. Charles Clay

12. Mychal Rivera

13. Jared Cook

14. Vernon Davis

15. Kyle Rudolph

- Neema Hodjat is the fantasy sports expert for RealGM.  He can be reached via email at nhodjat@gmail.com and followed on twitter at @NeemaHodjat.