We've reached the midway point of the NFL regular season. That's why all across this website (and TV network, and streaming service, and social media handles) are all sorts of midseason honors and dishonors. It's a content creation rite of passage. Like rankings and grades and all the other things designed to earn your clicks and occupy your eyeballs.
But you, dear reader, already know that we've blown past the halfway mark of the fantasy regular season. In fact, time is getting short for most of us fake footballers. In most leagues, you can count the number of regular-season contests on one hand. Even you, Antonio Alfonseca. Especially you.
That means it's time to make some moves in the standings. If you're on top of the league, here's a chance to put some distance between you and the competition. Lock up that top seed and get ready for the playoffs. If you're in the middle of the pack, it's an opportunity to strengthen your chances at a higher seed. And if you're at the bottom, well ... you can still wreck someone else's year. Sometimes that's just as fun.
Whatever your league standing, the Sleepers column is here to help. We're back to offer you solutions in a weekly time of need. Have an injured player? We got you. Got a guy who's on the struggle bus? We hear you. Looking at a player whose matchup just makes you queasy? Let us be your fantasy antacid (fantacid?).
Time to get bold. Take some big swings. Because if they hit, you could be movin' on up. In the meantime, here are some names.
QUARTERBACK
When Goff threw five touchdown passes to lead the Lions in a rout of the Bears in Week 2, we figured Detroit wasn’t missing Ben Johnson all that much. But over the past few weeks, the offense hasn’t roared as much as it’s purred. The Lions have averaged just over 21 points per game in their past three contests, with Goff failing to reach 20 fantasy points in any of them. Maybe Detroit was just taking advantage of bad teams.
If that was the case, then the Lions are in luck! This week, Detroit visits a Washington defense that is in shambles. The Commanders have surrendered 28 or more points in three straight games. They’ve been especially helpless at the hands of quarterbacks, allowing at least 22 fantasy points to signal-callers in each of those outings. If there was ever a moment for Goff to get right, this is it.
RUNNING BACK
After going on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, it wasn’t a sure thing that Jones would get his starting job back. Jordan Mason was mostly mediocre as Minnesota’s lead back, but it was better than anything the Vikes had seen from Jones this season. That was until Jones posted nearly 100 scrimmage yards in Week 9 against the Lions. He left that game with a mild shoulder injury, but there is a chance he plays this week.
After a dreadful start to the season, the Ravens defense appears to be turning a corner. It has held its last three opponents below 20 points while also keeping them below 100 rushing yards. It’s helped that the Ravens have also played two poor defenses in the past two weeks and have been able to dictate game script. That may not be the case this week against Minnesota’s defense. If the Vikings can stay close and run a balanced offense, Jones should see plenty of touches. If he can’t go, Mason would be a nice flex option for managers in deeper leagues.
I’m becoming increasingly pessimistic about Dobbins’ chances to get fantasy managers to the promised land of a championship. He’s losing opportunities to RJ Harvey -- especially in the passing game. Denver’s offense has also suffered from a lack of consistency recently. The team's manic comeback against the Giants was great theater. It was also necessary after being lifeless for the first three quarters. There wasn’t much of a pulse against the Texans in Week 9, but the Broncos pulled that one out as well.
Hopefully there won’t be a need for such late-game heroics against the Raiders. Las Vegas has been an average run defense overall. But it's also given up a lot of rushing touchdowns. Twelve, to be exact. Only the Titans have surrendered more. Dobbins has dominated the goal-line work this year. His touchdown upside, with the hope for a positive late-game script means he should retain his low-end RB1 ceiling this week.
WIDE RECEIVER
Franklin is starting to assert himself in the Denver passing game. He began the season in a competition with rookie Pat Bryant to be the Broncos’ WR2 behind Courtland Sutton. But in the past three weeks, Franklin’s route participation has grown. He’s had a larger target share than even Sutton,. The rub is that his catch rate isn’t great. Franklin has hauled in just 13 of the 28 targets he’s seen in the past three weeks. It’s the blessing and curse of being a downfield threat. His 18.2-yard ADOT (average depth of target) means some lower percentage throws coming his way. The upside is that you don’t have to catch a lot of them to rack up big yardage totals.
Against the Raiders, Franklin might be able to catch a lot of balls. Only four teams have given up more catches to the wide receiver position thank Las Vegas. It's also in the top half of the league in yards and touchdowns allowed to wideouts. That’s what happens when you pressure the quarterback at the third-lowest rate in the NFL. If that trend continues, Bo Nix should have plenty of time to pick out Franklin downfield. The second-year receiver is a strong WR3 candidate this week.
Johnston was one of the surprises of the early season. After the first month, it looked like he had finally blossomed into the Chargers’ WR1. Then came the emergence of Oronde Gadsden II and Johnston wilted. Since the start of Week 5, Johnston hasn’t had more than four receptions and hasn’t reached 55 yards in a contest.
The Steelers could be a get-right game for QJ. No defense is allowing more fantasy production per contest than Pittsburgh this season. Ten receivers have posted a top-24 fantasy week against it. Six of those players did it with a double-digit air yards per target average. That’s encouraging for a player who averages more than 12 air yards per target in 2025. If the Chargers' beat up offensive line can give Justin Herbert time, he should have no problem finding Johnston downfield for big plays.
TIGHT END
The Texans' passing game hasn’t been the most trustworthy outfit for fantasy. Beyond Nico Collins, it’s been hard to trust anyone. It looks like C.J. Stroud’s breakout rookie season is an outlier as he deals with life behind a bad offensive line. The trickle-down effect has been that Dalton Schultz has been a non-factor for the past two seasons.
But occasionally, Schultz touches fantasy relevance. It happened in Week 7 (18.8 points) and Week 9 (13.7 points). There’s a chance for it to happen again in Week 10 even with Davis Mills starting in place of Stroud (concussion). The Jaguars have allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to tight ends. That number is skewed by giving up 43 points to Brock Bowers, but they’ve also allowed double-digit tight end weeks to fantasy luminaries like Jake Tonges, Terrance Ferguson and AJ Barner. With Schultz seeing a recent uptick in targets, he has a good chance to join that list in Week 10.
It goes without saying that fantasy managers love Josh Allen. He’s one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. His rushing ability (seven rushing touchdowns!) makes him a set-and-forget option at the position. And yet, he doesn’t have any pass catchers who managers can start with 100 percent confidence. Khalil Shakir’s ceiling is low. Keon Coleman’s floor is below sea level. And Kincaid’s weekly output is scattershot.
This week he takes aim at a Dolphins defense that has been good against receivers but bad against tight ends. Miami has allowed the fifth-most points per game to the position, in part due to having allowed the third-most receptions. If you are open, Allen will find you. Expect Kincaid to find himself open against Miami’s linebackers. Look for him to double down after last week’s strong performance against the Chiefs.
If you need an explanation of the fantasy tight end position, look no further than Pitts. Nothing about his weekly totals will amaze you. His season-high in yards is 70. He has just one receiving touchdown this year. He’s also the TE12 overall. The bar for fantasy success at the position remains low, folks.
Here’s hope that Pitts can raise the bar in Week 10. The Colts have not only been bad against tight ends (second-most points per game allowed), they’ve also been bad versus slot-aligned pass catchers. That’s where Pitts lines up on half of his snaps. Add to it that Indy just added Sauce Gardner in a trade, which could mean Drake London is a less attractive target for Daniel Jones this week in Berlin. The arrows are pointing up for Pitts. Who knows? He might even find the end zone again this week.
DEFENSE
One of the biggest revelations of this fantasy season is that the Panthers defense is no longer an easy target. Don’t get it twisted. Carolina isn’t exactly a lockdown unit. It entered Week 9 ranked in the bottom half of the league in points and yards allowed. But it's also been an unfriendly matchup for nearly every fantasy position this year. It doesn’t really make sense. But it’s the truth.
This week, Carolina hosts a Saints team just trying to evaluate its talent for the rest of the year. New Orleans made a quarterback change, turning to rookie Tyler Shough. The results were pretty much the same. The Saints allowed a sack and turned the ball over twice versus the Rams last week and are allowing more than nine fantasy points per game to opposing defenses. Oh, and now they’re missing a weapon in the passing game after trading away Rashid Shaheed. The Panthers should be an excellent streaming option this week.
The Jets haven’t been as much of an enigma as the Panthers on defense. Gang Green rates in the bottom half of the NFL in most defensive metrics. They’ve been equally generous to fantasy scorers of all stripes. The Jets have been a great option to go against while being an awful option to start.
But styles make fights. The Jets defense might be the movable object, but the Browns offense is a stoppable force. Cleveland is in the bottom five in yards gained and points scored. Dillon Gabriel has been under siege since taking over for Joe Flacco as Cleveland’s starter, absorbing 11 sacks over the past four games. He was also recently bit by the turnover bug, throwing a pair of interceptions against the Patriots in Week 8. New York’s defense might not be the first streaming option you reach for, but for managers in a DST pinch, Gang Green could hold you down this week -- even after trading away a few star players.
Marcas Grant is a fantasy analyst for NFL.com and a man who is trying hard to drink more water. Send him your sensible ideas or fantasy football questions on X @MarcasG or Bluesky @marcasg.bsky.social.
