National Football League

FANTASY PLAYS: Week 10 studs worth playing in daily leagues

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 6:07 p.m. ET

Winning in daily fantasy isn't always about finding contrarian picks. Yes, you want to differentiate your lineup to increase your odds at winning in tournaments, but you can't ignore the studs that are still worth their high price tags. Here are the studs to consider for Week 10:

MATTHEW STAFFORD, QB, Detroit ($6,800 DraftKings/$8,200 FanDuel)

This isn't recency bias with Stafford coming off a big Week 9 performance. Stafford would have been a terrific play even without putting up 361 yards and two touchdowns on the Packers. The Browns are strong against the run and one of the weakest teams against the pass. Only Marcus Mariota failed to throw for a touchdown against the Browns, and six of the seven other opposing quarterbacks have two or more passing touchdowns. Marvin Jones has also picked up his play over the past few weeks, helping Stafford's numbers. The Lions running game has slowed of late setting up Stafford for a high-volume passing day and a high daily score.

BILAL POWELL, RB, New York Jets ($4,000/$6,000)

With Matt Forte likely out for Week 10 (make sure that he is), Powell becomes a must-own at these prices. When Matt Forte missed Week 4 against the Jaguars, Powell put up 163 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 attempts. Powell has been hampered by splitting touches all year, but Forte's absence would set him up for 20-plus touches. The Buccaneers are in a freefall and are among the worst teams in the league at stopping the run. Alvin Kamara just put up 152 total yards and two touchdowns against them last week, and Adrian Peterson and LeSean McCoy both topped 20 points against the Bucs in Weeks 6-7. Powell could sleepwalk his way to 3x-plus value.

STERLING SHEPARD, WR, New York Giants ($5,500/$5,700)

While the 49ers are slightly better against the pass than the run, it's just relative, as they are beyond miserable against the run. They have allowed 11 double-digit scores on DraftKings with two topping 20 points and eight double-digit scores on FanDuel. Sterling Shepard is one of the two remaining quality weapons in the Giants passing game (Evan Engram the other) and the only one of the starting receivers that's on the field. Shepard saw nine targets last week, catching five for 70 yards and can easily reach and top that this week.

CAMERON BRATE, TE, Tampa Bay ($4,100/$5,700)

While we are preying on the Buccaneers defense for Powell, we're going to do the same with Brate on the other side. Nick O'Leary, a mediocre tight end, managed four catches for 51 yards against the Bills last week. In the four previous games, David Njoku, Rob Gronkowski, Anthony Fasano and Austin Hooper all scored ... Gronkowski twice. Brate came up quiet last week, but that was against a much-improved Saints defense and within Jameis Winston playing hurt, then replaced by Ryan Fitzpatrick mid-game. With a week to prepare, Fitzpatrick will be more effective this week, and Brate had come into Week 9 with five straight games with at least four catches and 60 yards.

STEELERS DEFENSE ($3,700/$4,600)

Often, you don't need to overthink things when it comes to defenses. The Steelers head to Indianapolis and the Colts are allowing the most FPPG to opposing defenses (9.3). The next closest team is the Texans at 8.1 FPPG. The Colts have already allowed 35 sacks and six DST touchdowns, both of which are league highs. Five defenses have hit double-digits against the Colts, and the Steelers boast the second strongest pass defense, only behind the Jaguars. With the Steelers also able to score plenty, they should push the Colts and Jacoby Brissett to be more aggressive, which will lead to more potential turnovers, sacks and fantasy points.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com