Fantasy Football 2026 Week 10 Waiver Wire Pickup Advice

Is your fantasy team in need of new blood? Each week I’ll bring to you the best pickups to make ahead of the waiver deadline. All the players I list will be rostered in fewer than 50 percent of leagues, with the roster percentages coming from Yahoo.com.

Immediately Useful

Mike Washington Jr., RB, Raiders (48% Rostered): Washington Jr. followed up a breakout of sorts by earning six carries for -3 yards and garnering zero involvement in the passing game. His snap count dropping from 60.3% to 34% was also gross for managers who thought they might’ve uncovered a brand new lead back. Obviously, this was ugly and demonstrated how low the floor actually is for him, but it didn’t help that the Raiders were boat raced early and clearly don’t view him as an option in that facet of the game. In better game scripts, it seems likely that he’ll have much more work and touchdown opportunity, making him a playable FLEX with standalone value in a pretty solid offense overall. There’s big time talent as a rusher here and the Raiders seem to know it, they just needed Jeanty’s receiving prowess much more in Week 9.

DeMario Douglas, WR, Patriots (46% Rostered): Douglas really has taken a step forward in New England’s hierarchy with A.J. Brown and Romeo Doubs both out with injuries. In the past, this has looked like primetime for Pop Douglas only for him to disappear. This season, they’re committed to getting him the ball while these star receivers are out, and I’m ready to trust Douglas until one or both return. Douglas has been at 65 or more yards in four of the Patriots’ last five games, with four touchdowns in that span. Now that their running game is being incinerated by injuries, even more of the load will be on Drake Maye’s shoulders. At bare minimum, he’s a FLEX consideration.

Jakobi Meyers, WR, Jaguars (45% Rostered): The explosion games aren’t happening for Meyers, even though the offense is prolific. Jacksonville’s running game has been stellar, with Parker Washington and Brenton Strange monopolizing targets. Meyers’ yardage of late has ticked up, with 65+ in two of his last three, but two touchdowns all season is disappointing. At this point, he’s shown low ceiling and low floor, making him a desperation play. But as far as last gasps go, he’s reliably on the field with a great QB in an offense that puts up points every week.

Ryan Flournoy, WR, Cowboys (44% Rostered): Flournoy, like Meyers, is talented but stuck behind players who draw more looks in an offense that piles up the points. With George Pickens out this week Flournoy stepped up with 53 yards on just two catches. He’s been, at times, a volume hog and in other games shown he can do damage through efficiency down the field. Flournoy could flourish given a greater role, and we may see him earn it if Pickens misses more time. For now, Flournoy is in the Meyers tier of playable FLEXes, but ones you’d prefer to rely on only in tough times. If Pickens remains out, his outlook improves.

Dalton Schultz, TE, Texans (40% Rostered): Schultz is not my cup of tea, because he’s a standard issue boring, regularly involved TE. It’s a position that, aside from the tippy top, doesn’t offer a lot of upside. In fact, zeroes aren’t uncommon even among highly-drafted players. So Schultz is a guy whose been bankable of late for 3-4 catches and 30-45 yards. Those will put you to sleep, but they can look good when the alternative is a big fat zero. As long as C.J. Stroud is cooking, Schultz will catch a few balls, but hoping for more is asking for pain. With that said, those steady, modest numbers are “immediate help.”

Mike Gesicki, TE, Bengals (37% Rostered): Gesicki is a super risky play. He’s caught two or fewer passes four times this season, so his floor is a doughnut. He’s also caught a touchdown pass in six of eight games this year, which instantly makes you a Top 10 TE in any given week. Debating between Schultz and Gesicki tells a lot about how one plays this wonderful game. Me? Give me Gesicki and the chance to watch something fun happen on Sunday.

Aaron Rodgers, QB, Steelers (33% Rostered): Rodgers is now past his bye, and has a date with Cincinnati in Week 10. He hasn’t been spectacular this year, and he’s not a week in, week out stud anymore, but if you’re searching for a QB at this point you’ll take old dudes with good matchups. Rodgers has thrown for three touchdowns three times this year, and gets the Bengals, the decimated Eagles, and the Broncos in his next three games. 

Seth McGowan, RB, Colts (32% Rostered): McGowan really belongs in handcuff town, but the trade rumors around Jonathan Taylor have picked up enough speed to be classified as a hurricane. McGowan clearly appears to be next in line in the event of a Taylor trade, and even if that spells disaster for the Colts overall, McGowan is a talented guy who will get a bunch of volume. As is, he’s getting close to enough work to have some standalone value, but he’s not there quite yet.

Dylan Sampson, RB, Browns (28% Rostered): Sampson is a very explosive back who offers a big contrast from his powerful backfield mate Quinshon Judkins. Sampson also has a clearly defined passing down role, and Cleveland’s struggles to put points on the board can lead to Sampson-heavy second halves. For Sampson to really hit, he’s got to strike on long plays so it makes him a very high-risk FLEX play in the sense that big games are very unlikely. The role he has though does lend itself to some baseline useful production in weeks where options are thin thanks to injuries and byes.

Keon Coleman, WR, Bills (24% Rostered):

Corey Kiner, RB, Patriots (4% Rostered): Kiner is a name people are about to become very familiar with, as he looks like he’s in line to draw the bulk of the Patriots’ rushing attempts for the time being. Rhamondre Stevenson hurt his knee on Sunday, and TreVeyon Henderson appears to be going through a scary illness, leaving the Pats thin. Kiner has already been earning work of late, and his 5.6 yards per carry should be enough for him to get first crack at taking over. This offense can score, and even if they rely on Maye’s arm more due to these RB maladies, Kiner should be looking at high double-digit carries while Stevenson is shelved. This is the priority add of Week 10.

Speculative/Deep Cuts

Geno Smith, QB, Jets (19% Rostered): QBs keep getting hurt, and it’s getting bleak on the streets. Geno Smith isn’t anyone’s idea of a stud fantasy QB, but the Jets’ offense is surprisingly competent. He’s still big-armed and accurate, and he has a plethora of talented pass-catchers at his disposal. Coaching and play-calling have been issues, as the Jets have been a disaster in the red zone this season, but we’ve seen several 250+-yard outings from him and two three-touchdown efforts. It’s hard to find a quality QB out there, and with a lot of teams being run by elevated backups Smith is a rare true starter widely available on waivers.

J.J. McCarthy, QB, Giants (13% Rostered): McCarthy isn’t my cup of tea as a passer, but similar to Smith, competent starters aren’t widely dispersed all over the waiver wire. McCarthy has shown so far that he can feed Malik Nabers, a mutually beneficial relationship, and he’s able to make up for his pass yardage woes on the ground at times which is a plus. The Giants would prefer to run the ball and play safe football to protect McCarthy from doing too much, but he is capable of big games especially if he’s running.

Michael Mayer, TE, Raiders (13% Rostered): Mayer is another TE whose ceiling is fairly low, but is regularly involved thanks to a lack of quality receivers in Las Vegas. Sometimes all you need is an assured few points, and lately Mayer has been able to deliver that. Some like to live more dangerously, but I’m simply providing all the options.

Kimani Vidal, RB, Chargers (11% Rostered): Vidal continues to look the best of the Chargers’ three-headed backfield, but the maddening variance in usage is making all of them impossible to use. This week the snap rate was essentially identical, meaning nobody can be trusted. With Justin Herbert getting banged up and potentially missing some time, the running game will become even more crucial to Los Angeles just getting through these games. I believe Vidal can be played as a desperation FLEX because he’s getting regular snaps, has as much TD upside as Omarion Hampton or Keaton Mitchell, and looks the best of the three on tape.

Handcuffs

Kenny Gainwell, RB, Buccaneers (47% Rostered)

Kaelon Black, RB, 49ers (39% Rostered)

Chris Rodriguez Jr., RB, Jaguars (33% Rostered)

Emmett Johnson, RB, Chiefs (31% Rostered)

Sione Vaki, RB, Lions (2% Rostered)