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Week 10 was an interesting one. It was highly entertaining, and fans had the pleasure of watching numerous games that went down to the wire and had unexpected outcomes. Whether it was Vikings vs. Bills or Cowboys vs. Packers, viewers were receiving their fair share of dopamine from all of these exciting matchups.
Throughout all of the excitement, there were some truly unexpected performances. This week, the theme of these unexpected performers was that they were all wide receivers. If you were looking for a spot start at wide receiver for your fantasy lineups, Week 10 was your week.
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With these solid fantasy outputs from surprise contributors, there is a chance that most of these receivers become fantasy relevant as the season rolls on. With so much excitement this week, let’s take a look at who put up the most unexpected performances.
Fantasy Football Risers - Surprise Performances
Christian Watson, Green Bay Packers
After weeks of being unable to build a consistently strong connection with any of the young wide receivers in Green Bay, Aaron Rodgers may have found his guy in Week 10. Second-round rookie Christian Watson appears to have had his long-awaited breakout performance against a normally strong Dallas Cowboys defense.
The rookie had a monster stat line as he caught four-of-eight targets for 107 yards and three touchdowns. That performance resulted in 30.7 Half-PPR points, the second-highest score for a wide receiver on the week. It’s unlikely that anybody started him, but if he’s on your bench already, you have to be excited about the possibilities from here on out.
HAVE A GAME, @ChristianW2017!
3️⃣ TDs FOR THE ROOKIE.#DALvsGB | #GoPackGo
📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/IavGOnJMfB
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) November 14, 2022
Obviously, it’s just one game, nothing is set in stone. However, receivers that have strong connections with Aaron Rodgers have had major fantasy relevance over the years. If Christian Watson has earned the trust of the future Hall of Fame quarterback, there is the possibility he enters “league winner” territory. Call it an overreaction, but the Packers have been in desperate need of a real receiving threat. That threat may have emerged in this matchup.
Kadarius Toney, Kansas City Chiefs
A new offensive acquisition made his presence known with the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 10. With the Chiefs’ top wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster being ruled out after taking a rough hit in the second quarter, Mahomes had to look toward different options. Luckily, Kansas City went out and acquired disgruntled former first-round wide receiver, Kadarius Toney, from the New York Giants just a couple of weeks prior.
In just his second game with the Chiefs, Toney caught four-of-five targets for 57 yards and a touchdown along with two carries for 33 yards. That performance resulted in exactly 17 Half-PPR fantasy points, a pleasant surprise for anybody that had to start the second-year receiver in a pinch.
A glimpse of what Kadarius Toney brings to the KC offense 🔥
📺: #JAXvsKC on CBS
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/WuzICNVJEJ pic.twitter.com/TSqdEQYfB5— NFL (@NFL) November 13, 2022
A conclusion could be drawn that Toney had this kind of involvement due to the absence of Smith-Schuster as well as Mecole Hardman, and that’s probably a fair assumption. However, his usage should continue to rise, especially after impressing in this game. If he’s still available in your league for whatever reason, make sure he’s on your roster next week.
Darius Slayton, New York Giants
The New York Giants took on the Houston Texans in Week 10. The Texans are notorious for being the worst run defense in the league as they’ve continuously allowed huge performances to star running backs. That certainly happened as Saquon Barkley went off, but there was a surprisingly productive performance from a wide receiver as well.
Darius Slayton had an impressive day as he led New York receivers with three receptions for 95 yards and a touchdown. A large portion of his stat line came on a miraculous 54-yard catch and run that resulted in a touchdown, but it was a strong performance nonetheless. His stats produced a fantasy output of exactly 17 Half-PPR points on the day.
TO THE HOUSE! 🏠
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/Eo7VfdVM37
— New York Giants (@Giants) November 13, 2022
Slayton’s play has been impressive, and he appears to be the only Giants receiver that has been able to make a recognizable impact in fantasy football. Not bad for a receiver that was rumored to be on the roster bubble at the start of the season.
It may seem like point chasing, but he could be a decent add heading into Week 11. Temper expectations though since no member of the Giants' offense has been able to produce consistent performances outside of Saquon up to this point in the year.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, Tennessee Titans
In an otherwise boring game between the Denver Broncos and the Tennessee Titans, there was a surprise performance that outpaced every offensive player from both teams. Despite the Titans being a complete dumpster fire in the passing game for the majority of the season, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine was able to put up some of the best numbers for any receiver that played in Week 10.
In a win over the Broncos, Westbrook-Ikhine caught five-of-eight targets for 119 yards and two touchdowns. That strong performance resulted in 26.4 Half-PPR points, the fifth-highest score for a wide receiver on the week.
FLEA FLICKER ALERT
📺: Watch #DENvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/LObJZf9dd6
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) November 13, 2022
With this receiver room being wide open, Westbrook-Ikhine has a shot at being a solid piece for fantasy rosters. The Titans are still extremely run-heavy, but this performance against a strong Broncos secondary has his fantasy trajectory on the upswing.
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts
There was a buzz surrounding the Indianapolis Colts in Week 10 that can only be described as a reaction to the team signing their former All-Pro center to be their interim head coach. After the firing of Frank Reich, Jeff Saturday was easily the last person that was expected to take over coaching duties for this disappointing team. But here we are, and the questionable move appears to be working out.
In his first game as a head coach, Saturday’s Colts took down the Las Vegas Raiders. A lot of the credit for this win has to go to the team’s willingness to forget about the Sam Ehlinger experiment and move back to Matt Ryan right before the start of the game. That return to Ryan resulted in the reemergence of Parris Campbell, a wide receiver that had been seeing solid fantasy production with the former MVP manning the helm.
Chef's kiss, Parris. 😘👌
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/7lzSHHxpQU
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) November 13, 2022
In the first game with this rejuvenated Colts team, Campbell caught seven-of-nine targets for 76 yards and a touchdown that put Indianapolis up late. This unexpected performance resulted in 17.1 Half-PPR points on the day.
If the Colts continue to rally around Jeff Saturday, this offense could go back to having decent fantasy value. As for Campbell, the return of Matt Ryan has pushed him back into relevancy as he was looking like one of the favorite targets for the former Atlanta quarterback prior to his benching. If he’s available on waivers, make room for him on your roster.
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