The Weekly Bender: Say It with Your Chest

Mon Nov 3 6:36pm ET
By HOWARD BENDER
Fantasy Writer

If you’ve been a regular reader here, then you’ve heard me say, “In fantasy football, sometimes you’re the dog and sometimes you’re the hydrant,” before. Well, sometimes you’re the guy walking that dog and you’re letting him pee anywhere he damn well pleases. That was me this past week and while normally I try to be fairly humble, we were so strong in Week 9 that sometimes you just have to puff out your chest and shout it out to the world that if you’re not with me, you’re missing out.

Did you happen to catch my Wide Receiver Value video that posted on the RT Sports YouTube page and website Friday? Did you read about my recommended adds/starts in Saturday’s New York Post? How about my DFS Playbook and Dart Board over on Fantasy Alarm? What about listening to the Fantasy Alarm Show on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio, Monday through Friday from 6-8 PM ET and Sunday mornings from 10-11 AM ET? Follow me on my socials? Twitter/X? Instagram? Facebook? TikTok?

If your answer is no to any and all of the above, they’re all linked so you don’t make that mistake again, because you probably missed out on adding Tory Horton and Parker Washington. You probably didn’t use Drake London in DFS. You probably missed all the Week 9 bets I posted and you probably missed all the pick’em picks I shouted from the rooftops. We had a spectacular week and I want to make sure that all of you have everything at your disposal week in and week out.

Do we win like this every week? Of course not. No one does and anyone who tells you they do is also trying to sell you a bridge in Brooklyn or some swamp land in Florida. Betting, pick’ems and DFS are a slow grind, but I still win more than I lose and when a week like this one hits, it puts you way over the top and you’re playing with house money. I’ll happily go up and down for a few weeks because I know the big one is coming. It always does. You have to be patient. You have to trust the process. And when you do go on a losing streak – because everyone does -- you stay the course and continue to trust the process. Losing streaks only get worse when you try to change your process too much, hoping to win it all back in one fell swoop.

Again, I really do try to stay humble, but sometimes you just have to say it with your chest so that everyone hears you. Now let’s get to some fantasy football talk.

While many of us were out strutting like a peacock on Sunday, there are several out there that got a huge bite in the ass by the injury bug. Jayden Daniels suffered a dislocated elbow and Tucker Kraft tore his ACL. Both are out for the rest of the season and each one is leaving a gaping hole in people’s lineups. Fortunately, I’ve already dug into the Week 10 QB streamers and I also happen to be the OG Tight End Whisperer. So, let’s get to it.

Streaming quarterbacks here in Week 10 is actually going to be easier than most think. Yes, it depends on your league size and format, so not everyone will have an easy time. If you lost Daniels in a superflex league, chances are your waiver options are crazy limited. Maybe Marcus Mariota was thrown back after last week. That’s definitely a possibility. Is Tyler Shough available? He can be used as a last resort unless, of course, you are stacked with position players and have someone else who has roughly a 10-12-point floor you can use. I always have to remind people that just because it’s a superflex position doesn’t mean you have to use a quarterback there.

If you play in a single-QB league, then hitting the waiver wire this week should be fairly easy, provided you don’t play in a league of psychopaths and everyone is hoarding quarterbacks. You can start with the New York guys. Both Jaxson Dart and Justin Fields line up as great options, not just for this week, but in weeks beyond as well. Dart continues to lose weapons, but routinely raises his floor with rushing yards and touchdowns. He gets the Bears this week, the team that just let Joe Flacco (sadly on a bye in Week 10) throw for 470 yards and four touchdowns. Fields also raises the floor with his rushing and will be chased around by Browns DE Myles Garrett, so you can expect a boost in yardage totals. He is also getting Garrett Wilson back and anyone who has watched the Browns knows, you may not be able to run on them between the tackles, but you can certainly throw on them.

If neither is available, check out Sam Darnold, who is very much enjoying his weapons upgrade with Tory Horton. He faces Arizona and their defensively-challenged secondary next week. J.J. McCarthy also has elite weapons, his offensive line is almost back to full health, and he gets the Ravens, who, maybe they’re improving, but Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison are both game-changers. Beyond that, you can even take a look at Bryce Young, who faces the Saints. They may not allow a ton of yards through the air but opposing quarterbacks are wildly efficient against them and Young should have no issues finding his targets in the end zone.

Don’t worry too much about the week beyond. Sometimes streaming quarterbacks is better than committing to one mid-level guy with tougher match-ups on the schedule.

As for your tight end concerns, that can be a little trickier. Your goal is to find a guy who is at least third in the targets pecking order and that can be difficult to find. Something that I like to do is find the data for Defense vs Position and start looking ahead at the schedules of the teams allowing the most fantasy points to the tight end position. It’s not foolproof, but it’s super-helpful.

Sadly, the Bengals, who allow the most fantasy points per game to the tight end, are on a bye this week, but keep Pat Freiermuth and Hunter Henry on your radar for Weeks 11 and 12. The next worst is the Steelers, but I’m sure Oronde Gadsden is already gone. For Weeks 11 and 12 against them, pay attention to Tanner Hudson and Colston Loveland. But you need help now, don’t you? Let’s look at the top options for Week 10.

Dallas Goedert faces Green Bay next week on Monday Night Football and they’re terrible against the tight end. Kyle Pitts faces the Colts and they’ve been bad too. Just ask the folks who streamed in Freiermuth this past week. Check out AJ Barner, who faces Arizona, Cade Otton, who takes on New England and maybe even Juwan Johnson, who squares up with Carolina. None of them are going to get you the same points Kraft did, but your goal is not to replace him per say. Your goal is to find the guy who can give you at least some help.

These are two very big injuries and recovering from them can be a daunting task. Daunting, but not impossible. One day, I’ll tell you the story of how I won a league thanks to Isaiah Hodgins. Who? Exactly.

You’ve got all my socials up above and you can reach out to me anytime. Remember when I wrote about how much I love my job? It’s for reasons like this, so don’t be shy. Everyone needs a little help at some point.

Bender out.

The Weekly Bender: Say It with Your Chest

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