AI WAIVER WIRE: WEEK 10

Josh Jacobs broke a finger and needs surgery, and Kaleb Johnson took the first crack at Green Bay’s backfield: 14 carries, 68 yards and a touchdown in a 45-27 win. Those were career highs by a wide margin. He had a 50% opportunity share Sunday to Pierre Strong’s 35.7%, per StatRankings, and that was with Jacobs taking the first four carries. MarShawn Lloyd was inactive with a knee injury. Matt LaFleur cited Johnson’s game when he said the Packers aren’t necessarily shopping for a back. Next up is Minnesota at home. The risks: Chris Brooks could come back, and the deadline is today. Jacobs is reported out up to three weeks, longer if it’s IR. Bid on three weeks of a lead back, not the season.

Tank Dell drew nine targets in Houston’s first game after its bye and turned them into 4 catches, 105 yards and a touchdown. Nine targets is the news, not the score. He had a 24.3% target share Sunday, per StatRankings, on 55% of the routes. His season route participation is 8.7%, which tells you how little he’d played coming back from his knee. Houston is easing him in, and the easing is going fast. He is the most-added player on Sleeper this week, so you will pay. Week 10 is at Cleveland. Claim him for the role he’s growing into. If the routes keep climbing, he’s a weekly flex the rest of the way.

Rhamondre Stevenson’s knee will cost him a few weeks, and Corey Kiner is the back New England has left. TreVeyon Henderson is still out with his high ankle sprain. Kiner ran 8 times for 55 yards and a touchdown Sunday on a 40% opportunity share, per StatRankings. Stevenson’s job was worth 52.8% this season, and most of it falls to Kiner, with Lan Larison behind him. The window is short. Week 10 is Detroit at 9:30 a.m. Eastern overseas, Week 11 is New England’s bye, and the hope is Stevenson back for Week 12. That’s one start, maybe two. Price it that way.

The Packers host Minnesota, and if Kyler Murray’s hamstring keeps him out, the other quarterback is Carson Wentz. Wentz threw for 81 yards with two interceptions and a lost fumble against Buffalo on Monday night. Green Bay just scored 45. A defense at home with a lead against a turnover-prone backup is the whole streaming recipe. Watch Murray’s practice reports Wednesday and Thursday. If he practices fully, this gets worse. Still a fine stream at 19% rostered.

Devin Singletary got 21 carries Sunday with Cam Skattebo out again, and volume is the whole case. The yards weren’t there: 31 of them, plus two catches. Twenty-one carries is a workload most of this list would trade a kidney for. The Giants play Washington on Thursday night, so this is a quick decision. He’s on 44.6% of rosters and Sleeper says people are dropping him. Pick him up from the people who looked at the yards and missed the carries. A floor play, not a ceiling.

Audric Estime took 15 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown Sunday while Alvin Kamara got 6, so he’s New Orleans’ early-down back right now. Kamara still caught 3 passes and holds the passing downs. Travis Etienne Jr. is still on IR with his hamstring, and when he comes back this backfield gets crowded fast. Week 10 is Carolina at home, a division game. Estime is a cheap RB3 who could have a better month than anybody expects, or none if Etienne is back soon. Bid like it’s both.

Jordan Watkins ran 90% of San Francisco’s routes Sunday, per StatRankings, and that’s a starter’s job, not a flash. He caught all four targets for 86 yards and a touchdown. Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel are both listed out. Demarcus Robinson is the 49er people are adding this week, at 10% rostered. He had 3 catches for 22 yards. Watkins is under 1% and played more. Week 10 is at Dallas. When Evans or Deebo comes back he slides down, so this lasts as long as their injuries do, and nobody has said how long that is.

Puka Nacua is going on IR and Davante Adams is already there, so somebody runs the Rams’ routes, and Konata Mumpfield has run the most of them. Nacua had a 26.6% target share this season, per StatRankings, and 19 targets on Sunday alone. Nobody inherits that. It gets split between Mumpfield, Tutu Atwell, the tight ends and the backs, and the Rams may trade for help today. Mumpfield’s 45.9% route participation is the best of what’s left. Week 10 is at Arizona, Week 11 is the Rams’ bye, and the earliest Nacua can return is Week 15. That’s three games of a part-time job getting bigger. Small bid.

Darren Waller had 8 catches for 90 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, and his routes went up with them. That 25.6% target share Sunday, per StatRankings, came on 67.4% of the routes, up from 55.7% for the season. He had four targets total in the two weeks before. One week is one week, and Tommy Tremble still takes snaps. But tight end on the wire is a desert, and a desert has its own prices. Week 10 is at New Orleans. If your tight end is Jake Ferguson, claim this one first and find out about the knee second.

Shedeur Sanders threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns and ran 10 times in his start against New Orleans, and Cleveland had said he could get Week 10 too, before the Week 11 bye. Ten rushes is a QB streamer’s best friend. The concerns are real: he was sacked four times, Deshaun Watson has cleared the concussion protocol, and Houston’s defense is not the Saints’. Confirm he’s starting before you burn a claim. In a two-QB league, he’s the first call.

Cam Ward threw 40 times for 304 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 7 times, the last time Tennessee played. That was Week 8. The Titans were on bye Sunday. Week 10 is Jacksonville at home in a division game. He’s 4% rostered because his team is bad, which is exactly why he throws 40 times. The backup plan if Shedeur Sanders doesn’t start or you were beaten to him.

Kayshon Boutte caught 4 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns, but he did it on 35% of Houston’s routes, per StatRankings. That is a box score bigger than the job. His season route participation is 56.3%, and Tank Dell coming back is eating into it. Deep leagues only. In a 12-team league he’s the guy you’ll be tempted by at 7 p.m. Wednesday. Don’t be.

Tutu Atwell ran more of the Rams’ routes than Konata Mumpfield on Sunday, 54.5% per StatRankings, and caught 2 of 5 targets for 16 yards. With Puka Nacua going on IR, he’s the deep-league half of the Rams’ replacement plan. He’s the speed, Mumpfield is the route-runner, and neither is Nacua. Under 1% rostered. If you’re in a 14-teamer and need a body for three Rams games, this is the cheapest body available.

Pierre Strong Jr. had 8 carries and 2 catches behind Kaleb Johnson on Sunday, a 35.7% opportunity share per StatRankings. That’s a real piece of a backfield with Josh Jacobs out. If Johnson stumbles or gets dinged, Strong is the Packers’ lead back for a few weeks. If you claim Johnson, claim Strong too and you own the Green Bay backfield until Jacobs is back. Deep leagues: he’s worth a roster spot on his own.