Week 10 Fantasy Football: New Qbs And Trades Leave Managers Flying Blind

Fantasy football is forever a game about projection and speculation. I've long since made peace with that. But it's a little bit unsettling to have to do as much blind speculation as we do in Week 10.

There's a ton of unknowns out there. Players and situations we just don't know much about.

To underscore this a little deeper, I thought I'd run some experience numbers and stat queries on some of the offenses that are starting over this week. Stay with me.

Raiders: Starting QB Fernando Mendoza (eight career passes)

Hopefully this can quickly be worked into a tenable situation; Mendoza, of course, was the Heisman Trophy winner last season and the No. 1 pick in the draft. Head coach Klint Kubiak is a creative schemer and TE Brock Bowers is always open. But it's a shame the onboarding doesn't come at a different place on the schedule. Opening with Seattle and Denver the next two weeks feels downright cruel.

I expect Mendoza to play capably later in the year. I'm holding my breath for these opening starts.

Cardinals: Set to start QB Carson Beck (no career passes)

If you're leaving the light on for Beck, you're holding onto two things: his sharp play in the Hall of Fame game this summer (15 for 19, 188 yards, TD) and the fact that he started for three years at Georgia and Miami, giving him plenty of reps. He obviously wasn't drafted as optimistically as Mendoza was, but maybe Beck could be another Tyler Shough type of story.

Alas, the Arizona WR room is a barren wasteland at the moment. Your top three options are Reggie Virgil, Simi Fehoko and Devin Duvernay. Collectively they have eight catches for 93 yards this season. Virgil (age 22) at least has the upside of the unknown in his favor. The other two are both 29.

Dolphins: Starting QB Kyle McCord (no career passes)

The Malik Willis injury pushes McCord into the big chair, although at least he's up against a beatable opponent in Indianapolis. McCord did some snappy things in the preseason for Green Bay (46 of 70, 446 yards, 4 touchdowns, no picks), which encouraged the Dolphins to trade for him. He had two starting years in college, one at Ohio State (he did click with Marvin Harrison Jr.) and one at Syracuse (to the delight of Marvin Harrison Sr.). At least McCord showed enough in college to get drafted in the sixth round by the Eagles in 2025.

Colts: Rolling with WRs Laquon Treadwell (16 catches) and Ashton Dulin (four catches)

Treadwell was a first-round pick in 2016 and was once regarded highly enough that he was nicknamed "Megaquon." I'm not sure anyone has called him that recently. It's a miracle he's still in the NFL; he caught just seven passes the past four years and now it's his age-31 season. Dulin is another guy who's been around a lot (seven years) but hasn't done very much (44 catches). This is what happens when Alec Pierce has an injury-wiped season and you trade Josh Downs and Keenan Allen at the deadline. Even with Miami starting its own unproven QB, I put the Colts on upset watch this week.

Patriots: Potentially starting RB Corey Kiner (no career starts)

John Lennon wrote that life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. That's the story in the New England backfield, where TreVeyon Henderson has had a lost season and Rhamondre Stevenson is currently hurt. Kiner, an undrafted second-year running back, has been the best of the NE runners, making 4.9 YPC on his 50 opportunities. Detroit's defense is gettable against both the run (22nd in DVOA) and the pass (24th in DVOA); the Patriots should move the ball in Germany on Sunday. I'm prepared to use Kiner proactively if his first NFL start gets confirmed.

Ravens: Starting QB Jacoby Brissett (new to team)

Here's another spot to hold some optimism. At least Brissett had moments of competence (often fueled in garbage time) with the Cardinals the last couple of years, and there's extra time to prep — the Ravens play Monday against the Chargers. And heck, you couldn't ask for a much better opponent, the hapless and winless Bolts. To be fair, it's not like we're looking for Brissett to save our quarterback rooms, we just want him to keep the offense afloat so we can start Derrick Henry and Zay Flowers with some level of confidence. Seems like a reasonable goal.

Vikings: Welcoming back QB Kirk Cousins

We saved the best for last. Cousins is the prodigal son coming back to Minnesota, where he spent six seasons. Most importantly, he's played with pretty much everyone important in the Minnesota passing game. He's completed 354 passes to Justin Jefferson, 111 passes to T.J. Hockenson, and 36 passes to Jordan Addison. We have tape here, we have proof of concept. Cousins also has three years of experience with Kevin O'Connell, one season with Washington and two years in the Twin Cities. It sure would be nice to take the Minnesota passing game off the restricted list; Cousins gives them a chance.