Welcome to Blitz Sports Media’s Fantasy Football “Panic Meter” for Week 10. Each week, we will identify some of the disappointing performances from the prior week to determine if it is time to panic about said player. Below is the last Blitz Sports Media panic meter of the season, discussing the reasoning behind each panic meter level.
Rome Odunze, WR, Chicago Bears
Panic Meter: 1
Rome Odunze has had three duds (under 6 fantasy points) and one good game (18 points) post-bye (in PPR) the last four weeks. The Chicago Bears receiver is in a bounce-back spot against the New York Giants, who may have cornerback Paulson Adebo out again, who’s questionable. Odunze has gotten the short end of the stick with the Colston Loveland breakout last week, along with the D.J. Moore touchdowns (a pair with one rushing, one passing) in their 47-point outing.
Against the Washington Commanders in Week 6, he had a touchdown called back due to a penalty in the wet conditions. In Week 7 against the New Orleans Saints and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8, the targets were there (6 and 10), but had differing results (5 points vs. 18 points). But against a banged-up Giants secondary, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bears put up 30+ points again if safety Jevon Holland is also out on Sunday.
Kimani Vidal, RB, Los Angeles Chargers
Panic Meter: 2
With Joe Alt getting hurt again and now out for the season, the Los Angeles Chargers‘ offensive line is in shambles, trading for Saints tackle Trevor Penning by the trade deadline. With a smash matchup against the Tennessee Titans, Kimani Vidal failed to capitalize, as he might be game script dependent, and the injuries to the line made a world of difference from this past week compared to Week 6 (Miami Dolphins) and Week 8 (Minnesota Vikings). Vidal is still a start depending on the matchup, but more of a flex option, as this week, he faces a tough Pittsburgh Steelers run defense that held Jonathan Taylor to his lowest output this season.
Jordan Love, QB, Green Bay Packers
Panic Meter: 3
With no Tucker Kraft, even with Luke Musgrave, the whole Green Bay Packers passing attack is affected. While Romeo Doubs gets a boost, it does hurt Jordan Love, who melted down against the Carolina Panthers. He was already slightly above the streaming tier, but this does lower his outlook for the rest of the year. Love faces the vaunted Philadelphia Eagles, who made trades at the cornerback position this past week.
While he will have good games, likely against the Giants the following week, I am not convinced he will be that much better than what he has been. I prefer other quarterbacks in that tier, just outside the top 10 but around 15, like Caleb Williams, Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Jared Goff, or Jaxson Dart rest of the season.
Cut List for Week 10 | Panic Meter: 4
- Rhamondre Stevenson, RB, New England Patriots
- Terry McLaurin, WR, Washington Commanders
- Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals
- Evan Engram, TE, Denver Broncos
With Rhamondre Stevenson still out due to his toe injury, it will likely be TreVeyon Henderson and Terrell Jennings duo once again. Even if he returns, I don’t envision Stevenson retaking the starting three-down workload, as the New England Patriots will likely use the hot hand on a weekly basis. Before his injury, Stevenson was on a downtick in production besides Weeks 2, 5, and 7.
Kyler Murray was just put on injured reserve, so it will be Jacoby Brissett as the starter till, or if, he returns for the Arizona Cardinals. He is not worth a stash unless we hear progress of his foot injury till he is 100%. If your I.R. spot isn’t already filled, Murray belongs there for at least the next four weeks, but for most, he is a drop.
Evan Engram has had a disappointing season so far for the Denver Broncos, as he has just had one week of double-digit fantasy points. There are plenty of other waiver wire tight ends to take upside shots on, so at this point, the “Joker” Engram isn’t worth even stashing on benches as a bye week fill-in at tight end.
The Washington Commanders have had a brutal beat so far this year. With Terry McLaurin reaggravating his injury on top of the Jayden Daniels injury, I just don’t see how McLaurin is worth hanging onto with just two weeks of double-digit fantasy points. Even on benches or as a bye week fill-in anytime soon, there isn’t much upside for him with Marcus Mariota at quarterback for most of the season.
