Fantasy football Week 10 PPR cheat sheet: Should you start Josh Downs in his first game with Patrick Mahomes?

Dave Richard breaks down every viable starting option across every game using a 1-10 confidence scale to help managers navigate injuries, byes and tricky lineup decisions

Nov 12, 2026 at 3:29 pm ET • 3 min read

Every lineup decision matters as the Fantasy football season approaches its midpoint, and Week 10 presents another challenging slate for managers trying to separate dependable starters from potential disappointments. With several teams on bye, injuries continuing to shake up depth charts and several big-name players facing difficult matchups, knowing who to trust could be the difference between securing a much-needed victory and watching valuable Fantasy points pile up on your bench.

That's where Dave Richard's Week 10 PPR cheat sheet comes in.

What do the numbers mean? All weekly analysis, from data points to matchup outlooks to game-flow predictions, is represented as a number on a 1-10 confidence scale. The higher the number next to a player's name, the more confident I am that you should start him. The numbers are not projections but confidence scores to help you pick who to start. All relevant players for this week are listed, so if you do not see a player's name, do not start him.

To find a specific player, use your search function (CTRL-F on PCs and Command-F on Macs). If neither is an option, or if you're on a mobile device, you can search by typing the name in the URL bar or scrolling down by game. If you're still unsure, just send Dave a note (@DaveRichard), and he will take a look, time permitting. Remember to use the #AskFFT hashtag!

If you're reading this on Sunday, please refer to CBS Sports' weekly rankings, which are updated in real-time.

Ready to get off on the right foot? Here's how to approach every play for this week in every PPR league.

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Commanders		Giants
Jayden Daniels	6.1	J.J. McCarthy	4.4
Rachaad White	5.26	Cam Skattebo	6.65
Austin Ekeler	2.92	Devin Singletary	2.88
Stefon Diggs	5.4	Malik Nabers	8.4
Antonio Williams	4.72	Malachi Fields	3.48
Treylon Burks	4.35	Darnell Mooney	2.0
Chigoziem Okonkwo	5.04	Isaiah Likely	6.5
Commanders DST	5.4	Giants DST	7.3

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Patriots		Lions
Drake Maye	8.2	Jared Goff	7.4
Corey Kiner	5.22	Jahmyr Gibbs	9.8
Lan Larison	2.4	Amon-Ra St. Brown	8.2
Demario Douglas	6.55	Jameson Williams	7.1
Mack Hollins	5.1	Sam LaPorta	5.14
Efton Chism III	3.98	Lions DST	6.1
Hunter Henry	5.42
Eli Raridon	3.24
Patriots DST	4.9

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Chiefs		Falcons
Patrick Mahomes	7.1	Michael Penix Jr.	5.6
Kenneth Walker III	9.85	Bijan Robinson	9.6
Emmett Johnson	2.98	Drake London	7.38
Rashee Rice	6.95	Jahan Dotson	3.72
Josh Downs	4.46	Kyle Pitts	5.02
Xavier Worthy	3.12	Falcons DST	2.8
Travis Kelce	5.58
Chiefs DST	7.6

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Texans		Browns
C.J. Stroud	7.3	Deshaun Watson	4.2
Woody Marks	5.24	Quinshon Judkins	5.0
Nico Collins	6.9	Dylan Sampson	4.66
Tank Dell	5.38	Denzel Boston	5.6
Xavier Hutchinson	5.36	KC Concepcion	5.34
Kayshon Boutte	3.62	Harold Fannin Jr.	5.45
Marvin Harrison Jr.	3.1	Browns DST	5.6
Dalton Schultz	3.68
Texans DST	8.6

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Vikings		Packers
Kirk Cousins	6.1	Jordan Love	7.6
Aaron Jones	4.42	Kaleb Johnson	3.55
Jordan Mason	4.18	Pierre Strong Jr.	3.32
Justin Jefferson	7.22	MarShawn Lloyd	2.9
Jordan Addison	4.64	Christian Watson	8.3
T.J. Hockenson	6.62	Matthew Golden	8.12
Vikings DST	7.4	Savion Williams	3.6
		Tucker Kraft	5.48
		Packers DST	7.5

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Dolphins		Colts
Kyle McCord	3.4	Daniel Jones	4.7
Ollie Gordon	6.28	Jonathan Taylor	8.7
Caleb Douglas	5.28	Seth McGowan	3.34
Malik Washington	4.58	Ashton Dulin	3.85
Greg Dulcich	3.7	Deion Burks	2.02
Dolphins DST	5.3	Tyler Warren	6.68
		Colts DST	6.3

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Panthers		Saints
Bryce Young	7.0	Tyler Shough	6.9
Chuba Hubbard	8.65	Audric Estime	6.1
Tetairoa McMillan	7.02	Alvin Kamara	3.44
Jalen Coker	6.22	Chris Olave	7.9
Darren Waller	5.06	Jordyn Tyson	5.12
Tommy Tremble	3.58	Devaughn Vele	4.08
Panthers DST	4.8	Juwan Johnson	4.52
		Saints DST	4.2

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Bills		Jets
Josh Allen	8.9	Geno Smith	6.0
James Cook	9.1	Breece Hall	6.85
Ty Johnson	2.16	Braelon Allen	4.82
Ray Davis	1.8	Garrett Wilson	6.92
DJ Moore	6.7	Adonai Mitchell	5.48
Khalil Shakir	4.05	Omar Cooper Jr.	5.18
Keon Coleman	3.26	Mason Taylor	3.38
Dalton Kincaid	5.2	Kenyon Sadiq	2.52
Bills DST	7.7	Jets DST	2.7

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Jaguars		Titans
Trevor Lawrence	8.0	Cam Ward	5.7
Bhayshul Tuten	7.3	Tony Pollard	6.15
Chris Rodriguez Jr.	4.3	Michael Carter	2.12
Parker Washington	7.15	Carnell Tate	6.82
Jakobi Meyers	4.95	Wan'Dale Robinson	4.98
Brian Thomas Jr.	2.64	Elic Ayomanor	3.8
Brenton Strange	4.7	Chimere Dike	2.55
Jaguars DST	9.1	Gunnar Helm	3.42
		Titans DST	3.4

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Rams		Cardinals
Matthew Stafford	5.5	Carson Beck	2.2
Kyren Williams	7.5	Tyler Allgeier	4.78
Blake Corum	6.4	Devin Duvernay	2.38
Tutu Atwell	4.68	Trey McBride	6.88
Konata Mumpfield	4.6	Cardinals DST	4.3
Tyler Higbee	4.5
Colby Parkinson	3.74
Rams DST	9.4

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Seahawks		Raiders
Drew Lock	3.7	Fernando Mendoza	4.3
Zach Charbonnet	6.75	Ashton Jeanty	5.62
Jadarian Price	5.16	Mike Washington Jr.	2.44
Jaxon Smith-Njigba	9.3	Tre Tucker	5.08
Cooper Kupp	3.28	Brock Bowers	8.1
AJ Barner	2.3	Michael Mayer	4.74
Seahawks DST	9.2	Raiders DST	3.2

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

49ers		Cowboys
Brock Purdy	8.1	Dak Prescott	7.5
Christian McCaffrey	9.7	Javonte Williams	8.0
Kaelon Black	3.36	CeeDee Lamb	9.25
Keenan Allen	4.8	Ryan Flournoy	5.52
Jordan Watkins	4.62	Brevyn Spann-Ford	2.5
Demarcus Robinson	3.88	Cowboys DST	2.9
George Kittle	7.12
49ers DST	7.0

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Steelers		Bengals
Aaron Rodgers	6.1	Joe Burrow	9.3
Jaylen Warren	8.6	Chase Brown	7.0
Rico Dowdle	4.85	Samaje Perine	2.28
Germie Bernard	5.55	Ja'Marr Chase	9.4
DK Metcalf	5.5	Tee Higgins	9.0
Darnell Washington	4.32	Dohnte Meyers	3.52
Pat Freiermuth	3.76	Mike Gesicki	4.02
Steelers DST	5.2	Bengals DST	5.0

Start 'em

10.0-7.00

6.99 - 5.01

5.00 - 0

Sit 'em

Chargers		Ravens
Justin Herbert	4.0	Jacoby Brissett	5.8
Omarion Hampton	4.55	Derrick Henry	7.45
Keaton Mitchell	2.95	Justice Hill	3.5
Quentin Johnston	3.78	Zay Flowers	7.25
Oronde Gadsden II	3.65	Rashod Bateman	3.15
Chargers DST	4.0	Mark Andrews	4.1
		Josh Cuevas	2.38
		Ravens DST	8.0