On the Thursday edition of the Fantasy Flex podcast, my colleague Brandon Anderson and I play a fun game we're calling, "Play, Hold, Drop."
The rules are the same as a familiar game, FMK, which stands for — well, you know. Each week, we will review three players at each position — quarterback, running back, wide receiver and tight end — one of whom we have to play, one we have to hold and one we have to drop.
Let's dive into this week's edition!
Fantasy QBs To Play, Hold, Drop
- Carson Wentz, Colts (vs. Jaguars)
- Kirk Cousins, Vikings (at Chargers)
- Derek Carr, Raiders (vs. Chiefs)
Play: Carson Wentz
Wentz has been on a roll of late. Since Week 5, he's QB9 and has finished top 14 at the position in each week. He posted his best game of the year in Week 9 and completed 22-of-30 attempts for 272 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions against the Jets.
He gets another plush matchup versus the Jaguars, who are allowing the seventh-most passing yards this season. He's the play for me in Week 10, though I would be okay to drop him after that. Over the next eight weeks to wrap up the fantasy season and postseason, the Colts face the Bills in Week 11, then have a Week 14 bye. After the bye, they face the Patriots, Cardinals and Raiders, which isn't a soft playoff schedule.
Hold: Derek Carr
Carr will be tempting this week given the soft matchup against the Chiefs, who are allowing the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks.
He took a step backward last week and completed 30-of-46 attempts for 296 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in another plus matchup versus the Giants. I have to guess some of his decline can be attributed to off-the-field incidents involving former head coach Jon Gruden and the recently-released Henry Ruggs. I'm not sure whether this will carry into Week 10, though it's concerning enough for me to put Carr below Wentz in this hierarchy.
I would like to hold onto Carr because the Raiders have a fairly soft schedule down the stretch: They'll face the Cowboys in Week 12, WFT in Week 13, Chiefs in Week 14, and Colts in Week 17.
Drop: Kirk Cousins
Cousins had a solid game last week in spite of the Vikings' low-volume passing attack. He completed 17-of-28 attempts for 187 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions. It's his second week in a row with fewer than 200 yards, which is surprising given the relatively easy matchup against the Ravens.
He has, by far, the most difficult opponent of the three in Week 10: The Vikings face the Chargers, who are allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks.
Assuming I'm streaming quarterbacks, I am okay with rolling the dice dropping him and hoping to pick him up again in a better matchup.
Fantasy RBs To Play, Hold, Drop
- Devonta Freeman, Ravens (at Dolphins)
- Antonio Gibson, Washington (vs. Buccaneers)
- Adrian Peterson, Titans (vs. Saints)
Play: Devonta Freeman
Freeman has the best matchup of the three and is coming off his best game of the season. He saw 13 carries for 79 yards and caught two of three targets for four yards and a touchdown with Latavius Murray out against the Vikings.
My pick to play Freeman hinges on Murray being out again, which appears to be the most likely scenario, considering Murray is listed as doubtful. The Ravens — who lead the NFL in rushing yards per game — face the Dolphins, whose defense has allowed the ninth-most fantasy points to running backs.
Freeman should be a low-end RB2 in this positive Thursday night matchup.
Hold: Antonio Gibson
It's a testament to Gibson's season thus far that he finds himself on this list. In spite of not missing a contest this season, he's RB21, averaging just 10.9 fantasy points per game.
Gibson has been dealing with a stress-fractured shin, which has clearly been a hindrance to his performance. I hope his health has improved over the Week 9 bye, but now he has a brutal matchup against the Bucs, who are allowing the second-fewest rushing yards and ninth-fewest fantasy points to running backs.
I would not feel comfortable playing him without seeing what his workload and production off the bye will be and in this suboptimal matchup, but he is still worth rostering in every league.
Drop: Adrian Peterson
Peterson joined the Titans in the wake of Derrick Henry's potentially season-ending foot injury in Week 8. He found the end zone, but was largely unimpressive, tallying 10 carries for 21 yards and nine half PPR points.
D'Onta Foreman actually outplayed both Peterson and Jeremy McNichols. This backfield is largely unappealing, though, as is Peterson's 2.1 yards per carry last week.
This week, the Titans face one of the NFL's top run defenses: The Saints are allowing a league-low 73.8 rushing yards per game and the fourth-fewest fantasy points to running backs. Peterson's one-dimensional running style is a bad match for the Saints, who just shut down Mike Davis in Week 9.
AP offers the lowest upside of the trio in this ugly committee and is droppable in shallower leagues.
Fantasy WRs To Play, Hold, Drop
- Michael Gallup, Cowboys (vs. Falcons)
- Tim Patrick, Broncos (vs. Eagles)
- Marquez Callaway, Saints (at Titans)
Play: Michael Gallup
Gallup returned to practice this week after spending all but one week this season on injured reserve with a calf injury. He'll be — at best — the team's fifth option behind CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Dalton Schultz and Ezekiel Elliott. That said, Gallup is just over a season removed from his 1,107-receiving yard campaign in 2019 and the Cowboys have a fantastic matchup this week against the Falcons, who have been highly susceptible to the pass.
I would much rather have exposure to the Cowboys' offense, which has scored the third-most points per game and tallied the most yards of offense per game, over that of the Broncos or Saints.
Hold: Tim Patrick
Patrick is coming off his best game of the season in which he reeled in four of five targets for 85 yards and a touchdown against the Cowboys.
The challenge with Patrick is that he has had to compete for targets with Jerry Jeudy, and the team may get Noah Fant back this week. It is encouraging to see signs of life from this Broncos' offense and that Patrick's target share hasn't completely fallen off a cliff with Jeudy's return, though. Some of that could have been Courtland Sutton getting the Trevon Diggs treatment in Dallas, though I am interested enough to see how Patrick's role evolves with all of their weapons healthy to squander a bench spot for him.
Drop: Marquez Callaway
Callaway has the best matchup of the trio against the Titans, who are allowing the most fantasy points to receivers. The rookie is also coming off a strong Week 9 showing in which he reeled in three of six targets for 25 yards and a touchdown.
His targets have been steady, but the quarterback play has not. I have little faith in a passing attack led by Trevor Siemian — or Taysom Hill, if it comes to that.
Callaway is a boom-or-bust option in the Saints' low-upside offense who I am okay with dropping if needed.
Fantasy TEs To Play, Hold, Drop
- Dan Arnold, Jaguars (at Colts)
- Tyler Higbee, Rams (at 49ers)
- Hunter Henry, Patriots (vs. Browns)
Play: Dan Arnold
Arnold performed well in spite of a brutal Week 9 matchup. He caught four of seven targets for 60 yards and now has at least seven targets in three of the last four games.
He gets a much easier matchup against the Colts, who are allowing the sixth-most fantasy points to tight ends. And while the Jaguars' offense is by far the worst of the trio, his targets, production and matchup make him an attractive, borderline top-12 play this week.
Hold: Hunter Henry
Henry has scored in five of the past six games in spite of a low target share. He's averaging just three targets per game over the last four weeks, which is worrisome in terms of reliable fantasy production.
He is worth holding onto to see if the Patriots end up feeding him more, but for now, he is nothing more than a touchdown-dependent play in a low-volume offense.
Drop: Tyler Higbee
Higbee saw a whopping 10 targets in the Rams' shocking Week 9 loss to the Titans. He caught five of them for 51 yards and had a very close touchdown called back, which could have changed his fantasy day significantly.
Higbee has scored double-digit fantasy points in half PPR just once all season (Week 3). He's far down on Matthew Stafford's priority list and is nothing more than a touchdown-dependent play.
The Rams also face the 49ers, who are allowing the ninth-fewest fantasy points to tight ends, then have a Week 11 bye, making him an easy drop candidate.
