Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, Christian Kirk: Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Fantasy Football Week 10

For the tenth Sunday in a row, fantasy managers will wake up and agonize over which players to start, and who to sit. It's a crucial time of the year to get it right with playoffs just around the corner.

With several high-profile offenses (Kansas City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles Rams, and Miami) on bye this week, creativity may be the key to unlocking an optimal lineup.

The RotoBaller staff is here to help break down why certain players are worth starting or sitting. Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown, and Christian Kirk are under the microscope in this article ahead of Week 10.

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Should I Start Calvin Ridley for Fantasy Football?

Calvin Ridley is playing peek-a-boo with fantasy managers.

• 100+ yards and a touchdown in his Jacksonville debut!
• Disappeared for three games...
• 136 total yards against Buffalo in London!
• Disappeared for two games...
• Double-digit targets and 83 yards!

If the pattern continues, he's due for a down game. But that's just playing the trends.

Popular opinion is that the San Francisco 49ers have a good defense. In reality, aspects of their defense are strong but the secondary is surprisingly weak right now. Over the last four weeks, they rank 30th in fantasy points allowed to opposing wideouts. Amari Cooper, Jordan Addison, and Ja'Marr Chase all racked up 100 yards or more against Deommodore Lenoir and Charvarius Ward.

Ridley leads Jacksonville in deep targets (12 to Kirk's 7). Should Trevor Lawrence opt to attack the outside cornerbacks and take shots down the field, Ridley is his guy. It makes the former first-round pick more of a boom/bust option.

Ridley is the WR26 in our half-PPR consensus staff rankings.

Should I Start Marquise Brown for Fantasy Football?

The best friends are back together.

Marquise "Hollywood" Brown will have his quarterback (and one of his best friends) Kyler Murray back under center in Week 10. As defenses began to figure out the tendencies of Joshua Dobbs, Brown's production took a dip. That should rebound with the starting quarterback back in the fold.

In the first six weeks of 2022, when both Murray and Brown were healthy, the latter was the WR5 overall in PPR formats. He was averaging just over 18 points per game. Murray may be a bit rusty since he's been out since Week 15 of last season, but he'll target Brown early and often.

The Falcons' pass defense has slipped a bit since their strong start to the season. They're now a middle-of-the-pack secondary, so there aren't any real matchup concerns here. Brown has already been a decent flex option with the quarterback replacements this season. He's now locked into the WR2 range for the foreseeable future and can be started with confidence.

Brown is the WR19 in our half-PPR consensus staff rankings.

Should I Start Christian Kirk for Fantasy Football?

The same argument for Calvin Ridley can be made for Christian Kirk. After all, they are on the same team.

The difference between the two is consistency and slot coverage. Slot cornerback Isaiah Oliver has allowed all 20 targets thrown in his direction to be caught over the last four weeks. That includes an 8-for-8, two-touchdown debacle against the Cincinnati Bengals. That will be Kirk's matchup this week, as he lines up inside on a vast majority of his snaps.

Kirk has also flat-out been a better fantasy football wide receiver than Ridley thus far. Outside of Week 1, when the former Texas A&M Aggie only played in three-receiver sets and earned just three targets, Kirk is the WR15 in PPR formats.

The 49ers' defense is still stronger against the run and defending tight ends. If the Jaguars hope to win this game as home underdogs, attacking the weakness of the defense is the best plan of action. Kirk should receive a healthy amount of targets on Sunday.

Kirk is the WR21 in our half-PPR consensus staff rankings.

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