Week 10's "Thursday Night Football" game between the Ravens and Dolphins kicks off another tumultuous week in season-long fantasy football leagues. All fantasy owners want to get their week off to a good start by making the right start 'em, sit 'em decisions and DFS lineup picks, and considering both defenses have been leakier than usual, there are some high-ceiling "must-starts" and interesting sleepers.
Baltimore is rolling with Lamar Jackson while Miami faces a short-week, game-time decision with Tua Tagovailoa (left finger) after he couldn't play in Week 9 vs Houston. Tagovailoa's status could certainly have an effect on other players in this game, but most of Baltimore's stud offensive players are safely slotted in all lineups.
WEEK 10 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Ravens: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
Start: QB Lamar Jackson
Jackson is the No. 2 scoring QB in fantasy this season, trailing only Tom Brady. He's coming off a monster game against the Vikings, with 266 yards and three TDs passing on top of 21 rushes for 120 more yards. The Dolphins defense looked better against Tyrod Taylor and the Texans last week, but they've struggled against Brady, Josh Allen and Derek Carr. He's also playing in another "homecoming" game given he hails from the area. He lit up the Dolphins in Week 1 of the 2019 season to jumpstart his stellar MVP campaign. He has a high floor and ceiling and remains a "must-start" in every sense of the phrase.
MORE TNF: FD lineup | DK lineup | Tua update
Start: RB Devonta Freeman (and maybe RB Le'Veon Bell)
Freeman keeps getting it done with TDs in the absence of Latavius Murray, whose ankle injury continues to nag him. He gets the next most rushing volume after Jackson and should be busy against a terrible Dolphins front seven. He has.a good chance for another short pop in the end zone. If you're desperate, the game script could be ultra positive to the point Bell gets some cleanup work with another shot to score in the second half.
Start: WR Marquise Brown
He's called "Hollywood" because of his Florida hometown, a few stone's throws away from Hard Rock Stadium. During his rookie season in 2019, the first-rounder from Oklahoma exploded as a big-play threat against the Dolphins. In half-point PPR, he's the WR5, behind juxg Cooper Kupp, Tyreek Hill, Ja'Marr Chase, and Deebo Samuel. He's been on point as Jackson's downfield go-to guy all season, running great routes and finishing with great hands. He's easily a WR1 this week against Miami's struggling outside corners. Look for another hundy and a score.
WEEK 10 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Start: WR Rashod Bateman
Bateman has had WR3 and flex finishes in his past two games, emerging as the No. 2 target opposite Brown with Sammy Watkins (hamstring) on the shelf. Things won't change for the first-round rookie here given his skillset works well to complement Brown. He should get something like five catches for 60 yards in this game, making him better for PPR.
WEEK 10 DFS: Best stacks | Best values | Lineup Builder
Start: TE Mark Andrews
The Dolphins on paper are a middle-road fantasy defense against tight ends. but "Mandrews" can definitely put together a big game of yardage and scoring. Miami couldn't cover a similar hybrid athlete in the Falcons' Kyle Pitts, so here's feeling 80 yards receiving and a long overdue TD for Andrews.
WEEK 10 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Start: Ravens D/ST
The Ravens' numbers haven't been pretty in terms of yardage and points against, but they have flashed in certain games (see vs. Justin Herbert and the Chargers). They might get a huge break with Jacoby Brissett in there for Tagovailoa (finger). Baltimore should get into "tee-off-on-a-QB-with-a-big-lead" mode at some point instead of being in another back-and-forth shootout.
Start: K Justin Tucker
We could write an opera about why he's the only kicker we truly love in the NFL, in both fantasy and reality. He's actually "only" the No. 6 kicker in fantasy this year, but that's still pretty darn awesome. The Dolphins are allowing a ton of field goals on top of extra points.
WEEK 10 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Dolphins: Who to start or sit in fantasy football on Thursday night
12-14-21 8:20 amSit: QB Tua Tagovailoa/Jacoby Brissett
The Ravens' matchup looks to be good on paper because of some solid games they have given up, but they also have faced a lot of top-flight passing games. Should Tagovailoa play, it will be with an issue to his throwing hand. Should Brissett start again, look for more disappointing overall output even with the key receivers having good nights.
Sit: RB Myles Gaskin
Gaskin has looked awful and is still a borderline RB2, which says more about the attrition state of the position with injuries and other factors. He can maybe scratch out those numbers You can start him, but let's hope you have better options than hoping he scores, doesn't fumble, and gets enough receptions to make it truly worth it. He's a low-ceiling, medium-floor type of play.
Start: WR Jaylen Waddle
DeVante Parker's brief return hurt the rookie first-rounder, but Waddle is no longer wobbly as the only reliable and viable Dolphins wideout. He should produce for you as a WR3 based on volume alone. Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen went deep and short to dent the end zone last week.
Start: TE Mike Gesicki
The Ravens have major inside coverage and safety issues, and that has led to them being bad at covering the tight end. They give up both yards and TDs to the position on the regular. Gesicki is TE3 on the season, right behind Andrews and Travis Kelce. He should be good for the ballpark of seven catches and 70 yards and is the best bet to score for the Dolphins.
Start: K Jason Sanders
Sanders has been good for fantasy in the past, but he's providing no gifts in the present.
Sit: Dolphins DST
Watching reruns of "The Golden Girls" has been a lot more rewarding than watching this defense perform against good teams for Brian Flores in 2021.
Ravens vs. Dolphins: FanDuel single-game lineup
- MVP (1.5X): QB Lamar Jackson $17,500
- AnyFLEX: WR Marquise Brown $13,500
- AnyFLEX: TE Mark Andrews $13,000
- AnyFLEX: RB Devonta Freeman $10,500
- AnyFLEX: WR Albert Wilson $5,500
We are looking to be running on full with Jackson-Brown with a side of Andrews to further fill our fantasy cup. We could still afford Freeman and went for a random affordable Dolphin who could cause the Ravens' garbage-time problems with his speed.
Ravens vs. Dolphins: DraftKings Showdown lineup
- Captain (1.5x): WR Marquise Brown $16,500
- FLEX: QB Lamar Jackson $13,800
- FLEX: TE Mike Gesicki $7,400
- FLEX: RB Devonta Freeman $6,600
- FLEX: DST Ravens $4,400
- FLEX: WR Albert Wilson $400
This gives us a double stack of Ravens with QB-WR and RB-DST. Gesicki is the Dolphin we trust most, and Wilson can get hit 3x value with 1.2 points as a cheapie.
