Week 10 Fantasy Streaming Guide: Aaron Rodgers, Jacoby Brissett and the Defenses Worth a Waiver Claim

Four teams are on bye in Week 10 (Chicago, Denver, Philadelphia and Tampa Bay), and a wave of quarterback changes at the trade deadline has reshuffled the waiver wire. If your starter is resting or your defense is staring down a tough offense, here is where to look.

Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh, vs. Cincinnati. RotoBaller lists Rodgers as rostered in about a third of Yahoo leagues, and the matchup is the selling point. He has averaged 11.2 fantasy points over his last three games, but the last time he saw the Bengals, in Week 3, he threw for 292 yards and three touchdowns for 22.6 points. RotoBaller also expects receiver Michael Pittman Jr. back in the lineup, and SI's waiver column called the Cincinnati matchup a pretty good one. He is my top stream of the week.

Jacoby Brissett, Baltimore, vs. the Chargers. With Lamar Jackson (thumb) and Tyler Huntley (toe) both hurt, the deadline pickup gets the start. Brissett has averaged 38.1 pass attempts a game and topped 250 yards four times, but he has also had five games with one touchdown pass or fewer, so treat him as a volume play with a modest ceiling. He is rostered in only about 21 percent of Yahoo leagues.

Kirk Cousins, Minnesota, at Green Bay. He is already rostered in most leagues (62 percent on Yahoo), but if he is sitting on your wire after his trade from Las Vegas, grab him. RotoBaller credits Cousins with 2,340 yards, 20 touchdowns and eight interceptions through eight games, with five games of 20-plus fantasy points, and says a difficult Packers matchup should not scare managers off. SI's Michael Fabiano slots him 14th in his Week 10 quarterback rankings.

Cam Ward, Tennessee, vs. Jacksonville. Ward is rostered in about 8 percent of Yahoo leagues and posted 304 yards, two touchdowns and 26.2 points in Week 8, but RotoBaller labels this a tough matchup. Deep leagues only.

The Raiders have turned to rookie Fernando Mendoza, whose first three starts come against Seattle, Denver and Cleveland before a Week 13 bye. RotoBaller pitches him as an upside stash for two-quarterback and superflex leagues, and he is still rostered in only about 5 percent of Yahoo leagues.

In Arizona, the Cardinals officially named rookie Carson Beck their Week 10 starter against the Rams, NBC Sports reported Wednesday, after Gardner Minshew's elbow injury and the trade of Brissett to Baltimore. The third-round pick threw for 188 yards and a touchdown in his lone preseason appearance. Facing a Rams defense that FantasyPros rates as the top defensive play of the week, Beck is a hold-your-breath option even in superflex leagues.

FantasyPros' Jacob Herlin wrote that this "looks like a great week for streaming anyway". The best plays are already spoken for: the Rams at Arizona (rostered in 99 percent of Yahoo leagues) and the Texans at Cleveland (92 percent), where Deshaun Watson was sacked eight times in Week 8.

Here are the ones you can actually get:

Baltimore vs. the Chargers (56 percent). FantasyPros projects about seven fantasy points, with Justin Herbert expected to play. SI lists the Ravens among its waiver-wire defenses as well.

Green Bay vs. Minnesota (26 percent). Projected at around 6.7 points, but note that the FantasyPros write-up came out before Cousins took over in Minnesota, which makes this a tougher call than it looked earlier in the week.

Buffalo at the Jets (20 percent) and Washington at the Giants (12 percent) both project in the six-point range. Washington plays Thursday night, so make that decision early.

Indianapolis vs. Miami (2 percent) is the deep-league dart throw, and SI also flagged the Colts as a pickup.

My Week 10 order at quarterback: Rodgers first, Brissett second for the volume, Ward only if you are desperate, and the rookies only in two-quarterback formats. On defense, put in a claim for Baltimore before your leaguemates do, and keep Green Bay as a fallback.

Fantasy football rewards the managers who do their homework, stay patient and make the hard call on Sunday morning. If you want to put that homework to the test, the free Liberty Bell Fantasy games are waiting at /fantasy. Good luck this week.