2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 10: JJ McCarthy, Parker Washington Top Picks

Some weeks, we’re flush on the waiver wire. And some weeks are bust. This week, we’re not necessarily completely folding our hand. But it’s probably one of the worst hands we’ve been dealt in a while. It’s mostly long shots where we’re going to need a little bit of help to hit the jackpot.

The good news is that the NFL trade deadline is today at 4 PM, so we have one last draw that could help shake things up. Though this article is being published this morning, I will update it with any fantasy-relevant trade news right below this paragraph (looking at you, Breece Hall). And then we’ll update our targets below. Until then, let’s dig into what our best bets are as of now.

TRADE DEADLINE UPDATES

Jakokobi Meyers has been traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars

2025 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire Week 10 Top Targets

As always, our waiver wire discussion will be split into two articles. This is the main article, which covers the top players to add at each position as well as an update to our Yin & Yang Tight End strategy. The second article, found here, is our Streamers and Stashes article that covers the deeper, more nuanced plays for Fantasy Alarm Members!

NFL Week 10 Waiver Wire Quarterbacks

JJ McCarthy - Minnesota VikingsYahoo: 29% | ESPN: 25% | Sleeper: 25%

Our top add from last week, Sam Darnold, is now owned in more than half of the leagues. Same with our other streaming option, Joe Flacco. If they are out there still in your league, we prefer those guys. But in deeper leagues, we’re looking to JJ McCarthy. In his three starts, he’s yet to go out and put up gaudy passing yard numbers. But he has shown flashes of upside. Plus, he’s got tremendous weapons with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, T.J. Hockenson, and Aaron Jones. This is an intriguing matchup with the Ravens, who have yet to put it all together on defense.

Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5% (more if he starts for you right away)

Marcus Mariota - Washington CommandersYahoo: 5% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 10%

If there’s one thing we’ve preached here, it’s how the willingness to run alone offers a decent floor for quarterbacks. If you are willing to run 5+ times a game, it’s hard not to offer backend QB1 numbers with even a modest level of passing. Look at Jaxson Dart and what he’s doing with his limited weapons in New York. So, with the serious injury to Jayden Daniels, Mariota has to be on the stash radar at least if your current QB doesn’t offer any sort of upside. And he is a must-add in any sort of superflex. If Justin Fields was dropped during his bye, we are looking there first, but he was held in most competitive leagues.

Waiver Priority: Low or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Michael Penix, Tyler Shough

NFL Week 10 Waiver Wire Running Backs

Tyjae Spears - Tennessee Titans, Yahoo: 44% | ESPN: 44% | Sleeper: 59%

Make sure Trey Benson didn’t get dropped by someone in a pinch due to a Monday Night Football mistake. If not, Tyjae Spears is your best bet. He skews towards passing downs, which is the role you want when you are in as many negative situations as the Titans are in. And that sees him having the floor of 9-10 touches a week, either via carries or passes. Also, at the time this article is published, the trade deadline has not hit, and Tony Pollard is a name being thrown around. If there is a trade, we will update this article. That’s probably the most realistic path to someone under 50% rostered getting a starting job without an injury.

Waiver Priority: Top Priority

FAAB: 0-5%

Devin Singletary- New York Giants, Yahoo: 5% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 28%

This is pretty gross. But there are just not many opportunities out there where guys are getting a meaningful chunk of the backfield. I wouldn’t go crazy making this add because there’s a real chance that Singletary only got additional work at the end of the game because Tyrone Tracy was nicked up. But Tracy has been nicked up pretty regularly, and we already know Cam Skattebo isn’t coming back. Either way, Singletary could force a split here, and that’s at least something. He and Brian Daboll go way back.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Isaiah Davis, Tyler Algeier, Blake Corum, Joe Mixon (only with IR spot)

NFL Week 10 Waiver Wire Wide Receivers

UPDATE

Tre Tucker - Las Vegas Raiders Yahoo: 18% | ESPN: 5% | Sleeper: 27%

We previously had Parker Washington here. But now the trade for Jakobi Meyers absolutely could move Washington out of that coveted slot+ roll. What it also does is free up Tre Tucker to be a top two target on this team along with Brock Bowers. Maybe Tyler Lockett or Jack Bech now also have some deep league appeal. But Tucker is the main target now.

Waiver Priority: Medium Priority

FAAB: 10-15% (more if he starts for you right away

Chimere Dike - Tennessee Titans Yahoo: 21% | ESPN: 23% | Sleeper: 47%

Our top add from last week, Troy Franklin, is now rostered in most competitive leagues (double check on that though). But our second add, Chimere Dike, is still out there. Now, we’re not banking on him running back a punt every week (though that was nice). What we are happy about is seeing him play in two WR sets over Elic Ayomanor. Whether or not Calvin Ridley gets traded, that has us hopeful that he can hold down a job with meaningful snaps. He’s looked the best out of all these pass-catchers with Cam Ward, including Ridley, believe it or not.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Tory Horton - Seattle Seahawks, Yahoo: 5% | ESPN: 7% | Sleeper: 14%

Tory Horton has been our top wide receiver stash in our Streamers and Stashes article for multiple weeks. And the concept was simple. Klint Kubiak’s scheme utilizes a fullback and multiple tight ends, which can highly consolidate the snaps and targets among the top two WRs. We’ve seen it in SF and MIA, where they run a similar scheme. And we’ve seen flashes from Horton of his own ability. With an injury to either Jaxon Smith-Njigba or Cooper Kupp, he jumps right into a big role in an offense we like. Now that we’ve seen it, there’s an argument that he deserves a bigger role even when Cooper Kupp is healthy. So we’ll continue to stash (and start if Kupp is out again) because the upside is big.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Honorable Mention or Deep League Options: Alec Pierce, Darius Slayton, Tre Tucker

NFL Week 10 Waiver and Yin & Yang Tight End

Juwan Johnson - New Orleans Saints Yahoo: 35% | ESPN: 33% | Sleeper: 43%

Our top add from last week is still our top add this week. Juwan Johnson had a down stretch after he suffered an ankle injury against the Bills. But he’s back to being healthy and back to being a pretty decent option in fantasy. Johnson has now scored double digit PPR points in back to back to back weeks after getting healthy. Sure, the QB change is scary, but there are a lot of scary tight end situations out there. If one of the Saints' wide receivers does get moved, we’ll update this article as the price to acquire Johnson will undoubtedly go up.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Luke Musgrave - Green Bay Packers Yahoo: 1% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 2%

We hate to say it, but Tucker Kraft is not coming back in 2025. Now, the Packers will likely use a combination of John Fitzpatrick as the blocking tight end and Luke Musgrave as the pass-catching tight end. But we can be confident that Musgrave is the better pass-catching option. Barring a trade before the deadline, Musgrave is worth a stash. We’ll update this article if that happens.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

Greg Dulcich - Miami Dolphins Yahoo: 0% | ESPN: 0% | Sleeper: 0%

Call us crazy. That’s fine. People called us crazy when we were the first to add Darren Waller. But here’s the thing - we don’t care about floor when it comes to tight end stashes. Not one bit. We only care about the ceiling. Darren Waller will miss an undisclosed amount of time, but it’s a couple more weeks at a minimum. Dulcich has now led this tight end group in routes run two weeks in a row, and this time, he got five targets. Just like we did with Waller, let’s stash him up and see how big this role can get.

Waiver Priority: Low Priority or Free Add

FAAB: 0-5%

**Check the bottom of the article for free rest of season half PPR tight end rankings with our Yin & Yang tight end chart!**

NFL Week 10 Waiver DST

Cleveland Browns DST Yahoo: 33% | ESPN: 30% | Sleeper: 21%

The Cleveland Browns are a pretty good defensive unit that has had a pretty rough schedule this year. And it isn’t always going to be perfect, but they are absolutely the best widely available streaming option this week. The Jets are lacking in weapons that can do serious damage, and mobile quarterbacks have a tendency to put themselves in sack or turnover situations.

Tampa Bay DST, Yahoo: 23% | ESPN: 29% | Sleeper: 31%

If the Browns are the short-term solution at DST, the Buccaneers are the long-term solution. Their next three matchups are tough against the Patriots, Bills, and Rams. But their season ends with the Cardinals, Saints, Falcons, Panthers, and Dolphins (they actually get the Panthers again in Week 18 just to cap it all off, but that’s not part of most fantasy football schedules). They are a defense we are trying to stash wherever we can for that incredible stretch.

NFL Week 10 Waiver K

Brandon McManus K, Green Bay Packers Yahoo: 17% | ESPN: 14% | Sleeper: 33%

Brandon McManus missed a field goal this past weekend that ended up being pretty costly. But LaFleur is sticking with him, and the kicker for the Green Bay Packers is always going to be a viable option for us, given how good the offense is. Not only is McManus a little rusty coming off the injury, but it was one of the windiest games of the season this week in Lambeau. We’re not worried about it.

Will Reichard - Minnesota Vikings K, Yahoo: 16% | ESPN: 14% | Sleeper: 20%

If your league has bonuses for long field goals, Will Reichard has been great. He’s now tied for the second-most 50-yard field goals on the season with six. This week, with the matchups vs. Baltimore, should provide some opportunities to score, so Reichard is on the streaming radar, given how many leagues he’s available in.

NFL Yin & Yang Tight End Rankings

As promised, here are our Yin & Yang tight end rankings. This has been our bread and butter the last few years, and how we find breakout tight ends. Here is how the chart works.

If you have someone in the “standalone” section, then great - you don’t need to roster another tight end outside of injury and bye week. Outside of that, we are rostering two. We are looking for someone “safe” to start while stashing the most high-risk, high-reward option, trying to find a breakout.

The tight ends in red are injured and at risk of missing time. If you can put them in an IR spot, great. If not, you may have to prioritize either a Yin or Yang tight end ranked above them to start for you.

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